1. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Messages:
    18,385
    Likes Received:
    7,080
    Location:
    Ralph's side of the island.

    No solar eclipse thread?? Or am I just not finding it with search?

    Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by GingerCoffee, Aug 23, 2017.

    So who went, what were your experiences?

    It was fantastic! Went with my son to Madras OR, saw totality. Mind boggling, right up there with the transit of Venus and the comet Hale-Bopp in 1997 under very dark skies.
     
    Catrin Lewis likes this.
  2. Nilfiry

    Nilfiry Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2008
    Messages:
    708
    Likes Received:
    120
    Location:
    Eternal Stream
    I went. Took the day off work. Grabbed lunch and some snacks, and I was off on my own. Had a close call with some clouds, but a miracle happened: the clouds cleared up a few minutes before and after totality. There were some interesting people there, including old astronomers with their fully armed telescopes and welding goggles. I was right under the center and tried to take some pictures, but my skills were lacking. Still took better pictures than most amateurs. :supercool:

    The trip was the tiresome part. Heading out was smooth sailing, but the return trip took twice the time because people decided they want to make the return rush worse by getting into accidents.
     
    GingerCoffee likes this.
  3. The Dapper Hooligan

    The Dapper Hooligan (V) ( ;,,;) (v) Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2017
    Messages:
    5,864
    Likes Received:
    10,738
    Location:
    The great white north.
    It was only a partial eclipse where I'm at but it was still pretty cool. I used an old pinhole camera I made in high school as a viewer.
     
    GingerCoffee likes this.
  4. Trish

    Trish Damned if I do and damned if I don't Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2011
    Messages:
    3,421
    Likes Received:
    2,083
    Location:
    New York
    It was only 75% where I am, and we used welding helmets, but still pretty cool. I love that the kids got to see it. My daughter was entranced.
     
    GingerCoffee likes this.
  5. A.M.P.

    A.M.P. People Buy My Books for the Bio Photo Contributor

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2013
    Messages:
    2,163
    Likes Received:
    1,374
    Location:
    A Place with no History
    That's exactly what we did!
    Welder masks atop the lookout.
    Think we had more than 75% though.
     
    GingerCoffee and Trish like this.
  6. archer88i

    archer88i Banned Contributor

    Joined:
    Apr 11, 2008
    Messages:
    839
    Likes Received:
    432
    The solar eclipse took place in Universe A, where the entire world was destroyed by the aftereffects of sudden solar cooling on the earth's crust. Lucky for you, this is Universe 1, where we are safe from solar eclipses. For now.
     
    GingerCoffee likes this.
  7. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Messages:
    18,385
    Likes Received:
    7,080
    Location:
    Ralph's side of the island.
    The trip back, now that's a story in itself. Like you, going was no problem, people spaced themselves out getting there.

    Getting back, not so much, bumper to bumper traffic on all routes headed north for hours and hours. On top of it my car died (stupid decision on my part to tackle a stop and go hill with a manual transmission). A friend drove 4 hours to pick us up where I left my car in the shop. Can't say enough nice things about a friend that would drive 4 hours to pick you up and ~5 more getting home because even after midnight the traffic was still bad.

    But in the end and after some sleep, it's only money. I have a nice rental car and by the end of the week and another 8 hours on the road I'll have my car home with a new clutch.

    In the meantime, memories of a total eclipse and a fun time with my son, priceless.
     
    Catrin Lewis likes this.
  8. NigeTheHat

    NigeTheHat Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2008
    Messages:
    1,594
    Likes Received:
    1,776
    Location:
    London
    Well jell.

    I watched totality on the BBC live stream, but it's not really the same. I was in Cornwall for the 1999 eclipse that was visible there, but where we lived it was only 99%, not total. My parents wouldn't drive the extra 20 miles to be in totality because "there's no difference between 99% and 100," and being a youngling at the time I couldn't get there under my own power. I think it ended up being cloudy, though, so the show wasn't as good as what you had anyhow.
     
    GingerCoffee likes this.
  9. Nilfiry

    Nilfiry Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2008
    Messages:
    708
    Likes Received:
    120
    Location:
    Eternal Stream
    The experience is what counts. ;)
     
    GingerCoffee likes this.
  10. Robert Musil

    Robert Musil Comparativist Contributor

    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2015
    Messages:
    1,219
    Likes Received:
    1,387
    Location:
    USA
    Didn't make a trip for this one, but I'm excited for the next one (in the continental US) in 2024, as the path of totality will go right over Niagara Falls. For some reason that just seems like a really compelling place to see an eclipse from, idk why.

    I've got friends in Buffalo NY, hopefully they're still living there in 7 years so I have a place to crash...
     
    GingerCoffee likes this.
  11. 123456789

    123456789 Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2012
    Messages:
    8,102
    Likes Received:
    4,605
    Where I was, it felt more like a competition for viewing apparatuses. "My nd filter is bigger than yours." The eclipse came second.
     
  12. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Messages:
    18,385
    Likes Received:
    7,080
    Location:
    Ralph's side of the island.
    There was an eclipse when I was young (may have only been a partial, I can't find a corresponding total for that time frame). My parents took us to the movies because they were afraid we might look at the Sun and be blinded. Sigh...

