Total Solar Eclipse August 21 2017

[Boris13c]

Yes, the Solar Eclipse Is Worth the Hype (Trust Those Who Have Seen One)

Pictures of the sun in total eclipse make it obvious the event is unusual. What is normally a blindingly bright disk is utterly black and crowned with a pearly halo against a dark sky. The eclipsed sun looks, in fact, like a hole punched in the sky.

It is easy to determine if someone has seen a total solar eclipse in person. You just ask. If the response is "I think so" or "maybe," then the real answer is "no." Anyone who has seen totality knows it with certainty and knows the difference between a total eclipse and a partial eclipse, the latter of which many people have observed at one time or another, because partial eclipses are always visible over a much larger area than total eclipses. That difference — even the difference between a total solar eclipse and a partial eclipse that covers 99 percent of the sun's disk — is the difference between night and day. (That said, totality is never as dark as night, and the darkness in every total eclipse is different because it depends on several factors, including your location.)

Those who have not actually been immersed in totality have a hard time understanding what all of the fuss is about. It is, however, the most remarkable event ever delivered by the sky. Only the aurora, a close second, comes near totality in impact on the eye and on the heart. [Total Solar Eclipse 2017: When, Where and How to See It (Safely)]

In a total eclipse, eyewitnesses are awed, exhilarated and inspired. For only a few minutes, everything is suddenly, theatrically and seemingly irrevocably transformed. The sun goes black. The temperature drops. The colors of sunset encircle the entire horizon. Planets pop into view in an oddly darkened sky. And people go a little nuts, thrilled by the grandeur and grateful for the circumstance.

When you witness a total solar eclipse, you first see all of the familiar partial phases leisurely come and go as the moon gradually encroaches on more and more of the sun. (The partial phase before totality lasts nearly 90 minutes in most cases.) Clear sky is never guaranteed, and so every total eclipse is accompanied by uncertainty that sometimes continues to the moment before totality.

The first headliner on the stage of totality is that initial "diamond ring," when a single bead of the sun's disk is visible on the edge of the black moon. Valleys and mountains on the edge of the moon combine to create this one last beam of full sunlight. It's a moment that catches the breath and may seem instantaneous or eternal. The duration and the way the brightness declines are tremendously variable and depend on the exact contours of the moon's edge. It is also still a dangerous time to look at the sun without protection, but once that diamond ring shuts down, you get to remove your Mylar glasses or other approved filter and stare at totality.

Then, at totality, you see a lot in what seems like no time at all. It is a wild, uncanny time. It is short — totality will last less than 3 minutes in 2017 — but packed with events. Totality is like suddenly finding yourself in the middle of a three-ring circus. There is never enough time to see and notice everything, and so the eclipse leaves you with the feeling that you have unfinished business. And finally, whatever you see during the eclipse, it is stunning. It is unique. It is memorable. It is the stuff of both dreams and concrete reality. For a while, it seems like the most important thing there is.

a little concerned about the "And people go a little nuts" part ... based on current events, people already are a little (to a lot) nuts

[Boris13c]

How weather could impact eclipse viewing, plus 7 other science questions answered

long article ... lots of graphs and good info ... the important safety tip is :

Why is it not safe to look at the sun even when only a small part of it is visible?

Here’s the official explanation from NASA:

“The rods and cones in the human retina are very sensitive to light. Even a thin sliver of the sun’s disk covers thousands of these light-sensitive cells. Normally during daylight conditions, the iris contracts so that only a small amount of light passes through the lens and then reaches the retina. This level of indirect sunlight is perfectly OK and the eye has evolved over millions of years to safely see the daylight world under most circumstances. The problem is that the sun’s surface is so bright that if you stare at any portion of it, no matter how small, it produces enough light to damage individual retinal cells. It takes a few seconds for this to happen, but afterward you will see a spot as big as the solar surface you glimpsed when you look away from the sun at some other scenery. Depending on how long you gazed at the sun and how badly the retinal cells were damaged, this spot will either fade away in time or remain permanent. You should never assume that you can look away quickly enough to avoid eye damage because every person is different in terms of their retinal sensitivity, and you do not want to risk being the one who damages their eyes just to try to look at the sun.”

