2017 Solar Eclipse

[US 89]

We were able to use xray film to see the eclipse. Here in Orlando we had 88% coverage. No afternoon thunderstorms thankfully.. No one went blind

Just for the record, immediate blindness is not the only possible damage that looking at the sun can cause. Most people with sun-damaged retinas only find out later on.

I know.  Like everything else on the news... Lots if hype.

LGMS428

What he's saying is that even though you guys are OK right now, there's a real possibility that at some point in the future you guys might all develop vision problems that could be traced back to your viewing the solar eclipse without proper eye protection.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

So I watched the sunset, and if there was any eclipse it was minimal. The last readily visible eclipse in my area was the Spring equinox one in 2015, which I wasn't able to see directly. Two big events will occur in my area in the mid-to-late 20s, both at sunset: A total eclipse on August 12, 2026 and an annular one on January 26, 2028. And between them, over 80% of the Sun will be obscured on August 2, 2027 (which will be a total eclipse crossing the Strait of Gibraltar). Of course, in the USA there will be eclipses on different dates: October 14, 2023 for an annular one, and April 8, 2024 for a total one.

[jwolfer]

We were able to use xray film to see the eclipse. Here in Orlando we had 88% coverage. No afternoon thunderstorms thankfully.. No one went blind

Just for the record, immediate blindness is not the only possible damage that looking at the sun can cause. Most people with sun-damaged retinas only find out later on.

I know.  Like everything else on the news... Lots if hype.

LGMS428

What he's saying is that even though you guys are OK right now, there's a real possibility that at some point in the future you guys might all develop vision problems that could be traced back to your viewing the solar eclipse without proper eye protection.

Thanks mom.. Was it the eclipse? or many days on the beach or boat without proper sunglasses?

That one can of coca cola is gonna give you type 2 diabetes mellitus some day.

That 1 really bad sunburn is gonna give you melanoma when you are 75

Pregnant woman having 1 beer will cause fetal alcohol syndrome

YES I KNOW THERE WERE RISKS GLANCING UP AT THE ELCLIPSE.  But the media went into full hype mode.

I am not a moron. I understood the risks even before cntrl+alt+delete reminded me. And thank you for clarifying what the previous poster meant... I had no idea.

LGMS428

[Roadgeekteen]

Eclipse was very cool.

[hotdogPi]

Eclipse was very cool.

Were you in the path of totality? I wasn't (I was at home), but it was still cool.

[jeffandnicole]

We were able to use xray film to see the eclipse. Here in Orlando we had 88% coverage. No afternoon thunderstorms thankfully.. No one went blind

Just for the record, immediate blindness is not the only possible damage that looking at the sun can cause. Most people with sun-damaged retinas only find out later on.

I know.  Like everything else on the news... Lots if hype.

LGMS428

What he's saying is that even though you guys are OK right now, there's a real possibility that at some point in the future you guys might all develop vision problems that could be traced back to your viewing the solar eclipse without proper eye protection.

If we have viewing problems in the future, it's probably going to be due to trying to read teeny-tiny print on tenny-tiny cell phones endlessly.

[Roadgeekteen]

Eclipse was very cool.

Were you in the path of totality? I wasn't (I was at home), but it was still cool.

No, the eclipes was 60%.

[CtrlAltDel]

We were able to use xray film to see the eclipse. Here in Orlando we had 88% coverage. No afternoon thunderstorms thankfully.. No one went blind

Just for the record, immediate blindness is not the only possible damage that looking at the sun can cause. Most people with sun-damaged retinas only find out later on.

I know.  Like everything else on the news... Lots if hype.

LGMS428

What he's saying is that even though you guys are OK right now, there's a real possibility that at some point in the future you guys might all develop vision problems that could be traced back to your viewing the solar eclipse without proper eye protection.

Thanks mom.. Was it the eclipse? or many days on the beach or boat without proper sunglasses?

That one can of coca cola is gonna give you type 2 diabetes mellitus some day.

You seem to be reacting like I'm treating you like a child, and I apologize for coming across that way. My objective was only to point out that "not being immediately blinded" is not the same as "no eye damage," which you appeared to be suggesting.

In any case, "looking at the sun without protection" and "having a single can of Coca-Cola" are not quite the same thing from a risk standpoint. Optometrists and ophthalmologists can and have shown that damage to the eye can occur after even short-term direct viewing of a single eclipse. It leaves a particular sort of impression on the retina that other sorts of damage doesn't, whether or not that damage is immediately perceptible.

All in all, it doesn't really matter. If your eyes have been damaged, there's nothing you can do.

[cjk374]

My wife got some eclipse glasses from her boss. I told her to save them for the 2024 eclipse, but she said they were only good for 3 years. They look like New Years el cheapo party glasses.

[amroad17]

It was 90% totality in Cincinnati.  However, I thought it would be a bit darker than it actually was.  It just dimmed a little bit around here.  Powerful star we survive with!

[xcellntbuy]

We had 96% coverage in middle Georgia.  Eerie shadows and shade on a largely clear day.  Productivity plunged during the eclipse at my workplace.

[mgk920]

My wife got some eclipse glasses from her boss. I told her to save them for the 2024 eclipse, but she said they were only good for 3 years. They look like New Years el cheapo party glasses.

I might get a #14 (minimum recommended for direct solar viewing) glass welding helmet replacement insert before the predicted 2024 one.  Afterwards of this one (about 80% coverage here in Appleton, WI - and we lucked out on weather!  The weather guys were predicting cloudy for us, but the sky cleared at about 11am.    ), someone showed me the welding glass helmet insert that they bought several days earlier from a local industrial supply house, they paid about $6 for it.

