Eclipse

[LowRyter]

The big one is coming Aug 21.  The first one in the CONUS in 99 years.  Not only will it be total,  the moon will be at the correct distance to completely envelop the sun, exposing the corona, the sky will darken and the stars will be exposed.

I am camping at Smithville Lake north of Kansas City.  This should be very close, perhaps in the direct path of the eclipse.

And a personal note, this will be my youngest son's 28th birthday.  And he was born in Belleville, IL, just to the north of the direct path.  I am hopeful that he and his older brother can be there.

Perhaps we'll see other friends there too?  Hopefully everyone within traveling distance will be able to see this once in a lifetime event.

[Lannis]

Maybe the first one in 99 years where the totality path covers that particular spot, but there have been about 8 in my little lifetime that were total somewhere in the USA that you could drive to ....

Still worth a trip to go see, though.   Kentucky somewhere would be the nearest to me ....

Lannis

[fotoguzzi]

·         Total solar eclipses aren’t rare – they occur, on average, about once every 17.6 years – but, since most of the earth’s surface is water, many of them aren’t seen.
·         Not since 1970 has there been the opportunity to see a total eclipse so easily in the U.S.
·         There will be another opportunity to see a total solar eclipse in the U.S. on April 8, 2024, but along a different path.
·         A total solar eclipse tends to return to the same point once every 375 on average… but Carbondale, IL will see a total eclipse this year AND again in 2024
 
·         Solar eclipses occur when the moon comes between the sun and the earth, blocking out our view of the sun.
·         The moon is about 400x smaller than the sun… but also happens to be about 400x closer to earth than the sun is.  It’s pure luck that the geometry works out this way, making a total eclipse possible
·         The moon’s shadow will be only about 70 miles wide as it traces a path on the earth.
·         The moon’s shadow will move across the U.S. from coast-to-coast in about 90 minutes; its ground speed will be approximately 2,400 mph (more than 3x the speed of sound)
·         Totality will last around 2 minutes in most U.S. locations
 
·         About 12 million people live directly under the path of totality
·         About 220 million people are within a day’s drive (~500 miles) of the path of totality
·         Departments of Transportation are very worried about traffic jams, and some are stopping road construction and removing lane restrictions around the eclipse
·         If you’re traveling to see totality you probably want to be there by Sunday, otherwise you risk a traffic jam
 
·         Areas that experience a total eclipse will see planets and constellations only seen at night; birds will roost, and it will feel like night, but with a orange-ish tint all around the horizon
·         During totality you may see thin filaments of light coming from the sun; these are plumes of hot hydrogen gas called prominences
·         During totality you will see a pearly-white glow emanating from behind the moon’s shadow; this is the sun’s corona
 
·         No one in Minnesota or Wisconsin will see a total eclipse this time
·         The Twin Cities the eclipse will peak at 1:06p CDT, with 83.5% of the sun obscured by the moon’s shadow
·         Based on the past 30 years of weather data, there is a 50/50 chance that it will be cloudy here for the eclipse
 
·         You should NEVER look at the sun or a partial eclipse without protective eyewear specifically designed for viewing the sun
·         It is safe to look at the sun with the naked eye during totality; but, you will not be able to do that anywhere in Minnesota or Wisconsin
 
Sources: My notes from a talk given by J. Kelly Beatty of Sky & Telescope Magazine (2017 American Meteorological Society Broadcast Conference in Kansas City, MO); WeatherWise magazine (March/April 2017); NOAA NC

[twowings]

It's SmithVILLE lake, not Smithfield...

[rodekyll]

I'm hoping to get somewhere under the total shadow for the event.  Remember, it's only a total eclipse if you're under the direct path of the shadow.  Too far north or south and you won't get the comlplete effect.  Don't forget to look for the spaceship hiding behind the sun.

[MGrego]

Incidentally my hometown in Missouri is directly in the center to the area of totality.  We have already gotten our viewing glasses......  Preparing to enjoy the day out on the deck of course !!

[yogidozer]

Lowryter, Camping with your sons and watching the eclipse. Can't get much better. Have fun!

[swooshdave]

They are anticipating a huge number of visitors to Oregon. Crazy.

[LowRyter]

99 years since a solar eclipse traveled coast to coast.  I can't say if the other total eclipse events mentioned or anticipated will be as perfectly aligned as this one.   This particular event anticipates the moon will be at the right distance to cover the sun nearly perfectly.  In this case, the sun's corona (atmosphere) can be seen.  This is not always true, even for a total eclipse.

Thanks Chris for pointing out that this Smithville MO.  I've camped there before, COE lake, very nice.  North of KC but easy drive into City for BBQ.  Should be near if not right on the path.

I am hopeful my sons can make it.   My oldest is a teacher and school begins so it will take some luck.  For sure my wife and I will be camping there.  Perhaps we'll see some of you there.  This is a "once in a lifetime" deal for me.

[Lannis]

99 years since a solar eclipse traveled coast to coast.  I can't say if the other total eclipse events mentioned or anticipated will be as perfectly aligned as this one.   This particular event anticipates the moon will be at the right distance to cover the sun nearly perfectly.  In this case, the sun's corona (atmosphere) can be seen.  This is not always true, even for a total eclipse.

Thanks Chris for pointing out that this Smithville MO.  I've camped there before, COE lake, very nice.  North of KC but easy drive into City for BBQ.  Should be near if not right on the path.

I am hopeful my sons can make it.   My oldest is a teacher and school begins so it will take some luck.  For sure my wife and I will be camping there.  Perhaps we'll some of you there.  This is a "once in a lifetime" deal for me.

