Solar eclipse 2017

[Rothman]

I was right at the point of greatest eclipse (Cerulean, KY). It was astounding.


iPhone

My parents were in an Amish farmer's field there.  Paid $25 for the privilege.

I settled for a few seconds less in Tennessee...without the traffic (took them 9 hours to get to Winchester!).

[citrus]

I heard from several friends that it took around 7-8 hours to drive from Idaho Falls to Salt Lake City, usually a 3 hour drive.

Yeah, my brother-in-law was catching a flight in Salt Lake after the eclipse, after 8pm, and missed it.
I traveled to Rexburg for the eclipse, but no time for a road trip - booked flights in and out of Idaho Falls Regional Airport. And it still took 1:15 to drive from Rexburg down to Idaho Falls.

[Alps]

Seriously, I had all my photos taken after about 90 seconds. The rest was just gravy.

[Desert Man]

The Jul 22, 2009 TSE over Iwo Jima island (Japan), site of a historic battle during WW2 (my maternal grandpa, a Marine, was in the battle, but based in on a ship on the beach), this eclipse had the longest totality in the 21st century so far (every 18 years, the moon in apogee/perigee-not sure, can be the longest like 5-7 minutes in greatest duration).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l78Y_WeTLY0

[Beltway]

The Jul 22, 2009 TSE over Iwo Jima island (Japan), site of a historic battle during WW2 (my maternal grandpa, a Marine, was in the battle, but based in on a ship on the beach), this eclipse had the longest totality in the 21st century so far (every 18 years, the moon in apogee/perigee-not sure, can be the longest like 5-7 minutes in greatest duration).

The orbits of the Moon around the Earth, and the Earth around the Sun, are not completely circular, so the apparent size of the Moon and Sun can vary considerably as viewed from the Earth.  About 56% of eclipses are annular, meaning that the apparent size of the Moon is less than that of Sun.

The longest historical total eclipse lasted 7 minutes 28 seconds on June 15, 744BC. The longest eclipse theoretically possible for the 3rd millennium is 7 minutes and 32 seconds.

[Duke87]

The longest historical total eclipse lasted 7 minutes 28 seconds on June 15, 744BC.

Within history as defined by the years homo sapiens has walked the Earth, sure, but in all of history?

The average distance between the earth and the moon increases by about an 1.5" a year. The sun slowly, gradually expands as it ages as well. So this would imply that eclipses a few hundred million years ago may have lasted longer.

On the other hand, the closer moon would also have moved faster relative to Earth, so...

[noelbotevera]

I'm finally back after parked at a Walmart and battling the Southern heat for 6 hours at White House, TN. Had 2:40 of totality, which I have captured with a cell phone camera (unfortunately). They didn't turn out great, because I forgot to adjust exposure, but they're good. I'll post these if I can get a Flickr account up and running.

[US 89]

The Jul 22, 2009 TSE over Iwo Jima island (Japan), site of a historic battle during WW2 (my maternal grandpa, a Marine, was in the battle, but based in on a ship on the beach), this eclipse had the longest totality in the 21st century so far (every 18 years, the moon in apogee/perigee-not sure, can be the longest like 5-7 minutes in greatest duration).

The orbits of the Moon around the Earth, and the Earth around the Sun, are not completely circular, so the apparent size of the Moon and Sun can vary considerably as viewed from the Earth.  About 56% of eclipses are annular, meaning that the apparent size of the Moon is less than that of Sun.

The longest historical total eclipse lasted 7 minutes 28 seconds on June 15, 744BC. The longest eclipse theoretically possible for the 3rd millennium is 7 minutes and 32 seconds.

There will be a total eclipse lasting 7 minutes and 29 seconds on July 16, 2186, which will be the longest total eclipse between 4000 BC and 8000 AD.

[MNHighwayMan]

There will be a total eclipse lasting 7 minutes and 29 seconds on July 16, 2186, which will be the longest total eclipse between 4000 BC and 8000 AD.

Can't wait! I hope to live to the ripe old age of 194.

(I'm currently 12.89% of the way there!)

[jpi]

I'm finally back after parked at a Walmart and battling the Southern heat for 6 hours at White House, TN. Had 2:40 of totality, which I have captured with a cell phone camera (unfortunately). They didn't turn out great, because I forgot to adjust exposure, but they're good. I'll post these if I can get a Flickr account up and running.

