Videos of the April 8 total eclipse
I very much enjoyed these videos. They make me want to go out of my way to see one of the future total eclipses – although I’d have to go very far out of my way.
On April 8 I could have seen the total eclipse with much greater ease, although it still would have been a long drive. About a week beforehand, I actually tried to enlist someone to go with me, but I wasn’t successful and then I realized that I hadn’t planned far enough ahead and would probably be thwarted by traffic (and exhaustion) if I tried to go by myself. I had checked out some motels in places within striking distance, thinking I might stay overnight on the day before to beat some of the traffic, but they were full.
So I saw the partial eclipse, but that experience – although fascinating – is nothing like a total.
Enjoy:
This one just shows the crowd reaction and the darkness falling rather than the sun itself:
The difference between a partial eclipse and a total eclipse is like the difference between seeing a photograph of the Grand Canyon and standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon. A total eclipse is awesome. I hope you get to see one!
I watched from northern Vermont. It was perfection! Pictures and Videos do not do it justice. The crowd reaction videos do capture the child like wonder of the spectacle.
IMO there are many things more worthy of awe than an eclipse, a very transient and easily comprehended event. People I guess are drawn to eclipse-watching because eclipses are not common. To me, the daily “rising” of the sun is a great joy, on which all our lives depend.
I am 77, I am going to watch the next one in 2044
It was an amazing experience.
I was in an area that was in the path of totality for the one on 2017, but it was overcast. It was still strange, because it got very dark, the birds started singing, the parking lot like came on, and it got very cold. You couldn’t see the actual eclipse, however. Still, it was an interesting experience.
I drove to visit family this time around. They live in the path of totality, in the country, surrounded by corn fields.
The sky was clear. It was wild to see the “sunrise/set” sky coloring all around us on the horizon. The “darkening” was also a wild experience. It reminded me of the old TV shows and movies the way they used to do “night shots” — because of the shadows and the color of the light, it was clearly daylight, but it was dark, too. There was no color shift of the day light. It’s a darkness unlike any darkness you normally see.
I have a light meter on my phone and there was little change in the readings from no eclipse until about two-thirds coverage. (I’d’ve expected more of a dip.) At about two-thirds coverage, the light levels started decreasing significantly. I stopped looking at the light meter about about 10 fc, because the sun was amazing. So I didn’t know exactly how dark it got.
It got cold, and the birds started singing. We could see some of the farm lights in the distance flicker on. (The closest neighbors are Amish, so they have no farm lights.)
Of course, the sun looked interesting. Beyond interesting. Unbelievable. Amazing. Awesome, in every aspect of the word. So cool. I’m addicted. Robin Eatmon says it perfectly.
It was so cool that I wish I could go to Spain for the next one.
The next easy one to see for an American will be August 12th, 2045 which will be just over 6 minutes duration and has a path very similar to the 2017 eclipse which was almost literally in my backyard. There are, of course, total solar eclipses about every 18 months or so on average. I don’t know that I will live to see the one in 2045- I will be 79 years old at that time. I wanted to see the one last Monday, but traffic stopped me on the way to Indiana on Monday morning and I ended up turning around and coming home because I wasn’t even 50% sure I make it on time. I regret not pressing on now, but water under the bridge.
The one eclipse in the future I might shell out the money to see is in Australia on July 22nd 2028- I would, of course, not be going just to see an eclipse, but to visit the country itself before I die. That eclipse is over 5 minutes duration.
Here are the upcoming total solar eclipses with most convenient location:
August 12, 2026, northern Spain, max duration 2 minutes 18 seconds, about a minute and half in Spain.
August 2nd, 2027, southern Spain- max duration 6 minutes 23 seconds, but around 3-4 minutes in Spain;
July 22nd , 2028, northern Australia, max duration 5 min 10sec, in Australia, too.
Only saw %90 here, but was neat, not sure driving 6 hours west would have been worth it.
We had a total eclipse back in 2018 (?) here, so we didn’t have to travel to experience it. I can’t describe the feeling, but encourage anyone who can to travel and experience it.
Cicero:
It’s certainly not either/or. One can be awed by a total eclipse and also awed by a lot of other things including sunrise, sunset, the night sky, the Milky Way, a rainbow, the ocean – you get the idea.
You might want to note that the great majority of people who have seen a total eclipse say it is an incredible and awesome experience like no other.
Neo: I hope you get a chance to see a total eclipse. As others have said, a partial eclipse is kind of neat, but a total eclipse is an incredible experience. I wouldn’t have predicted that before I experienced them.
A physics friend of mine was at his daughter’s house in Indianapolis. He got a few great still photos that he emailed to others.
Neo:
Not in that majority. Like I’ve said, I saw one before. It was interesting but didn’t trip my awe switch This time I took a nap and woke up just as the light was returning.
Oligonicella:
I guess not every single person has the awe reaction.
It’s odd, but I was under the strong impression that I had seen a total eclipse in 1970. I found it interesting but not all that awesome. Turns out it was almost total but not quite, which makes a world of difference. Are you absolutely certain you were in the path of totality?
even if you know how it happens the very notion that the moon, which is a infinitessimal fraction of the size of the sun, could appear to ‘swallow it’ is impressive,
a neighbor of mine, who is an amateur chemist among other things, was in houston on the day of the Eclipse, and found it significant,
My take, formed as a HS teenager is this: it is the visual equivalent of having an orgasm — only, much more social.
Still TRUE.
There is an excellent 10-15 minute TEDX talk by a journalist or science writer whose topic is devoted to convincing us “Why a Total Eclipse should be on Everybody’s bucket list.”
He succeeds where my pith does not. Ah, found it. David Baron https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgxZ4H3gJ8c
Here’s a very recent written case for this
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/why-a-total-solar-eclipse-is-a-life-changing-event-according-to-8-eclipse-chasers/ar-BB1kWzne
THAT SAID, even though trained to view it safely, I did manage to damage one retina.
My eye doc couldn’t find it though. Then. So let me explain what must have happened.
Only a few years ago, with an optometrist — perhaps using better examination tools — found it on one retina. Not both!
This is weirdly atypical for such things. To the optometrist, I said notice the dark lines that resemble the filament of synthetic shag carpeting fibre — not long, but wound up in right angle turns.
THIS damage to one eye means that it must have happened using my 50mm lenses SLR, WITHOUT A FILTER, just as the second diamond ring effect occurred (ie, my camera viewing eye) — for totality, we all took them off our lenses as planned. This is the end of totality, after a few minutes of darkness the retina opens wide to accomodate. Thus, I didn’t immediately re-filter my camera lens!
Now, this threat cannot occur with completely digital cameras these days. But plenty of cameras using natural light still do. JUST DON’T use it — leave it at home.
Eye damage occurs from ultraviolet sun rays, and there will be no pain signal whatever!
Saw my first total eclipse in 2017 in TN. Hooked me completely. Nothing like it IMHO.
Saw the one this year in Mazatlan. Just as impressive, though I missed having the nighttime animals come alive at totality.
The difference between totality and non-totality is…pardon the pun…between night and day. It’s simply amazing how much light comes through even 30s before totality. And being able to observe without glasses the ring or corona at totality, and the 360 deg sunset, is simply awe-inspiring.
I hope you get a chance to see one. Greenland and Spain in 2026 is next.
I saw the 2017 total eclipse and was absolutely awed by it. I had expected the darkness but I wasn’t prepared for the drop in temperature. I work on a college campus and the city schools had sent many of the students to the campus. They sat in the stadium and cheered when the eclipse reached totality. In 2045 I will be 94 and since old age is in my family’s genes, I might make it.