Looking forward to Monday (tomorrow)

[ShadowsDad]

It's eclipse day! I was going to drive the 40ish miles to the center of the path of totality, but rethought that idea. Too many people will be there and I really dislike crowds. I saw a total eclipse as a child and I'd like to see another without spending gobs of $ chasing one down. But totality is not going to happen for me. I had out of the way spots all figured out (farrrrr out of the way in the wiliwacks!) , but the spring snow storms that we had, ruined those unplowed sites in the way back of beyond that few know about.

Where I am will lack totality, we'll be at maybe 95%+ covered so I won't get to see the magic of the corona, but could get the diamond ring effect. So due to my dislike of crowds and just the logistics of getting to totality (there's more involved that I'm not mentioning), I'll see it from home. 

I'm an amateur astronomer so I'll see it through my filtered wide field 'scope and it'll still be enjoyable to see the hunk of rock we call the moon moving in it's orbit*. I was thinking that maybe we'd be clouded out, as usual, but no. The rest of the US will be mostly clouded out but we're expected to be clear (Maine). The best states are expected to be Maine, VT, and NH.

*The last eclipse I saw I had random nightmares years afterward of immense "rocks" rolling on me and crushing me. I was a child, that's my excuse.

[Rocketman]

I hope you get a good view. It sounds like you are very close to a decent spot! When I was a kid too I remember a full eclipse and my dad helping out with layers of film negatives to quickly peek through and a pin hole projector too. Not sure when, I think the 60s. They don’t really crop up too often so …. Enjoy!! (And tote along some pickled eggs…or, what does such a food afficianado as yourself bring for a solar snack?)

   

[Anchovie666]

I hope you get a good view. It sounds like you are very close to a decent spot! When I was a kid too I remember a full eclipse and my dad helping out with layers of film negatives to quickly peek through and a pin hole projector too. Not sure when, I think the 60s. They don’t really crop up too often so …. Enjoy!! (And tote along some pickled eggs…or, what does such a food afficianado as yourself bring for a solar snack?)

Now that's a FULL MOON.  I'm in Central PA and we will have about 90% totality.  Hoping to see it turn dark at least.

[ShadowsDad]

Yup, that's a moon! Too funny!

Everywhere easy to get to that I considered driving to is super crowded today and I really detest crowds so I'm not sorry I changed my plans for those places. The places in the middle of the williwacks... well, we had a spring snowstorm and I doubt those roads to them are open enough to get in and out again. So again, good on the changed plans.

The weather is absolutely clear, so clear that we have our dark blue skies during the day.

My telescope is all set up, and yes it has a solar filter in place. Typical daytime viewing, the atmosphere is in a turmoil and the focus comes and goes. But it's good enough to see granulation toward the edges of the sun and I see 3 sun spots from large, medium, to a tiny pinpoint.

I looked for the exposed and developed B&W film but something I should be able to put my hand on immediately has seemingly entered another dimension and has disappeared. It's probably just in a time warp and when I don't need it it'll be easily found "right there".

It'll start soon. I'm outta here.

Edit: I'm backkkk. There is Maine coverage of the event on TV and they're in Jackman on the us/can' border. That's near all te places I was considering driving to. To get there one has to go through Fairfield off of the Interstate. There really is only one road to get there in a reasonable amount of time. There were 1600 vehicles/hr using the offramp. Maybe not alot for other places, but for Fairfield that's a lot. Normally there might be 100/hr using that off ramp. So Jackman... it has a population of 900, there are over 10k there today. Lots of traffic on the road there. It might not be the middle of nowhere but from there you can see it. There is a "blink and you missed it" town on the way there, West Forks, and 600 cars/hr were going through there. The places in Jackman that I considered, yeah not for me. Lots of snow still there and the spots shown on TV were all open and in full sun. The places in the forest? No way I'd get in on unplowed roads still in heavy shade. Correction: I might get in, but just far enough to high center, then I'd have the enjoyment of trying to extricate my truck before enough snow melts to put me back on solid ground. Not my idea of trying to get to and from a place. When I was planning we had an "early spring" but 2 storms ruined that.

Back to waiting. Approx 1hr 10 minutes to the start. Sorry to the rest of North America that got clouded in!

[Rocketman]

So….how did ya do?

[ShadowsDad]

As I predicted from the maps we had maybe 95%+ totality. Just a tiny sliver of the sun remained. But that meant I didn't see the corona. I looked for shadow bands and for the second time I didn't see them. But shadows produced by the sliver of sun were all curved. It was the most interesting dusk and dawn light that I can remember seeing, ever.

For "naked eye" viewing (no such thing!) we used a #10 welding glass and I used my "dilated eyes but I still need to drive home" dark glasses with it and that worked. The wife used similar glasses.

The performance champ was the wide field telescope with it's solar filter and a low power ocular. While we were watching the moon move into place I counted 3 sunspots lg/med and really tiny and surface granulation toward the edges of the solar sphere. The granulation looks something like orange peel but finer.

If I had driven the 40ish miles, well, it took 4 hours for people to drive that and there's really only one road in and out. More if one wants to go wayyy out of the way, but they take the same time to get to the same place just without traffic and lots more miles. Glad I didn't do the drive.

Since I won't chase eclipses all over the globe that's the last for my life. What I saw of this one was worth seeing. It was nice to see the dance of the 3 bodies interact rather than just for the moon to be "static" (it isn't) in the night sky.

[Wchnu]

Sorry so late here. Very busy week. We were socked in with cloud cover. It was still a weird looking time. I was out and about running errands.