h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What with the smoke from wildfires in the region (the nearest os over 25 miles away, so we'll be fine) I thought I'd be able to get a lovely blood-red photo of the 90% eclipse we'll vbe seeing. Except I woke up to fog, that's forecasted to last past the eclipse. There's not even a bright spot in the sky where the sun should be This is obviously not a good spot for eclipses--the annular one, a few years ago? Lovely clear day, until half an hour before the eclipse--I literally watched the fog roll in over the top of the trees, and it was thick enough to watch the eclipse with no protection...

I'm rather surprised by how much hype the partial eclipse is getting in areas outside the zone of totality. Houston is only going to get about 66% coverage and it's getting much more attention than previous, more complete and annular eclipses have received. They've tagged this as "The Great American Eclipse" and I'm almost surprised it doesn't have a commercial sponsor, that someone didn't buy the naming rights.

It's just getting started, we got about an hour until it reaches its maximum eclipsicity. I do have my glasses at my desk. I'll go outside after I post this and see if I can see a nibble out of the side of it. I'm looking forward to 8 April, 2024 when we'll have one go over Texas when it's not scorchio degrees outside. The lane of totality is about 50-100 miles West of Austin, nice camping territory.

63% coverage is what's predicted in Boston. I expect to be walking around outside at the moment of greatest blackout.

It's 1:27 now, so the eclipse started 3 minutes ago, and will get more pronounced until 2:47/

I've never heard of eclipse glasses being sold out before, especially not weeks before the actual event. And dangerous knockoffs being sold to unsuspecting suckers.


Around the lane of totality, this makes sense. On the Gulf Coast... not so much.


Anyway, I just took a glance using my new ECLIPSER HD® Safe Solar Glasses, and to be honest, I think with a good pinhole viewing box, you get a better look. If you get a big box, the Sun is larger.

We do have our photographers set up outside the building with a solar filter on what looks like at least an 800mm lens. I might stick my mobile up to the eyepiece later and take a snapshot.

We watched NASA's livestream, and Notepad was duly impressed. PaperKid pointed out that, since we could only see it online anyway, she could just as easily watch it later (Notepad made her getup for totality anyway). All it did here was get gloomier for a bit...

http://goo.gl/photos/mJuVS3sipcisk46N6

A few pics I took during our 66% partial eclipse.

Took me a sec to figure out why you took a picture of your watch Email 'em to , since I couldn't get any...

At the moment of maximum eclipse [2:47], I was walking around an outdoor shopping mall. I looked up at the sky occasionally, but I never noticed much difference in the Sun's light. This was not the most important moment of my life.....

Here in Thurrock Essex, I did not see a thing or notice any difference in the skies. The partial solar eclipse was supposed to be around 7pm or earlier. The only partial solar eclipse I have seen (did not look at the sun directly) but noticed how dark it got was in the late 90's in Ashington in Northumberland.

Even here with 66% coverage, the dimming was just noticeable.

If I'm still in Boston in 2024, I'll see a total eclipse

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2017/08/21/solar-eclipse-2024-new-england-totality/

I doubt that I'll be around in 2045, but there's one that year, though it won;t be visible in Boston

Yeah, I'm already making plans for 2024. It will be great over West/Central Texas. I saw an excellent composite photo; I'd like to try something similar.

The eclipse was expected to be at peak at 14:35 local time . . . I got distracted and missed that point by about 10 minutes. Having noticed absolutely no changes in ambient light. But then, I am quite north of the path.

Considering how often we get clouds covering the sun, it would take a total eclipse to be noticeable here.

Even with can't-tell-where-the-sun-is cover, it was still noticeably gloomier for about half an hour, and our maximum was 90%

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KahOD-93D7U

My house was just on the edge of totality. Babybroe got about 6 seconds of totality at school across the street. I went to a friend's house about half an hour away to get closer to the center line. We got almost two and a half minutes of totality. It was amazing!! We were up on a hilltop and had a beautiful view of the 360 degree sunset reflected off some clouds off to the east. Didn't get very good pics, they turned out a little dark. But I'm already eyeing Texas for a 2024 vacation... (even though Poplar Bluff, Missouri, is only about 3 hours away and in the path of totality).

Pictures of an eclipse turned out dark?