Anyone going to see the 2017 total solar eclipse?

[mike656]

if you're going to travel, might as well go all out and go to southern illinois

http://www.americaneclipse2017.org/observing-the-eclipse/weather-prospects/

I would have done that and was considering it, but from where I will be seeing it ill have 2:35 of totality, and its only a 7 hour drive from home.

 

[Minerva]

We're going to be here rain or shine!

https://eclipsemega.movie/simulator?lat=35.56275460000001&lng=-83.4984981

 

[kt]

http://www.carbondaleeclipse.com/

I'm about 317 miles ( 4 3/4 hours) NNE of Carbondale, IL. Too bad it's a Monday, gotta be at work.

My wife's great aunt lives in Benton, IL with a huge home. We invited ourselves over for that week. Only about 30 miles NE of Carbondale.

 

[SKORPI0]

I live right in the middle of the path here in Oregon, and we have some undeveloped land that we are letting visitors rent spots to camp on. Was able to get $750 each for the tent spots and $2000 for the spots we have set aside for RV's for the weekend.

Yep, people are scrambling for spots to stay since everything has been booked for months now. We just advertised with Facebook classifieds and Craigslist. People are paying cash up front, and no one has cancelled. I should be able to find a taker for the last RV spot before eclipse time gets here.

We are expecting so many people here in northeast Oregon that our county emergency services are advising us to do all of our grocery shopping a month out, as they expect the local stores and restaurants to be overwhelmed.

Checked some listings at NE Oregon, Craigslist - Eclipse -Housing/Vacation Rentals.

Sample listing -
A lot cheaper than your $750 for tents and $2000 for RVs.

https://eastoregon.craigslist.org/vac/6202322366.html

Extra large RV rental lots - 1500 sq feet - $150 per night, 2 night minimum. Discount for multiple nights after 2.
Tent camp spots - 600 sq ft. $75 per night, 2 night minimum. Discount for multiple nights after 2.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For reference - NE Oregon Total Solar Eclipse path - Aug 21 2017.

https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/oregon/

 

[adairusmc]

Checked some listings at NE Oregon, Craigslist - Eclipse -Housing/Vacation Rentals. Not sure if this is your listing..
A lot cheaper than your $750 for tents and $2500 for RVs.

https://eastoregon.craigslist.org/vac/6202322366.html

That one is about 40-50 miles away from our property, in Prairie City (ours is in Sumpter, OR).

 

[SKORPI0]

That one is about 40-50 miles away from our property, in Prairie City (ours is in Sumpter, OR).

My point is, the other places are a lot cheaper than your claimed $750 tent/$2000 for a RV.

So maybe this is your listing?
https://eastoregon.craigslist.org/vac/6199971229.html

 

[adairusmc]

My point is, the other places are a lot cheaper than your claimed $750 tent/$2000 for a RV.
So maybe this is your listing?
https://eastoregon.craigslist.org/vac/6199971229.html

Also not mine, but that the same ballpark price that we are offering, since our price includes Saturday through Tuesday (4 days).

Good for everyone trying to fleece the visitors of all they can though, this is a wonderful opportunity for many people to cash in. Sumpter is a great spot too, we are one of the few communities in eastern Oregon that has a pot dispensary, since most communities on this side of the state voted to not have one though it is legal.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

No, to me an eclipse is very much like a parade. It's something other people get excited about for reasons I don't understand and which even they can't explain. It's light out! Something obscured the sun and now it's dark! Oh look, the obstruction moved and it's light again!!

Doesn't that happen every day and every night?

 

[zinfamous]

No, to me an eclipse is very much like a parade. It's something other people get excited about for reasons I don't understand and which even they can't explain. It's light out! Something obscured the sun and now it's dark! Oh look, the obstruction moved and it's light again!!

Doesn't that happen every day and every night?

The novelty wore out when it stopped being about a month-long celebration involving massive human sacrifice.

 

[SKORPI0]

adairusmc. If I was in your shoes, I'd actually be doing the same, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity right?

