Total Solar Eclipse April 8, 2024

[Fermion]

I kind of want to go full Oppenheimer style with the round goggle things just for kicks.

 

[Jerry1]

Re: timing. My map shows 19:00 UT near the area I’ll be heading. To get the EST, I’ve read that you subtract 5 hours or 4 hours during daylight saving time, which will be the case. So 19:00 - 4 = 15:00 or 3pm est. Am I correct?

 

[REWahoo]

I'm sure everyone knows this, but...Eclipse glasses, welding goggles, etc. are an absolute necessity for viewing an eclipse except during the brief period of total eclipse, when the moon covers the entire surface of the sun from view.

This is when you want to remove your protective lenses, so you can see the corona around the sun, something only visible during a total eclipse.

Here are some important safety guidelines to follow during a total solar eclipse.

View the Sun through eclipse glasses or a handheld solar viewer during the partial eclipse phases before and after totality.

You can view the eclipse directly without proper eye protection only when the Moon completely obscures the Sun’s bright face – during the brief and spectacular period known as totality. (You’ll know it’s safe when you can no longer see any part of the Sun through eclipse glasses or a solar viewer.)

As soon as you see even a little bit of the bright Sun reappear after totality, immediately put your eclipse glasses back on or use a handheld solar viewer to look at the Sun.

 

[Gumby]

You'll need to subtract 4 hours from Universal time (aka Greenwich Mean Time) to get Eastern Daylight Time on April 8, 2024 (because we use Eastern Daylight Time in April).

https://savvytime.com/converter/utc-to-est/apr-8-2024/3-30pm

 

[Fermion]

I'm sure everyone knows this, but...Eclipse glasses, welding goggles, etc. are an absolute necessity for viewing an eclipse except during the brief period of total eclipse, when the moon covers the entire surface of the sun from view.

This is when you want to remove your protective lenses, so you can see the corona around the sun, something only visible during a total eclipse.

Do people use binoculars during totality? Seems a bit scary to me if your timing is off...

 

[Jerry1]

I'm sure everyone knows this, but...Eclipse glasses, welding goggles, etc. are an absolute necessity for viewing an eclipse except during the brief period of total eclipse, when the moon covers the entire surface of the sun from view.

This is when you want to remove your protective lenses, so you can see the corona around the sun, something only visible during a total eclipse.

Except you want to put your glasses back on before the total eclipse ends because you want to see the diamond ring effect. That only happens for a moment and you don’t want to miss that.

 

[REWahoo]

Except you want to put your glasses back on before the total eclipse ends because you want to see the diamond ring effect. That only happens for a moment and you don’t want to miss that.

Aren't there two "diamond ring effects", one at the beginning and another at the end of the period of totality?

But to your point, yes, you will want to put your glasses back on prior to the emergence of the sun from totality, or risk some serious eye damage.

 

[Fermion]

Aren't there two "diamond ring effects", one at the beginning and another at the end of the period of totality?

But to your point, yes, you will want to put your glasses back on prior to the emergence of the sun from totality, or risk some serious eye damage.

It is too bad the auto darkening goggles don't go to shade 14. It seems they stop at shade 13.

 

[Gumby]

This may help shed some light on the question of protective glasses. TLDR - get ones that meet ISO 12312-2-2015 standard.

https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety/iso12312-2

The standard's maximum allowable luminous transmittance corresponds to that of a shade 12 welding filter, while the minimum corresponds to that of a shade 15 welding filter. Before the advent of cardboard "eclipse glasses" and handheld solar viewers, astronomers routinely used welding filters to view the partial phases of solar eclipses without injuring their eyes. A shade 12 filter is safe, but many observers find the solar image uncomfortably bright. For that reason, shade 13 and 14 filters have been more popular as eclipse viewers, though some observers feel that the solar image in a shade 14 or darker welding filter is too dim.

 

[braumeister]

It is too bad the auto darkening goggles don't go to shade 14. It seems they stop at shade 13.

I think that's true. At least mine only go to 13. That's very good, just not good enough. And to your other question, no. Don't even think about using binoculars with eclipse glasses. The whole point of binoculars (or telescopes) is to concentrate and focus the light, so the intensity is likely way more than the glasses can handle.

 

[Jerry1]

Aren't there two "diamond ring effects", one at the beginning and another at the end of the period of totality?

But to your point, yes, you will want to put your glasses back on prior to the emergence of the sun from totality, or risk some serious eye damage.

Yes, there’s one at the beginning but presumably you’d have your glasses on for that one.

 

[Fermion]

I think that's true. At least mine only go to 13. That's very good, just not good enough. And to your other question, no. Don't even think about using binoculars with eclipse glasses. The whole point of binoculars (or telescopes) is to concentrate and focus the light, so the intensity is likely way more than the glasses can handle.

No, I didn't mean use binoculars with eclipse glasses. During totality ONLY, is what I was asking. I am not going to do it though, even though supposedly it is ok. I have heard it doesn't really help you see the corona any better.

 

[pjm-7]

I went to Casper Wyoming in 2017 to see the total solar eclipse. Stayed at my brother's. I had a pretty good view of the totality from his backyard. The lodging was cheap however, the drive home was a very ,very slow crawl. I had planned to go to northern Ohio to stay with the other brother but the family will be out of town that week and don't want to stay at an empty house. I had a pretty good view of the annular solar eclipse on 10/14/23 from here in western Colorado. If I want to see the eclipse in 4/8/24 I may drive down to New Mexico. However, I might not because don't want to fight the traffic coming back north.