Glad you and your family made it ok, I live 40 minutes south east of White House but some of us ended up at McMinnville to watch the eclipse

[JJBers]

There will be a total eclipse lasting 7 minutes and 29 seconds on July 16, 2186, which will be the longest total eclipse between 4000 BC and 8000 AD.

Can't wait! I hope to live to the ripe old age of 194.

(I'm currently 12.89% of the way there!)

I'll be 183 then....ouch.

[cl94]

I'm finally back after parked at a Walmart and battling the Southern heat for 6 hours at White House, TN. Had 2:40 of totality, which I have captured with a cell phone camera (unfortunately). They didn't turn out great, because I forgot to adjust exposure, but they're good. I'll post these if I can get a Flickr account up and running.

Glad you and your family made it ok, I live 40 minutes south east of White House but some of us ended up at McMinnville to watch the eclipse

I was very close to going to White House, but was worried about parking. Was the lot full of RVs, or were there plenty of spots?

[noelbotevera]

I'm finally back after parked at a Walmart and battling the Southern heat for 6 hours at White House, TN. Had 2:40 of totality, which I have captured with a cell phone camera (unfortunately). They didn't turn out great, because I forgot to adjust exposure, but they're good. I'll post these if I can get a Flickr account up and running.

Glad you and your family made it ok, I live 40 minutes south east of White House but some of us ended up at McMinnville to watch the eclipse

I was very close to going to White House, but was worried about parking. Was the lot full of RVs, or were there plenty of spots?

The left half (rows 9-13 or so) were full of RVs, but there were still spots where we parked (row 8), and probably a few more if I decided to explore a bit more. The lot never came to full capacity anyways.

Had we not been able to park at that Walmart, there were restaurants and a park in the vicinity with a decent number of spaces.

[kkt]

The Jul 22, 2009 TSE over Iwo Jima island (Japan), site of a historic battle during WW2 (my maternal grandpa, a Marine, was in the battle, but based in on a ship on the beach), this eclipse had the longest totality in the 21st century so far (every 18 years, the moon in apogee/perigee-not sure, can be the longest like 5-7 minutes in greatest duration).

The orbits of the Moon around the Earth, and the Earth around the Sun, are not completely circular, so the apparent size of the Moon and Sun can vary considerably as viewed from the Earth.  About 56% of eclipses are annular, meaning that the apparent size of the Moon is less than that of Sun.

The longest historical total eclipse lasted 7 minutes 28 seconds on June 15, 744BC. The longest eclipse theoretically possible for the 3rd millennium is 7 minutes and 32 seconds.

There will be a total eclipse lasting 7 minutes and 29 seconds on July 16, 2186, which will be the longest total eclipse between 4000 BC and 8000 AD.

I'll put it in my calendar.

[allniter89]

The Jul 22, 2009 TSE over Iwo Jima island (Japan), site of a historic battle during WW2 (my maternal grandpa, a Marine, was in the battle, but based in on a ship on the beach), this eclipse had the longest totality in the 21st century so far (every 18 years, the moon in apogee/perigee-not sure, can be the longest like 5-7 minutes in greatest duration).

The orbits of the Moon around the Earth, and the Earth around the Sun, are not completely circular, so the apparent size of the Moon and Sun can vary considerably as viewed from the Earth.  About 56% of eclipses are annular, meaning that the apparent size of the Moon is less than that of Sun.

The longest historical total eclipse lasted 7 minutes 28 seconds on June 15, 744BC. The longest eclipse theoretically possible for the 3rd millennium is 7 minutes and 32 seconds.

There will be a total eclipse lasting 7 minutes and 29 seconds on July 16, 2186, which will be the longest total eclipse between 4000 BC and 8000 AD.

Oh damn, I'm busy that  day. 

[empirestate]

I was right at the point of greatest eclipse (Cerulean, KY). It was astounding.


iPhone

My parents were in an Amish farmer's field there.  Paid $25 for the privilege.

Amish field, yep, that's it. I paid $35, though–didn't want to commit to the advance sale, since I was already bailing on a pre-paid viewing spot in Missouri.

[hbelkins]

My counterpart in western Kentucky told me there were some farmers in that area who opted not to sow or plant their crops this year, thinking they could rent parking or camping spots for the eclipse and make more money doing that than in an entire growing season of farming.

[Rothman]

My counterpart in western Kentucky told me there were some farmers in that area who opted not to sow or plant their crops this year, thinking they could rent parking or camping spots for the eclipse and make more money doing that than in an entire growing season of farming.

