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Author Topic: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!  (Read 5150 times)

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Online Enodia

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Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« on: August 21, 2017, 03:52:34 pm »
today at 10:18 PST i witnessed the Sun go out.  8)

here in Salem we were smack in the middle of the path of totality, and while i was expecting an interesting celestial event, i was in no way prepared for the emotional experience of this Total Eclipse. what a show!
the sky darkened, the temperature dropped, and the Sun's corona became visible in a very dramatic way, looking like a black hole in the sky with a bright white halo.
but what i really found moving was the appearance of stars in the daytime, something of a profound and deeply personal nature for me.
 
the totality lasted less than 2 minutes, but i'm still shaking!
i've experienced solar eclipses before, but never complete like this one. i might actually travel to see another.

i now get how freaked out ancient man must've been during one of these events. better appease the Gods better next time!  

feeling very moved by Nature,
~ Peter


Online cmcdon0923

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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #1 on: August 21, 2017, 06:40:32 pm »
I'm envious that you were in the path of totality.

Here in Dallas we had 76% coverage, not a cloud in the sky...and HOT ! 

I had my telescope set up and captured images approximately every 5 or 10 minutes throughout.

But the good news is that for the next US solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, totality passes right over Dallas !!! 

Offline n.igma

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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #2 on: August 21, 2017, 07:31:11 pm »
Bob Berman, a seasoned science writer and astronomer describes a similar emotional response to an eclipse in his delightful book The Sun's Heartbeat. He now leads eclipse tours all over the globe! His book is well worth a read.

I've not had the good fortune to experience a total eclipse, but I did observe the transit of Venus in 2012 through my telescope and found it a humbling few hours that has stayed with me ever since.
All historical inquiry is contingent and provisional, and our own prejudices will in due course come under scrutiny by our successors.

Offline n.igma

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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #3 on: August 21, 2017, 07:56:45 pm »
And of course we have ancient eclipse coins ..... The double heads of Istrus: The oldest eclipse on a coin?  ... http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/2005JHA....36...21S

Title: The double heads of Istrus: the oldest eclipse on a coin?
Authors: Saslaw, W. C. & Murdin, P.
Journal: Journal for the History of Astronomy (ISSN 0021-8286), Vol. 36, Part 1, No. 122, p. 21 - 27 (2005)
All historical inquiry is contingent and provisional, and our own prejudices will in due course come under scrutiny by our successors.

Offline Molinari

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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #4 on: August 21, 2017, 09:49:08 pm »
I saw it from Victor Idaho and had a similar experience. We had just over 2 minutes of total eclipse bliss.  I will definitely travel to see it again in 2024. Well worth the trip.  Attached is my cell phone pic.  I'll have to find a print from a local photographer to get framed.  My kids loved it too.

Offline Joe Sermarini

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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #5 on: August 21, 2017, 09:53:18 pm »
It was so much better than I expected, impossible to photograph or film, and impossible for me to adequately describe. Nine hour drive, round trip, and the two minute experience was worth all the effort.
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Offline stlnats

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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #6 on: August 22, 2017, 12:02:07 am »
I think we had 2 minutes or so of totality in our western suburb of STL.  My daughter and I watched it from our deck while she was trying to skype it all to my grandson in San Antonio.  We had a few high wispy clouds so relatively few stars were out but Venus was quite visible to the WSW.  The dimming light was increasingly noticeable and a number of dusk to dawn lights came on around us maybe 10 minutes before totality.  It got dark very quickly but not quite like night.  Totality seemed similar to morning maybe 20-30 minutes before dawn if dawn was occurring in every direction.  Or maybe when a very dark and heavy thunderstorm is rolling in just before the rain.  And very very still (which I recall from the couple of the partial eclipses I've experienced over the years).  Revealing my inner Homer Simpson, the corona looked like a giant but very thin shiny donut in the sky.   

All a bit eerie but marvelous at the same time and frankly neither of us wanted it to end.  Then it seemed someone started to turn a rheostat and it was suddenly over.  Up to today I thought that the local promotion of the event was a bit over the top - and the local newsreaders' coverage was quite a hoot = but I'm glad we took some time from the middle of the day to experience something so unique. 

What fun!
       

Offline TenthGen

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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #7 on: August 22, 2017, 01:47:15 am »
We had a ~70% eclipse here, my first. I'm happy (and a bit envious!) to hear about the great experiences many of you had with totality. I'm already looking forward to 2024!

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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #8 on: August 22, 2017, 02:05:17 am »
I saw it from Victor Idaho and had a similar experience. We had just over 2 minutes of total eclipse bliss.  I will definitely travel to see it again in 2024. Well worth the trip.  Attached is my cell phone pic.  I'll have to find a print from a local photographer to get framed.  My kids loved it too.

 Great picture,

 I hope you are enjoy it very much :)  +++

 Regards
 Q.

All the Best :), Joe
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Online cmcdon0923

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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #9 on: August 22, 2017, 12:34:14 pm »
Here was maximum coverage in Dallas......

