Totally Cool!

I watched the 90% eclipse from our front yard (with solar glasses) and thought it was way cool. The temperature dropped noticeably. It dimmed, but not in any way that would be obvious casually. While I was watching the eclipse progress, I was also lucky enough to hit a livestream just as the eclipse reached totality.

I feel badly for people who traveled to see it and got rained, or clouded out. That would be a major bummer.

We watched online since it was raining here. Even though it wasn't in real time, it was cool!

I got to see it here when the clouds finally broke for a bit. I was not in a total eclipse area, but it was still pretty cool.

"This is the first total eclipse viewable from the lower 48 states since February 1979. It will be the first total solar eclipse in 99 years to sweep from coast to coast." Huff Post

I was out walking, no glasses though. I did glance at the sun for a moment, just like any other day, but I certainly did not watch the event. I found unexpected mini-eclipses on the sidewalks under the trees - very cool.

It's called the Great American Eclipse for not only the fact that it swept the country from coast-to-coast, but the USA is/was the only country in the world to see totality!

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/facts-solar-eclipse.html

While I didn't drive to see totality, I still enjoyed the 80% we saw today in the DC area.

Glasses were provided where I work for employees and their guests. Surprisingly, they didn't run out!

I'm looking forward to the April 8, 2024, solar eclipse when totality will cross through Western NY where I grew up and still have a lot of family.

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2024-april-8

Edited to add:

At 80%, the amount of "darkness" was like wearing sunglasses. We also noticed that the temperature dropped a bit. It was hot here all day but cooled down a bit for a few minutes -- a welcome respite!

It was overcast in Chicago, but I'm glad I stepped outside the office anyway, as every so often the clouds parted long enough to make the 86% eclipse visible.

On the other hand, with the cloud cover present, we could watch safely without glasses. That's when I took the photo below with my very old I-phone.

The whole spectacle made me acutely aware that we are but tiny specks on a large round rock, circled by a smaller round rock, while racing around one of a gazillion stars in the universe that we call "THE SUN"...

I only saw the quarter moon reflection from a piece of cardboard but photos from Oregon with the total eclipse gloom was awesome.

We had no changes in light here but it got slightly cold.

Everyone in my office building stepped out to watch it so there was a collective buzz and excitement in the air. A very nice colleague passed around her eclipse glasses so a bunch of us got to look at the actual thing, which was AWESOME. At one point, it got sorta overcast and none of us were sure if we were experiencing peak coverage (which was only 70% in my city) or if it was a random cloud. Hah. Jealous of those who experienced full darkness!

We had gorgeous weather all morning--not a cloud in the sky, but a few rolled up on the horizon at peak, which for us was a little more than 90%. My grandson's school had sent a pair of glasses with each child, so he and my DD watched from the backyard. They'd also made a viewing box, and DGS made a video.

I sat on the front porch with the younger DGS, who is too young to understand. We had a few minutes of 'green twilight', but no darkness. However, just about the time the shadow started across the sun, the rooster went into a fit of squawking, as if something was after him, but he was just standing in the yard. An hour or so before the shadow started, a large flock of birds were twittering in a tall tree--maybe they knew something was coming. We could hear the crickets, but I was disappointed not to hear the peepers.

pippabean, your last paragraph is lovely. :)

I went out of my building with a colleague who had some glasses. Found a gathering of Physics professors from the next building outside. Was able to see the 83% eclipse through glasses, with a welders mask, and with a box. Similar to what I saw in 1979, at least from what I recall.

The director of our observator was somewhere that was 100%. Hoping to see some of his photos taken through a telescope. He gave me a great photo of the super moon that I have framed at home. That was amazing.

I guess there are benefits to working with a bunch of geeks at a university.

Our son-in-law took this in downtown Kansas City. Very cool. We had some clouds but it was still mostly visible here 100 miles west of KC. Our neighbors' roosters started crowing and I could hear the hens settling down for the night since it was so calm and quiet. After totality the roosters started up again. Short night for them! Lol. It cooled off probably 15 degrees too. I remember an eclipse sometime in the '70's as I was in grade school and we made the pin hole boxes .

My husband punched a hole in a piece of cardboard and that's how we watched the eclipse. It got dark here but not as dark as the cities that were in the path of totality. I thought it was amazing to see the universe at work!

We were more than 90%, watching from the beach with eclipse glasses. It did get cooler, and you could tell the sun was faint, but it didn't get dark, which surprised me. It was great and the kids loved it.

Totality in Wyoming. Amazing, can't really describe.

77% here, partially obscured by clouds. I was surprised at how little of the sun showed at 77%! The clouds prevented much difference in light quality.

My Mom hosted an eclipse party for her friends. It was clear at her house, and she noticed the birds stopped chirping when her partial peaked at 80%.

I scored points with my nephews new college roommates when I gave them eclipse glasses yesterday.

