bornagainathiest Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 Folks, Please take five mins to read this article about observing the eclipse safely. http://mreclipse.com/Totality3/TotalityCh11.html Don't chances with your eyesight. I made that foolish mistake when I was in my teens and I've had to live with the consequences ever since. The vision in my left eye is considerably weaker than my right and my optometrist puts the disparity between left and right down to that mishap. Borrowing my big brothers binoculars I sat on a hill near our local airport and used them to track the planes as they taxied, took off and climbed away into the sky. I followed one plane too far on it's flight path, which from my viewpoint, took it across the face of the sun. AAAAGH!!! It felt as if somebody had hammered a red hot metal spike into the back of my eyes. The binoculars magnified the power of the sun tenfold, turning it's blinding light into concentrated heat. Long story short, besides blinding myself for a short while I'd also damaged the retina of my left eye. Yes, I know. That was a mighty ****ing stupid thing to do. So please learn from my stupidity and take all the necessary precautions to watch the eclipse safely and enjoy it. Thanks, BAA. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deva Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 I remember as a child taking a shoebox outside with a hole in it and viewing the eclipse reflected on the back of the box. This was a long time ago. I just looked up some data and it had to have been 1963! Ever since that time it was impressed upon me that I was never to look directly into the sun. Never did it since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted August 17, 2017 Super Moderator Share Posted August 17, 2017 I remember the shoebox method. It inspired me to build a pinhole camera. I guess around here we'll get somewhere around an 80% eclipse, but I've seen one and just can't get excited. I'm more concerned with what's for lunch! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deva Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 Florduh, I am not excited by it either. It is a workday and we also get a lot of clouds here in the afternoon so it will probably not be viewable by any method. It just prompted a childhood memory of perhaps happier days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 I plan on praying before I look directly at the sun. Just like I do every day. mwc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator TABA Posted August 18, 2017 Moderator Share Posted August 18, 2017 We're going to Greenville, SC for the full experience. I'm as excited to go to Greenville for the first time as I am to see a total eclipse! Keeping my fingers crossed for good weather, but the forecast looks good, four days out. It occurred to me that making a cross with the fingers for good luck is likely a vestige of Christianity... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joefizz Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 it is a "fascinating" and "rare" event just try not to get suckered into paying for overpriced stuff where ever you go to see the eclipse,it only comes once every so often so you know people will be ready to get as much money from this event as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhim Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Thanks for the cautionary tale BAA, though I'm sorry it comes at the cost of your partial eyesight. I'm in my 30s and that's a mistake I could easily see myself making with a pair of binoculars. I doubt I'll ever pick up such an instrument again without thinking of this! In any case, I wasn't able to make travel plans since I've got a wedding to go to a couple weeks after the eclipse...and I'm cheap. So that precludes looking directly at the sun by default. I do regret not being able to see the total eclipse though, since the 85% coverage I'll be seeing is certainly not the equivalent of 85% of the experience of a total eclipse (so I'm told by people who've seen the phenomenon). Oh well, this will not be the last one on the North American continent in my lifetime. Since I work at a company with a large number of scientists, they decided to order lunch on the corporate dime and give us a couple hours off to step outside and check it out. They even ordered special glasses for viewing the eclipse; though again, I'm quite certain I don't want to risk my eyes for this. As long as I'm not thwarted by clouds, it should be a great experience. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdelsolray Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 I'm heading about 40 miles south and 15 miles west tomorrow to camp on a friend's farm for Monday's Eclipse. At that spot (Dallas, OR) we'll have 1 minute and 50 seconds of totality. I'm bringing both of my telescopes and two binos for stargazing on Friday, Saturday and/or Sunday nights, but they won't be used for the eclipse because I don't have a solar filter for either scope. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midniterider Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 I'd bring up the Vulcan protective inner eyelid...but only if it gives you a chuckle, BAA. Otherwise, yikes, that sounds painful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pantheory Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 On 8/16/2017 at 0:13 PM, bornagainathiest said: AAAAGH!!! It felt as if somebody had hammered a red hot metal spike into the back of my eyes. The binoculars magnified the power of the sun tenfold, turning it's blinding light into concentrated heat. Long story short, besides blinding myself for a short while I'd also damaged the retina of my left eye. Yes, I know. That was a mighty ****ing stupid thing to do. So please learn from my stupidity and take all the necessary precautions to watch the eclipse safely and enjoy it. Thanks, BAA. Boo Hoo Our eclipse here in southern California may not be spectacular. The sun will be eclipsed by clouds for some, and possibly all of the 2 ½ hour ordeal from beginning to end. This has been the normal morning for us in Los Angeles during the first half of this summer, much cooler because of that damned global warming . Here it will be about a 65% percent eclipse at its greatest occultation so it will get darker here but we may not have any other visual experience unless we get lucky with some cloud clearing enabling sporadic glimpses of the event. Here the eclipse is supposed to be at its greatest occultation about 1 hour and a half from now, 10:25 AM pacific standard time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