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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #10 on: August 22, 2017, 04:09:06 pm »
 +++ +++

Q.
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Offline Robert_Brenchley

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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #11 on: August 22, 2017, 06:04:56 pm »
I saw about 90% coverage in 1999; I almost went down to my family in Cornwall in the hope of seeing totality, but there was 100% cloud on the day and I wouldn't have seen a thing. Even 90% was unforgettable!
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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #12 on: August 22, 2017, 07:45:37 pm »
I feel bad saying it, but until the totality, I found the eclipse only a little more exciting than watching paint dry. OK, that is an exaggeration, but compared to totality... I say this only because if you did not experience the totality, you MUST when the opportunity comes again.  It is not the same and totality is worthy of great effort.
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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #13 on: August 22, 2017, 08:09:05 pm »
If I'm still breathing on April 8th 2024, I'll be in the totality.

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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #14 on: August 22, 2017, 08:42:32 pm »
I feel bad saying it, but until the totality, I found the eclipse only a little more exciting than watching paint dry. OK, that is an exaggeration, but compared to totality... I say this only because if you did not experience the totality, you MUST when the opportunity comes again.  It is not the same and totality is worthy of great effort.

people in Portland are saying the same thing, as they were in the 99% range. I've seen eclipses like that before, and they were interesting. but having now seen the complete eclipse of the Sun I have to agree with Joe... it's just not the same! the totality was a profound experience which left me feeling very small in the universe.
so Joe, did you drive to Charleston?

and Nick, I tried to get that shot with my cellphone and just couldn't do it. nice job!

~ Peter

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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #15 on: August 22, 2017, 10:20:33 pm »
...so Joe, did you drive to Charleston?...

We drove down to Santee, on I 95 near Charleston.  I wanted to be where we could move east or west if the sky was not clear.  It was perfect in Santee.  We went to a nice little park on a lake.  Someone played Pink Floyd's dark side of the moon.  Profound is the right word.  
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Offline David Atherton

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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #16 on: August 23, 2017, 12:21:35 am »
...so Joe, did you drive to Charleston?...

We drove down to Santee, on I 95 near Charleston.  I wanted to be where we could move east or west if the sky was not clear.  It was perfect in Santee.  We went to a nice little park on a lake.  Someone played Pink Floyd's dark side of the moon.  Profound is the right word.  

Wow. I got chills reading that.

I was in a zone of 86% coverage, just a darker than normal day.  :-\

Luckily, in 2024 my state will be in the direct path of totality. Your words and those of many others have me anticipating it with great pleasure. I can't wait.

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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #17 on: August 23, 2017, 01:17:17 am »
Someone played Pink Floyd's dark side of the moon. 

one of the radio stations here played the entire album, timed to end right at the totality.

"... and the sun is eclipsed by the moon."

i didn't listen to the broadcast, but that last line was running through my mind the whole time.

~ Peter

Offline stevex6

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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #18 on: August 23, 2017, 01:32:35 am »
Sadly, up here near the North Pole we only got a partial eclipse ... but I recall seeing a fantastic eclipse when I was in elementary school (living in Victoria BC, probably 1970-ish?)

Oh, and that's a sweet photo, cmcdon0923 ... it kind of reminds me of this Thessaly Pharkadon example

 

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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #19 on: August 23, 2017, 07:43:36 pm »
I feel bad saying it, but until the totality, I found the eclipse only a little more exciting than watching paint dry. OK, that is an exaggeration, but compared to totality... I say this only because if you did not experience the totality, you MUST when the opportunity comes again.  It is not the same and totality is worthy of great effort.

I feel the exact same way.  I hate to sound like I'm one-upping someone when they say they saw the eclipse, but if it isn't totality, it isn't nearly the same thing. It is like an ancient God is looking down at you from the heavens for two minutes. I was literally jumping up and down with excitement and I'm still "jonesing" for another glimpse.

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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #20 on: August 23, 2017, 07:44:27 pm »
Someone played Pink Floyd's dark side of the moon. 

one of the radio stations here played the entire album, timed to end right at the totality.

"... and the sun is eclipsed by the moon."

i didn't listen to the broadcast, but that last line was running through my mind the whole time.

~ Peter

Nice!

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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #21 on: August 23, 2017, 08:44:57 pm »
It is like an ancient God is looking down at you from the heavens for two minutes.

The 2024 eclipse will be nearly 4 minutes of totality for a lot of places in its path. Perhaps the longer duration has something to do with it occurring in April rather than August?

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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #22 on: August 23, 2017, 09:22:55 pm »
Maybe that and the proximity of the moon to earth.

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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #23 on: August 24, 2017, 05:36:49 pm »
It's about the distance between the earth and the moon at the time of the eclipse. When it's at its furthest, and apparently smallest, we get an annular eclipse, when there's no totality as there's always a ring of sun visible around the moon, which isn't large enough to cover the whole thing.
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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #24 on: August 25, 2017, 12:22:19 am »
Its all in the angles. The angular width of the moon and sun change with distance. Distance from earth to moon, moon to sun and earth to sun are continuously changing throughout the year. Maximum totality (i.e.longest time duration of totality) is achieved when the moon is closest the earth and the sun is most distant from the earth. With this geometry the moon subtends the maximum angular width to an observer on earth while the sun subtends the minimum angular width. The maximum difference in relative angular widths thus results in maximum duration of blocking of the sun's light by the moon.
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Re: Rise up Moon, and slay the envious Sun!
« Reply #25 on: August 25, 2017, 12:44:26 am »


 

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