You know the difference between this eclipse and an imminent asteroid strike?

[MarkS]

Simple. Everyone is calm for the eclipse. You'd almost think it was the end of the world. People are traveling hundreds of miles for an event lasting ~1 hour, if you're lucky enough to be standing in the razor thin line of totality. What is going to be a total blast is the traffic in those areas as everyone that has been arriving over the course of several days all leave around 2 PM. I'm glad my state only has ~75% coverage and that I work nights!

[Avacee]

The UK had something similar in 1999. The Totality only occurred down in the extreme South West and in the days beforehand several million descended on Cornwall for an eclipse in the morning and then all tried to leave at the same time. Cornwall's two major routes in+out (A30 + A38) converge at the M5 Motorway. Each of those routes had traffic jams over 40 miles long and the minor roads were just as bad. 

For extra comedy value the weather was heavily overcast with broken clouds and while some got a good view many million saw nothing   

Personally, I slept through the eclipse after going to out the night before and forgetting to set my alarm 

[bd139]

I remember that. It was screwed all the way up to the A303/M3 junction because some muppet crashed at Stonehenge on the way back which was a pain as I was trying to get to Salisbury

[MarkS]

Ok, now keeping that in mind, remember that the British Isles are smaller than many states and the "route" of the eclipse crosses the entire country, crossing multiple states.

I'm glad I'm sleeping through it.

[bd139]

If you miss it you can recreate the experience at home with a ping pong ball and a light bulb 

Add beer to make it more interesting

[MarkS]

lol! I. Don't. Care. 

[RGB255_0_0]

The UK had something similar in 1999. The Totality only occurred down in the extreme South West and in the days beforehand several million descended on Cornwall for an eclipse in the morning and then all tried to leave at the same time. Cornwall's two major routes in+out (A30 + A38) converge at the M5 Motorway. Each of those routes had traffic jams over 40 miles long and the minor roads were just as bad. 

For extra comedy value the weather was heavily overcast with broken clouds and while some got a good view many million saw nothing   

Personally, I slept through the eclipse after going to out the night before and forgetting to set my alarm 

That's normal every Bank Holiday weekend for me by the M5. The amount of Brummies entering Weston-super-Mare on Friday is exacerbated by the usual chaos of workers leaving Bristol.

[bd139]

Living in London, I just stay in now. Less traffic

[Richard Crowley]

Here in the Portland area, the traffic is rather lighter than normal. EXCEPT south on Interstate 5 to Salem where all the eclipse-mania is happening. They have been warning us about this for weeks. They brought in extra portable cell sites and even extra air traffic control towers. 

And the signs on the road all warn of heavy eclipse traffic and warn people to NOT park along the highways.  This is especially a risk out in the hinterlands where dry brush can easily catch fire from someone parking in dry grass and their catalytic converter igniting a wildfire.  All the emergency services are on hyper-alert.  If nothing happens, it will be a good drill practice.

Here in Hillsboro we will get 98% which is good enough for me.  I can just stand up in my cubicle and see it out the window. The sun was glaring in my eyes on my drive into the office this morning, but I don't see the moon anywhere. As I understand it, it takes two to tango and so far, the moon is a no-show.  Maybe it will sneak up on us from behind.

[tggzzz]

The UK had something similar in 1999.

For extra comedy value the weather was heavily overcast with broken clouds and while some got a good view many million saw nothing   

I did see it. !0 mins before I wasn't going to bother to go out and see the sky darken. I'm glad I did go out since the cloud opened ~5 mins before and closed ~5 mins after totality. Not a big hole

I use that as a reminder that sometimes the obvious crap doesn't happen.

[SeanB]

Watching live on Youtube, easiest way to do this, as I am half a planet away. Last partial eclipse by me just went outside with a welding helmet, an extra filter and watched it from the rooftop for the few minutes it was visible through the clouds.

[Richard Crowley]

Wow, it started almost an hour before totality.  The moon is slowly taking a bite out of the edge of the sun.

Back when we had the last eclipse here (~40 years ago) one of the engineers brought a test wafer out of the fab when we all went out side to view the spectacle.  Right at totality, he threw the wafer down on the rough pavement as an "offering to the gods" to bring the sun back.  Ironically, the (typically quite fragile) wafer did NOT break, but the sun returned anyway.

The engineer who "sacrificed" the wafer was Mark Bohr who is featured in this video...

[WastelandTek]

Quite dark in the Puget Sound

[4CX35000]

The UK had something similar in 1999. The Totality only occurred down in the extreme South West and in the days beforehand several million descended on Cornwall for an eclipse in the morning and then all tried to leave at the same time. Cornwall's two major routes in+out (A30 + A38) converge at the M5 Motorway. Each of those routes had traffic jams over 40 miles long and the minor roads were just as bad. 

