Eclipse 2024

[Rommie]

Anyone else planning to see this one? My sister put me in charge back in 2017 (because my sister was sad to miss it, and decided my niece who's now 7 would love to see it with her astronomer auntie), and we are booked in for Dallas, Texas. I figured we could drive many hours, but the weather in April is a bit risky in terms of cloud cover in New England, so if I was gonna fly to see it we might as well maximize our chances of seeing the thing.

But then, I realized the eclipse is probably literally going over the homes of some of y'all, and the rest of y'all are nerds, so yeah, anyone else making plans?

[lady_*nix]

I didn't know there was one! I just let my roomies know, we'll probably try to catch it from here if the weather cooperates.

[pumpkinpi]

Nope, I'm sitting this one out. I saw the one in 2017, and it was so stressful trying to get somewhere with a clear sky. We were planning to go to Lincoln NE but ended up driving all they way south to KC and all the way east to Columbia MO. It was a fantastic experience, but I decided that I didn't want to go through that again, given that it's going over much more populated regions with much less of a chance of good weather.

So I'm going to hold down the fort and host our partial eclipse event at work, so the rest of my team can go enjoy totality. I'm crossing my fingers that they get to see it! One is probably going to Texas--the best chance for a clear sky. The other has an aunt who lives in totality in PA so she'll be there.

Fun fact: the eclipse is going over Sandusky, OH, the home to the best amusement park in the midwest, Cedar Point! It would be so fun to be on a roller coaster during the eclipse. They don't open til May, though.

[geonuc]

Not me, and I missed out on the last one even though it passed through Oregon. Weather didn't cooperate.

[Rommie]

Fun fact: the eclipse is going over Sandusky, OH, the home to the best amusement park in the midwest, Cedar Point! It would be so fun to be on a roller coaster during the eclipse. They don't open til May, though.

Yep, it goes through Cleveland. I remember when I first heard that, years ago, remarking "that'll be the most exciting thing that happened in Cleveland since the last total solar eclipse!" and my professor wasn't impressed.

Also fun, heard yesterday on the radio that by pure coincidence the Cleveland Guardians are supposed to have their home opener that day. Except not that they've realized it, they want to reschedule it! Some people have no sense of drama!

Anyway, my parents are coming to Dallas too now for the eclipse- I think once one's grandchildren all assemble in one place, a grandparent accepts the invitation. I do hope it's clear for all of their sakes- I'll agree pumpkinpi, the weather angle was so stressful last time, so I'm happy this time I don't feel I need to worry about it because at least I've seen one!

Also, looked it up, and next one after this is in August 2026 that goes through Spain, not to be confused with the August 2027 one that also goes through Spain! A good bet either way I think.

[Thumper]

hell yeah we're going to give it a shot!

[Rommie]

Is your house in the totality zone, Thumper? How far is it if not?

[Thumper]

We just miss totality. Had a call last night with a long time buddy who lives west of us. We will crash with him for 2 nights and hope for good weather. We will be at a huge party regardless. I promised to bring binocs and scope with brand new solar filters, along with eclipse glasses fort he crowd. We will have a good time, even if it rains!

[SciFiFisher]

Well, it appears I finally live in the right place. It seems the eclipse is right on the path to be above Buffalo.

[Rommie]

Now all you need are clear skies!

[Rommie]

I really need to stop checking the forecast this far in advance for the eclipse. Like, everyone knows a week in advance for a given day isn't really set in stone yet, but right now Dallas is set to have a giant storm on top and it's surprisingly nerve wracking! I guess because we can technically drive up from here to VT/NH over spending all this money to go to Dallas, but bc we are meeting family in Dallas I wouldn't dream of skipping out on them.

Ten bucks says it's gonna be one of those partly cloudy kind of days, and we either get lucky that particular two minute gap or not. No way to tell.

Also, it annoys the HECK out of me that my brother is a ~2hr drive from totality, so I've been insisting to him they need to go up if it's clear... and right now they're thinking of just going to a mountain where it'll be 99% totality, "because how cool would it be to see from a mountain, and there's not much difference." No insisting from his astronomer sister that it's literally the difference between night and day makes any difference. This somehow bothers me far more than it should.

[pumpkinpi]

Good luck eclipse chasers! Here in MN it's predicted to rain all day. But there is a chance it will be dry and only mostly cloudy between 1-3. Even if there is just a small break in the heavy clouds, it will be worth it! We'll still have 1,000 people at our event, I bet!

[geonuc]

Should be spectacular! I drove from Atlanta to the South Carolina border (not real far) to get into the path of totality for the 2017 one. That was pretty cool and the weather cooperated. And I know I've seen other totals but my memory ain't good enough to remember when.

[lady_*nix]

Boston wasn't in the path of totality, but close enough that it got quite dim outside. My roomies and I decided to take a break from work (which I think we all needed) and hang out on the porch through the maximum. It was actually my first eclipse, and I think I'll remember the way the light was a long time, even if I never got to look at it (between cloud cover and lack of eclipse glasses).

Fun times. Would do again. Especially with these roomies.

[pumpkinpi]

Boston wasn't in the path of totality, but close enough that it got quite dim outside. My roomies and I decided to take a break from work (which I think we all needed) and hang out on the porch through the maximum. It was actually my first eclipse, and I think I'll remember the way the light was a long time, even if I never got to look at it (between cloud cover and lack of eclipse glasses).

Fun times. Would do again. Especially with these roomies.

Awesome. I am glad you had a good time!
We didn't see anything in MN, but we had a great event with over 1,200 people at the museum. The peak was 79% behind thick clouds, but our photographer said he noticed dimming, he had to change his camera settings!

