93,000,000 Miles
 |
| Somewhere in Texas as seen from my television screen |
My neck of the woods was never in the path of totality but I was excited to see the eclipse anyway. It will be my third partial or failed full eclipse that I can remember. My first partial eclipse was as a young boy. My failed bid for a full eclipse was in 2017 when clouds overtook the final stages. Who knows where I'll be in another 20 years when the next one rolls around.
Above was how it looked when I first started looking up at the sky. Note, all my pictures are taken with the glasses held over the lens of my iPhone.
Getting closer...
Above was peak totality for us at about 89%. That remaining 11% was still plenty powerful though as it was still not even at dusk feeling stage. But the air has a strange quality about it, an eerie feeling that doesn't quite sit right.
Above is my view of the garden at peak totality. As a picture on the screen, it doesn't look much different than ones I have taken under 100% sun but it was definitely different in person.
Back during my failed attempt in 2017, even though we couldn't see anything due to clouds, it did get as dark as night and the hairs on my arms and neck stood up. I didn't not get that feeling this time around. I guess 11% sun wasn't enough to trigger it. I hope all my blogging friends who are out there right now in the path of totality got to feel those hairs stand up.
I'm going to write a post about what Hawaii experienced for Wednesday. My daughter in Chicago says it was so close to totality that she just wanted to nudge the moon over. On her way back up the elevator to her office she heard some people complain that they didn't see the corona at all and didn't understand what the fuss was about. Then they got a text from someone in Carbondale, Illinois who was excited about their totality and was irritated that it wasn't great in Chicago. Sigh...
ReplyDeleteMy eldest was in physics class and the teacher asked if anyone had glasses and wanted to see the eclipse. Most snorted and said it wasn't a big deal since it came around every 20 years anyway. I had given a pair of eclipse glasses to my daughter so she raised her hand and the teacher gave her permission to go outside. Suddenly, my daughter had a lot of interested "friends".
DeleteThe weather cooperated and we had a great viewing! Totally awesome! Now for a couple of days of rain and possible severe storms.
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming you saw it in totality? Watching the awe of others on television seeing it in totality was emotional so I can imagine the emotion of seeing it first hand. I hope you write up your experience.
DeleteNeat pictures - and with your iPhone! Amazing. When I watch Korean dramas in the historical period, whenever there was a solar eclipse the shaman and court blamed it on someone and viewed it as a very bad omen. It is eerie. Maybe it does change the world each time.
ReplyDeleteWell, at least for a few hours yesterday, everyone was united. No political parties or religious beliefs existed. Only upturned faces looking into the sun.
DeleteGreat shots Ed! We got 82%, and while not as impressive as the 100% in 2017, I was glad the clouds didn't overwhelm it. Most digital cameras make so adjustments for light, so I'm not surprised it didn't photograph properly.
ReplyDeleteI was tempted to just hold my camera up to the sun without the eclipse glasses over the lens but was afraid that it would damage the sensor. Some local people though had more expensive gear with specialized filters and shared them over Facebook so I was able to see some great pictures.
DeleteWell, you got pretty close to totality, it looks like. Still a cool experience!
ReplyDeleteIt will be something I remember, along with my other two experiences with solar eclipses.
DeleteGlad you got to see something! We had rain and clouds.
ReplyDeleteMy attempt to see the total eclipse in 2017 had the same things!
DeleteYou had clear skies. We had clouds, but we could still get a pretty good glimpse.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I could see on the news, not to many along the path of totality were skunked due to clouds. They were light and wispy.
DeleteWe got 100% in Austin and got to see it in its stages when the clouds moved across. We didn't think we'd be able to so it was exciting. It got SO dark!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you were able to see it! With the forecasted clouds, I wasn't so sure you would.
Delete