I don’t understand. Could someone please explain why so many people are willing to drive for many hours and sit in traffic for hours just to basically see the moon cover up the sun for 2 minutes? I mean, it would be cool sure, I’d drive up to an hour away if I didn’t have work that day, but....
You’re seeing an event that any individual person has a very low chance of just happening over them in a lifetime. The event has had great significance throughout human history. It allows you to see solar phenomenon that cannot otherwise be observed without expensive equipment and/or spacecraft.
In the past people waited significant portions of their lives to see this, mounted expeditions to observe it and failed. To know one is going to occur nearby and have the privilege to live in a time and place where with minor difficulty you can travel and see it and NOT do so is a disservice to humanity. It’s like another poster said upthread, the difference between 99% and totality is the difference between kissing someone and sex.
It is a 'spiritual happening', which teaches us exactly how puny we earthlings really are.
It is like trying to explain God and the universe in one sentence - it can't be done.
Because you are there in the shadow, it is a personal thing, almost a religious experience.
You realize how powerful and magnificent the forces of nature are, by something so totally out of your control
and,.. it brings you closer to appreciating your minuscule role in the natural and the supernatural world of both man and your God.
You can't explain it because words defy and limit the description, .. you can only experience it,
and is best enjoyed with others who are also experiencing it, simultaneously.
I was a volunteer at a Wyoming State Park last weekend. On Monday AM while I was walking the dog before sunrise (and before I was supposed to report to parking), a state worker said they are jammed and >5000 cars had arrived before the gates opened at 4:30 am.
I got out on the street where cars were arriving and I gave what seemed like zillions of drivers their brief on where to park, slow down etc. MANY arrived without a clue, acting like they had just decided to do it at the last minute.
Questions like WHERE is breakfast, where is coffee were common. Keep in mind this is a Wyoming State Park near a town with a population on the sign of 205 people! If you didn't bring it, it was going to be hard to find it.
At sunset, 8 or 9 hours after the eclipse ended, cars were still crawling to stopped on the interstate with all roads in the park also jammed.
I think many of the people in the late traffic jams would say it was worth it and they are glad they came.
Mead telescopes was there along with Colorado State astronomy club and another University. The day before I went out, BEFORE sunset and I was looking at Jupiter in more detail than I'd ever seen. It was incredible the power and quality of the telescopes that were set up.
I didn't leave until two days after the eclipse as I'd been told that traffic even the next day would be heavy. It was nice for me to do this as part of an extended vacation to the west coast. I'm glad I didn't have to go to work in Denver the next day as many said they had to......
I penciled in 21 Aug last year during planning for this trip. In 2024, I will probably be somewhere on that totality line and I will get to my spot several days before April 8, 2017. Yes, my first total eclipse and next one will be about 4 minutes vs. the 2 min 30 sec I saw in Wyoming.