As it was, the sunglasses that I got for free from NASA at EAA Airventure in Oshkosh, WI about a month ago worked very well.      Interestingly, the next day, I caught an image of President Trump viewing the eclipse from the south balcony of the White House (partial there) while wearing a set of those very same NASA sunglasses.

Mike

[Desert Man]

I had to share this...on today's Facebook feed. At least my children weren't stuck on the computer, TV or some video game consule on Monday. No Pokemon Go, just look at Dad's eclipse box, it didn't cost anything to make.

https://scontent-lax3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/20915219_1678607332198392_6508980323698878547_n.jpg?oh=de5fe0975b06c3a62245692dbc16c865&oe=5A15511D

[1995hoo]

I had to share this...on today's Facebook feed. At least my children weren't stuck on the computer, TV or some video game consule on Monday. ....

http://youtu.be/tbUrDRba9Ys

[SSOWorld]

It was 90% totality in Cincinnati.  However, I thought it would be a bit darker than it actually was.  It just dimmed a little bit around here.  Powerful star we survive with!

Sunlight is powerful.  It does not get dark until nearly all of the disk is covered.

[CtrlAltDel]

It was 90% totality in Cincinnati.  However, I thought it would be a bit darker than it actually was.  It just dimmed a little bit around here.  Powerful star we survive with!

Sunlight is powerful.  It does not get dark until nearly all of the disk is covered.

It doesn't even get all that dark when the entire disk is covered. Although, if I understand correctly, the path of totality for this eclipse was a bit narrower than usual. If the path were wider, then the shadow of the moon would be bigger, and that might make things a bit darker in other cases than what happened here.

[renegade]

Looked rather awesome from my vantage point in Spring City, Tennessee ... we were exactly on the centerline.

[empirestate]

 Just curiously, is there anyone who DID view the eclipse from the path of totality and feels it wasn't worth it, due to traffic or other hassles?


iPhone

[1995hoo]

From the Washington Post's weather department:

http://twitter.com/capitalweather/status/900538096630067201

[cjk374]

From the Washington Post's weather department:

http://twitter.com/capitalweather/status/900538096630067201

Stupid is as stupid does. 

[sparker]

From the Washington Post's weather department:

http://twitter.com/capitalweather/status/900538096630067201

Interesting that the attribution needed to unequivocally state that this wasn't something from the Onion.  Guess that satire publication's reach and reputation (and penchant for some of the funniest "fake news" around) has reached a level that any reports of outlandish incidents or behavior needs to so qualify their veracity! 

[Bruce]

From the Washington Post's weather department:

http://twitter.com/capitalweather/status/900538096630067201

Interesting that the attribution needed to unequivocally state that this wasn't something from the Onion.  Guess that satire publication's reach and reputation (and penchant for some of the funniest "fake news" around) has reached a level that any reports of outlandish incidents or behavior needs to so qualify their veracity! 

Or because it's a popular subreddit.

[hbelkins]

Looked rather awesome from my vantage point in Spring City, Tennessee ... we were exactly on the centerline.

I was close to there. At the boat ramp across from the Watts Bar nuke plant. Spring City was an absolute cluster foxtrot traffic-wise. We left the boat ramp parking area shortly after totality ended, and found that the Spring City police and Rhea County sheriff deputies were absolutely incompetent in directing traffic. They had some lanes closed on US 27 without any warning, bottling up traffic. No one was directing traffic at the southern TN 68 intersection, and at the northern intersection, they would stop traffic just to let one vehicle turn left off the loop from the overpass onto southbound US 27. The police officers were making traffic worse, not better, by the way they were directing traffic.

My wife got some eclipse glasses from her boss. I told her to save them for the 2024 eclipse, but she said they were only good for 3 years. They look like New Years el cheapo party glasses.

Why would they only be good for three years? I've heard that about some of the other glasses that were distributed (the ones I got did not say that). It doesn't make sense that they wouldn't work in the 2024 eclipse if they are undamaged.

[Rothman]

Got my shade 14 welding goggles.  It's all good.

[adventurernumber1]

The solar eclipse was an amazing scientific sight, but in the end the experience wasn't quite as magnificent as I expected for several reasons. First of all, I completely agree that the difference between 99% and 100% totality is the difference between a microchip and a jet plane. Even though it wasn't 100% where I was (Dalton, Georgia), I thought that 99% (where we were at) was close enough for it to still get very dark. I was very wrong. It was still mesmerizing, but I was just a tad bit disappointed due to my very high expectations. And by the way, how I witnessed the eclipse was that I still went to school all day (getting out 30 minutes later due to the event), but my school let us out to observe during the bulk of the phenomenon. Second of all, I actually missed the peak (the closest we got to totality) for those entire few minutes. The reason was because, as a result of my wonderful luck, there were about 5 yellow-jackets snapping at my eclipse goggles the entire time, and they did so in such a vigorous manner that it was completely impossible for me to put them on and look up at the sight during the peak. That was literally happening non-stop for a few minutes, and that fate was precisely staged during just when the eclipse was at its peak in our area. I was actually able to look up wearing my eclipse glasses to see just about all of the other stages, but I was not fortunate enough to see the biggest part because of those stupid yellow-jackets. I am a man who is often plagued by bad luck, so it isn't such a rare occurrence, and I have no choice but to accept it. I am glad I got to view what I did get to see, and that right there was pretty cool. Given that I was in an area with 99% totality, I know the peak wouldn't have been even miles near the beloved sight those of you saw in 100% totality, but I was still saddened by my unlucky fate. The 2024 solar eclipse is less of a likelihood of me getting to see it, due to my location (northwest GA), but I will manage.