Total Solar Eclipse April 8, 2024

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ERD50

Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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I had looked into this when the last eclipse occurred, and I had heard some pretty exciting stories from friends who experienced it 1st hand, and forum members here.

But my wife wasn't interested, and I kind of forgot about it, until today. We had family over for dinner, my son-in law mentions "April 8th" to me, and I draw a blank. He says he coordinated a business trip near Indianapolis (~ 3.5 hour drive from us) around that date, so he could be in the total eclipse region. We talk some more, and he was able to get a room for me as well. I'm stoked!

About 4 minutes of totality, ~ 2.5 hours of partial.

We will be in Greenwood, just outside Indianapolis, and almost exactly in the center of the path:

https://nso.edu/for-public/eclipse-map-2024/


https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/where-when/

The only ref I found on this forum was for the past one in 2017, with some mentions of the upcoming one in 2024:

https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/the-upcoming-solar-eclipse-85804.html

-ERD50
 
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I’ll be watching the weather a couple days ahead and mapping out my strategy, same as I did for the last one. I’m about an hour away from totality. The question is how far and in what direction I can drive for my best chance that it won’t be cloudy. I have a relative that’s southeast of me about three hours and very close to the center line in Ashland OH. That’s my preferred spot but I need a backup plan. I’ll start working on that as it gets closer.

DD did what you did and booked a room in Indianapolis. Wishing you and her clear skies.
 
As you all know we don't like traveling so we won't be going anywhere. Still, we plan to see whatever we can from our back yards here in New Orleans even though it won't be a total eclipse here. We have done this before. Frank has some nice telescopes, excellent eye protection, and so on. He's been doing this for a very long time and knows how to do it safely. As for me, well I think any eclipse is amazing. :D
 
We are going to stay at my sister's house so we are close to where it is... she has about 1 1/2 minute of totality but we want to get to a place with 4 1/2....


DW looked online and 'cheap' hotels are pricing their rooms at $800 a night near the center... we are looking to get a spot in a state park but not sure if we can...


If need be we will just park along the side of the road and look at it...
 
Texas Proud said:
... DW looked online and 'cheap' hotels are pricing their rooms at $800 a night near the center....
Click to expand...

You've got to make hay while the sun shines, or in this case while it doesn't.
 
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.
 
I got lucky and got rooms in the Austin area-and only thanks to this board. I waited too long (~1 year out) and found rooms to be insanely priced. Someone here mentioned that using points you may be able to get the room for the regular point value and I was lucky to have enough points and find a hotel with a room. As soon as I booked my room and got my confirmation, that hotel showed as no availability so I really feel lucky. The days prior have to be in a different hotel due to high occupancy but, fortunately, not crazy prices. I suspect that hack is fully exploited by now though.
 
Sunset said:
What are all you folks going to use for eye protection.
I see a lot of non-certified cardboard glasses for sale.

How does a person buy a pair and confirm they are not fake ?
Click to expand...


I bought a pair on Amazon, read lots of reviews, made in USA, did not go for the cheapest.... seem legit and definitely block most visible light... I haven't gone outside to test them yet though. I bought some with the plastic frames that came with a few cardboard ones if I make friends in Austin. I figured there was a slightly higher chance of a better lens and a bit more comfort.
 
I went with my daughter in 2017, we drove from Fl. to TN to watch from a packed Walmart shopping center. I was very lucky to find a parking spot, parallel to a curb. My son wanted to go, but he had the first day of class, and it was made clear, if you didn't go to the first day of class, you would be dropped. Odd!
So now is my son's time, he and I are going to watch it near Cleveland, making a trip out of it, seeing family in Michigan, Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, The Air Museum in Dayton and then to Cleveland to watch the eclipse. My daughter heard our plans and said it sounded like fun, so she altered her schedule and there will be three of us! :dance:
 
We have a B&B in Cleveland. We will visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and pray for no clouds. We are prepared to take a ride north or south a bit if that will help, but weather systems tend to be large and fickle.