I doubt that was realized.  Even with the few hundred people in the field, that is less than $10,000.  Not exactly a living.

On top of that, it wasn't like places were closed to parking, like schools and cemeteries.  My parents said free parking was quite available in Hopkinsville, despite the hype.

Farmer's probably regretting that decision.

[wanderer2575]

I found this link on humorist Dave Barry's blog:

People put sunscreen on their eyeballs during the eclipse and it didn't go well.

Several people in California received medical care after they put sunscreen in their eyes during Monday's total solar eclipse, reported ABC-affiliate KRCR Tuesday.

Nurse Practitioner Trish Patterson from Prestige Urgent Care in Redding, California, said none of their patients came in with eye damage from the eclipse, but a few had pain after putting sunscreen on their eyeballs in lieu of protective glasses.

"One of my colleagues at moonlight here stated yesterday that they had patients presenting at their clinic that they put sunscreen on their eyeball, and presented that they were having pain and they were referred to an ophthalmologist,"  Patterson said.

Considering the number of people who microwaved their iPhones to recharge the batteries a few years ago, I'm prepared to completely believe this.

[Roadgeekteen]

I found this link on humorist Dave Barry's blog:

People put sunscreen on their eyeballs during the eclipse and it didn't go well.

Several people in California received medical care after they put sunscreen in their eyes during Monday's total solar eclipse, reported ABC-affiliate KRCR Tuesday.

Nurse Practitioner Trish Patterson from Prestige Urgent Care in Redding, California, said none of their patients came in with eye damage from the eclipse, but a few had pain after putting sunscreen on their eyeballs in lieu of protective glasses.

"One of my colleagues at moonlight here stated yesterday that they had patients presenting at their clinic that they put sunscreen on their eyeball, and presented that they were having pain and they were referred to an ophthalmologist,"  Patterson said.

Considering the number of people who microwaved their iPhones to recharge the batteries a few years ago, I'm prepared to completely believe this.

That is just stupid.

[MNHighwayMan]

That is just stupid.

"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that."  – George Carlin

[empirestate]

Got a big cloud in front of the eclipse where I am in Carbobdale...

Follow up, the Totality did appear in a gap in the clouds for a good 60-90 seconds where I was in Carbondale. My phone's camera didn't do in justice. Straight up awesome.

Glad you lucked out, but also glad I eventually leaned away from Carbondale myself! I'd been considering it strongly as the forecast progressed, but that danged cloud cover just kept shifting eastward with every report!

In Grand Island, Nebraska, the weather cooperated and we got an absolutely spectacular show.  No luck really getting my own pictures of the eclipse itself, but I can now confirm that a total eclipse is thousands of times more impressive than any partial.  Get in the shadow in 2024.

Absolutely agree with that sentiment. The difference is like–forgive me–night and day.

I wonder how they fared in Beatrice, after all? I ruled that one out pretty early, and I was never going to make it as far west as Grand Island.

I went to Princeton, KY and went northwest a little bit out to the middle of no where on a dead end road (Craig Cemetery Road). This was my first solar eclipse and it was definitely one the neatest things I've ever witnessed.

I got on the interactive NASA map and it turns out I was only 2 miles from the greatest point of totality. It says it lasted 2 minutes and 39.8 seconds. For anyone that's curious the line of greatest totality only lasted 0.3 seconds longer than where I was at.

Greatest totality is where I was at, in Cerulean. We got–yeah, that sounds right, 2 minutes 40.1 seconds. Note that that's not the longest anyone got, however. Greatest totality refers to the apparent size of the moon or its shadow, but greatest duration is at a slightly different spot, in Makanda IL near Carbondale. (What's weird is that, if you were west of me in Princeton, you should have gotten a longer eclipse than I did, not a shorter one!)

Luckily I didn't have to deal with any traffic at all except for at the US 41 Ohio River bridges where there was a huge backup due to the construction. After the eclipse I went to the Ohio / Mississippi confluence and visited an Indian mound near by. On the way back to Terre Haute there was some traffic in Marion, IL due to a wreck probably, but I did an illegal U turn. I wasn't going to just sit on the interstate.

