wh500special 2,184 #1 Posted February 4 (edited) I haven't seen anything posted about this, so thought I'd make a reminder: There is a total eclipse coming through North America on April 8 of this year. I strongly urge you to make plans to see it. It enters the USA in Texas and exits in Maine crossing through Little Rock, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Burlington passing right over a bunch of you along the way. If you are in the path, or even near the path, I encourage you to take the time to witness this event. A solar eclipse happens when the moon travels directly between the sun and the earth. The size of our moon and our distance from the sun is perfectly matched up so that the moon just barely blocks out the sun on these special days without overlapping the sun so much that you can't still see the glowing corona behind the moon. It's a pretty special arrangement that wouldn't exist if things were just a little different and/or if we weren't at this particular time in the age of our solar system. Most of us have seen the partial eclipse phenomena at least a few times in our lives. We look at the crescent or PacMan image of the partially covered sun from a pinhole projector or in diffraction patterns from the leaves on the ground and it is pretty neat. But full eclipses don't usually come around all that often in any one person's lifetime so they are pretty special. If you "think" you've seen a full eclipse before and were unimpressed I assure you that you did not in fact actually see it. In a matter of seconds it goes from daylight to dark. And then the reverse is true at the end of the totality period. It's not a gradual darkening like sunset or sunrise, it's pretty close to what you'd expect to see if someone flipped a switch and turned off the sun. The difference between 99% coverage of the sun and 100% coverage is LITERALLY that of daylight versus darkness. Make sure your vantage point is within the PATH OF TOTALITY, otherwise you'll miss it. It's hard to emphasize how important this little detail is and I still haven't been able to convince the people I work with who missed it but "think" they saw it. We had one roll through about 7 years ago and it was amazing. Discussed HERE . I've been eagerly waiting for this one since then. Although this one doesn't fly right over my house just outside St. Louis it does come pretty close. In fact it crosses the path of the one from 2017 not too far south of me where hoards of people are expected to gather so they can say they saw two from the same vantage point. If you miss this one you'll have to wait until 2044 for the next one that comes to the USA. Mark your calendars for April 8th and cross your fingers for good weather. Order your protective glasses now. Pack the car and drive if you have to. Do what you can to see it. Steve Edited February 5 by wh500special 5 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squonk 41,118 #2 Posted February 4 Yup goes right over us. We had one a few years back. It was a perfect day and it sure got weird looking outside for a few minutes. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SylvanLakeWH 25,561 #3 Posted February 4 I'm in the 95% area... better then my typical grades in high school so i'm good... 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 38,178 #4 Posted February 4 Looks like I'm also in the 95% zone. How can I forget the date? April 8, 1967 my first son was born. 3 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beap52 811 #5 Posted February 5 We drove to north Missouri to see the last eclipse. Clouds moved in and obscured our experiencing the eclipse but we still enjoyed meeting up with friends and a good cook out. Maybe we'll head east this time. Thanks for the heads up. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rick3478 428 #6 Posted February 5 Last one through was partial and the weather sucked, this time I'm in totality about four or five minutes. Too early to know what the weather will be, but I've got my metallized glasses. A big clearing in the woods is probably where I'll be if it don't rain. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oliver2-44 9,753 #7 Posted February 5 I’m in the 100% line. Here a large ranch advertising camping spots for a Eclipse party. They say they already have reservations for 5000. Another Woodstock? Local County authorities are expecting 50,000 between our area to San Antonio. I’ve though about renting $$ out the RV electric connection on my drive way. Any Red Square members looking for a spot? 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red-Bovine 309 #8 Posted February 5 We reserved a spot on a golf course near Carbondale, Il. in 2017. There were only a few takers at this sight. We had some cloud cover about 15 minutes before totality, but it cleared giving us a great view. All the Weather channel people and scientists that flocked to the college in Carbondale got the clouds. Plan on being somewhere for this year's eclipse. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red-Bovine 309 #9 Posted February 5 Here's a pic of the eclipse from my phone and our setup to view. had some binocs with solar filters and our 10" Meade with solar filter. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wh500special 2,184 #10 Posted February 5 9 hours ago, Red-Bovine said: We reserved a spot on a golf course near Carbondale, Il. in 2017. There were only a few takers at this sight. We had some cloud cover about 15 minutes before totality, but it cleared giving us a great view. All the Weather channel people and scientists that flocked to the college in Carbondale got the clouds. Plan on being somewhere for this year's eclipse. Weather permitting, you can go back to the Carbondale area again and see it from the same spot. That happens to be the intersection point of the paths of the 2017 and this year's eclipse. The college there is Souithern Illinois University at Carbondale. SIUC. Go Salukis! Steve 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davem1111 2,030 #11 Posted February 6 We are almost exactly in the center of the 100% path. Already have our glasses. We are thinking about renting RV/campsite space here in our field. Not set up to provide power or septic but we have an outhouse. If anyone is looking for a place to watch it from, let me know. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red-Bovine 309 #12 Posted February 7 We'll be watching the weather and may give you a shout out when the time comes. Wouldn't be camping, just need a spot during the eclipse for a few hours before. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,506 #13 Posted February 7 Got this link in my news feed a few minutes ago. Figured some of you might get a kick out of it. https://www.livescience.com/space/the-sun/april-8-total-solar-eclipse-the-best-places-to-stargaze-near-the-path-of-totality 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wh500special 2,184 #14 Posted April 3 Other discussions have eclipsed this one since we brought it up in February so I thought it was time to let the sun shine on it again. We’re about a week away. Still hoping for good weather so the 1800 mph shadow is as dramatic as possible for those in the path. I’m over the moon with excitement! Steve 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,506 #15 Posted April 3 3 minutes ago, wh500special said: Other discussions have eclipsed this one since we brought it up in February so I thought it was time to let the sun shine on it again. We’re about a week away. Still hoping for good weather so the 1800 mph shadow is as dramatic as possible for those in the path. I’m over the moon with excitement! Steve Well played sir Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oliver2-44 9,753 #16 Posted April 3 (edited) Going straight over where I live. Burnet County has a population or 52,000 and is expecting an influx of 50,000 to 70,000 people. A very large ranch is holding a 3 day festival. The County restricted them to 30,000 tickets down from their initial plans of 50,000 tickets. They are sold out. It’s down a 2 lane paved road with no shoulders. Rattle snakes should be out of their winter hibernation dens. They will be moving, being hungry from hibernating. I’m thinking Eclipse-Woodstock. There are a couple of festivals planned in the Texas Hill Country. Current weather forecast call for overcast and rain showers Sunday and Monday. Edited April 3 by oliver2-44 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 55,234 #17 Posted April 3 Franklin NC was in the center of the path about seven years ago, Every motel and B&B for miles around was sold out. The wife and I used a couple of welding helmets to observe it. When it started getting dark rapidly the birds were going crazy then total silence for several minutes. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 38,178 #18 Posted April 3 57 minutes ago, 953 nut said: I used a couple of welding helmets August 2017 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peter lena 8,629 #19 Posted April 3 @wh500special would be very careful with eye protection , the damage done is BEHIND THE EYE , having had a series of eyeball injections , for double vision , it will show up later in life , think welding helmet @Ed Kennell idea is good . search around on the protection . pete Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
