Eclipse

Wow!

I vaguely remember an eclipse back in the 70's, maybe 1979. In Dallas it wasn't a total eclipse, but it was still pretty cool. I looked at the partially blocked sun through a couple of pieces of developed microfiche film. Anyone remember microfiche? It was probably not the safest way to view.

This year we were lucky enough to be with friends who have experience with, infatuation and knowledge of solar eclipses. We were much better prepared than I was back in the 70's. We also had the good fortune to park next to members of the Las Vegas Astronomical Society with a telescope and filters for viewing the sun full on. Before the eclipse started we were able to look at the sun and see three different sun spots through their telescope. All cool, but nothing compared to the main event!

At first, as the moon moved across the face of the sun, there was nothing to see other than through glasses specifically for looking at the sun. I tried holding the glasses over the lens of my iPhone but even with a quarter of the sun blocked the pictures still showed a bright blob. I did get one decent picture during the two minutes where the sun was completely obscured by the moon. But pictures don't do the experience justice. Nor will my words, but I'll try to describe what it was like for those that didn't have the good fortune to witness the total eclipse of the sun.

We were west of Rexburg, Idaho, in a parking lot set up on BLM land specifically for viewing the eclipse. According to our friends, Kent and Heather, we were about 100 yards from the centerline of the eclipse- meaning we were going to see a 100% eclipse.  We were in the "band of totality."  The eclipse there was to begin at 11:32 and last just over two minutes. 10-15 minutes before the eclipse enough of the sun was blocked that the sunlight changed. It's not like dusk or dawn, the light had a gray tint to it. The closer we got to totality, the more eerie it felt because of the strange light. I kept rubbing my eyes, trying to clear them. Once the moon completely blocked the sun, no special glasses were needed, you could look straight at the sun. I don't know how to describe the feeling other than complete wonderment at what you were seeing. People were yelling and applauding. It was absolutely amazing.  The corona, which is normally never visible because of the brightness of the sun, is on full display. During the two minutes the sun was blocked by the moon, you could see both Venus and Jupiter shining bright in the midday sky. The temperature dropped 11 degrees, from 71 to 60. Kent and Heather had warned us about the temperature drop so we were prepared. Also during the two minutes, there was a 360 degree sunset. Every direction you looked the horizon was glowing red. Two minutes seemed like two seconds. It was over way too soon. The first few seconds as the moon slowly uncovered the sun, I continued to look. The sun's light was pure white as it peeked out from behind the moon. Fabulous.

We're hooked. We have to see another one. And so the planning has already begun. Kent has sent us a map with the path of the next eclipse in the US, April 8, 2024.  Of course the weather will be a factor but here are some cities / towns in Texas where you'll be very close to the centerline and treated to four plus minutes of totality.
Rio Frio
Vanderpool
Ingram
Lampasas
Topsey
Gatesville
Valley Mills
Hillsboro
Ennis
Kaufman
Sulphur Springs
Bogata

As I said, I only got this one decent picture but I hope to get some of the ones Kent got to add to this. I wanted to spend my time experiencing this incredible phenomenon rather than messing about with my camera!

Take care and hope to see you in Texas in 2024!
Brian