I was a little north of KC and almost got 100%. Really cool seeing the sun blocked and seeing the classic "ring". It wasn't night-time darkness, but street-lights, headlights, etc turned on. The peak lasted 5-10 minutes. Situation wasn't looking good early on as it was pouring down rain a couple hours prior, but it mostly cleared up during the process. It lasted almost 3 hours. There were light clouds during the peak so didn't see any stars. It was difficult to notice a darker sky outside of 60%+. The temperature dropped about 10 degrees during 80%+. Couldn't notice anything happening naked-eye outside of 90%.+. Yes I took quick half-sec glances... eyes feeling great. Some people spent over $1000 coming from afar. Motels were charging $300/night with a 2-day minimum... supply and demand, but shady. Very cool experience
Just got back from a totality zone in Wyoming. It was probably the most spectacular thing I've ever seen. It suddenly snaps from not being able to look at it to totality that you can look at with bare eyes. It's a surprising suddenness. The moon is a black circle with wisps of white from the Sun's corona. No yellow color. Looked like a mystical hole in the sky, to me. Some call it a diamond ring. That lasted 2:27 minutes where I was at. Right before and right after, there is a few seconds of a piercing white glow peaking out. You can look at that too. Then it snaps to yellow brightness that blinds you... If this happened every year at the same time and spot on Earth, that time and place would be the most visited location on Earth. I didn't expect to be that amazed. I want to do it again, now.
With all the attention this has received, everyone in Houston is going to want to see the next one in central Texas in six and a half years. The traffic will be epic. Maybe hurrican Rita type epic.
Stay away from notoriously cloudy areas. A friend of mine decided to go to Nebraska with several alternate points along country roads. He didn't face much traffic, but one pesky cloud covered the totality for all but a few seconds of it. So sad. And NE would seem safe for clouds this time of year. My spot had about 150 miles of I-25 to stay mobile along a line of totality. And I suppose in the morning, I could have gone to NE, too. Traffic was only bad on the way back, as most left at the same time, but arrived at very different times, if not days prior. Wasn't really much worse than any given Sunday returning from a great ski weekend.
In Houston, did you feel there was any slightly darker during around lunchtime? I felt it was slightly darker, not sure if it was caused by mostly cloudy or actually an effect from solar eclipse.
Checked it out in deer park with the glasses... wasn't really expecting much but it was actually pretty cool. Although the moon was only covering like 15 percent of the sun.
This was absolutely one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I cannot describe how awesome it was seeing the eclipse in the path of totality. I was in Goreville IL for the event. Clear skies the entire time. I am still speechless. Left late last night from Chicago at about 12am and got to the hotel for a quick 5 hour nap. The drive home however, was a traffic nightmare for the first 200 miles. My goodness.
Are you sure you got that location not confused with Missouri? I was 20 miles from Carbondale in Goreville and had absolutely clear skies with few scattered cumulus clouds around?
Something about it was just so calming... Seeing it like that in the sky. Its hard to say but never have I ever felt more connected to the universe than at that moment. We see the sun and moon so frequently that we take it for granted. The moment when I took my glasses down and the hundreds of people all around just in utter awe. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life for sure.
I was talking about the live event they were doing at one of these college stadiums in Carbondale people paid money to get into. They had Cheerleaders and everything. ABC and CBS (not sure of NBC) was there to cover the event. Right at full eclipse, there was just one cloud blocking everyone's view in the that stadium. The skies did look clear for the most part, except for that one cloud in the way for the full eclipse. TJ Holmes from ABC looked pissed and didn't try to sugar coat his disappointment. The astronomer looked especially devastated. It was pretty funny in a "what else can go wrong" way. I felt bad for all those people that paid money.