For extra comedy value the weather was heavily overcast with broken clouds and while some got a good view many million saw nothing   

Personally, I slept through the eclipse after going to out the night before and forgetting to set my alarm 

The best view was from a camera inside a plane with dirty windows from what I recall.

[BigBoss]

In 1999, total eclipse occured in Turkey then few days later an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 killed more than  40000 persons..After that earthquakes have gone on in different places of the world.
There are some correlation between the earthquakes and fully eclipses but the scientists cannot express ..

[tggzzz]

In 1999, total eclipse occured in Turkey then few days later an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 killed more than  40000 persons..After that earthquakes have gone on in different places of the world.
There are some correlation between the earthquakes and fully eclipses but the scientists cannot express ..

Snort!

There is a strong, demonstrable, repeatable correlation between shoe size and spelling ability.

[macboy]

In 1999, total eclipse occured in Turkey then few days later an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 killed more than  40000 persons..After that earthquakes have gone on in different places of the world.
There are some correlation between the earthquakes and fully eclipses but the scientists cannot express ..

I stubbed my big toe two days after that eclipse. Scientists have yet to explain why. 

[rdl]

It was pretty good here in MS. The Sun must have been 80-85% covered. I had an old piece of black 1/4" plate glass so I gave it a quick look and the Sun was just a thin cherry red crescent. I tried taking a photo but the glass was not that great optically and everything fogged up quickly from the humidity. I could have prepared better, but there will probably be billions of photos taken and the important thing was just to see it for real.

[WastelandTek]

we stacked some fairly weak grinding goggles under my Miller auto helm cranked to 13 and were able to make comfortable observations, 93% here, no corona

[Richard Crowley]

I viewed the eclipse from the outdoor dining area in my office building.  At 98% it was very dramatically darker and cooler.  And we saw very clear "shadow bands" although we didn't know what they were at the time.

Ref: https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/what-are-shadow-bands

[Howardlong]

A flat earther treatise from the Houston Chron

We theorize the sun and moon are closer than we have been told and are the same size. They may work as a cathode and diode, or, better said, a positive and negative relationship.

That's cleared that up then, difficult to argue with that.

[bd139]

 

[Syntax_Error]

Well, I guess my reply will present quite a different tone than the others here:

I got up at midnight and packed the kids in the car, drove all night/morning to reach Casper, Wyoming by 8:30, hung out for a bit and got a beautiful spot at the Event Center, as they call it. Watched the entire eclipse, observed totality naked-eyed, took photos with the kids during totality, had some good conversations, bought overpriced hats afterwards, ate lunch and ice cream, and drove the whole way home, battling some traffic through Wyoming. Just unpacked the car, and boy am I tired.

Was it worth it?

Beyond any doubt, yes. A mix of good, great, tiresome, irksome at times, and now, satisfaction, and soon, sleep.

I'd do it again, and I'll wager my kids would/will someday with their kids as well. (I have no idea when the next solar eclipse is, so I can't be certain.)

Good night, ladies and gentlemen. It has been a beautiful day.

[LabSpokane]

I brought my scope with a solar filter to an eclipse party and we had a ball. There were hundreds, maybe close to 1000 people there. I'll bet 100 people got scope time on my scope alone.  For many it was their very first time to see sunspots directly. It was a great opportunity to kibbitz and pique folks' interest in science.

It was totally worth it, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

[Rick Law]

Here in New Jersey USA, we were not in the 100% path.  But, it was an event that should be seen even if just to be able to say I saw it.  On the other hand, my wife took advantage to go out for errands.  She was right that the road would be empty and businesses were light during eclipse time and she was able to get what she wanted done all without waiting in line or fighting traffic.


I made a pin-hole projection box with viewing windows to look at the image projected onto the bottom of a dark box.  I was able to see the moon beginning to bite into the solar disc about 30-40 minutes before peak time.  It was (by diameter) covering about 5-10% of it.  As I fiddle with the box to get a better image, the covered part continued to increase.  I watched on and off while I waited for peak.

Just about 10 minute before peak, the cloud got too heavy and the sun was visible only occasionally - about once every couple of minutes.  Between clouds, I was able to see around 80% (by diameter) covered.  About 5 minutes after peak time, the clouds blocked the sun for the rest of the event.

Given the on-and-off visibility, it was not much to see, but it was worth the time trying to view it even while it was just occasional peeks through the clouds.

What was most striking astronomical event for me was the Hale-Bopp comet's last visit (1997).  I was working late often then.  Coming home with the dark sky, Hale-Bopp would be right ahead of me when I get out of the car to walk in to the house.  It was somehow magical.  I like to see that again but it wont be back for 2000+ years.