Posted on 08/22/2017 7:11:29 AM PDT by NOBO2012
In terms of the universe we are quite insignificant.
Solar System rendered to scale by Roberto Ziche.
As upcountrywater pointed out, a 91% eclipse is not the same as 100%. 100% is total darkness. 91% is more like a cloud cover moving in. With 91% you dont see the Corona, the diamond ring, or the dancing plasma flares. Day does not turn into night and the stars do not come out. In fact if you werent paying attention you most likely wouldnt have noticed at all, (isnt that the truth about many things?) so stealthily did the eclipse approach. And so steadfastly did the sun continue to light our world. On the other hand animals, who survive by their instincts, missed nothing. Birds and squirrels, usually very active mid-morning, were all disappeared and silent. Unlike their more sensate human co-inhabitants they bow to nature. Yet despite the lack of dramatic darkness watching the advancing moon eclipse the sun with infrared blocking glasses was still awesome and a testament to our relative place in this great universe.
The sun is a most powerful entity.
As we werent in the path of totality I knew it wouldnt grow completely dark. Watching the moon march across the sun, leaving just a wee sliver moon sized slice of it unblocked, the shadows deepened appreciably, providing shade where none is ever seen on a normal sunny day. And the temperature dropped - also appreciably - at least 10 degrees. I expected that. The surprise was how totally un-dark it grew. With only 9% of it's energy available the sun was still powerful enough to keep us lit with barely noticeable dimming. You would think that would be adequate evidence to convince members of the church of global warming that it is the sun that dictates temperatures and climate trends not evil carbon dioxide. But no.
Eclipse Musicality is biased:
There are far more moon songs than sun songs. And I agree totally with Son of Rusty Shackleford: Hearts and Bones is a seriously underrated album. I know Paul Simon is a useless lib politically but his lyrical skill is above reproach. Im hard pressed to pick a favorite from this particular album but I am partial to Train in the Distance
But from time to time he makes her laugh
She cooks a meal of two
Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance
Everybody thinks it's true
What is the point of this story
What information pertains
The thought that life could be better
Is woven indelibly
Into our hearts and our brains
Birds of a feather flock together:
Solar eclipses have virtually no effect of politics. Reaction to the Presidents speech on Afghanistan pretty much fall along the usual partisan lines. And so it goes, life back to normal.
I highly recommend partaking of the next eclipse to venture our way if, God willing, were all still here.
Posted from: MOTUS A.D.
thats what i noticed as well... and it wasnt even total here... about 95% or so... but it made a BIG difference.
One should be open to that possibility, as well.
Yep. My wife and I started watching pretty close to first contact, come back every ten minutes to see more of the sun covered. Sat down and watched continuously for the last 15 minutes until totality. Even with the sun half covered, it was still bright and hot. But the last 30 seconds, it was like someone was turning down the lights and then, it went from day to night. Two minutes later it was day again and neither one of us was interested in seeing the sun half covered any more.
Never had a long distance relationship?
For people in southern Illinois and parts of Missouri and Kentucky it will be twice in 7 years because the 2024 totality path crosses the 2017 path there.
http://www.eclipse2017.org/2017/graphics/http://www.eclipse2017.org/2017/overlap.htm
.but do not come. Stay off our lawns.
I've got my own lawn to watch the 2014 eclipse from, thank you very much. :-)
The guy who parked next to me was begging some relatives to drive 10 miles to come see the eclipse. They were in the 99% region so they figured it was 99% as good. No where close. I've seen 95% coverage in 1994 and yesterday was completely different.
“Never had a long distance relationship?”
You know they’ve got cream for that, right?
I suspect that if they knew Who they were applauding, they'd have sat on their hands.
lol...but the side effects!
LOL
I flew my Learjet up to Nova Scotia but there was no eclipse.
Southern Oregon, Rogue river valley, 95% and 14 degree temp drop.
I was in Southern West Virginia, we were at ~90%. Honestly I was expecting to see more. It was a clear, brightly sunny day, even at totality it seemed only marginally dimmer, like perhaps there was some atmospheric haze or a wispy cloud passed in front of the sun. I guess the sun doesn’t dim exponentially, because I was thinking 90% less sunlight, it would look like twilight right before the sun dips below the horizon, but the difference seemed to be barely noticeable.
They should have them more often.
It was AMAZING. I have been in many partials--it is ABSOLUTELY not the same. It is not what you see looking at the sun, or the moon over the sun, even though that in itself is awesome; rather it is the sheer weirdness of the dark yet no sunset-sunrise dusk/dawn feel of it all.
We were on the north bank of the Cumberland river at a boat ramp and the temperature went from 91 to 84 degrees, the streetlights came on, the birds went silent, and the stars came out.
Truly amazing.
If you weren't in the totality, get yerself there in 2024. You'll then know why.
Took me four hours to drive from near Auburn, Alabama to Nashville, but 9 hours to drive back. GLAD that is over.
I was over the mountains from you in Cherokee, NC. What amazed me was how vivid the blackness of the moon was against the corona, and how varied the corona was, all the wispy shapes coming off of it, two large ones that looked like wings. Then there was the bright red spot on the top right, I was told they were solar flares, two of them, visible with the right equipment, and that all the wispy stuff was due to the solar wind. It was very striking. We got stuck in endless traffic trying to come back east, gave up and got a hotel room. It was a parking lot from Cherokee through Asheville with no end in sight, threw in the towel after four hours of that and not even being out of the mountains yet, when the entire return trip should have taken about that much time.
I was getting angry yesterday at all the traffic, especially when it just STOPPED (for dozens and dozens of times) on the Interstate for no apparent reason. Saw several semi’s get their brakes a-smokin!
Still, it was worth it. Seriously. The next one in 2024, if God wills me to be alive and kicking, I’m going to book a camping spot at the highest totality point, and just stay for a couple of days.
Part of the delay on my attempted return home was due to a semi apparently losing it’s brakes on Black Mountain headed down on I-40. We saw the massive tow truck coming back west toward Asheville in the opposite lane. Very battered, frame was torn out from under the cab, trailer was crushed, no wheels on the truck at all. Had to have bailed into one of the runaway truck ramps. Hope the driver’s OK but from the looks of that truck, he or she is in bad shape if lucky enough to be alive.
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