Am I the Only One Glad When the Eclipse is Over?

Part of me is glad it's over so I can get back to getting ready for classes next week. I was tempted right through Saturday night, against my better judgment, to try flying to the totality zone.
 
I have read that babies conceived during eclipse totality will turn out as some sort of super God, or perhaps satanic. Can't remember which.

I wonder if anybody tried this?. It would've taken some pretty good timing.
 
I enjoyed the actual eclipse experience.
I brought out a couple of lawn chairs, 2 ultra-dark welding masks, mixed a pitcher of Tom Collins, cranked up some tunes, (led off by Manfred Mann, "Blinded by the Light"), and my wife and I watched the show.
I hope I live to see the next one.
 
overdrive148 said:
N808NA and N992NA are Gulfstream 3s tracking the eclipse for NASA.
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"Tracking the eclipse" :rolleyes: Them things is wily, them eclipses. Gotta be careful, if they get yer scent they'll turn on ya.

Nauga,
and bucketfuls of eclipse spoor
 
Glad to have experienced it in totality...which is much more than any kind of partial. And yes, glad it's over now.

Most of all, glad to have discovered Triple Tree. Nice place there...
 
overdrive148 said:
A Global Express just loaded up with 5 pax carrying nothing but lawn chairs. Round trip in one day direct to the eclipse path. 12-15k an hour.

Words fail me. They are far from the only ones.
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At the out-of-the way airport in Kentucky we went to, there were three Citations, and a G-IV, with about 40 other GA planes. The G flew a couple in from NYC for 90 minutes, and was back in the air 30 minutes after.

PS- More planes at this airport today, than they have had in a couple of decades, according to the worker. THE Worker...
 
Traveled a couple of hours (by car) to get in the path of totality. Was very worth it for me. Astounding view once the glasses were removed. Very surreal.....and the "diamond ring" effect coming out of totality took my breath away.
(Full disclosure: I've been an amateur astronomy nut for most of my life. Have seen several notable partials, but this was my only full. 99% geek....and freely admit it. Shepherd...to each their own, but for me it was The Beatles: Here Comes the Sun, and Good Day Sunshine)
 
asicer said:
Where is the intersection between the 2017 eclipse path and the 2024 eclipse path? The lucky few that live there can describe it as a twice in a lifetime event if they were born before August 2017.
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A little place south of Carbondale, IL. Makanda
 
asicer said:
Where is the intersection between the 2017 eclipse path and the 2024 eclipse path? The lucky few that live there can describe it as a twice in a lifetime event if they were born before August 2017.
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21stCenturyNorthAmericanEclipses.png
 
retpd2001 said:
Am I?
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Nope.

We watched in quiet wonder as perfectly sane people spent hundreds, even thousands of dollars to drive or fly to places no one would ever otherwise go, just to watch a few minutes of darkness. :dunno:

It boggles the mind. The good news? It shows that the economy is doing better. Nine years ago, no one would have missed a work day for such an "event".

Even more bizarre, IMHO: The people who trusted cheap Chinese garbage "eclipse glasses" and stared directly at the sun. We saw selfies all over Facebook, and all we could think was "Really? You trust those things to save your eyesight?"

I remember the last eclipse in 1979. It was mildly interesting then, less so now.
 
Jay Honeck said:
...Even more bizarre, IMHO: The people who trusted cheap Chinese garbage "eclipse glasses" and stared directly at the sun. We saw selfies all over Facebook, and all we could think was "Really?...
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I thought those cardboard things were so you could experience the darkness in 3-D...:cool: :rolleyes:
 
An interesting day. We only had about 2/3 of the disc covered, but it cooled down noticeably. Right at the maximum a cloud moved in and the sunshine never returned. After that we got 2in of precipitation and a tornado.
 
Partial eclipses, meh. I'm glad I got the chance to see the full eclipse. It was cool, but I wouldn't travel far to see another.
 