Does anyone know of good online sites to get detailed cloud reports as the day approaches?
 
Sunset said:
What are all you folks going to use for eye protection.
I see a lot of non-certified cardboard glasses for sale.

How does a person buy a pair and confirm they are not fake ?
Click to expand...

They are more expensive but to get a certified pair of glasses, go to a welding site and get some welding goggles. I did that and I got a pair of solar eclipse glasses off Amazon. I just didn’t get the cheapest and I guess took a small risk. Both seemed to work fine.
 
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W2R said:
As you all know we don't like traveling so we won't be going anywhere. Still, we plan to see whatever we can from our back yards here in New Orleans even though it won't be a total eclipse here. We have done this before. Frank has some nice telescopes, excellent eye protection, and so on. He's been doing this for a very long time and knows how to do it safely. As for me, well I think any eclipse is amazing. :D
Click to expand...

W2R - I know you don’t travel, but if there were ever a time to consider it, an eclipse is certainly one - assuming you’ve never seen one in your life. Look at this site and see if you’re willing. It shows the path. Unfortunately, it looks like you’re about 6 hours or more away.

Mexico - USA - 2024 April 8 Total Solar Eclipse - Interactive Google Map - Xavier Jubier


For anyone - you have to get into the area where it’s 100% (totality). 99% is nothing like 100%. Yes, you’ll see the moon traverse the sun, but totality is completely different and amazing.
 
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Even if there is clouds, being in the path of totality should be awesome. There is a rapid temperature drop too, and a circular dusk that is strange. We were in central Oregon for the last one, avoiding any clouds. We'll be in Niagara Falls for this one. And the time of totality is twice as long as the one in 2017.
 
One option re: hotels is to do what we did last time. We got close to totality the day before. Since not in totality (a few hours away), there was no eclipse premium. Then we booked a hotel for check in on the day of totality close to where we viewed the eclipse and went there after the eclipse.

That worked out great but I did make one mistake - a big one. After we got to the hotel, we all get cleaned up, ate and took a nap. Feeling great and it still being early, I figured we should just go ahead and drive home. It was a terrible drive. Traffic was so bad that a normal 8 hour drive took more like 12 hours. The expressway was so congested, I didn’t get above 40mph most of the way. It was brutal. We should have just stayed put until morning.
 
Jerry1 said:
One option re: hotels is to do what we did last time. We got close to totality the day before. Since not in totality (a few hours away), there was no eclipse premium. Then we booked a hotel for check in on the day of totality close to where we viewed the eclipse and went there after the eclipse.

That worked out great but I did make one mistake - a big one. After we got to the hotel, we all get cleaned up, ate and took a nap. Feeling great and it still being early, I figured we should just go ahead and drive home. It was a terrible drive. Traffic was so bad that a normal 8 hour drive took more like 12 hours. The expressway was so congested, I didn’t get above 40mph most of the way. It was brutal. We should have just stayed put until morning.
Click to expand...
That is worth noting!
 
Jerry1 said:
They are more expensive but to get a certified pair of glasses, go to a welding site and get some welding goggles.
Click to expand...

FYI: I've read in more than one place that if you use welding goggles, they must be the highest level (Level 14) to be safe for an eclipse, and they may not even be available at your local welding store, so it would be a lot easier (and much cheaper) to just buy certified eclipse glasses.
 
braumeister said:
FYI: I've read in more than one place that if you use welding goggles, they must be the highest level (Level 14) to be safe for an eclipse, and they may not even be available at your local welding store, so it would be a lot easier (and much cheaper) to just buy certified eclipse glasses.
Click to expand...

Just looked, the welding glasses I have are indeed level 14.
 
I was planning on using welding goggles as well (the ones for arc welding, not oxy). I was under the (mistaken?) impression that an arc welder of sufficient amperage throws off more UV than the sun (and considering that your face is 12 inches away).
 
We’re going to south of Indianapolis- meeting up with niece and her family. DW and I aren’t staying the night at $1000.

Niece ordered a 10 pack of goggles on Amazon
 
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.
 
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