Very cool! Even saw Shadow Snakes! First for me! Looked like a million crescent moons dancing all over the lanai floor. Last I remember was grade school too and making the pin hole viewer. This time we made a mini telescope with binoculars. Even tho we are not in the line of totality I still thought it would be a lot darker. Regardless, very cool :)

97.6 % here but we couldn't find glasses anywhere. We did have some clouds. It got dark but not as dark as I expected.

100% here- in our yard! It was amazing- hard to describe. I will probably try to travel to the one in 2024, if I'm still above ground. We just got totality in before a cloud bank moved in.

We drove a few miles to see 100% totality rather than 99% from our yard. Shared DH's #14 welder's lenses he found yesterday to watch. Initially I didn't care whether I saw it or not and thought more about the time I'd need to catch up on work... until I saw the full eclipse, and was amazed by it. Certainly an event I'll never forget, it was quite spectacular!

I didn't know they were called shadow snakes MaWizz! I thought they were the coolest thing ever, and no glasses needed! Even better that we had no idea that this could happen until we looked it up after we saw it. The small holes between the leaves in the trees act as pinhole cameras and those cresents are all tiny eclipses projected on the sidewalk.

Here is a later picture with larger crescents as the moon was moving off the sun (different sidewalk).

On the other hand, with the cloud cover present, we could watch safely without glasses.

This is absolutely untrue. UV passes right through the clouds and burns skin and eyes. Some of the worse sunburns I've seen came on cloudy days. If you can see the sun through the clouds, it is much worse than if you cannot see it, but the damaging radiation is not completely stopped by clouds.

The shadow snakes are so cool. I've never heard of them.

Can you imagine what it was like before science? To see and feel a total eclipse and not know what it is or that it will pass. Your life giving rays suddenly disappearing. The fear then joy as the sun reappears. It must have felt like the end of the world.

That's exactly what DH and I talked about on the brief drive home, how frightening it must have been to those not living in the time of knowledge and technology, and not just the darkness, but also that (amazing) ring of light, or the sun getting 'bitten away'. I wonder if they thought the sun was dying?

Gloomy and overcast all day yesterday here in the northbay (SF). Today, though, is lovely and sunny. Such is life.

LOL @ "shadow snakes".

We stayed outside and watched the whole thing. Only 65% here in southern California but light was definitely dimmer and more golden. Sky cleared of coastal overcast just as it started. Took cell phone photos with front facing camera, you get a reflection of the eclipse while the sun is still a glare and played with binoculars [fail] and pin hole camera [success] on white paper.

Did not know about 'shadow snakes' but have seen them before. Glad to know the official name!

Yes scrappy that's what we saw too! so cool right? I kept looking down and then up at the mango tree wondering why it looked like that!

92% here. It got like dusk, some automatic lights went on, and my friends' cows headed for the barn thinking it was night.

We have a very "spirited" golden retriever who curled up on his bed at the campsite and didn't act like himself from early morning until after totality was past and the sun showing about a quarter, then was back to his goofy self. Another person thought his dog had eaten something because it was acting so subdued. Their humans on the other hand were quite giddy!

I was on a (poorly timed) conference call, but saw a bit from my office window. It was cloudy here so not as impressive as it could have been, but still cool!

I dropped my son at college (freshman year!) in Nashville over the weekend. Traffic coming into Nashville on Sunday a.m. was really backed up; assuming lots of that was eclipse watchers. I was grateful to be going in the other direction.

I saw a time lapse video from the university - it got really dark and was more impressive than what we got here in Chicago. Some friends went to Carbondale IL to watch it there; loved it.

@Sherri LOL

Here's a couple of amazing photos I found on the web.

Omg Sherri that made me laugh

we took the kids into the front yard with cardboard aluminum foil and a pinhole. Then noticed the shadow snakes, but didn't know they were actually a thing. We also all had blurry shadows that were a bit blurry around the edges. But midday in August in Houston it was pretty hot. We got less than 5 minutes out of the kids before they went inside.

Sherri1058

that's a hoot!!

Left to right: Niece, niece, wife, best friend since high school. Seated photobombers in rear are husband riff-raff as is photographer.

LOL!

A group of 50+ of us went to a state park in TN (east of Nashville) so we were there for totality (2 minutes, 34 seconds)

It was so cool watching the moon eat the sun, bit by bit. At totality, everyone whipped off their eclipse glasses and cheered and was just amazed. I stood there looking up--those 2.5 minutes passed really quickly. I got to see the diamond ring effect both at the beginning and end of the eclipse, as well as being able to see Mars.

It didn't get as dark as I expected--we could see stars and Mars, but it wasn't dark--it was deep twilight. I didn't take pictures, but friends who are with me are sharing theirs.

It was an amazing experience and well worth the 9+ hour drive!

bethohio3:

My picture above was taken near Sparta, TN.