    Glad I'm this generation and not that one.
     
    NigeTheHat likes this.
  13. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Jan 8, 2017
    Messages:
    12,141
    Likes Received:
    19,770
    Location:
    Rhode Island
    I wrote through the whole thing. Can't see anything through the trees where I live anyway. Heh heh, I thought about setting up my 6 inch Newtonian telescope at the local farm and seeing if I could find anyone dumb enough to look through it. Probably a felony.
     
  14. OJB

    OJB A Mean Old Man Contributor

    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2016
    Messages:
    1,282
    Likes Received:
    1,264
    Location:
    Chicago, IL.
    Got a little eerie looking here in Chicago. I was half-expecting a zombie to rise out of my front lawn.
     
  15. Wild Knight

    Wild Knight Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2013
    Messages:
    273
    Likes Received:
    195
    I only got to see the partial eclipse where I live, but I took a few pics in rapid fire succession before the clouds blocked the rest of it.

    I didn't even get my glasses in time to see it.
     
  16. Iain Aschendale

    Iain Aschendale Lying, dog-faced pony Marine Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2015
    Messages:
    18,851
    Likes Received:
    35,471
    Location:
    Face down in the dirt
    Currently Reading::
    Telemachus Sneezed
    I was on a plane, but Chicago O'Hare was overcast anyway.

    Don't really believe in the silly things anyway after the lie of Halley's "comet" in my youth. Astronomers, phrenologists, homeopaths, all the same...
     
  17. Catrin Lewis

    Catrin Lewis Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2023 Community Volunteer

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2014
    Messages:
    4,406
    Likes Received:
    4,755
    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    So you were there with the rock bands and acrobats and all? Cool!
    http://kriswrites.com/2017/08/23/business-musings-eclipse-expectations/
     
    GingerCoffee likes this.
  18. LostThePlot

    LostThePlot Naysmith Contributor

    Joined:
    Dec 31, 2015
    Messages:
    2,398
    Likes Received:
    2,026
    I almost feel like you yanks are being really adorable by making such a big deal about it. There was an eclipse on my birthday when I was about 14, because I am destined by fate. Also I was born under the peak of the persiad shower. As omens go I'm happy enough with them. But it does make all other eclipses feel a bit of a damp squib after that.
     
  19. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Messages:
    18,385
    Likes Received:
    7,080
    Location:
    Ralph's side of the island.
    Didn't see any acrobats, but there was live music (cover bands) that wasn't too bad. There was plenty of alcohol for sale and we had our own. And there was a whole bunch of great people having lots of fun.

    Car note: After leaving at 7:30am yesterday to drive to the Dalles, and getting home after 5pm, I have my car back. Benefit it happened in OR, no sales tax, drawback, there's a big fee for a one way rental if you drop it off in another state. :p

    I finished the audiobook I was listening to, tried and gave up on three more before settling into the fourth, Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson which is pretty good so far.
     
    Catrin Lewis likes this.
  20. Iain Aschendale

    Iain Aschendale Lying, dog-faced pony Marine Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2015
    Messages:
    18,851
    Likes Received:
    35,471
    Location:
    Face down in the dirt
    Currently Reading::
    Telemachus Sneezed
    Please tell me it doesn't have any over-60 year old women acting like spoiled 15 year olds. I love the Mars trilogy, but KSR has a really bad habit of making absolutely infantile female characters (Maya and Zo in Mars, whatever her name was in 2312, a couple others that I can't place right now). Really, I try to be a good he-man woman-hater, but sometimes it just gets overwhelming :)
     
  21. LostThePlot

    LostThePlot Naysmith Contributor

    Joined:
    Dec 31, 2015
    Messages:
    2,398
    Likes Received:
    2,026
    By the power of greyskull my dude :p
     
    Trish and Iain Aschendale like this.
  22. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Messages:
    18,385
    Likes Received:
    7,080
    Location:
    Ralph's side of the island.
    So far, no, it has no characters like that.
     
    Iain Aschendale likes this.
  23. gertegan

    gertegan Member

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2017
    Messages:
    30
    Likes Received:
    12
    Totality went right over my house. It was awesome. What's even cooler is the number of things that happen leading up to it. The catydids and frogs came out, the birds went to bed, the temp started dropping about an hour beforehand, and the darkness of totality was WOW. I didn't expect that. The one in 2024 should hit totality just a few hours drive from where I live, I plan on taking a moonflower over and seeing if it gets as confused as the rest of nature did.. :)
     
    GingerCoffee likes this.
  24. Mouthwash

    Mouthwash Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 19, 2012
    Messages:
    476
    Likes Received:
    193
    I've been searching all over but I keep seeing contradictory claims - how exactly does it affect the temperature? Is it like night, or just a few degrees lower?
     
  25. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Messages:
    18,385
    Likes Received:
    7,080
    Location:
    Ralph's side of the island.
    It cools noticeably but doesn't go to 'cold' anymore than it gets cold just after the Sun sets. It doesn't get pitch dark, rather it gets about as dark as an hour more or less after sunset. But it happens quickly enough it feels weird.
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice