Seeing a solar eclipse is just about the easiest thing one can do in one's life.
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Here’s our comprehensive, in-depth guide to viewing the total solar eclipse
- Thread starter JournalBot
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Perhaps someone can remind me, but my recollection of using a refracting telescope for solar projection is:
a) You quite likely need an eyepiece in the telescope to project an image of the Sun’s disc at a resonable size.
b) You can risk damaging the eyepiece when you do this. Where heat is concerned, the telescope’s objective optics at the front are effectively the “magnifying glass” and the eyepiece at the back is effectively the “ant” under the magnifying glass.
Do I recall this correctly?
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This will be my third, and hopefully second successful one. I saw one in Winnipeg in 1979. That was one of the eeriest experiences of my life! It was a bright clear day that just got dimmer and dimmer. The birds went to sleep in the trees. The streetlights came on. Then all of a sudden it was completely dark and there was this glowing hole in the sky. The ordinary world was gone and this alien one replaced it.
In 2017 I went to visit family in Kansas City, which was near the path of totality. It poured rain! We drove out to a hilltop in the country, but it stayed cloudy the whole time. We could see the sun turn into a thin crescent as in the opening of "2001: A Space Odyssey", but not the eclipse itself. What we could see from our high vantage point was a dark patch about 10 miles wide sweeping across the landscape, which was way eerie all by itself.
The next good one in the US is August 12, 2045, so this might well be my last chance!
In 2017 I went to visit family in Kansas City, which was near the path of totality. It poured rain! We drove out to a hilltop in the country, but it stayed cloudy the whole time. We could see the sun turn into a thin crescent as in the opening of "2001: A Space Odyssey", but not the eclipse itself. What we could see from our high vantage point was a dark patch about 10 miles wide sweeping across the landscape, which was way eerie all by itself.
The next good one in the US is August 12, 2045, so this might well be my last chance!
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Even with clouds it can still be pretty incredible. This was my view from 2017 with my crappy ass camera phone.
The skies were absolutely not cooperating but it was still worth the trouble.
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I saw the 1999 total solar eclipse in the UK from a cliff top looking out to sea. The aspect that most amazed me was seeing the speed with which the darkness approached us across the water. My 4 year old nephew was really excited by the idea of seeing the eclipse but burst in to tears when it suddenly went dark!
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Wow, if this isn't completely tongue in cheek, then it's the biggest "Is France a country?" event I've seen in years.
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I was in Spring City, TN for the 2017 eclipse, right on the centerline. It was a smaller town chosen specifically to avoid large crowds. My folks and I were on a planned road trip at the time and travelled from southeastern Kentucky. I was anticipating a mess so we left at 6:00am to get there. Surprisingly traffic was totally reasonable. There ended up about 10,000+ people gathered in the town and the eclipse was truly a moment of epiphany.
Used an app called Solar Eclipse Maestro to let my SLR capture all the shots so I could simply enjoy with family and everyone around us.
But yes, traffic getting out of there was horrendous. Took an hour to travel 12 miles. The backroads ended up being faster lol.
Will be in Corsicana, TX for this one. Not quite on the centerline but I chose there on purpose in hopes that crowds won't be as bad as closer to the center. (I could be fantastically wrong.)
Used an app called Solar Eclipse Maestro to let my SLR capture all the shots so I could simply enjoy with family and everyone around us.
But yes, traffic getting out of there was horrendous. Took an hour to travel 12 miles. The backroads ended up being faster lol.
Will be in Corsicana, TX for this one. Not quite on the centerline but I chose there on purpose in hopes that crowds won't be as bad as closer to the center. (I could be fantastically wrong.)
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That's grounds for divorce!I had this on the calendar two years ago. My wife said no, the kids are in school that week.
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No it's not.
There hasn't been another total eclipse in the US since 2017, and that wasn't a few hours from Houston.
There was an annular eclipse not too long ago, but that's nothing like a total eclipse.
This is silly... You're not going to overburden Dallas with your presence my man
You're missing out on something way cooler than you're imagining, and it's not coming around again for 20 years.
I urge you to reconsider.
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Oh man, if I had realized my parent's house was in the path of totality I would have bought tickets for a visit months ago. Guess I should have paid closer attention to all the eclipse chatter
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I found https://eclipsophile.com/2024tse/ to provide a lot of data for eclipses, among others maps with coverage and multiple sources for sourcing weather forecasts.
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Same here.
Drove down from Canada (about 7 hours) to Salem, OR. I knew it was gonna be a long trek so I upgraded my rental car from a Toyota to a blue Mustang. I figured, why not make the trip in style haha.
The drive back was insane though. Took almost 5 hours longer than the trip down. But definitely worth it. It was all the things you said. I felt a calm fall over everyone as we all shared in the experience of looking directly at our Sun's corona for the first time. Wild stuff.