In NY we only saw the partial, but even that was magnificent! My 12 year old son and I built the binocular projector at the last minute Sunday. We tested it with good results, but it was windy which made the whole project a mess. Yesterday, my co-worker brought in a dozen or more eclipse glasses (the real ones) and gave them out. He gave me two. My son was really glad when he heard the news. So when I got home around 1330, my wife, son and I shared them with a few neighbors and everyone enjoyed the show! No it wasn't the totality, but anytime I can observed the wonders and beauty of our solar system, I'm in awe! I take nothing for granted. We are already talking about driving upstate NY for the April 2024 eclipse totality.:)
 
Even 99% is not impressive. Unless you saw totality where the sun went out, and the sky went dark, and the corona was clear as day to the naked eye, you didn't see it. A partial is a curiosity. A total is something entirely different.

The sun is so bright (and our vision sensitivity is logarithmic) that even a little bit of light getting past the sun makes it completely different.

So you really don't get to say "what's the big deal" unless you had clear skies in the path of totality. I heard people in the group we were with audibly gasp...


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I'm glad it's over too. I'm sick of the media coverage of it and can't wait for them to get back to talking about Bruce Jenner's genitals and what Kevin Durant thinks about Trump. So many more important things in life.

I was in the area of Totality. Took the wife and kids on a quick lunch time flight. For a brief moment in time I think my kids realized just how "small" we really are.

Agree 100% with the above. If not in an area of Totality it is definitely a Meh moment. The difference is night and day.
 
gsengle said:
So you really don't get to say "what's the big deal" unless you had clear skies in the path of totality. I heard people in the group we were with audibly gasp...
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We were out on the lake, boats anchored nearby. Right before totality it was so quiet, the wind had stopped, no boat traffic, calm waters, just the crickets and cicadas. When folks took off their glasses to look at the corona, there was hooping and hollering from all across the lake. It was quite the experience. Without the corona, it would have been a meh moment.

I'm very glad this experience was local and I was able to go out and enjoy.
 
Yes, I have to second what everyone has said about totality vs a partial eclipse. I've been in the maximum eclipse zone of an annular eclipse, 23 years ago, which is about as close as you can get to totality without actually experiencing totality (>99% coverage). It was somewhat impressive. The temperature turned noticeably cooler and the light was dimmer, sort of twilightish. But streetlights did not come on, stars did not come out, you still needed a sun filter or eclipse glasses even at maximum eclipse, and you could NOT see the corona.

In April 2024, Vermont will see a total solar eclipse. Where I live totality will only be a few seconds, but >3 minutes of totality will be within easy driving distance. I'm glad this one is over so I can quit stewing over not being able to see it, and start looking forward to the next one. I only hope I'm alive to see it.
 
Jay Honeck said:
Nope.

We watched in quiet wonder as perfectly sane people spent hundreds, even thousands of dollars to drive or fly to places no one would ever otherwise go, just to watch a few minutes of darkness. :dunno:

It boggles the mind. The good news? It shows that the economy is doing better. Nine years ago, no one would have missed a work day for such an "event".

Even more bizarre, IMHO: The people who trusted cheap Chinese garbage "eclipse glasses" and stared directly at the sun. We saw selfies all over Facebook, and all we could think was "Really? You trust those things to save your eyesight?"

I remember the last eclipse in 1979. It was mildly interesting then, less so now.
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You have spoken a lot about the decline of GA. Based on what I saw yesterday, and have read since, I'd estimate that yesterday was the biggest day for GA in Decades. Airport operators had no idea what to expect, and most were swamped.

Small airports all along the totality route saw dozens of planes of all types. Some saw Hundreds. The sky's were full, from shore to shore. The radio was INSANE...
 
FlyingElvii said:
You have spoken a lot about the decline of GA. Based on what I saw yesterday, and have read since, I'd estimate that yesterday was the biggest day for GA in Decades. Airport operators had no idea what to expect, and most were swamped.

