The Eclipse Apocalypse is Upon Us!

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Speed limit+ from Boise to Weiser, but we had to endure FOUR stop signs. Perfectly clear except for the damn chemtrails, but they were out of the way. I thought there would be more stars; the horizon was brighter than I expected. Way cool. At least 2-3x longer getting home (well, that included a McD stop), but not bad.
 
I was just slightly down the road from Dan, Molalla, OR. Clear skies, absolutely fantastic. We got the whole experience, colour shifts, dancing snakes, etc. etc. managed to get a pic or two, posted some in a different thread, but will share a couple here.

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I was just slightly down the road from Dan, Molalla, OR. Clear skies, absolutely fantastic. We got the whole experience, colour shifts, dancing snakes, etc. etc. managed to get a pic or two, posted some in a different thread, but will share a couple here.

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Man!! Your camera takes killer pictures. That looks just like with the naked eye. I gotta get me one of those.
 
Meh. My area was 80% coverage and I noticed nothing different. If I was walking down the street, I would have no idea an eclipse was happening, save for the people with funny glasses and boxes. Unless you are in totality, it is not that big of a deal.

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Here is a video of totality. Not great by any means, but it shows the 360 degree sunset (sunrise?) pretty well. We were on a hilltop just across the highway from my house. Some OROC members might recognize the spot - it is the Silverton FAR 101 launch site.

https://youtu.be/2WxMz_1dMzo
 
On non rocket note - took my family to Lake Barkley KY on our boat to witness the total eclipse. It was by far the coolest natural event that ever witnessed when we took the glasses off for a little over 2 minutes - truly amazing. First picture is a little local Cadiz KY humor, welcome here several times a year for 25 yrs to ride ATVs and boat, so this was funny to us. Many businesses in town have a painted pig in honor of Ham festival, the post office decided to put a cute twist to theirs
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Travel down there was a breeze as I'm very familiar with the area and know the back ways in and out - travel back was another matter as there is really only 2 ways across the Ohio river - so the trip back was pretty bad.

The event - we started on the water about 10:30am it seamed not a sole on the lake - sun was bright and hot, then at about 3/4 coverage we noticed we weren't squinting any more and notice that the screen started to turn slightly peach colored tint. We headed north on the lake towards Eddyville to try and be as close to the middle of totality as we could be. Now there were boats everywhere.
It was interesting how light it still was until only a sliver of the sun remained - then the whole lakes calmed as everyone stopped for 30 minutes or so and as the last of the sun disappeared the whole placed dimmed to twilight in about 5 minutes . As the sun was covered and we took off the glasses - as the lake erupted in cheers and horns then all went silent for about 2 minutes as we all stood there in awe of the view. My phone camera couldn't show the total coverage but it was spectacular to actually look directly at it. That 2 minutes made the entire trip worth it.

This is not my photo but can't talk about the eclipse and not have a photo
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We ate dinner at Lake Barkley lodge to a normal crowd as well and meet 2 people from Puerto Rico that came with students for this and saw them again after the eclipse - really thankful for clear skies!!

We had a lot of nay Sayers... " it's 2 minutes "
...yes but it's what happens in that 2 minutes , well worth - the next path goes directly over my house in 2024, but April weather ?
 
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Aaaaaaaannnnnd, now it's over.
And the news reports that many who were not in the path of totality were underwhelmed. I pity those who waited until the last minute and bought otherwise cheap, disposable protective eyewear at scalper prices.
 
My family and I had fun watching it, and seeing the crescent shadows of the tree leaves. We had one pair of good glasses to share, which my son got from his astronomy club. And my wife made a pinhole projector. Okay, so it wasn't like a day at the beach, but it was still a cool thing to do. I would love to have seen it full on, but not the point at which I'd drive 450 miles to see it. Maybe in seven years we'll schedule vacation around the next one.
 
Just got back from our road trip to Marion, IL (just east of Carbondale). 2 minutes, 27 seconds of totality in unobstructed skies... one of the coolest things I have ever seen in my life! Only negative was traffic on the drive home. People arrived in the area over several days, but EVERYBODY left at exactly the same time. Still worth the drive.

solar eclipse 2017.jpg

solar eclipse 2129.jpg
 
For those who didn't see the totality, ask at your local astronomy club if someone owns one of these and would let you look through it either privately or on a club outreach day:

H-Alpha Solar Telescope

https://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/Solar-Telescopes/pc/1/17.uts

Not an awe inspiring experience like totality, but still very cool. You can see solar prominences and their slow, but noticeable evolution.
 