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Last time I was near an eclipse without any special glasses or anything; you just turn your back to the sun and look around everywhere, everything is so weird for a few mins, no need to look at the sun directly. All the shadows are weird and you can see all people and animals get uneasy because something very weird is happening.
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I saw the total eclipse that came through southeast US in 2019 (I think)?
Had nearly 4 or 5 minutes of total blackout. It was a very enjoyable experience, and I certainly didn't regret taking a day off from work and driving an 90 minutes to a friend's place to watch it. My then-8-year old got to enjoy it as well, so it was an all around worthwhile experience.
But it wasn't nearly as dramatic as I had expected based upon readings. Many compared it to a spiritual experience and said things like "there was life before the eclipse and life after" and, well, if those are your expectations I'd maybe take them down a notch or two.
I've known about this eclipse for years and have most of my family in Dallas (prime viewing area) but I've made no arrangements to travel as having seen it once to me it's not worth the effort again.
Had nearly 4 or 5 minutes of total blackout. It was a very enjoyable experience, and I certainly didn't regret taking a day off from work and driving an 90 minutes to a friend's place to watch it. My then-8-year old got to enjoy it as well, so it was an all around worthwhile experience.
But it wasn't nearly as dramatic as I had expected based upon readings. Many compared it to a spiritual experience and said things like "there was life before the eclipse and life after" and, well, if those are your expectations I'd maybe take them down a notch or two.
I've known about this eclipse for years and have most of my family in Dallas (prime viewing area) but I've made no arrangements to travel as having seen it once to me it's not worth the effort again.
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There was no total eclipse in the US in 2019, so if that's when you saw it, you didn't see what people are talking about.
You have to actually be in the path of totality during a total eclipse.
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Years ago we had a near total eclipse where I worked at the time. I went out to the riverside, sat down and watched it. My colleagues all declined to come.
The idea that any human being would rather sit working at a desk for 30 minutes, doing work that wasn't time critical, instead of watching the sun disappear like an omen of doom....I was their boss as well, so not as though they would get docked the time missed.
The idea that any human being would rather sit working at a desk for 30 minutes, doing work that wasn't time critical, instead of watching the sun disappear like an omen of doom....I was their boss as well, so not as though they would get docked the time missed.
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I'm 1000 miles away from totality. It ain't gonna happen. Did see the one in 2017 I think it was.
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I saw the 2017 eclipse, and it was surreal, and awesome. As others have said, there are a multitude of mind-blowing phenomena that differentiate it from a partial eclipse (or being out of the path of totality). 360 degree twilight, strange animal behavior, rapid noticeable cooling, the corona appearing (oh my!). This list goes on and on.
I know I'm late in the thread, but I wanted to remind people about shadow bands!! If you get to totality for this one, don't forget to watch for them. I was expecting them in 2017, and had laid out a sheet to try and film them, but they are notoriously difficult to capture, and no video I've seen does them any justice at all. They were everywhere, and changed rapidly, and it was sooo interesting.
I can't recommend to people enough to try to witness a total eclipse at least once in their life.
I know I'm late in the thread, but I wanted to remind people about shadow bands!! If you get to totality for this one, don't forget to watch for them. I was expecting them in 2017, and had laid out a sheet to try and film them, but they are notoriously difficult to capture, and no video I've seen does them any justice at all. They were everywhere, and changed rapidly, and it was sooo interesting.
I can't recommend to people enough to try to witness a total eclipse at least once in their life.
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Literally said "I think" 2019. It was 2017. And you playing the role of "eclipse police" and shitting on their comments here doesn't really contribute to the conversation.
The 2017 eclipse was a TOTAL ECLIPSE, I know because I fucking saw it with my own eyes. The sun disappeared. I had a special lense to take pictures, many of which are stunning and dramatic. The birds roosted.
So take your judgmental bullshit and GTFO.
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IncorrigibleTroll
Ars Tribunus Angusticlavius
Yes. Unless one lives in the Pacific Northwest.
Hey, there needs to be some tradeoff for all the sequoias and cheap cannabis.
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The second one. In '17 I drove up from the SF Bay Area over 2 days and arrived a day early. Stayed with a cousin who lived in the totality zone, stayed an extra night and drove back the next day. Even driving up the day before there was a ton of traffic. I had to fill up in Oregon and there was a 45 minute line at the one gas station on US95 in Jordan Valley.
"Enh, it's 80 miles to Boise, I've probably got 90 miles range left. Goddamnit."
To all the people whining about how "US-centric" the article is: Well, Duh.
This is a US-centric eclipse. It also includes parts of Mexico, and a tiny bit of Canada, but mostly USA.