 

[kgtest]

You can get glasses here:

https://eclipse2024.org/glasses_order.html

We are getting 4m 15s of totality in Mazatlan, MX. Provided I can figure out how to take a rental car beyond the MX Free Zone Sonoro and into Sinaloa state.

Ocean view for 5 nights.

 

[jollystomper]

We are going to go to central Ohio and hope to see it. We have hotels booked for 2 nights in a local at the edge of totality line. We have located about a dozen places in the central band of the eclipse track with parking that are options.

 

[kgtest]

Last summer I bought six pairs of eclipse glasses on Amazon for $10, and I see that they are now up to $13. I'll bet they go up again in the next month.

I sold some eclipse glasses on marketplace for $10 a pop the week before the 2017 eclipse. Paid for all my gas and meals down to Nebraska and back with pops. I mean...supply/demand right? I had the supply and demand was gone or it was too late

 

[Texas Proud]

I will have to see where it was but I saw a site that listed companies that sell eclipse glasses that meet the requirements...


They were suggesting NOT to buy on Amazon as there are bogus glasses being sold there...


As for binoculars, some sites were selling actual binoculars that were for the sun... you can buy lenses to put over your own but it was cautioned that if one fell off it would be really bad to the eye...

 

[RunningBum]

We are timing our cross country road trip to be in the path of totality on April 8, but no way am I going to pay $800 a night lol. I will just park at a Walmart or something for 30 minutes to catch it, then continue on to a regular priced hotel a hundred miles onward.

It might take you 5 hours or longer to travel that 100 miles away from the eclipse. I heard horror stories from the last one. I took a train, thinking that wouldn't be delayed, but it was a few hours late, probably Amtrak being Amtrak.

I doubt you'll be able to just whiz right into the eclipse zone either.

 

[Fermion]

It might take you 5 hours or longer to travel that 100 miles away from the eclipse. I heard horror stories from the last one. I took a train, thinking that wouldn't be delayed, but it was a few hours late, probably Amtrak being Amtrak.

I doubt you'll be able to just whiz right into the eclipse zone either.

Do they close the interstate? I imagine we will be somewhere in Texas or perhaps a bit north east of there. No definite route yet.

 

[stepford]

I thought of heading to Texas for the eclipse, but as others have pointed out, every driveway and campsite is being hawked for $500+. That plus the inevitable crush of traffic just puts a bad taste in my mouth, so I think I'll skip this one. Gibraltar or Egypt in 2027 and Australia in 2028 sound like more fun anyway.

 

[Fermion]

Hmm. We are going to be pulling our 17 foot sailboat...I might see if there is a boat launch anywhere near the path of totality. We could view the eclipse from the water, which would be fairly awesome.

 

[Jerry1]

It might take you 5 hours or longer to travel that 100 miles away from the eclipse. I heard horror stories from the last one. I took a train, thinking that wouldn't be delayed, but it was a few hours late, probably Amtrak being Amtrak.

I doubt you'll be able to just whiz right into the eclipse zone either.

Going in is not going to be bad. It happens over time. Think of a concert. Yes, somewhat bad getting there and parking but terrible after the event when everyone is leaving at the same time.

 

[Fermion]

Just a quick look at the path, maybe something like this Lake Hamilton Public Boat Launch in Arkansas?

It says open 24 hours and has what looks like 100 trailer parking spots or so. That lake I think is smack dab in the middle of the path of totality.

Could be worth a shot if we get there early Monday morning, like 6am and grab a spot. A lot would depend on if they enforce the boat parking for boat trailers or if people just park willy nilly that day. It *seems* like it might be possible to grab a spot if you get there early enough, and having a boat means you have reason to be there.

 

[REWahoo]

I want to add to the cautionary statements posted by others about planning to drive anywhere near the eclipse path in TX on April 8. I expect lengthy stretches of both IH-10 and IH-35 will experience massive traffic jams after the eclipse.

Based on all the hype and noise I'm already hearing around here about expected traffic congestion in and near the path of totality, I would think any plans to "find a parking lot to watch from" that morning could be a recipe for a big serving of frustration once the event is over. No way do I plan to be on the roads around here on 4/8.

Most schools in the path will be closed that day as the local districts don't think buses will be able to maintain a schedule, especially at the end of the school day. TXDoT says IH 10 to the northwest of San Antonio could be bumper-to-bumper after the eclipse for as far as 100 miles - and that's in a sparsely populated area of the state. The eclipse tracks to the northeast closely aligned with the highly populated IH-35 corridor from Austin all the way to DFW. I would not be surprised if IH -35 traffic comes to a complete halt for hours after the eclipse and does not return to its normal heavily congested level for a day or more.

I'm lucky that I can avoid any travel and watch the big event from the comfort of our deck. Looks like we should have a bit over 3 minutes of totality.

 

[Fermion]

It is a rare enough that I don't mind waiting out 4 or 5 hours of traffic, especially if I can just putter around on the sailboat while everyone goes back to their regularly scheduled Tuesday lives.