otterville missouri to be precise. I was in rando farmers corn field walking the aisles but it felt strangely wonderful. I didnt think children of the corn as much as you may think. Generally if I can find a good cornfield its one of my things to get in there. I will run if enough room. Totality goes quick and a metaphor for life. The moon is moving pretty good...we always talk about space time being slow. But remember that doesnt mean that things cant happen quick. Moon is very deliberate here folks. Its moving fast. Tick tock at you. At totality and those few minutes the animals came to life. The thing that struck me was the crickets and bug life that came up. Like those bugs are just all around our asses waiting to get their stuff started too. Ok. So I dont know what anything but i felt something pass through me. That is to say through my body. Thats the only way I can describe it. I wouldnt call it unsettling but i cant really say. It wasnt as dark as advertised it reminded of early morning. Are the microwaves in my head now going to make mebonkers? Is my polarity positive instead of negative? Or vice versa?I have just driven many hours back and work in a few hours but im really digging the way i feel about seeing this eclipse. Good job mother nature. Whatever ions or neutrinos or what ..im ready for this sh**it main.
Back in Houston. Saw totality in the north Georgia mountains (Dillard, GA). The setting was awesome, on a ridge overlooking a valley with mountains behind the valley. 25 minutes before totality thick clouds that were part of an approaching storm blanketed the view of the sun and it didn't seem like there would be a chance. Minutes before totality a hole opened in the clouds and we saw it unobstructed. It made the experience even more amazing. We went from feeling deflated to exuberance. Sports analogy...game 6 vs. the Clippers.
Hate to bump an old thread just to share my experience and pics but I am doing it anyway. I didn't get back from the Tetons until that Friday when Harvey hit. I had to go into work right away and pulled 12-14 hour graveyard shifts for 9 days straight. It was a crazy week. I didn't feel like bumping something like this when everyone was dealing with evacuating and their homes flooding. Epic is the only word I can use that describes what that morning was like. I was on a cliff ledge just off Table Mountain overlooking the valley, Grand Teton and rest of the Cathedral group. I actually was able to make it to that cliff that I posted earlier in this thread. The view in normal light was already the most amazing view I had seen but the eclipse at totality took it to another level. The corona around the eclipse at totality was like God's eye peeking in at earth. That is cheesy but I just can't describe how vivid and intense it was. It was like an orgasm for your eyes. I don't think I will ever see a view that amazing ever again. I went solo but I met some cool people along the way and at the viewing spot. One of the 3 other people that were out there with me was a dude who worked for the National Weather Service and had some advanced weather metering gear and a few cameras set up on tripods with timers. I only had my iPhone and it wasn't able to capture the eclipse due to the lighting. I was waiting on the photos the guy from the NWS to send me his edited time lapse shots before bumping but he hasn't had much time to work on them. This is the best photo that he has posted so far, I just wish he left the watermark off: Pic of me before totality with my face blurred out... It got a lot colder the more the sun was covered Spoiler This photo sphere is the only thing that I have seen that captures what it was like where I was. The actual eclipse and corona don't look too great but everything else turned out pretty well. If you look at it zoom out a bit before looking around. The guy who took this was on a ledge NW of me but it captured the spot I was at. I took a screenshot and drew a circle around our spot. Spoiler I highly recommend that everyone do their best to make it to zone of totality for the eclipse here in 2024. Bring yo kids, bring yo wife, bring yo husband. Aim for a high point with a good view so you can see the horizon. I think I might try for Enchanted Rock, Garner State Park or Inks Lake. Edited to try and fix the photo sphere link.
Thanks so much for posting these Baumer. Sorry I couldn't join you. Just worried it would be too much for my old dog. btw: the photo sphere link you posted doesn't work. You requested the page: /360/us-west/grand-teton-table-mountain-eclipse1.htm Sorry, this page could not be found. Please check spelling or use the search box below.
Its all good! The hike up more than whooped my butt. I had never been at that altitude before and I spent the last third of the climb wheezing and huffing like a fat kid with asthma. It was a bummer you couldn't come but I am glad you got to see it too. It blew me away. Thanks for pointing that out. Take 2: https://www.terragalleria.com/360/us-west/grand-teton-table-mountain-eclipse1.html
