Total solar eclipse 2017

[ERD50]

So I'm not the only one who thought the quality of light was weird during the eclipse! At least I know I am not going mad. I can't describe WHY it was weird, but it was. Maybe more intense colors, darker, higher contrast... I'm just not sure but it was indeed weird, for me. And the quiet and wind added to the weirdness here, too.

Yes, the 'weird' light is what I recall from a partial eclipse years ago, and was looking for again. I probably mentioned this way back in the thread, but for that earlier eclipse, I had actually forgot that it was happening that day, I think I was off work running a bunch of errands (ahh, I recall when a day off work was mostly trying to cram in a bunch of stuff you couldn't get done on the w/e).

And as I'm driving around, not thinking about it, I'm just thinking - wow, the light seems weird, kinda like before a thunderstorm, but different... Then I saw kids outside a school with their pinhole viewers, and I realized what it was.

But too cloudy here to even see the crescent shaped shadows. Oh well.

-ERD50

 

[mamadogmamacat]

97% here. enjoyed the deep blue sky (pale blue normally)also what sun there was filtering through the trees was pretty. only about a ten degree drop in temp (90 to 80) for a few minutes.

 

[FIREd]

So I'm not the only one who thought the quality of light was weird during the eclipse! At least I know I am not going mad. I can't describe WHY it was weird, but it was. Maybe more intense colors, darker, higher contrast... I'm just not sure but it was indeed weird, for me. And the quiet and wind added to the weirdness here, too.

I also noticed that the quality of light changed. It was a bit surreal.

 

[wmc1000]

Lots of am clouds to potentially see the 91% coverage in Indianapolis area.

Got in line to get free glasses at 1 pm and were told the chances of getting them didn't look good at this point. Took about 30 minutes for the line to snake around the amphitheater but lo and behold we made it to the entrance and got the 3rd to the last pair to share with DW. Whoo Hoo! During the next hour and a half had significant cloud cover but plenty of breaks in which to see the eclipse happening. During the peak at 2:25 pm sky was clear and viewing was AWESOME. By 3 pm full cloud cover so mother nature gave us a great show.

Can't wait until 2024 when we will be almost dead center in the totality!!!!!!! And we already have 1 pair of glasses for that.

 

[rodi]

Some of my beach walking buddies invited my family to their home (which is more inland) to view the eclipse. We turned it into a brunch party. (omelettes, banana bread, fresh fruit).

We had a fun time - here are some pics...

Looking at the weird shadows, looking at the crescent shadows from the collander, and looking up.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

I was in Madras with my tour group and the high thin clouds didn't make much difference. Several veterans of 10+ eclipses said this was the best display of the Corona they had ever seen. Venus was visible during the partial phase if you knew where to look. The red chromosphere was visible with several prominences as well. I kept my glasses on at the beginning of totality to avoid being dazzled which would make the faint parts of the corona difficult, but left them off long enough to see the beautiful second diamond ring effect at the end. Looked around enough to take in the 360 deg "sunset". Just WOW!

Sorry for those who couldn't make totality. Even 99% is like listening to an opera through the closed doors of the theater where totality is like a box seat. They are quite simply two different things. Id even say it was worth the five hour drive back to Bend which should have taken one.

Not sure if I want to book the Tahiti cruise or the South American trip for the next one, in 2019.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

The weird light is because the shadows become much sharper. This is due to the fact the area of the sun becomes smaller, which results in the penumbra of a shadow becoming smaller.

 

[pjm-7]

Finally home. A drive that normally takes me less than five hours took almost ten. Viewing the totality in Casper was worth the drive.

 

[Senator]

I was in Lathrop, MO. The area clouded up just prior to the full eclipse, but it got dark for the 2+ minutes. It was really cool, even if we could not see it.

I can say this, unless you are at the total eclipse, it is nothing. The felling as it gets dark is unreal. And it is near daylight just until that instant. Even 99% is almost full light.

I am already planning on seeing the one in 2024. This time, my position will be based on weather conditions, not convenience.

The drive home was traffic and construction. Agony. Took almost 9 hours, which was about 3 hours longer than it should have. Even 300 miles out, traffic was heavier than normal. Even 200 miles out was still 30 MPH average on the interstate, with periods of under 10 MPH.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Just finished two days camping in Madras. It was fun, challenging with all the people. Our campsite was adjacent to one occupied by a professor of astronomy from British Columbia. She had 3 telescopes setup for viewing and teaching. They let my son mount his 360 camera on their hardtop. Too bad he failed to turn it on.

We could feel the air get cooler and could see a gradually barely perceptible change in the light over the 30 minutes prior to totality. The plunge into twilight was amazing.

 

[RunningBum]

We thought it was definitely worth the effort to see totality. We were very fortunate that the clouds that started gathering in Greenville late morning totally cleared out in the last half hour before the full eclipse. I think my general reaction was happy laughter, especially when the sun was first 100% covered, and then I took off the glasses to see the corona, and then at the end when the "diamond ring" appeared. Tired from the train ride but I'm glad not to have been sitting in very slow traffic.

 

[JoeWras]

I survived the drive to SC, a bit SE of Greenville, maybe even said "hi" to RunningBum as the train went by. Similarly, we had a close call with clouds. They split 15 minutes before totality to a wide open clear. Whew!

Woke up way too early. Didn't have to leave so early. Incoming traffic was fine.

Totality was all and more than I have imaged for the last 45 years or so I've been waiting. The corona was beautiful, the asymmetry added to the beauty.