[Boris13c]

20 seconds is ‘all it took:’ Oregon man left partially blind by 1963 eclipse

PORTLAND, Ore. — An Oregon man who watched a solar eclipse in 1963 said the experience left him partially blind in one eye, according to KPTV.

Now he wants everyone to know the warnings about eye damage during the upcoming eclipse are no joke.

Back then, it was a total solar eclipse in Alaska and Canada, but the path of totality did not come through Oregon.

Still, Louis Tomososki remembers being 16 years old and watching it unfold from the baseball field at Marshall High School.

Nobody was talking about safety glasses back then, so he watched it with the naked eye, closing his left eye and leaving his right eye open.

“Oh 20 seconds probably, that’s all it took,” Tomososki said. “I’m glad I didn’t go 40 seconds; it would have been even worse.”

He doesn’t remember when he realized there was a problem, but those few seconds burned a hole in his retina, leaving him with a sizable blind spot he’s had ever since.

He describes it as looking at someone and being able see their face — but not their nose.

Tomososki remembers it was discovered during an eye exam when he went into the Air Force after high school.

In the 54 years since that eclipse, he said the blind spot hasn’t gotten any worse or any better.

“Every time we go to an eye doctor now for an exam, they dilate your eyes and look in there, the first thing they say is, you looked at a solar eclipse sometime in your life,” he said.

Dr. Brandon Lujan, an assistant professor of Opthamology at OHSU’s Casey Eye Institute, said the same damage can be done on any other day if you stare at the sun.

But with the eclipse, even when the visible light is reduced by the moon, UV and infrared rays can still do damage to the retina.

“Some damage occurs pretty quickly, but a lot of damage can take hours to days to really come to bear,” Lujan said.

“Unfortunately, there’s not a treatment for it, so once that damage is done you have to wait and hopefully things improve and your body can heal some, but a lot of the damage can be permanent.”

[mmmc_35]

And it's going to rain.

[RING4CHI]

Missed entrepreneurial opportunity.

Should've bought a high number of these solar eclipse glasses only to resell them this weekend at an insane price hike. Seeing people all over social media looking for the glasses, only for every retailer in practically a 40-mile radius around here to be out.

Kicker is it's supposed to be mostly cloudy with a 50% chance of storms Monday.

[Otis Day]

It was cloudy here in the armpit of IL. You could see it most of the time, but I was just not into it. Since we didn't get to experience the complete darkness it was no big deal. A buddy of mine drove 3.5 hrs southwest to take it all in. He said it was pretty awesome.

No biggie and now back to real life for some of my geeked out co-workers.

[UOK]

It was interesting to step outside and enjoy the odd eclipse with co-workers, but honestly it was barely noticeable. The sky simply appeared slightly more overcast than it already was. I was personally hoping for a weird, spooky sky.

[wab]

Texas version of the solar eclipse:

[Boris13c]

that was pretty much how it was by me too wab

unless you were one of the fortunate folks who actually got to see the total eclipse, it really was no big deal ... all the partial eclipse areas got the blast of squeezed bright sunshine as in your pic

[o-pus #40 in B major]

that was pretty much how it was by me too wab

unless you were one of the fortunate folks who actually got to see the total eclipse, it really was no big deal ... all the partial eclipse areas got the blast of squeezed bright sunshine as in your pic

we had just over a minute of totality - drove about 40 miles south and watched it with a lot of other folks on the shoulder of US Hwy 97

for watching the shadow as it gradually eclipsed the sun I was wearing the eclipse glasses over my sunglasses and it was distinct

during the totality I went to sunglasses twice only for about 3-5 seconds each time - you could see the corona very well

the guy parked next to us had just drove 1000 miles, by himself - strange dude