Anyway, here's a nice interactive Map (thanks to Xavier M. Jubier) along the path. Click a spot on the map and it gives details.. Obscuration,start-end time/magnitude at maximum moon/size ratio, etc.
http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/TSE_2017_GoogleMapFull.html
http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/TSE_2017_GoogleMapFull.html

Darn, partial solar eclipse, only 87.75% percent of the sun will be covered where I live.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

The novelty wore out when it stopped being about a month-long celebration involving massive human sacrifice.

Yes!! Bring back the human sacrifice and I'll watch.

 

[SKORPI0]

Yes!! Bring back the human sacrifice and I'll watch.

Any ATOT member you have in mind?

 

[mike656]

Myself, like probably most others, haven't been around long enough to experience a "total" solar eclipse but have seen partial ones. Now IMO, there is no comparison between the 2 whatsoever, you have to be in the totality corridor otherwise you will be underwhelmed by the experience, I know I was. FYI there hasn't been a total solar eclipse visible from the lower 48 states since 1979, so its worth checking out if you can.

 

[tynopik]

I would have done that and was considering it, but from where I will be seeing it ill have 2:35 of totality, and its only a 7 hour drive from home.

so you're going to drive 7 hours for a 70% chance of having clouds obscure it?

 

[mike656]

so you're going to drive 7 hours for a 70% chance of having clouds obscure it?

It's a gamble, of course, but the hotel room was cheap, gas is cheap right now, and if the dreaded "c" word occurs, there is always 2024.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Any ATOT member you have in mind?

I can give you a list. Might take a while to read it all though.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Picture is worth a 1000 words.

I knew about that concept, did not figure it was that prevalent due to how far the sun is. I guess it is.

 

[smitbret]

It's passing about 25 miles north of my house, but it's going to be such a cluster f*ck I'm not planning on going.

Same here. I will probably just be working.

 

[JTsyo]

I knew about that concept, did not figure it was that prevalent due to how far the sun is. I guess it is.

Since the moon is moving away from the earth, at some point a total eclipse will not be possible.

 

[luv2liv]

ok dumb question....why is staring at the sun during the eclipse worse than staring at the sun on any bright day?

 

[pcgeek11]

Going to sit in my front yard and watch it. Just north and west of Charleston SC.

 

[pcgeek11]

ok dumb question....why is staring at the sun during the eclipse worse than staring at the sun on any bright day?

Because your eyes will dilate. When you are outside on a bright day they aren't dilated.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Because your eyes will dilate. When you are outside on a bright day they aren't dilated.

TIL. I thought it was because the moon was reflecting the sun back and it doubled the power of the sun... but now that I think of it that makes no sense otherwise looking at the moon alone would also be dangerous.

 

[pcgeek11]

TIL. I thought it was because the moon was reflecting the sun back and it doubled the power of the sun... but now that I think of it that makes no sense otherwise looking at the moon alone would also be dangerous.

http://www.physlink.com/education/askexperts/ae586.cfm

You actually can safely look at a total solar eclipse while the sun is _totally_ blocked by the moon. It looks like the moon has a fiery white aura, and it is one of the more spectacular things I have ever seen.

So why do people say it's dangerous to look at a solar eclipse? Well, in general (during non-eclipse times), you've probably been told not to stare at the sun. This is because the sun simply outputs more power than our eye is designed to handle, and exposing our eye to that kind of power can damage the retina. And in a nutshell, solar eclipses are dangerous because the sun can come out from behind the moon and "surprise you" before you have a chance to look away. And this is actually even worse than when you normally look away from the sun because during the total eclipse, it is dark out, and your pupil therefore dialates so that it can let in enough light to get a good picture. Then, when the sun reappears and starts flooding the area with really bright light, not only are you staring straight at it, but your eye is in a state where it is wide open, and actively trying to let in as much light as possible.

This explains why it is easy to damage your eye when watching a total solar eclipse, and why you should either be sure to time it very carefully (and allow for a good margin of error), or just view the thing through one of those sets of cheap "dark" glasses they sell for the express purpose of looking at the sun without getting hurt.

 

[IronWing]

Fun thing to do during a partial eclipse that doesn't involve eye damage…