Saw it in Greenville, SC and all I can say is that it was without a doubt, the COOLEST thing I have ever seen, hands down!!!:)

I definitely plan to see the one in 2024. The path of totality cuts right through the part of upstate NY where I was born and raised. Then in 2045, one will come right through south FL and bring with it 6 minutes, 6 seconds of totality goodness.:)
 
my report:

Holy bloody crap, that was unbelievably cool. Hands down one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.
Sorry doubters and cynics....it truly was stunning.

The drive there ended up being zero problems whatsoever. I faced a 460 mile drive, that was supposed to take about seven hours. Much of this was on a path that was designated as the second largest (and therefore predicted to be the second most congested) "driveshed" in the country. I braced myself for delays and problems and hit the road. Turns out we encountered NO traffic issues whatsoever....clear and smooth sailing all the way. Got there in just about 7 hours. Sweet.

Next came the issue of finding a suitable (and affordable) place to camp/park. Heard and investigated tons of horror stories of every place being booked months (or years) ahead of time, and that legal camping alternatives (if you could even find any) were costing $100, $200, even $350 a night. My original plan was to just commando camp on the side of the road or behind some gas station somewhere, crashing on the floor of the van. But for some reason at the last minute I decided to make a few calls and see if by some stroke of luck I could find a space to reserve. Went on a site on the internet that listed camping possibilities in the area I was shooting for (Idaho Falls/Rexburg region). I figured I would get shut out but said what the heck I'll give it a shot. Hit that "stroke of luck". On the second call I made I got a retired couple that was letting folks camp on their property in Rigby......just a nondescript 4 acres in mostly farm country. She said she had room, was super nice, and told me it would be $50. I told her I'd take it. When I got there it was perfect......flat area but with some nice grass a few trees....just two other couples there.....porta-pottie......nice dogs (and pet rabbits).......all good. The retired couple in question were way nice, made coffee for everyone, had spare filter glasses.....again it was pretty much perfect.

Woke up in the morning to simply ideal viewing conditions.....totally clear sky, nice temps, views to the horizons, etc. There was a small bit of haze from wildfires in the air, but honestly it made absolutely no difference when looking straight up (which of course where the eclipse was happening at 11:30am). The only place you could even detect the haze was looking in the distance to the horizons. For our purposes, the sky was dead clear.

So, the eclipse itself. No words to actually describe it so I won't even try. But it honestly was stunning beyond belief. I've looked at a bunch of "excellent" photos and videos posted online this morning and they were NOTHING like what was really going on. Someone here said that what they saw wasn't as spectacular as the shot I posted earlier (post #30). Weird, because what I saw made that picture look weak in comparison. For all the hype and excitement I had beforehand, I was truly unprepared for how amazing it actually was. One of the most incredible two minutes and fourteen seconds of my life.

So, there's gotta be some bad news right? Yep, the drive home was awful in the extreme. All the traffic horror predictions finally came true. Took five hours to cover the first 60 miles. The total drive home was almost fourteen hours long. Got home past 3:00am. Far and away the worst traffic nightmare I've ever been in. Awful, awful, awful.

But wow, seeing that corona.......worth it without question.
s6
 
I cannot tell a lie, it was pretty dang cool, and I was skeptical about it. I live only 40 miles s of Idaho Falls. Exiting traffic is STILL filtering down I-15
 
My family and I had fun watching it, and seeing the crescent shadows of the tree leaves. We had one pair of good glasses to share, which my son got from his astronomy club. And my wife made a pinhole projector. Okay, so it wasn't like a day at the beach, but it was still a cool thing to do. I would love to have seen it full on, but not the point at which I'd drive 450 miles to see it. Maybe in seven years we'll schedule vacation around the next one.
Yes...that would be the lighting effect caused by the gaps between leaves acting as a pin hole camera lens....I recall seeing those back during the eclipse of 1971 ...walking through the woods on the way back from SATs at my high school.
When I told a guy at work about this lighting phenomena prior to the eclipse, he said...1971..yeah....the drugs were pretty good back then huh? LOL.

