Total Eclipse of the sun, August 21

[azbackpackr]

I happen to live in the path of totality. I will be able to see it from my yard, or just walk down my dirt road to a field where there are fewer huge trees to get a better view.

I hear that the Oregon transportation department expects the roadways to resemble a giant parking lot during the event. The reason is that the path of totality is south of Portland and north of Eugene. (The path of totality goes through the state capital of Salem.) So, people in the two major population centers, the ones who didn't plan ahead, will be driving to try to see it at the last minute. This is not recommended!

Of course, other states will have the experience, including Wyoming, Nebraska, Kentucky and South Carolina.

Campgrounds and lodgings along the path of totality have been booked for months.

[Dschur]

Had my portable Solar telescope at work and showed a lot of people the eclipse in Scottsdale... got to see some cool solar prominences and a couple of sunspots too..

[Hansenaz]

It was great!

congrats!

[Digital_Sherpa]

IMO, the clouds early on made for a more interesting event. Here was my view from the booming metropolis of Gilbert...

[neilends]

I took a 360 of the Arizona Eclipse!

Translation: I took a 360 of a bunch of clouds moving over Arizona!

(Must view on desktop of the Vimeo app for the 360 effect):

https://vimeo.com/230488294

[amy1300]

@neilends

Haha - That's pretty much what it looked like at my house, too -- by the time the clouds moved off, the sun was back!

[Dschur]

My husband view from Payson.

[hoopshiker]

@Dschur He was one of the best teachers I ever had. Great Guy. He's still missed by his former students.

[chumley]

On the news last night an anchor said we may not see another one in the US until 2044.

I hope today is as exciting as this report from 2017!

[big_load]

On the news last night an anchor said we may not see another one in the US until 2044.

Is the anchor hedging on the possibility of unforeseen orbital disturbances in the next 20 years? Or just worried somebody could have made a math error and they all ran with it?

[Jim]

@big_load
Yeah, you would think astronomers can calculate eclispes over at least the next 100 years, with extremely high accuracy. Ancient people were able to predict them, with out computers and whatnot, I think we can, too.

[Hansenaz]

I notice this old topic has been bumped-up but no posts yet regarding Apr8 eclipse. OK I'll bite.

I went to Texas. Changed from my Kerrville plan to Llano (65mi NE) at the last minute because of better cloud cover prediction (60-80% vs 80-100%).

Had a good time and my cheap 10yo superzoom camera with $30 solar filter did good. Proof: my pic vs NASA. [ image ]

More to the story here [ youtube video ]

[TooOld2Hike_EP]

Similar: From home, we planned for Junction, TX, which, historically, had minimum cloud cover.

The night before, based on cloud cover forecasts, changed plans to Lake Buchanan, thinking the cool air from the lake might make a hole in the clouds. (Have seen that effect while flying.)

So to Llano.

At the Sonic Drive-In at Llano, a few miles west of the Lake, with increasing cloud cover, looked at near real-time cloud cover satellite images. (I found a website that was showing 5 minute images.) North was better. So North to San Saba.

The sky was looking good at San Saba. But time in Totality was short there. Realizing that Totality time rapidly increased the more east we were toward centerline, we drove a few miles east. With less than an hour to go, crossed the Colorado River and saw an empty Historic Marker site alongside the road. Parked, set up and relaxed. It started clouding up, but we were blessed to have a cloud move out of the way just before Totality. We saw the entire eclipse unobstructed. (We were able to see the prominence.)

[big_load]

@TooOld2Hike_qm
Junction looked better on the real-time weather maps than where I was (Concan). We got frequent small breaks in the clouds, so I don't feel like I missed anything. Also, about 30 of my relatives were there, so it wouldn't have been a bust even if we didn't get a peek.

[Alston_Neal]

@Hansenaz
Yeah cool, but did you find any petros?

[Hansenaz]

@Alston_Neal
Before the trip I did a little internet scouting but didn't settle on a worthwhile stop ...had to get back for assistant babysitter duties.

[TooOld2Hike_EP]

Saw signs about "The Pecos Trail" at one of the Rest Stops. Thought it might be a backpacking trail, something like the AT, CDT, etc. But couldn't find anything on my other app or on MapDex once home. What is "The Pecos Trail"?

[LindaAnn]

@TooOld2Hike_qm
If it’s the same Pecos Trail that runs thru Midland, it’s just a big loop of highways that goes thru west TX. Driving route, I think it’s like 1000 miles, covering the history of the area. Tourist thing.

[TooOld2Hike_EP]

@LindaAnn
That seems to fit the context of the signage I read at the Rest Stops. (One is supposed to visit a large pool that's fed by a spring, go see dinosaur footprints, etc.)

[Hansenaz]

@chumley
That's hilarious. I think Shep's meds were a little off that day.