What are YOUR plans for the upcoming Solar Eclipse?

teddytoot said:

When we had a total eclipse down in the west country in 1999 we were able to buy cheap cardboard sunglasses with dark plastic "lenses" for looking at the sun. We took our caravan down to Cornwall to see it and had an unforgettable view. It was especially sweet as we had to accept our second choice of site and as it turned out our first choice was obscured by clouds and people saw nothing

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That is the risk with eclipses; clouds, poor weather, etc. Many travelled to the best spots in Australia last year and some copped clouds.

We don't get to see it here, nonetheless the Great American Eclipse and the path of totality will be gobsmacking news.

I will be watching Space Weather News, that will give an idea of the state of the Sun, coronal holes, sunspots and CME's before, during, and after.


Great American Eclipse: https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/

and Astronomy.com: http://www.astronomy.com/great-american-eclipse-2017

and ANOTHER site: http://www.eclipse2017.org/2017/american.htm

and NASA

butler57 said:

I will be in bed counting sheep (or long coal train wagons) as it will be night in the southern hemisphere - enjoy the experience guys.

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Actually you really meant that it will be night in your time zone. In the part of the southern hemisphere directly below Nth America it will still be daylight - sorry but that is the result of a lifetime in Science correcting scientific errors.

During a solar eclipse I hide in the deepest cellar I can find while wearing my trusty tin hat until the sky dragon has released the Sun from its evil embrace.

pware said:

Actually you really meant that it will be night in your time zone. In the part of the southern hemisphere directly below Nth America it will still be daylight - sorry but that is the result of a lifetime in Science correcting scientific errors.

During a solar eclipse I hide in the deepest cellar I can find while wearing my trusty tin hat until the sky dragon has released the Sun from its evil embrace.

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I stand corrected! And I will wear my alfoil homemade skull cap to stop any radiation beams reaching an already over stressed cortex!!

I wonder where the orbit of the International Space Station will be during the eclipse. If advantageously oriented it could get some photos showing the moons shadow on the surface of the earth.

BTW - the Persids meteor shower is tonight (or I think its tonight) so don't go to bed without your umbrella. :hehe:

Ben

I won't be doing anything, besides completing my construction of a bomb fallout shelter ... as tubby the Tubster - Kimmy is going to blow the world away with his missiles, just days prior to the eclipse

I'll stay inside because just like any other astronomical event, which happens once in a lifetime for us, it will probably be pouring out and be so cloudy we'll never know the event took place.

Just like tonight too with the meteor shower. We can't see a thing as usual every year!

bendorsey said:

I have a large telescope and I can not for the life of me make my neighbors understand why I am not going to use it to view the eclipse.
What part of "if the concentration of light from the sun doesn't melt the lenses in the eyepiece the fact that that same concentrated light will boil your eyeball" don't they understand.

I'm about 60 miles from the zone of totality but considering the absolute traffic jam that will ensue I think I'll stay home, watch it on TV, and look at all the photos in the next issue of Astronomy Magazine (a great mag even if it isn't about trains).

A total solar eclipse isn't a once in a life time event if you can afford to travel but if you are going to stand in your back yard for the next one it might be a several hundred year wait, lol.

Ben

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Hi Ben
Hope you're doing well, old buddy!
Sorry, but I can't help but laugh at the bold statement --- So your neightbor's want u to look though yout big telescopes into the sun? LOL .... Are they nutz?


U take care, be safe
Ish

teddytoot said:

When we had a total eclipse down in the west country in 1999 we were able to buy cheap cardboard sunglasses with dark plastic "lenses" for looking at the sun. We took our caravan down to Cornwall to see it and had an unforgettable view. It was especially sweet as we had to accept our second choice of site and as it turned out our first choice was obscured by clouds and people saw nothing

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I trecked to Cornwall to experience totality, which was impressive as the temperature noticeably dropped and instant dusk appeared for a couple of minutes. However, people back in London got a good view of the partial eclipse, I saw naff all due to cloud cover.