The good news is, there are solar eclipses somewhere in the world every year and a half or so. There are 8 in the next 10 years.
https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/list-total-solar.html
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Step 0: Have money and time to travel hundreds, sometimes thousands, of miles away. Sure, if you're in the tiny swath of the world that's going to get to see it just by looking up then great! It's easy. And cheap. For most of the world (even the country) it's potentially a full-on vacation to do so.
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I saw the March 1970 solar eclipse with some college friends of mine. I still have photos and it was quite an adventure.
I made sure my wife accompanied me for the 2017 solar eclipse. She was and still is very grateful. A full total solar eclipse is a remarkable experience. Within any person's lifetime, there will be one or two solar eclipses that they can possibly view. With a little luck, the April eclipse will be my third. We have had lodging reserved for over a year.
For younger people, in 2045 there will be a total solar eclipse that will cross the entire continental USA from California to Florida. I might not make that one. If I do, I will be 96 years old. It is something to live for.
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmap/SEmapNA/TSENorAm2001.gif
I made sure my wife accompanied me for the 2017 solar eclipse. She was and still is very grateful. A full total solar eclipse is a remarkable experience. Within any person's lifetime, there will be one or two solar eclipses that they can possibly view. With a little luck, the April eclipse will be my third. We have had lodging reserved for over a year.
For younger people, in 2045 there will be a total solar eclipse that will cross the entire continental USA from California to Florida. I might not make that one. If I do, I will be 96 years old. It is something to live for.
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmap/SEmapNA/TSENorAm2001.gif
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Which location is better to view the eclipse?
North San Antionio or North Dallas?
Is there a difference in the map location where it says: "Alright! You can brag you
saw the awesome corona." while others says "Right in the path of totality. Nicely done!"??
North San Antionio or North Dallas?
Is there a difference in the map location where it says: "Alright! You can brag you
saw the awesome corona." while others says "Right in the path of totality. Nicely done!"??
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That depends on whether you want to eat BBQ (Dallas) or German food (San Antonio).
If you have a day or two to spare, both locations have lots of great history and tourist traps, er, educational activities for the family. San Antonio has more caves, Dallas has more fossils in the creeks. You pays your money and takes your choice.
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I live in Hawaii. This is the hardest part for me.
This is not a complaint. I live in Hawaii.
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I wonder if we crossed paths. I was there, too. I had spend the night at a B&B in Knoxville so I could decide which direction to go on the morning of the eclipse to have the best chance of clear skies, choosing Spring City. I arrived around 7AM and had no trouble with traffic then or later when I (and everyong else) left. Spent the day wandering around the little town, got two eclipse t-shirts, did a lot of people watching before the eclipse watching.
Since no one else has mentioned it, I'll add that, since you're choosing a spot that you hope will have clear skies and will probably arrive early and spend a lot of time outside, bring sunblock. Don't leave it all up to the moon.
I'll add that, purely by coincidence as it is a CD I like to listen to on the road, as I approached Spring City I was listening to In the Shadow of the Moon, the score to a documentary about the Apollo missions.
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Well that's fair, so you'd also need to add that point about what "track" means and that totality will be for four minutes somewhere between the times I gave, and please click here to look it up.
So now when Ars fix the article they can take my ideas and yours and fix it even betterer.
I do accept my phrasing missed the vital point about totality. But the current article doesn't go into this at all.
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Yep It's Me
Ars Centurion
Definite not North Dallas. If you're considering that location, drive a little over an hour East to Sulphur Springs, in Hopkins County. At 4m 20.7sec they are going to have one of the best totalities available. They have set up a website for all the details on activities, viewing locations, etc.
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Per my friend who went all the way to Mongolia for a total eclipse:
5) during totality, remove your sunglasses.
5) during totality, remove your sunglasses.
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I got some shade 15 discs to put in brazing goggles. Shade 10 is way too light.
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I can see you're not using a Samsung smartphone. Try one next time, seeing all the craters and the ring at the same time is amazing !!I was in Spring City, TN for the 2017 eclipse, right on the centerline. It was a smaller town chosen specifically to avoid large crowds. My folks and I were on a planned road trip at the time and travelled from southeastern Kentucky. I was anticipating a mess so we left at 6:00am to get there. Surprisingly traffic was totally reasonable. There ended up about 10,000+ people gathered in the town and the eclipse was truly a moment of epiphany.
Used an app called Solar Eclipse Maestro to let my SLR capture all the shots so I could simply enjoy with family and everyone around us.
But yes, traffic getting out of there was horrendous. Took an hour to travel 12 miles. The backroads ended up being faster lol.
Will be in Corsicana, TX for this one. Not quite on the centerline but I chose there on purpose in hopes that crowds won't be as bad as closer to the center. (I could be fantastically wrong.)
(/s)
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