There were still reasonable places on AirBNB a bit away from the zone. We're staying in Gallatin Gateway, nice condo about 2.5 hours from Rexburg, everything closer was ridiculous ($250/night for an RV camper!). Really looking forward to it. Hopefully it's not raining.
I'm in Boise for the summer. I plan on going up to Cascade for the eclipse. Anybody planning on being there? I could suggest a spot that may be free camping if you are interested.
I'm thinking I could drive down on the Sunday, sleep in the car overnight to watch the eclipse Monday and then drive back. Am I crazy? Traffic is probably going to be a nightmare.
Starting to see articles online about the massive amounts of people expected along the line of totality and how infrastructure is going to be pushed to the max and beyond. Smaller towns and counties requesting Federal Aid to be ready for the influx and to have the proper amount of law enforcement around, medication in hospitals, etc.
So is this thing worth to watch in Calgary or not? My parents are going to the line of totality, so they bought a 5 pack of glasses and gave 1 to me since they don't need all 5. Is it worth it to try to go somewhere Monday morning to watch this? We are getting something like 80% coverage, which I'm thinking would be pretty cool to see, but not sure how much effort I should put into it.
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[–]MeowMixSong 600 points 7 hours ago
Is seeing a 100% total solar eclipse really that different than seeing it at 95%? Is it worth the 6 hour one way drive?
[–]NASASunEarthSolar Astronomers |NASA Goddard Space Flight Center[S] 486 points 6 hours ago
The difference between a 95% eclipse and a 100% eclipse is literally the difference between day and night. With any partial eclipse, you don't experience the "awesomeness" of totality. It's hard to put into words, but once you experience a total eclipse, you understand the difference. At 95%, you will barely notice anything going on -- just some slight dimming of daylight. - Bill
I saw this in a Reddit thread which is why it piqued my interest to drive down. I was going to stick around Calgary, with our 85% coverage, but these NASA scientists are saying you will hardly notice it.
Well obviously totality is going to be a much better experience, but I was wondering if taking the Monday morning off to check it out would be worth it. Even if there is no real dimming effect, I think it might be cool to watch the moon track across the sun.
Say totality is a 10/10, and <50% coverage is a 1/10. Would 80% coverage be more like a 3 or a 7? That's basically what I'm wondering.
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Well obviously totality is going to be a much better experience, but I was wondering if taking the Monday morning off to check it out would be worth it. Even if there is no real dimming effect, I think it might be cool to watch the moon track across the sun.
Say totality is a 10/10, and <50% coverage is a 1/10. Would 80% coverage be more like a 3 or a 7? That's basically what I'm wondering.
My limited understanding is that it's closer to a 3. If you're looking for complete darkness, you need totality... or, just wait until after the sun sets tonight
Oh, and obligatory Simpsons reference:
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80% coverage would still be like a cloudy day. Best way to describe a total eclipse (from my own recollection when I was 8)- have you ever seen a nasty thunderstorm suddenly roll in mid-day; and you say to yourself "man, that sure got dark quick!" That is the effect from 85-90%. Then it keeps getting darker, each bit more intense than before. In part because your circadian rhythm says it shouldn't be night yet, and in part because everything else around you gets weird. Birds start freaking out, dogs start barking. Stars start to become visible and then the street lights come back on. Then before you know it, it has gone from cloudy day to full moon night in 3 minutes. You see an amazing fireball in the sky of the sun's atmosphere for a minute or two, then everything returns to normal.
If 50% coverage is a 1/10, 80% is a 3/10 IMHO. However if I was in Calgary, I'd take some time to check it out.
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