So I took pictures in the courtyard during the eclipse of the pin hole crescents of light through the leaves on the pavement.
All the proof I needed....wasn't my imagination.
 
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Yes...that would be the lighting effect caused by the gaps between leaves acting as a pin hole camera lens....I recall seeing those back during the eclipse of 1971 ...walking through the woods on the way back from SATs at my high school.


When I told a guy at work about this lighting phenomena prior to the eclipse, he said..."1971..yeah....the drugs were pretty good back then huh?"
LOL.

So I took pictures in the courtyard during the eclipse of the pin hole crescents of light through the leaves on the pavement.
All the proof I needed....wasn't my imagination.

Everyone is so captivated looking up - oftentimes it goes unnoticed.
The effect is often subtle...the 2012 eclipse picture is very noticeable.effect

eclipse 20171.jpg

eclipse 2017 2.jpg

eclipse 2012.jpg
 
OK in Cincinnati. Finally have the pictures. :)
Photo Credit: my brother.
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See the Crescents on the patio. Didn't get very dark, but it looked kinda weird outside. I spent about an hour & a half watching it. BTW, those pictures of the sun are through the glasses.
Thanks,
 
My experience was similar to Stealth's. Instead of going towards Rigby/Rexburg area from near Idaho Falls we continued north to a little town called Roberts, ID. There was a small country gas station/cafe with several nearby open lots and lots of empty parking space. Cost was zero. The line in the gas station for the bath rooms was long, but the coffee was good.

The total eclipse was spectacular! Any kind of partial eclipse is nothing compared to totality.

Going back towards Utah I ran into the same traffic jam as Stealth. It took only about 1 hour to go north from Fort Hall to Roberts, ID on the morning of eclipse. Going back south the same distance took 3.5 hours with almost bumper-to-bumper traffic. At Fort Hall we decided to get off I-15 and stay overnight at a hotel. The next day traffic was much better.
 
I was up at 7,000ft on top of Crystal Mountain, a ski resort here in the Cascades just a couple of miles from Mt Rainier. While we only had 96% totality, it was well worth it. Part of me wishes we had driven a couple of hours south into Oregon, but I am very happy with what I saw. While I had my camera with me, I didn't buy a solar filter for it, as I wanted to mainly photograph the human side of the eclipse.

_DSC4823A WM.jpg _DSC4864A WM.jpg _DSC4865A WM.jpg _DSC4893A WM.jpg _DSC4906A WM.jpg

the whole gallery can be viewed here: https://www.hullaeroimages.com/p829808532

At 96%, it didnt get too dark, but it got dark like the sun was starting to set, and the corresponding drop in temperature... Man, it must have been about 10 degrees at the elevation we were at.

I hope to be in Texas for the one in seven years!
 
I have to agree with how s6 described it. No words, really.

We stayed overnight last night at our camp at the Madras, OR airport with a handful of others in our "quadrant" of the area - everyone else bolted (and got hung up) leaving yesterday.

Many of the horror stories did not come true. There was a mountain of bottled water and full ice freezers at the Safeway in Madras Tuesday morning. They (and other stations in town) also had gas - no problem.

We killed a couple of hours at the Erickson air museum - most of the collection used to be in Tillamook, OR. Then we visited the local distiller which was nearby. Neat little operation and some amazing tasting.

Then on to the return home. We took some creative routes to avoid the traffic backups that were showing on Apple Maps and the ODOT web page and were mostly successful in avoiding the stop and go stuff....but it still took us quite awhile to get home.

Totally worth it. Now I see why some people chase these things. We may have to join them as a retirement project....
 
The ISS photobombed the eclipse:

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I saw this pic. VERY cool.
Didn't see the ISS myself, but I did see those sunspots (with 10x binoculars).

s6

I had 20 x 80 binoculars and saw the same sunspots including the 2 sunspots at the bottom, but I missed the ISS.

You had to be both in the path of the eclipse and the path of the transit.

[video=youtube;lepQoU4oek4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lepQoU4oek4[/video]
 
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