Regardless of how often, I'm glad you brought it up.    Now planning a motorcycling "Road Trip" to our nearest point of contact in South Carolina.    Middle of "totality path" is about 6 hours from the house on the back roads .... find a nice little motel somewheres and Bob's yer uncle ....

Lannis

[fotoguzzi]

   Don't forget to look for the spaceship hiding behind the sun.

how do you see behind the sun?

[Caffeineo]

I am planning on going someplace that will not be over run with tourist to be in the center of the path. Got a place about an hour from home out by a reservoir picked out. Long dirt roads to get there that I am hoping will be the path less traveled. But.......there may be campers around it too. Mostly want to avoid the traffic after it passes. 

https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-maps

[rodekyll]

how do you see behind the sun?

During an eclipse the light goes off in the sun and you can see behind it.  That's how those cultists found the spaceship in the comet, too.   

[twowings]

I lived right north of there on Clinton County Highway C and SE 392nd Street for 10 years...although it was just RR2 Box 200 back in the wonderful days before 911 service...oh well, I wax poetic....

[Lannis]

I am planning on going someplace that will not be over run with tourist to be in the center of the path. Got a place about an hour from home out by a reservoir picked out. Long dirt roads to get there that I am hoping will be the path less traveled. But.......there may be campers around it too. Mostly want to avoid the traffic after it passes. 

https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-maps

I booked a room in Greenwood, SC for Sunday night.   

Sunday, we'll drive down there, find a nice place for dinner, stay the night.   Monday, we'll get up and have breakfast, then drive out into the country to the north a bit to get right in the middle of the totality path.

Have a picnic lunch with us, find a wide turnoff on a country road that's out of the roadway but still on the SC right-of-way, and hang out and .... wait for it!

It only lasts a few minutes .... then we're off home.

Lannis

[alanp]

Regardless of how often, I'm glad you brought it up.    Now planning a motorcycling "Road Trip" to our nearest point of contact in South Carolina.    Middle of "totality path" is about 6 hours from the house on the back roads .... find a nice little motel somewheres and Bob's yer uncle ....

Lannis

FYI, I looked at doing that in Wyoming (not exactly population density central).and every motel room and campsite anywhere near the eclipse path has been booked since last year.  Somebody already thought of this....

[Guzzistajohn]

It's SmithVILLE lake, not Smithfield...

Yep, I lived in Smithville 400 E Woods : )

[Guzzistajohn]

I'm gonna go visit me brudder in St. Joe. Maybe track down Ace Mallot too : )

[Guzzistajohn]

99 years since a solar eclipse traveled coast to coast.  I can't say if the other total eclipse events mentioned or anticipated will be as perfectly aligned as this one.   This particular event anticipates the moon will be at the right distance to cover the sun nearly perfectly.  In this case, the sun's corona (atmosphere) can be seen.  This is not always true, even for a total eclipse.

Thanks Chris for pointing out that this Smithville MO.  I've camped there before, COE lake, very nice.  North of KC but easy drive into City for BBQ.  Should be near if not right on the path.

I am hopeful my sons can make it.   My oldest is a teacher and school begins so it will take some luck.  For sure my wife and I will be camping there.  Perhaps we'll see some of you there.  This is a "once in a lifetime" deal for me.

The towne Tavern in downtown Smithville is a nice little bar.

[LowRyter]

see ya there John

[redhawk47]

Map of predicted traffic density on highways crossing the 2017 Solar Eclipse path.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1lf1zQElZCKW8f0gTbY_b06wIfA4&hl=en_US&ll=38.47357050550013%2C-96.0817515&z=6

[Lannis]

FYI, I looked at doing that in Wyoming (not exactly population density central).and every motel room and campsite anywhere near the eclipse path has been booked since last year.  Somebody already thought of this....

Didn't have any trouble in Greenwood, SC, which is right in the totality path .... all three motels I tried had rooms available.   I picked the nicest one, in deference to Fay since last year I picked the most horrible motel in the United States on a trip through Gainesboro, Georgia ...

Lannis

[Caffeineo]

Map of predicted traffic density on highways crossing the 2017 Solar Eclipse path.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1lf1zQElZCKW8f0gTbY_b06wIfA4&hl=en_US&ll=38.47357050550013%2C-96.0817515&z=6

Very cool map. Thanks. Maybe there is hope the dirt roads will not be too crowded.......but who knows until it happens.

[jas67]

The eclipse is going to be on my brother's 50th birthday.
That's gotta mean something, right?

[Lee Davis]

Mark Twain said "I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year (1910), and I expect to go out with it".  He was born 20 days after it appeared in 1835, and died one day after it was at it's brightest, in 1910.

[Lannis]

Mark Twain said "I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year (1910), and I expect to go out with it".  He was born 20 days after it appeared in 1835, and died one day after it was at it's brightest, in 1910.

Maybe not TOO much of a stretch to think that a 75-year-old guy who's not feeling well might think his time is coming soon.

His "Comet" thing was probably the basis for his short story "Captain Stormfield's Visit To Heaven", one of his funniest tales .... !

Lannis

[LowRyter]

.........And for us that can remember, Halley's was a bust.

[brownk]

  I live in Elwood, KS.  People around here seem to think it's going to be crazy.  There is a rumor that the Japanese are going to have an orgy in the parking lot of Mainerds.  I don't think I'm going anywhere.  I should be able to see it from my front yard.


   krb   

[rodekyll]

I decided to pass on travelling, too.  There's cloud cover along the coast and south, which is where I would have been headed.  Oregon is calling out the national guard for the event and we're being warned that an hour's normal travel will take up to 8 hours with the traffic in the totality zone.  So I'm staying home.

[guzzisteve]

Let the rest crash, staying home w/welding mask, might not be a #14 though. Close enough.