this post was submitted on 08 Apr 2024
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Astronomy

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I'm sitting in a dark hotel room on the eve of my first - and possibly only - total solar eclipse, with my partner and step-son, and I am positively awash with emotions.

I have been waiting for this day for 30 years, since my first partial eclipse in May of 1994. That was an underwhelming experience for many reasons, but not the least of them was that I had nothing and no one to view the eclipse with.

Three decades, two astronomy degrees, 5 years operating a planetarium, and 5 years as a guide at the local observatory later, and I'm fully prepared. Today, I have more viewing glasses than i have fingers, two cameras with filters, I have my family, and I am smack dab in the middle of the path of totality.

And the forecast calls for clear skies.

I can't believe it. I can't believe that this is actually happening for me. That everything looks like it's going to work out.

The only disappointment is that I discovered that Potato World exists - it's the New Brunswick potato museum (and it's next door to my hotel) - but it's closed!

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

Dude! I saw the eclipse from Bouctouche and my God it was incredible. Please let us know what you thought!!

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

So, How was it? Did it live up to your expectations? Did you get any good pictures?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Pictures turned out ok! I should have done a dry run for my totality setup, as I wanted to do some bracketed exposures and assumed my DSLR would let me do that the same way in live display mode as it does in optical viewfinder mode, and it... didn't. But the pictures I did get are a reasonable, if insufficient facsimile of the experience.

As for the real deal... I'll have to update everyone once I've processed it. It was clear as crystal, and a perfect day. I was totally unprepared in every way that mattered. I don't yet have words.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

That seems like a lot of work for potato world.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

Sounds like it was enjoyable. My son's mother took him out of school and drove them 2.5 hours to go see it in totality.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

My wife only went because I was hellbent on seeing the eclipse at totality (we saw the last October's eclipse and 2017 both from around 90% coverage). Afterwards she said "the Grand canyon ain't got shit on a solar eclipse" and we are both still in shock for how amazing of an experience it was.

The wonky colors as day slowly turned to night, the sudden whooshing shadow as totality began, the burning ring of fire in the sky then the light whooshing back as totality ended, the cacophony of yelps by folks too slow to put their eclipse glasses back on. It was a hell of an experience

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

I'm in a similar boat. Flew across the country because after "missing" 2017s I immediately felt regret. Now I'm debating Europe in 2026.

But the colors. Can someone who understands this stuff please explain to me why a simple reduction in light in the lead up to (and following) totality makes all the colors seem "wrong"?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

Ot depends on which colours you mean.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

Hope you got a good view!

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

I’ve got a few years of waiting on you, but never made an eclipse a priority to see. This one was close enough where I had no excuses. And I had the day off with the kids. We drove many hours to get to Plattsburgh, NY in the hopes that the event wouldn’t be obscured by clouds, we had a choice between that and Ohio. Looks like Ohio did pretty well, we had a high cirrus cloud layer but it wasn’t enough to disrupt the view. I wouldn’t call myself an astronomy buff, but Space has always held huge interest in my life, so dragging the family out for this event was kinda a big ask because they weren’t necessarily into it. I hoped the trip would be worth it, both weather-wise and stellar phenomena-wise.

Worth it. There’s no words to describe the ethereal, silvery ring that magically appears during totality. Bailey’s beads and more. Sure, there are photos and videos, but that doesn’t do justice to the play of light in the environment surrounding the viewer, the night-yet-still-day incongruity.

Everyone is taking home some joy from the experience.

We tried to capture a photo of total, but due to a comedy of errors, it didn’t happen, so the memories will just have to stay in our heads.

I hope anyone near an eclipse’s path of totality won’t write it off if they have a choice. Go see it. Truly a sight.

Hope your viewing went well, too.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

This is the kind of thing where even if kids don't seem to really be interested in it, even if they don't seem impressed, it's such an incredibly rare and unique event (close enough to home) that they will always remember it. Maybe not to the point of thinking about it every week, but in the sense that every mention of solar eclipses, at the very least, will remind them of this one moment in totality with you. You can plant some seeds for interests without knowing what will take root while still knowing the seed stays there.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Hopefully that works. Enjoy the eclipse!

