Is the blindness thing more for people near totality? I was outside today and it was a bit dimmer than usual but still bright enough no one could stare at the sun, just like on normal days, it was way too bright.
But on the news they said it is painless and people don't realize they are going blind. So how is this possible? I couldn't have stared at the sun if I tried. Just like on any sunny day even the slightest glimpse hurts my sensitive eyes and I look away. How would someone not notice?
With even a sliver of sun left you couldn't look at the sun. No different than normal. Once totality hit I saw nothing with my lens, removed it and there it was...a black disc with the corona all around it, moving and flowing. Just shy of two minutes you could see the start of a bright spot up at the top so you had a heads up to get your glasses/lens ready.
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With even a sliver of sun left you couldn't look at the sun. No different than normal. Once totality hit I saw nothing with my lens, removed it and there it was...a black disc with the corona all around it, moving and flowing. Just shy of two minutes you could see the start of a bright spot up at the top so you had a heads up to get your glasses/lens ready.
One can understand why primitive peoples believed in a vengeful god. All of a sudden, the sky turns dark and they're pitched into darkness. Then a couple of hours later, whole villages start going blind. Must've been terrifying.
One can understand why primitive peoples believed in a vengeful god. All of a sudden, the sky turns dark and they're pitched into darkness. Then a couple of hours later, whole villages start going blind. Must've been terrifying.
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The clouds parted just before the total eclipse here in Central Missouri, and it was amazing. So glad I got to see that in person.
It sounds like a jungle here at night and all those bugs came out on cue about 10 minutes before totality. The change in brightness is something you have to witness to believe, and watching videos now of the corona from those with real cameras...its just not the same as what I could see. It's all the things combined.
All I'm trying to get at is that it's worth the travel to see one of these if you can. It was one of the most impressive things I've seen in my life.
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This could go in the aviation thread, but there's a Calgary tie-in: know anybody that flew in from Salt Lake City this morning?
A Delta flight from Salt Lake City to Calgary this morning is one of several that pulled either a 360 or major S-turns to give passengers on both sides a view.
A Denver-Seattle flight did this:
Should be some air traffic control recordings posted online in short order and it will be interesting to hear how these requests went down.
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Anyone found any videos from somewhere in the totality, that weren't of the eclipse but rather of the scenery and people / animals watching while it moved from sun to total darkness and then back?
Anyone found any videos from somewhere in the totality, that weren't of the eclipse but rather of the scenery and people / animals watching while it moved from sun to total darkness and then back?
Anyone found any videos from somewhere in the totality, that weren't of the eclipse but rather of the scenery and people / animals watching while it moved from sun to total darkness and then back?
This livestream from Sweetwater, TN shows exactly what you're looking for. You have to rewind 3 hours and 50 minutes to see it, and unfortunately there's only 4 hours recorded so watch it now. Hopefully they put an archived version up soon.
Just got back to my hotel; thanks to 4x4 and Ebola for offering viewing sites, but I got to Idaho Falls early enough to get a primo viewing site at the city soccer fields. I couldn't believe it, but the parking lot wasn't anywhere close to full. Considering the traffic on the trip back to Pocatello, I'm surprised cars weren't parked vertically.
The word that keeps going through my mind is "eerie." Leading up to totality, the slow dimming and cooling was just odd, but when totality hit it was just eerie. Sunset all around... Venus showing herself (didn't see Mars or Mercury)... A black, shimmering hole in a deep, deep blue sky... I can't believe that really happens!
Stupidly, I glanced at the sun 1 minute before total so I had a spot in my vision, but it didn't last long. Also took some zoom (400 mm) pictures for the entire 3 hours. Most with a filter, but totality (and diamond ring) without. They aren't professional quality, but they're the kind I can hang on my wall because they're my own.
Wow.
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This is what I did. Dragged my sick ass out of bed and sat out on my back deck for an hour with a cup of tea. Worked really good, was able to look directly at the sun throughout, all the while looking like a boss 😎😎😎😎😎😎
Last edited by #22; 08-21-2017 at 06:35 PM.
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Saw it from work this morning through a welding mask near Auburn Bay. Very cool, definitely glad I saw that. Would have been cool to see totality though!