Small airports all along the totality route saw dozens of planes of all types. Some saw Hundreds. The sky's were full, from shore to shore. The radio was INSANE...
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That is, indeed, the best take-away from the eclipse. It probably doubled avgas sales for the month.

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:rolleyes: Curmudgeons.

I thought it was pretty damn amazing. Being in path of totality was one of the most unique things I've ever witnessed and I feel blessed for the experience. It got almost totally dark, the cicadas came out, the stars lit up, and a confused rooster crowed as the sun began peeking back through. For a minute, no one was fighting over who is liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, black or white. The sun and moon merged, and unity existed.

I dug it.
 
Cajun_Flyer said:
:rolleyes: Curmudgeons.

I thought it was pretty damn amazing. Being in path of totality was one of the most unique things I've ever witnessed and I feel blessed for the experience. It got almost totally dark, the cicadas came out, the stars lit up, and a confused rooster crowed as the sun began peeking back through. For a minute, no one was fighting over who is liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, black or white. The sun and moon merged, and unity existed.

I dug it.
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agreed, there will always be a few dooshes who can't come up with a way to, well, communicate clearly. what they are 'trying' (very poorly) to say is there is a massive difference between 100% and anything less. but the way they are saying it is "no, you didn't enjoy it because there is absolutely nothing other than 100%". while I understand the underlying message, don't fkng tell me whether I enjoyed it or not. sht, I was in charlotte and had fun with the silly shadows and birds and bugs getting all confused and it being sorta kinda darkish in the middle of the day. would I like to have been in the 100%? sure, but I wasn't and still had fun. fng curmudgeons.
 
azure said:
Awww, Michael, where's your sense of wonder ?? :rolleyes: ;)
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This. I never figured I had much of a sense of wonder, but it was one of the coolest thing I have ever seen in nature. We airlined to SLC and drove to Idaho. I'm glad a friend convinced me to go.

Driving back to Salt Lake, we passed the Idaho Falls airport, where there was a line of business jets waiting in line for takeoff. I felt a sense of relief that that kind of thing is not my responsibility any more.
 
Everskyward said:
This. I never figured I had much of a sense of wonder, but it was one of the coolest thing I have ever seen in nature. We airlined to SLC and drove to Idaho. I'm glad a friend convinced me to go.
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Glad you found it worthwhile! I've been juiced to see a total eclipse ever since the annular eclipse in Detroit in 1994. I had my eye on 2024 since then and only noticed that there would be a 2017 eclipse about 5 years ago, but since then I'd been making preparations for how I was going to manage to see it. Sadly it was not to be this time, but if I'm alive in April 2024 I will find a way to see it by hook or by crook (including finding someone to take over my classes for a couple of days).

My sense of wonder is very much alive... that's a big part of why I'm in physics!
Driving back to Salt Lake, we passed the Idaho Falls airport, where there was a line of business jets waiting in line for takeoff. I felt a sense of relief that that kind of thing is not my responsibility any more.
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It sounds like you're retired then? Somehow either I missed it, or just never realized that! Hope it's going well for you. :)
 
gsengle said:
Even 99% is not impressive. Unless you saw totality where the sun went out, and the sky went dark, and the corona was clear as day to the naked eye, you didn't see it. A partial is a curiosity. A total is something entirely different.

The sun is so bright (and our vision sensitivity is logarithmic) that even a little bit of light getting past the sun makes it completely different.

So you really don't get to say "what's the big deal" unless you had clear skies in the path of totality. I heard people in the group we were with audibly gasp...


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3.5 hours on one of the club's C-172s. Flew from OLM to the vicinity of SLE. Loitered in the area south of Salem, OR (7500 MSL eastbound, 8500 MSL westbound) and watched totality from the air. My wife called it the flight of a lifetime. You haven't seen an eclipse until you've seen a total eclipse of the sun. The two minutes of looking at the sun blotted out by the moon and only the corona visible is incredible. The ground under and around us was in darkness with lights coming on in the town under us. Low illumination until the umbra came to where we were and then very little. Plenty of light around the horizon to fly by, no need for reverting to instruments. There were contrails way above us that were obviously jets taking pictures and videos of the eclipse as they were already heading east, or turned to the east just before totality. BTW, "chasing" the eclipse in a C-172 is a waste of time. :D

I'll leave you with one of the pictures my wife took from the right seat. It is reasonably good, but it doesn't do justice to what we actually saw.