I think the lasting memory will be the diamond ring effect, even if I saw it for only 300 milliseconds or so. Pictures can't do it justice. The pure whiteness of it was amazing. Alas, before my retinas burned, I had to look away and it was done.

Traffic out was bad. 4hr went to 6hrs. So what. Worth. Every. Minute. Of. It.

If you have an interest in this kind of thing, don't let traffic stop you for the next one in 7 years.

 

[Sojourner]

We thought it was definitely worth the effort to see totality. We were very fortunate that the clouds that started gathering in Greenville late morning totally cleared out in the last half hour before the full eclipse. I think my general reaction was happy laughter, especially when the sun was first 100% covered, and then I took off the glasses to see the corona, and then at the end when the "diamond ring" appeared. Tired from the train ride but I'm glad not to have been sitting in very slow traffic.

I survived the drive to SC, a bit SE of Greenville, maybe even said "hi" to RunningBum as the train went by. Similarly, we had a close call with clouds. They split 15 minutes before totality to a wide open clear. Whew!

Woke up way too early. Didn't have to leave so early. Incoming traffic was fine.

Totality was all and more than I have imaged for the last 45 years or so I've been waiting. The corona was beautiful, the asymmetry added to the beauty.

I think the lasting memory will be the diamond ring effect, even if I saw it for only 300 milliseconds or so. Pictures can't do it justice. The pure whiteness of it was amazing. Alas, before my retinas burned, I had to look away and it was done.

Traffic out was bad. 4hr went to 6hrs. So what. Worth. Every. Minute. Of. It.

If you have an interest in this kind of thing, don't let traffic stop you for the next one in 7 years.

+1 to both of these. I left my house just after 5:00AM and headed to a prime viewing spot in central Tennessee. Totality was profoundly awe-inspiring, worth every millisecond of all the planning and driving and other logistics. Lasted 2m39s at my location. I thought it was very odd how all the clouds that were building in the late morning just kind of disappeared about 30 minutes prior to totality. Someone near me at the time mentioned that this was due to the drop in temperature and solar radiation in the atmosphere, which hinders cloud formation.

Overall, a huge thumbs up for my first ever total solar eclipse!

 

[Sojourner]

Sorry for those who couldn't make totality. Even 99% is like listening to an opera through the closed doors of the theater where totality is like a box seat. They are quite simply two different things.

Love this analogy. I've been trying to think of one that adequately captures the difference between totality and anything short of that, and this does it pretty well. For those who aren't into opera, I might substitute something like "your favorite rock band".

 

[CardsFan]

Just back from Mineola, MO. Perfect weather, great viewing, great company, and no crowds.

I fully agree with the comments about totality. You have to see it to really appreciate it.

We are just very lucky to have the perfect location so accessible and owned by friends that are more like family.

 

[Sittinginthesun]

I was reading a book in my pool and although I didn't look up I did have to take my sunglasses off for a few minutes when the light dimmed.

 

[Jerry1]

Couple things: Just got back from Franklin Ky (just north of the TN boarder on I65). Got about 2:20 of Totality and it was fantastic. To sum it up, my 30 year old daughter went with DW and me and DD said that was the most excited she's ever seen me in my life. I don't know how to explain the difference between partial and totality, but the simple statement is that they are completely different things. And, if you don't believe it, think about this - the minute totality was over, everyone left (we were in a park). No they could have stuck around for another hour or so of partiality, but the show was over. They're not comparable and if possible, you should see totality.

The drive: We chose to go to KY and got very lucky and had a perfect sky. Pulled right into a park I had scoped out after spending the night a couple hours north. No problems. Went to Bowling Green where I had a room booked for Monday (after the eclipse) but after we got cleaned up and relaxed for a few, we decided to hit the road and come home. BIG mistake. Took four hours to go 70 miles and took 12 hours to get home which would normally take 8.

It was all worth it. Thanks for sharing in the event!

 

[Red Badger]

We enjoyed or 98% on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Passing clouds, but lots of viewable time.

Tangent. I bought our peepers on Amazon a couple months ago - it was a 12 pack for about that many $$ (for the pack). Gave 2 pair to our DS. So, where we stopped (overlook ~10 miles N of Mt. Mitchell), there were 3 other cars and about 10 people. None of them had peepers, so I gave out all but the 2 we needed to the three groups. No one complained of sudden blindness, and to a person, the gratitude toward us was very profound. It was icing on the eclipse cake to make so many people happy, giving away something we didn't need, that cost so little.

 

[aja8888]

Picture

I was standing outside near our mailbox about the time the eclipse was due and I had no glasses to view it. So I just put my cell phone case over my head and snapped a picture randomly. This is what I got. Is the round dot near the bottom above the trees a planet?

 

[REWahoo]

Dust on your lens.

I don't think there was enough obscuration in your neck of the woods to see any stars/planets.

 

[aja8888]

Dust on your lens.

I don't think there was enough obscuration in your neck of the woods to see any stars/planets.

That's what I thought too, but when I enlarge the photo, the image is clearly spherical and has a shadow across it.

 

[REWahoo]

Maybe a glare from the lens showing another image of the sun?

 

[aja8888]

Maybe a glare from the lens showing another image of the sun?

Maybe, but see above edit.

 

[REWahoo]

Maybe, but see above edit.

Looks like another image of the sun/eclipse.

 

[aja8888]

Looks like another image of the sun/eclipse.

Could be, I'll go with your guess as I had not thought about that.