★ Citsonga ★ Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 It's sunny here in south-central Pennsylvania and we're slated for an 80% eclipse. I took a vacation day since this is a rare event and the local school district decided to close for the day (mainly for liability reasons, since the eclipse should be happening as the kids would've been leaving the schools and loading onto buses). We have some NASA-approved solar glasses that we plan to use, but even with those we don't plan to be constantly looking at the sun. Better safe than sorry. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted August 21, 2017 Super Moderator Share Posted August 21, 2017 Be safe. Take a selfie with the sun behind you. You're welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
★ Citsonga ★ Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 P.S. -- Sorry to hear about your eye damage, BAA. That truly sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
★ Citsonga ★ Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 3 minutes ago, florduh said: Be safe. Take a selfie with the sun behind you. You're welcome. But don't use zoom without a filter, as that could damage your camera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
★ Citsonga ★ Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 The eclipse has started in the western US. It's amazing that scientists can calculate this stuff years in advance. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♦ nivek ♦ Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 0947PDT: Things have started to darken outside already much as cloud cover might. Upstream from PDX on Columbia River, not quite south as Madras but in direct path of Oregon's primo dark down areas. 45.9174° N, 119.3425° W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pantheory Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 Not much to look at. Partly cloudy, with some clearings. What was supposed to be a 2/3 eclipse turned out to look more like a 1/3 eclipse when viewed in my shoe-box size box. Although the sky darkened somewhat, I would have never known that there was an eclipse excepting for the news reports. Oh well, better luck next time. The next total U.S. eclipse will be in 2024 but I would have to travel from here to see a significant portion of it. Parts of the eastern, central, and southern U.S. will again experience a total eclipse at that time. In parts of South America there will be another total eclipse in 2019. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
★ Citsonga ★ Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 We got to see the 80% eclipse here. It darkened a little bit outside, but not as much as I'd expected. If not for the news of it and viewing it with solar glasses, I wouldn't have known there was an eclipse. It was still cool to see, though, and only part of the time was it blocked by thick clouds. Maybe next time we'll have to do some advance planning and make a trip to a total eclipse region. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joefizz Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 2 hours ago, Citsonga said: It's sunny here in south-central Pennsylvania and we're slated for an 80% eclipse. I took a vacation day since this is a rare event and the local school district decided to close for the day (mainly for liability reasons, since the eclipse should be happening as the kids would've been leaving the schools and loading onto buses). We have some NASA-approved solar glasses that we plan to use, but even with those we don't plan to be constantly looking at the sun. Better safe than sorry. Yeah considering that even when there is not an eclipse it can be risky to look at the sun whether directly or indirectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joefizz Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 1 minute ago, Citsonga said: We got to see the 80% eclipse here. It darkened a little bit outside, but not as much as I'd expected. If not for the news of it and viewing it with solar glasses, I wouldn't have known there was an eclipse. It was still cool to see, though, and only part of the time was it blocked by thick clouds. Maybe next time we'll have to do some advance planning and make a trip to a total eclipse region. The eclipse was right here in Tennessee,yet it didn't get as dark as I think many were expecting but,oh well I'm not really disappointed because I wasn't that interested,where as others had been majorly excited,I just hope noone ended up broke buying alot of "Eclipse" Memorabilia or all the arrangements people made to come and see the Eclipse,certainly A remarkable Event but still not worth spending every cent for,just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geezer Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 I kid you not. A thunderstorm rolled in a few minutes before the eclipse, black storm clouds covered the sun, and a few minutes after the eclipse ended the storm passed and the sky got blue again. So so we watched it on TV, but not exactly the same as experiencing it live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhim Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 3 hours ago, Geezer said: I kid you not. A thunderstorm rolled in a few minutes before the eclipse, black storm clouds covered the sun, and a few minutes after the eclipse ended the storm passed and the sky got blue again. So so we watched it on TV, but not exactly the same as experiencing it live. Same here (even the TV part), except that the storm came in an hour before maximum coverage and persisted for a couple hours afterwards. I was able to view the eclipsed sun through a pinhole camera that I made out of a couple of my business cards. Oh well, maybe next time I'll make the drive/flight to an area where there will be total coverage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator TABA Posted August 23, 2017 Moderator Share Posted August 23, 2017 We went to Greenville SC for the total eclipse. The forecast had been dodgy a few days out but at showtime, in spite of scattered clouds, we had perfect viewing conditions. At totality the ambient light was about what you'd get with a full moon. Fortunately the lights at the hotel pool where we were hanging out were on a timer, not a light sensor, so they stayed off. Venus was clearly visible for about 10 minutes and at least one other "star" could be seen. The drop in light between 95% and 100% was very pronounced. The view of the eclipsed sun and its corona was amazing. But the 2+ minutes of totality went by too quickly - we wished it could go on and on. Still glad we drove the seven hours each way to experience it though. And by the way, Greenville is a GREAT town! Looking forward to going back in a cooler season of the year. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 ^Greenville is great! there will be people downtown walking around til 2 or 3 in th morning on weekends. Very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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