The Great American Eclipse - Aug. 21, 2017

[Moliere]

I know that people in Idaho Falls are expecting gas stations to run dry, store shelves to be emptied, and the power system to fail. Cell phone coverage is the least of the concerns. Should be fun!

Hopefully the city folk that come to Idaho can share their cell phone technology with the farmers and other backwards people they'll be meeting.


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[Bo Diddley]

My wife's cousin is an Astro Physics professor in SC. She says she's been getting emails from Air Force pilots asking the best way to file their flight plan to view the eclipse. Shouldn't these officers understand basic geometry?

This made me wonder about all the general aviation folks who might be planning on flying to the total eclipse area to view it in mid-flight. What are the chances there are issues with that?

[Scott R Nelson]

I'm planning to go see the eclipse. Our current plan is to stay in Logan the night before, then get up real early and hope we can make it up to Rexburg to see it. It should normally take less than three hours to drive that far, but we're planning about twice that, just in case.

When we had the annular eclipse on May 20 of 2012, we drove to Fernley NV to observe it. That one didn't get nearly as much press, so there were no big crowds. We found a parking lot with a few other people parked in it who looked like they were also there for the eclipse. Everybody shared what they had brought for viewing it and it was sort of like a big impromptu party.

The party: Annular6.jpg

Some of the high tech viewing devices: Annular5.jpg Annular2.jpg

Interesting shadows: Annular3.jpg

At maximum eclipse point: Annular1.jpg

[Pelado]

Anyone else planning on coming to Idaho for eclipse viewing? I talked to a park ranger about my Mann Creek campground plan. The ranger said they're expecting 6-hours of traffic from Payette to Weiser on eclipse day. So I'm looking at other options.

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[All-American]

We're driving up from Denver to Casper, Wyoming. Here's hoping it works out.

[LiveCoug]

Looks like I'm in the 60% eclipse path. Boring.

[RC Vikings]

Looks like I'm in the 60% eclipse path. Boring.

I'm right in the path but I'm flying out to Chicago that morning. It would be nice to see but feeding my family seems a little more important. I'm hoping everybody is headed north so that the drive to Idaho Falls that morning is doable.

[wuapinmon]

We'll be somewhere between Orangeburg and Sumter, SC. We're just barely outside the totality zone. I haven't seen one since 1984, and it was really cool to me as a kid, so I'm taking my kids. Luckily, they canceled school for them that day.

[Mormon Red Death]

We'll be somewhere between Orangeburg and Sumter, SC. We're just barely outside the totality zone. I haven't seen one since 1984, and it was really cool to me as a kid, so I'm taking my kids. Luckily, they canceled school for them that day.

I'm going to Columbia. Hopefully it's not too miserable.

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[Northwestcoug]

My wife doubled down. I thought I had her convinced to stay in town, where the eclipse coverage is a measly 99.7%. But then she was casually talking to our CSA farmer, whose land is conveniently located in the path of totality, and asking her about just camping there for the night. Although CSA-type people are on the left end of the political spectrum, they are still motivated by money. A couple of weeks later she came up with the GREAT idea of hosting an eclipse party, complete with dinner, breakfast, and a band. All for the low price of $100 a head...

So needless to say that was a short-lived argument. We'll be looking for the most obscure route to head up to her farm on Sunday. It sounds like the band won't be playing now. There are still some fires that are actively burning in the area. And last I heard, there is a forecast of a cloudy morning! But my wife, ever the social butterfly, will be happy hanging out with other people during the eclipse. And of course she'll consider the 500 dollars well spent.

[Shaka]

I saw an eclipse when I was a kid and it was underwhelming. Am I the only one who doesn't give a crap?

[Pelado]

I saw an eclipse when I was a kid and it was underwhelming. Am I the only one who doesn't give a crap?

Nope. You're not alone. Lots of people I've talked to are not that worried about it.

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[Omaha 680]

We'll be somewhere between Orangeburg and Sumter, SC. We're just barely outside the totality zone. I haven't seen one since 1984, and it was really cool to me as a kid, so I'm taking my kids. Luckily, they canceled school for them that day.

I remember that 1984 one and it was impressive to me at the time. I thought it was a total eclipse, but apparently not? Wikipedia says last total eclipse viewable from the mainland US was in 1979. I'm irrationally interested in experiencing the zone of totality, but's the minimum drive for us is about 11 hours to somewhere in South Carolina. So we'll probably have to skip it and hope we are closer to the path of the next one in 2024.

SE2024Apr08T (1).jpg

[Shaka]

I remember that 1984 one and it was impressive to me at the time. I thought it was a total eclipse, but apparently not? Wikipedia says last total eclipse viewable from the mainland US was in 1979. I'm irrationally interested in experiencing the zone of totality, but's the minimum drive for us is about 11 hours to somewhere in South Carolina. So we'll probably have to skip it and hope we are closer to the path of the next one in 2024.

[ATTACH]8119[/ATTACH]

That's the eclipse to which I'm referring. I even built a little gizmo made out of a box which, when you stuck your head inside and aimed it at the eclipse, would project the image of the event on white paper fasted to the other side of the box.

I figure this time I'll take a nap instead.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I saw an eclipse when I was a kid and it was underwhelming. Am I the only one who doesn't give a crap?

Nope.