The eclipse was awesome!

[Thomas Veil]

I’m not usually one to be bowled over by stuff like this. Plenty of eclipses have happened during my lifetime, but they’re always either partial, or I’m too far off the path, or there’s cloud cover.

But this time, as you probably know, the eclipse was total for a fairly wide swath of the United States. So I didn’t have to travel too far to experience it.

I’ve seen it get dark outside before during an eclipse, but never like this. And for those very few minutes, being able to look directly at it during totality was just awesome.

It actually didn’t look like it does on TV, with a ring of yellow light surrounded by utter blackness. The sky remained a dim blue as the moon passed over the sun. And the light actually looked more white than yellow, which I didn’t expect.

No, the TV cameras don’t really do it justice.

Anyway, I’m glad that after so many eclipses during my lifetime that were disappointing for one reason or another, this one was something to remember.

 

[lizkat]

I’m not usually one to be bowled over by stuff like this. Plenty of eclipses have happened during my lifetime, but they’re always either partial, or I’m too far off the path, or there’s cloud cover.

But this time, as you probably know, the eclipse was total for a fairly wide swath of the United States. So I didn’t have to travel too far to experience it.

I’ve seen it get dark outside before during an eclipse, but never like this. And for those very few minutes, being able to look directly at it during totality was just awesome.

It actually didn’t look like it does on TV, with a ring of yellow light surrounded by utter blackness. The sky remained a dim blue as the moon passed over the sun. And the light actually looked more white than yellow, which I didn’t expect.

No, the TV cameras don’t really do it justice.

Anyway, I’m glad that after so many eclipses during my lifetime that were disappointing for one reason or another, this one was something to remember.

I'm so happy for you and for everyone in the totality pathway who didn't get disappointed by heavy clouds!

Even up here and well outside the totality swath, we got luckier than predicted, with very light cloud cover, so the easiest way for me to mark the time of near-totality (well, 98%) was to see the shadows of the maple trees disappear and reappear... an eerie sensation, since unlike when a upcoming rainstorm darkens the skies in mid-afternoon, the cloud cover remained wispy instead of thickening as it got darker. Now it's all sunny again even though the clouds are starting to thicken as a change in the weather supposedly sets up for a rainy rest of the week.

My only regret is that after this recent cold, rainy, icy and then snowy spell of weather, none of my backyard birds are anywhere near arriving back here. They know a good place to be is still well south of here for awhile again. I think they have made a few U-turns already this spring. I would like to have seen how they reacted to the vanishing "twilight in midafternoon" here today. But there's not even a robin in sight in this area right now.

 

[SouprMatt]

It wasn’t 100% eclipsed here, but the sky did get darker. And then I could see the crescent shapes in the sun’s reflections and shadows. It was similar to my experience in 2017 with an almost-total eclipse in this area. It’s a nice reminder of the reality of the objects in our solar system!

 

[Huntn]

A bust for me, but no biggy, in the 95% zone, overcast skies, barely noticeable darkening, and only because the eclipse was reported. And of course today the skies are clear. 🤔

 

[Thomas Veil]

Here’s something you’ve probably never seen before: what an eclipse looks like from space.



That is weirdly fascinating.