That was one of my great surprises: the lack of traffic in the area. In the evening, I know I-69/Pennyrile was jammed out of Hopkinsville, but I didn't go that way. In the morning (coming down from your own hometown), Google showed all kinds of slowdowns on Princeton Pike and other minor spots. I made a point to avoid the pike, but even when I crossed it, I found that none of the displayed slowdowns actually existed. I literally hit no backups at all until halfway down the country road where my viewing site was. Maybe 500' of traffic, just as we entered the field. So I'm guessing that what Google displayed was data from just a few scattered users who happened to get slowed up, but that had vanished by the time I came along.

My counterpart in western Kentucky told me there were some farmers in that area who opted not to sow or plant their crops this year, thinking they could rent parking or camping spots for the eclipse and make more money doing that than in an entire growing season of farming.

I doubt that was realized.  Even with the few hundred people in the field, that is less than $10,000.  Not exactly a living.

On top of that, it wasn't like places were closed to parking, like schools and cemeteries.  My parents said free parking was quite available in Hopkinsville, despite the hype.

Farmer's probably regretting that decision.

I'm thinking it has a lot to do with one's own business acumen. Where I went, every little place with any kind of field, or even front lawn, was offering viewing sites for between $15 and $30. But did anyone actually take them up on that? Yes, I paid for a site, but I went somewhere that had an informative website and appeared well-organized and relatively well-equipped (which bore out, for the most part). It didn't look like the morning crowd was streaming into just any available spot they happened by; maybe there was a crush near totality time?

So, a farmer doing a good business might not have benefitted by plowing under all his fields, but one who was struggling at his crops but savvy at putting up a website might have. (And really, I doubt we're talking about withholding an entire farm's crops–just a field or two that maybe weren't due to be profitable anyhow.)

[hbelkins]

I'm thinking it has a lot to do with one's own business acumen. Where I went, every little place with any kind of field, or even front lawn, was offering viewing sites for between $15 and $30. But did anyone actually take them up on that? Yes, I paid for a site, but I went somewhere that had an informative website and appeared well-organized and relatively well-equipped (which bore out, for the most part). It didn't look like the morning crowd was streaming into just any available spot they happened by; maybe there was a crush near totality time?

My brother had picked the Watts Bar boat ramp site where we viewed it, but on the way down TN 58 from Kingston, we saw two or three empty church parking lots that we planned to come back to should the boat ramp parking lot be full. Once we turned onto TN 68, we saw a couple of churches that were offering parking spots (one for $20 and was selling concessions). So some chose to try to make money while others didn't.

[Beltway]

I'm thinking it has a lot to do with one's own business acumen. Where I went, every little place with any kind of field, or even front lawn, was offering viewing sites for between $15 and $30. But did anyone actually take them up on that? Yes, I paid for a site, but I went somewhere that had an informative website and appeared well-organized and relatively well-equipped (which bore out, for the most part). It didn't look like the morning crowd was streaming into just any available spot they happened by; maybe there was a crush near totality time?

My brother had picked the Watts Bar boat ramp site where we viewed it, but on the way down TN 58 from Kingston, we saw two or three empty church parking lots that we planned to come back to should the boat ramp parking lot be full. Once we turned onto TN 68, we saw a couple of churches that were offering parking spots (one for $20 and was selling concessions). So some chose to try to make money while others didn't.

There was no charge at the Monroe County Airport where a group of us from Richmond Astronomical Society gathered.  One of the guys contacted the manager in advance.  Excellent site to view the event.  There were several dozen observers, probably 2/3 were from planes that landed that morning for the  express purpose of seeing the total eclipse.  From the roads the airport was very hard to find, no sign on the main highways, never could find it on OnStar, had to get a paper map of the Madisonville area at a convenience store.

We of RAS collectively had the best astronomical gear and the most scientific knowledge about the event, and were glad to share it with others, and a variety of people did come over to ask questions.

[empirestate]

I'm thinking it has a lot to do with one's own business acumen. Where I went, every little place with any kind of field, or even front lawn, was offering viewing sites for between $15 and $30. But did anyone actually take them up on that? Yes, I paid for a site, but I went somewhere that had an informative website and appeared well-organized and relatively well-equipped (which bore out, for the most part). It didn't look like the morning crowd was streaming into just any available spot they happened by; maybe there was a crush near totality time?

My brother had picked the Watts Bar boat ramp site where we viewed it, but on the way down TN 58 from Kingston, we saw two or three empty church parking lots that we planned to come back to should the boat ramp parking lot be full. Once we turned onto TN 68, we saw a couple of churches that were offering parking spots (one for $20 and was selling concessions). So some chose to try to make money while others didn't.

And among those who did, some were better at it than others, no doubt!