Total Solar Eclipse (April 8th, 2024) (1 Viewer)

buffalojim

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Buffalo, NY
Mark this on your calendar if you're interested in this. Here in Buffalo we will be in the path of totality. So cool!

https://www.wivb.com/news/buffalo-i...otal-solar-eclipse-some-schools-to-close/amp/

"The last total solar eclipse here was in the year 1925. The next one isn’t until 2144."

8FfWl4.png
 
I was about to start a thread for folks to discuss their plans, link to useful tools, and post photos and their experiences...but see @buffalojim is way ahead of the rest of us!

Who all lives under the path of totality? Anyone traveling to it? I made a long drive to the last one. Family thought I was crazy. But their tune changed when we witnessed totality. A life changing experience (no hyperbole). Spiritual even.
 
I was about to start a thread for folks to discuss their plans, link to useful tools, and post photos and their experiences...but see @buffalojim is way ahead of the rest of us!

Who all lives under the path of totality? Anyone traveling to it? I made a long drive to the last one. Family thought I was crazy. But their tune changed when we witnessed totality. A life changing experience (no hyperbole). Spiritual even.
Just got my glasses, took off of work that day, now just hoping for decent clear weather. The totality should be happening at 3:18pm EST here.

https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/where-when/
 
We've had plans for central Texas since before the pandemic!!!

We'll be at a private camp with an observatory about an hour west of San Antonio pretty much on the center line. My two astronomy friends (and fellow eclipse chasers) will be assisting with the eclipse festivities there including three nights of nighttime astronomy, a day of solar astronomy before the eclipse as well as the eclipse itself.

It should be a blast. One of the duo is my regular cohort at the Grand Canyon Star Party and the other I have known since high-school. We were at the eclipse in 2017 in Glendo, Wyoming the little town of 205 people that became 200,000 on eclipse day. This event is capped at 70 people, so it should be a much more civilized event.

(I actually just reserved the mini-van we're going to take two nights ago.)
 
I was about to start a thread for folks to discuss their plans, link to useful tools, and post photos and their experiences...but see @buffalojim is way ahead of the rest of us!

Who all lives under the path of totality? Anyone traveling to it? I made a long drive to the last one. Family thought I was crazy. But their tune changed when we witnessed totality. A life changing experience (no hyperbole). Spiritual even.
My wife (girlfriend at the time) and I drove an hour to Columbia, SC for the last one, we are going back to her native state of Ohio in April to see this one. I can’t believe we will see 2 in fewer than 10 years! Agree the experience is absolutely unreal.
 
We've had plans for central Texas since before the pandemic!!!

We'll be at a private camp with an observatory about an hour west of San Antonio pretty much on the center line. My two astronomy friends (and fellow eclipse chasers) will be assisting with the eclipse festivities there including three nights of nighttime astronomy, a day of solar astronomy before the eclipse as well as the eclipse itself.

It should be a blast. One of the duo is my regular cohort at the Grand Canyon Star Party and the other I have known since high-school. We were at the eclipse in 2017 in Glendo, Wyoming the little town of 205 people that became 200,000 on eclipse day. This event is capped at 70 people, so it should be a much more civilized event.

(I actually just reserved the mini-van we're going to take two nights ago.)
@David O looks like a good gathering not far from San Antonio
 
Just got my glasses. Our original plan was to go Burlington, VT, but hotels for that weekend have already been jacked to sky high for over a year. We're only a 2 hour drive from the path of totality so will probably just drive up for the day and then come back.
 
Hoping for some clear skies here! Wife and I are debating if we stay home or go down to our campsite outside of Cleveland. Maybe some custom eclipse chips are in order!
 
Hoping for some clear skies here! Wife and I are debating if we stay home or go down to our campsite outside of Cleveland. Maybe some custom eclipse chips are in order!
Each denomination is a phase of the eclipse, and the denominations start in black on the yellow sun side and as it’s eclipsed they fade to a red on black for the totality.
 
Each denomination is a phase of the eclipse, and the denominations start in black on the yellow sun side and as it’s eclipsed they fade to a red on black for the totality.
Thats 100% a better idea than anything I was thinking of, that would be pretty sweet!
 
I’m definitely jealous that the totality doesn’t come through my town. But, are you guys really scrambling to get the lowest price on a sheet of plastic glued to cardstock that will protect you from a lifetime of blindness?
 
I’m definitely jealous that the totality doesn’t come through my town. But, are you guys really scrambling to get the lowest price on a sheet of plastic glued to cardstock that will protect you from a lifetime of blindness?
Yep, for $8 I got 10 of them. Can't pass up that kind of deal!
 
I’m definitely jealous that the totality doesn’t come through my town. But, are you guys really scrambling to get the lowest price on a sheet of plastic glued to cardstock that will protect you from a lifetime of blindness?
I found some dark plastic wrap and I am going to just make my own for super cheap!

But seriously, there are fakes out there and the risk is not worth it. The American Astronomical Society recommends NOT buying from Amazon or eBay. They have a list of manufacturers and retailers in the US and Germany here:
https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety/viewers-filters

A tip for those with small children who may not be reliable about safely using glasses. Last eclipse I cut out cardboard shields and put 2 eyeholes in them. Then I taped the glasses to the shield so the tinted glasses were over the holes. It was easier for the kids to hold the shield, if they slipped a bit the cardboard protected their eyes, and I could more easily see if they were using it correctly. I snipped the adult glasses in half so I could bring the shades a bit closer together to fit my kid's narrower eye span.
 
I’m definitely jealous that the totality doesn’t come through my town. But, are you guys really scrambling to get the lowest price on a sheet of plastic glued to cardstock that will protect you from a lifetime of blindness?

I have this backup system called "eyelids" that is pain-responsive and will kick in really quickly if needed.

I have an awesome solar viewing filter for my telescope but it's not worth the effort during an eclipse because you spend so much time fiddling with it during the only 1.5 minutes of viewable eclipse to just see the sun you can view all day long, any day of the week, have a cover slide over it, disappear and then reappear again. It's not that exciting through a solar scope. Much better to watch, looking up with the mark 1 eyeball and appreciating the world around you in eclipse shades of lighting.
 

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