DSC05140.JPG
 
Cajun_Flyer said:
:rolleyes: Curmudgeons.

I thought it was pretty damn amazing. Being in path of totality was one of the most unique things I've ever witnessed and I feel blessed for the experience. It got almost totally dark, the cicadas came out, the stars lit up, and a confused rooster crowed as the sun began peeking back through. For a minute, no one was fighting over who is liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, black or white. The sun and moon merged, and unity existed.

I dug it.
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In the universal laws of creation and natural order of the universe, there are lessons for mankind, if he would humble himself!

"By the time, surely man is in loss. Except those who believe and do good. And exhort one another to truth, and exhort one another to patience"
 
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No eclipse in Germany. I miss everything. :oops: My brother said it was the best thing they had ever witnessed. I quickly corrected him that watching the Cubs win the World Series had to be way better. It's more rare. :p
 
Shepherd said:
I've been fed up with the bad eclipse reporting for days.
You are all aware that the eclipse is a racist event, right?
That's how one station has reported it.
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Mark Stein I'm guessing, that was a funny bit ...

My buddy flew to Idaho in his RV8 and parked at a private grass strip with a kick butt hangar that has an exterior "barn" appearance (big buck$ friend of his) ... his other friend (me), worked and in my area was only 50% totality:( He's now goofing off in Utah for an extra day, pretty rough as he just returned from a full Oshkosh attendance (no partial week for him).
 
gsengle said:
Even 99% is not impressive. Unless you saw totality where the sun went out, and the sky went dark, and the corona was clear as day to the naked eye, you didn't see it. A partial is a curiosity. A total is something entirely different.

The sun is so bright (and our vision sensitivity is logarithmic) that even a little bit of light getting past the sun makes it completely different.

So you really don't get to say "what's the big deal" unless you had clear skies in the path of totality. I heard people in the group we were with audibly gasp...
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I will agree with this. Totality was entirely different than 99%. I didn't understand what my eclipse-chasing friend was talking about until experiencing it for myself.
 
Ghery said:
3.5 hours on one of the club's C-172s. Flew from OLM to the vicinity of SLE. Loitered in the area south of Salem, OR (7500 MSL eastbound, 8500 MSL westbound) and watched totality from the air. My wife called it the flight of a lifetime. You haven't seen an eclipse until you've seen a total eclipse of the sun. The two minutes of looking at the sun blotted out by the moon and only the corona visible is incredible. The ground under and around us was in darkness with lights coming on in the town under us. Low illumination until the umbra came to where we were and then very little. Plenty of light around the horizon to fly by, no need for reverting to instruments. There were contrails way above us that were obviously jets taking pictures and videos of the eclipse as they were already heading east, or turned to the east just before totality. BTW, "chasing" the eclipse in a C-172 is a waste of time. :D

I'll leave you with one of the pictures my wife took from the right seat. It is reasonably good, but it doesn't do justice to what we actually saw.
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Dammit man! Now I'm going to HAVE to fly to Arkansas or Texas in 2024 and be airborne for the next one. Hopefully I will be retired (or semi-retired) at that point and be able to do it.
 
We only had like 60% coverage here in AZ but I found it to be very underwhelming
 
CC268 said:
We only had like 60% coverage here in AZ but I found it to be very underwhelming
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Yea, it really is, even at 97%, I'm kicking myself for not driving the 2 hours when I got weathered out of my flight.
 
Wait, there's another one in just 7 years? Wow, start preparing NOW!

To rate it on a scale of 10 - my feeling
non-totality eclipse, even 99% - a 2.
Flying into FFA - 5.
Totality - 6.
Grand Canyon - 10.
 
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