Posted on 08/21/2017 9:12:49 AM PDT by Kaslin
Americans with telescopes, cameras and protective glasses staked out viewing spots along a narrow corridor from Oregon to South Carolina to watch the moon blot out the midday sun for a magical couple of minutes Monday in what promised to be the most observed and photographed eclipse in history.
Sky-watchers everywhere — and millions were expected to peer into the sun — set out lawn chairs and blankets and awaited the first total solar eclipse to sweep coast-to-coast across the U.S. in practically a century. Astronomers were giddy with excitement.
Jim Todd, a director at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, warmed up the crowd at an amphitheater in Salem, Oregon.
“The world is watching us, folks, because we are going to get the first, best show and the weather is gorgeous,” Todd said. “The weather forecast is crystal clear throughout the state.”
David Avison showed up in Salem before dawn with his wife and relatives, after traveling by car and overnight train from their suburban Portland home. They couldn’t get reservations at a nearby resort, despite making plans six years ago.
“I’m telling people if you want to see the one in 2024, you’d better make your reservations now,” Avison said.
With 200 million people within a day’s drive of Monday’s path of totality, towns and parks braced for monumental crowds. Clear skies beckoned along most of the route, to the relief of those who feared cloud cover would spoil this once-in-a-lifetime moment.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
We had our totality, not far from Carbondale IL. I saw the diamond thing at the end too.
I was afraid that it was way over-hyped by the local media, but it was just too cool!
BEST ECLIPSE VIEW EVER.
They’re so vain ...
I did my workout, kept glancing outside, didn’t see ANY difference in the sky or the light.
Yeah and we get another one in just 7 years...how cool is that?
Pictures with my cell phone didn't do it justice...what light there was from the corona washed out the pic...saw a lot of light but not much dark of the moon.
Yes, the glasses have to be off during totality, then put back on as the sun reappears.
And there is another one in 2024 to close out the Trump era! :)
Well, than it wouldn’t have done any good if I had tried taking pics with my cellphone. I did take some pics of the sun before the eclipse, when the sun was peeking through the trees
Don’t feel bad, my considerably better digital camera* (than most cell phone cameras) didn’t do much better! But I did capture a jet contrail beside the eclipsed sun, which made the surreal seem even more so! I’m sure that plane made sure to be in the path of totality as it occurred, but it was crossing the path, not following it...
The rapidity of the decline in light just B4 totality (we got 2:13 where I was at) was spooky, too.
*My “pinhole camera” didn’t work worth squat, either, but the little crescents in light coming through tree leaves were really “neat”.
Of the totality, I suppose I spent 1-1/2 minutes actually viewing the corona around the black disc of the moon - it was truly wonderful!
Yeah still the coolest thing ever to experience live.
It was awesome.
We were in the path of totality and @ the local WalMart last night, around 10:30 pm, not only were there about 3x the normal number of customers for that time on a Sunday night, about half of them were speaking languages besides English or Spanish. Some I could not recognize at all.
It got a little “less bright” here in Orlando.
No big deal. It does the same thing every night!
I could be wrong but I think the phenomenon is enhanced the higher above the horizon the sun is in making the moment of totality much more dramatic. You have already had hours of daylight then suddenly like a light switch the sun goes off for a few minutes.
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