Still, to get a green and pleasant land takes lots of rain

Yeah - ya need to keep a close eyeball on the weather.

I think one of the more interesting things that can happen from close to the middle of the area of totality is if you were on a high hill with an unobstructed view in all directions. You would be in the darkness but could see a ring of light completely around you from the areas just outside the area of totality. Say 50 or so miles away. The circle of darkness isn't big . Its an ellipse roughly 75 by 120 miles (according to all the maps and diagrams in Astronomy Magazine). It isn't totally dark either. Not like being at the bottom of a 200 ft deep well at midnight on a night with no moon and heavily overcast. More like a normal night just before is gets really dark. The totality shadow also moves quite fast. In Oregon its around 2365 MPH, around Nashville, TN its down to about 1450 MPH, then when it exits the continental US in South Carolina its up to 1456 MPH. So don't blink, lol. Still its something that should not be missed if opportunity allows you to observe.

Almost forgot:
The next one in the US is in April of 2024 on an angle from Durango, Mexico to Nova Scotia, Canada.
After that its August of 2044 and its only visible from a small segment of northeastern Montana and a tiny segment of North Dakota.
However in August of 2045 a long term one occurs in the US best seen from Port St. Lucie, Florida where the totality will last slightly over 6 minutes.
In March of 2052 one occurs but only seen in Florida and Georgia.
Then its May of 2052 best seen from Nags head, North Carolina for 5 min 17 seconds.
That's it for this century (in the US).

Better watch this one folks.

Ben

I have no plans. If anything, I will be looking forward to what NASA and others post online. I'm sure there's going to be live feeds and recordings.

I can't imagine there won't be all day coverage on considerably more then one channel (probably too darn many channels).

Ben

bendorsey said:

I can't imagine there won't be all day coverage on considerably more then one channel (probably too darn many channels).

Ben

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Science Channel (Owned by the same company as Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, etc.) will be covering the eclipse.

Everybody's buying eclipse glass's ... Who wants to look directly at the sun anyway ?

Decades later you will find that the supposed certified dark film, was not quite dark enough, and you will have permanent eye problems

Make a pinhole box, and see it safely, projected on the back wall of the box

At 3:30 PM your $5.99 eclipse glass's will be on sale for 2 cents

Just cause they are certified safe, doesn't mean that you can lay on a pool floatie, and stare directly at the sun for an hour, dumbass's

Looking like 50% of US will be cloudy.

The rain date for the eclipse will be ... ?

I want my eclipse glass's money back !

Considering the outrageous price gouging and traffic jams (which are already occuring) I'm happy to stay home and watch it on the Boob Toob, lol.

Ben

I'm gonna' watch it at night ... after the crowds subside

N Korea is flooding the market with fake eclipse glass's, that don't work

I've made a pinhole box and a couple of pinhole cards. I'll take them into work on Monday and if management does not get in a snit about it, some of us will go out in the parking lot for a few minutes in the afternoon and check things out.

ABC News: "This is, and will be, the largest traffic jam in US history"

I did something as a child, with a pinhole box, or a pinhole card, combined with a magnifying glass, and projected the sun's image on a shady spot under my tree ... I also used a cheap pair of binoculars turned backwards, to project the sun's image on a cardboard ... But be forewarned, it can start a brush, leaf fire ... Then we went back to gleefully burning red ants with the magnifying glass, and setting things on fire with the sun

I'm gonna' watch the eclipse on TV ... live coverage from several cities ...

You can simulate it by looking at a light bulb, and taking a tennis ball and eclipsing the light bulb

Or you can wait until 9 PM, and get a view of what 100% totality is like ... and hold up a lamp, and look at the light bulb, and taking a tennis ball and eclipsing the light bulb outside at night ... or you can do this with the moon ... which requires no dark safety glass's