North America Total Solar Eclipse 21 Aug 2017

I live in the TOTAL ECLIPSE zone and we are very excited about this thing.

Click here for NASA page and maps and info

We are making plans to perhaps travel north an hour to get over 2 and a half minutes of total dark, away from ANY towns or lights.
It's only about 1/2 hour drive up the state highway to get to an area that has NO streetlights that will come on, and we will probably take the Harley up there. Anyone else in the path?




Map of my area

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Uhm... it won't be dark.

a reply to: NthOther

what? Yes, it will.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Yep!
Should be about 1:30pm in my area, I believe (? I think that's the time), and am looking forward to it.
Two days after my oldest turns 20.

a reply to: NthOther

Only totality reveals the true celestial spectacle: the diamond ring, the Sun’s glorious corona, strange colors in our sky, and seeing stars in the daytime.


Only being on the center line will allow viewers to see the diamond rings and the interval of totality between them. // Ian Wardlaw
10. You want to be on the center line. This probably isn’t a revelation, but the Moon’s shadow is round. If it were square, it wouldn’t matter where you viewed totality. People across its width would experience the same duration of darkness. The shadow is round, however, so the longest eclipse occurs at its center line because that’s where you’ll experience the Moon’s shadow’s full width.

Those in the shadows will see a total eclipse -- the sky will be black except for the fiery ring (corona)....

Flying the fam from PA to SE Nebraska where my family lives in order to catch it.
Hopefully, it isn't cloudy or storming that day.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs
Thanks for the heads up Buzzy! My birthday is the 22nd so I think it calls for an early celebration!

originally posted by: the owlbear
Flying the fam from PA to SE Nebraska where my family lives in order to catch it.
Hopefully, it isn't cloudy or storming that day.

A days drive north of here on the Washington, Oregon border, almost guaranteed it will be cloudy...

...which is a kind of eclipse anyway...

Mr Wigs was thinking of finding a hotel with a pool for the event viewing, but all the rooms are already sold out!!

Depth of hottest part of summer here. It will be so intense......

this is when the moon EXACTLY lines up with the sun, and coincidentally happens to be just at the exact distance to cover the entire sun, BUT NOT ITS CORONA.

We will be in total night-time darkness for the duration.
This is the stuff of bible stories, folks.

a reply to: Martin75


Here's a fun simple map that I thought I may add to your thread, Buzzy, hope it's cool. Folks can see where they are in relation or where they need to go. We will be in the path of totality.
Map

a reply to: TNMockingbird

Thanks! The link in the OP also has an interactive map....it's so exciting!!

a reply to: TNMockingbird
Awesome map Chirp!!! Thanks for adding that!!! I wondered how much I would be able to see. It looks like we will go into total darkness!

Luckily my town is rural enough that I should be able to see true dark! Woohoo!

ETA: The map is cool, you can click on your location and it will give you exact times.

a reply to: Martin75

Lucky you!! We live on the very edge of the city, really --- north of us is the river, but there are still lights on the highways all around, so we will need to travel out of the city and to the areas with no streetlights....not far, just a few minutes away. What state are you in, Martin?

I am roughly where the red dot is, does this mean I will only see a partial eclipse?

i was only fortunate to watch a total eclipse once in my life time and it wasn't in my country, i was with my family in London and was with the kids at that time in Chessington Zoo and remember that they were giving everybody those special glasses, it was breath taking.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Me and my girl are driving down to kentucky to see it.
Got a hotel months ago and it seems like we are pretty close to a state park.
Plan on going there to see the spectacle.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs
West Virginia, southern tip. I live in a town with one red light. My house is in the upper left corner.

a reply to: FauxMulder

Not sure, can you click on the link in the OP? It has all the info. It's a NASA site.

a reply to: Martin75

Looks a LOT like the terrain where I live!!
Exactly like it, actually.

In ancient times many astronomers would use eclipses to get research funding.