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

I'm camping in the middle of nowhere southeast Oklahoma, praying this cloud cover lifts in time

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

So, apparently Potato World is actually open today, unannounced. So, just this once, ~~everybody lives~~ I really can have it all

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

False alarm. They just have an inflatable planetarium set up inside. No potato displays at all :(

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

This was a roller coaster of emotions! I had to look up Potato World after that and saw Col. Chris Hadfield is giving a speech nearby this evening

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

He is! Though I'm not sure how anyone has anything left in the tank after the eclipse for a talk, even from him

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago (2 children)

I'm going to skip it. I don't want to risk buying an counterfeit eclipse glasses and blinding myself 😬

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I was camping for the last eclipse. Didn’t make it north enough for totality, but fairly close. Seeing the little wedge of sun filtered and projected hundreds of times through the trees was pretty awesome- and in a way more interesting than looking at directly with the special glasses.

Even if you don’t look up , try to go out and enjoy it.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

That's how I viewed 2017! Went outside on my lunch break to watch the bananas on the sidewalk while everyone around me went about seemingly totally unaware of what was going on right above and below them

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

You don't need glasses during totality, if you happen to be in its path. If you're not, actully looking at the sun is the least interesting part of a pretty eh event, anyway.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

I am giddy-happy for you!

I'm glad you have someone with you to share in the event. It is going to be such a special day!

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Just remember the one important rule about potatos.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

Keep your hand really flat when you feed them?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

I happened to be able to see the 2017 one and it was so impactful I saved the date and made sure I'd make it happen. Cut forward 7 years and here I am with most of my immediate family (I have 6 siblings so having most is impressive).

It is an experience that can't be captured by any form of digital or physical media and my only way to describe it is - it's the closest thing to magic I've ever experienced.

I plan on saving up and going overseas for one as well.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

Unrelated, but I just wanted to say that rotating Mars icon for the channel looks pretty slick.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

"camped" out in Quebec, my son speaks better French than me and has corrected me all weekend, but we'll see whose in charge when I poke him in the eyes two seconds before totality... Or squeal like a school girl as it approaches, we'll see which happens!

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

Store the memory of this wonderful milestone in your life where you can reflect on a life well spent and be embedded in the feeling of belonging to a loving family. That shit is GOLD and will protect your mental health like a Patronus Charm from Harry Potter.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Three decades, two astronomy degrees, 5 years operating a planetarium, and 5 years as a guide at the local observatory later, and I’m fully prepared.

Me, watching a total eclipse 30 years ago: "MUUUUUM! WHERE'S THE OLD CAMERA FILM? I WANT TO MAKE ECLIPSE GLASSES!" Then I was fully prepared!

It was exciting. (I hope that those folks in MX/US/CA have fun.)

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Hello from someone who lives in New brunswick! Small world

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago (2 children)

You've had Potato World all this time, and you didn't share it with your neighbours??!?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I honestly had no idea, I figured potato world is just what we called Pei

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I feel like no one else in the comments cares. I'm so VERY interested in Potato World.

I mean, not as much as in the eclipse, but still VERY interested.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Right??!?

And it's a pretty big place, all things considered. But it's seemingly only open from September to mid-October.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

That seems like a reasonably potato filled kind of time down here in Canada

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

I saw it in Barbados years ago.

Completely amazing.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago (2 children)

I hope it lives up to expectations!

I drove 2200 miles for this solar eclipse. I booked a place here in Dallas last year, and now it seems like it's going to be cloudy with rain and thunder. :-/

I convinced my dad to fly over and join the road trip.

At least we got to see some incredible stuff on the way! Maybe there will be a break in the clouds...

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I've heard that it's still a surreal experience even when overcast. Though, that's what I had to believe to actually book the hotel room and days off work as somene living on the north-atlantic coast.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

I was able to see the one back in 2017 smack dab in the middle of the path of totality and it was such a surreal otherworldly experience. No amount of trying to explain it to other people helped them really understand. Things look a weird way and there’s a very unique feel to it all.

My advice, get things set up, get your shots, start your recordings, but don’t forget to take 30seconds or so and just soak it in and be in the moment!

Enjoy! I’m super excited for you!

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago (2 children)

I was in the same boat, 2000+ mile drive. NE Texas isn't looking too bad right now! But if you're up to it, drive up to Arkansas. I did that today from Austin-ish. Clouds up here are looking much more optimistic!

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

I debated packing up my stuff and driving a couple hours to Mena, but I'm not sure the weather is going to be any better there...

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

I just unpacked, and there's no way I can take another day in the car! :-D

It's my birthday tomorrow, so I'm hoping to just take it easy.