cubinator

Keep in mind that the projected paths are leaning toward overestimating the width of the path, as a consequence of uncertainty in the exact size of the Sun: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/april-8-solar-eclipse-maps-are-wrong-along-the-edges/ 99% is COMPLETELY different from 100%. Make your family aware of this! But if you do stay on the edge of the path, please share your experience! It will be unique from most.

Suffice it to say that it becomes immediately obvious why humans throughout history have perceived the sun as a god.

https://cobs.si/analysis/?comet=484&from_date=2023-12-01+17%3A06&to_date=2024-04-02+17%3A06&observation_type=V&observation_type=C&plot_x_value=1&plot_y_value=1&fit_option=1&observer=&association=&country=&compare_values=filter 12P seems to be staying in the mag. 4 range for the eclipse, unless it explodes or something.

Get in the path. Get as close to the center line as you can. There is no celestial sight in the entire solar system that compares.

Today's weather forecast for Texas is less worrisome than the weekend's, hopefully things continue to trend better. There should at least be clear skies somewhere reachable, which is the case most years on that date.

I was actually looking at the ground when the 2017 totality started, the first I learned about shadow bands was seeing them in person all over the dirt road. The great uproar from the surrounding crowd cued me to look back up at the sky, and there it was.

In 2017 I was in totally clear skies, but since I can recognize Earth's shadow at sunset I was able to spot the Moon's shadow just in the atmosphere. I couldn't quite see it advancing like you describe, but when I looked away for a few moments and looked back it was startlingly closer. Maybe I will get to see that even better this time!

Now THAT's a diamond ring to remember! I've been making plans for photography, but right now I need to wait for the clouds to clear to start doing practice runs. Unless I can replicate the brightness profile with my computer screen and a really bright LED flashlight...?

NWS has just put out some useful resources: https://www.weather.gov/fwd/eclipse2024

Today a grand solar storm hits Earth at the same time that an enormous snowstorm rolls in to cover it up.

4D Golf, which released today.

In the photo: Right dot is possibly Jupiter, lower one is probably the first stage, and one of the fairings is visible firing RCS on the left in the middle of the plume. That's my interpretation.

Worked on my eclipse photography procedure. Waiting for the temperature to climb a bit closer to what I expect then to do a dress rehearsal, see how my batteries hold up etc. Since I don't have a fully automated setup, the most important balance is between effectiveness and fun.

I've always wanted to see one of these scale diagrams with both rockets and dinosaurs on it...

It also spent a lot of time with the heat shield only halfway in the plasma at the start there.

It's been rolling a lot throughout...Not sure it's able to point its heat shield in the correct direction.

No burn. Time to see what happens when this thing hits the atmosphere.

Closing the door!

Thanks! Yes, I can play bits of it. That was the movie score that inspired me to learn to play organ.

Best of luck.

Yep, those few minutes when the Sun's surface is completely covered up are the only time you can look right at it without protection. Its atmosphere is an object you'll only ever see in that moment unless you go to space. It's no brighter than the usual daytime sky, which means the light from the corona can't possibly penetrate the filters that makes the rest of the sun safe to look at.

Additionally, if the sky is decently clear you should start looking for the planets when the sun's about half covered. I could see Venus and bright stars like Spica well before totality. This year's eclipse will give us a nice lineup of four bright planets. Dim Mercury I was never quite able to spot in 2017, so I wouldn't spend too much time looking for it - there are at least a dozen better things to see, and it's too dangerous to get out binoculars. Watch for news about comet 12P as the eclipse nears - it's getting close to perihelion and has a small chance of gracing us with an outburst that might just render it visible in the sky near Jupiter. My far-out hope is that there will be a CME erupting right before the eclipse, though, solar maximum and all. But first on the list is my hope that the clouds will stay away!

Probably. I was browsing some eclipse links online today and finally learned just how many food trucks, ticketed events, and private property parking for sale is going to be occurring in every small town along the path in Texas. It's going to be, at best, mild madness.

It is time to have plans made, and almost time to start watching the weather. Climate is a lot more menacing this time around, with the majority of the path being under frequently cloudy regions. In 2017 it was pretty easy to just head out into the desert and be pretty sure it would be clear. Still, this has been a year unlike any other. What are your plans?

Pi Day means it has to go at least halfway around.