[Rommie]

Successful eclipsepedition!

Was really nervous getting on the plane to Dallas with the weather forecasts, given how it was gonna be clear within driving distance of Boston, but thanks to family we were committed. And it was SO cloudy all morning- it was pretty clear to me that it was either gonna clear by noon (partial started at 12:20pm locally), or not, and literally minutes before noon the skies parted and we just had a few fluffy clouds here and there and nothing blocking totality at all! We further lucked out because we were all in different hotels in downtown Dallas, but my parents had gotten one that had a pool deck... so when we went at 10am to scope it out, and saw the couches and the staff setting up the bar area, we removed any doubt of there or the park and set up on the pool deck given a 5 month old, 3 year old, and 7 year old. (I think we might have considered park if the weather had been better that morning, because it would've been cool to see effects with the leaves etc, but we figured happy kids in the pool until totality was better.) So, success! The 3 year old did ask to go downstairs with less than a minute to go ("this is freaking me out"), so guess we'll see how much he remembers. Baby was napping at the crucial moment and gave out a single cry when everyone cheered loudly right at the start of totality (a "SHUT UP!" cry), but was asleep again by the time totality was done. And then afterwards the kids asked if they could go downstairs and watch TV- behold, the majesty of nature!

Anyway, second time is also cool (the prominences were especially amazing this time, you could even see the red dots of them by eye- helps to be near maximum!), but the first time was definitely was so much more special just because it was the first- last time I was also so focused on what was in front of me, but this time I was focused on if everyone in our group was enjoying it too, so guess that shows my level of engagement (or just maturity?). F and I both agreed after that we were happy with doing the effort to see it again, but we aren't gonna be eclipse chasers who need to do this every single time it happens or similar... but we do definitely need to do it again when baby can actually remember it, and my friend in Sydney is already planning their backyard party for 2028, so that might have to happen. Like you all know me for travel, I definitely think there's a good excuse for eclipses to see random places you haven't gotten to yet, but I don't think I'll be a "MUST SEE EVERY ECLIPSE EVER" type.

Finally, random, but I was pleasantly surprised by Dallas as a city. I never heard really nice things, but we were just downtown and relied on Uber and had a great city break weekend- Dealy Plaza/ 6th floor museum was surprisingly emotional for me (though I think we def got some second shooter believers out of it after looking at the setup, interestingly enough), and the botanical gardens were some of the nicest I've been to- lots of great memories created with the little cousins playing in the grass (heck baby's first time really enjoying grass and trees on leaves, what with being born in late October!). I mean I think living there would suck with so much suburban hell/ the politics, but it was also nice that we all had a good weekend too.

[pumpkinpi]

That's what's so cool about an eclipse....you don't need a special place to see it. We always get the question, "Where's the best place to go to see the eclipse?" The answer--anywhere you have a direct view of the Sun! In 2017 we happened to make it to Columbia MO where the University was having a watch party on their quad. So it was fun to watch it with hundreds of people, but it would have been just as special if we had to pull off to the side of the road.

[Rommie]

Yep, to be fair it was prettier in Wyoming, but also mountains are just prettier than a pool deck when there is no eclipse.

If we did it again, I think we would prioritize somewhere with trees with leaves (Wyoming didn't have those either, so we're 0/2 on natural camera obscuras), and more animals so we could see their reactions better (ditto). But no one ever gets everything in one go of course.

[Thumper]

Excuse my language but we had a fucking fantastic eclipse experience! It almost literally could not have gone better. We drove west to St. Henry OH near the Indiana border. A long term friend lives there who we keep up with from time to time but hadn't seen in years. We invited ourselves over to his house Sunday afternoon, had a reunion and got to meet his new girlfriend. He cooked us up a great dinner and after talking for hours, I went to bed, anxious. At this point it was all about the weather and though they were not calling for rain, they were predicting lots of clouds. We awoke in the morning to completely clear skies and walked over to a coffee shop owned by friends (I think everyone in little St. Henry knows each other ) for breakfast. Then we packed the coolers and my equipment and headed down the road to another friend's place with a big yard and a perfect viewing location. It was lower key than I thought, only about 10 people, well and the dog. I set up two sets of binocs on tripods with solar filters and had a party pack of glasses, but everyone had glasses.

There were high cirrus clouds throughout the day but it never hampered our viewing. I was happy to answer questions from the group and they were really appreciative of the information and viewing opportunities. I do not remember it getting that dark in '17 when we saw it in KY. It was amazing, and as I said in another thread, I cried. In fact Mrs. T and I stood hugging and weeping together. It is hard to explain to someone who has never seen totality. I try to explain it to people who see a partial: The difference between a 99% partial and totality is 100%. It is just that magical. The cirrus clouds hampered the view of the corona at totality but we did get to see Baily's Beads. We had a great toast, or three afterwards, and relaxed and watched the end of it. (They were within a mile or so of the centerline so we had almost 4 minutes of totality.) Then we had a feast. Then retired back to our friend's house where we caught up more and talked into the evening before we all had to retire so we could get up early Tuesday and go to work or travel home. I'm going to have T shirts made to give to the group. Mrs. T and I are already looking for our next best opportunity to see another one. We are strongly leaning towards Australia. I hope we can make that work.

[Rommie]

Oh good, I'm so happy it worked out for you! Sydney would indeed be a good one. Spain is just gonna be beyond nuts, given that it's peak European vacation time and there hasn't been one on the mainland there in decades, and it'll be pretty low in the sky. So unless some family members really wanna go or something, I'm thinking it's probably less worth the effort.

[Thumper]

Mrs. T was also considering Spain. Sounds like we should concentrate our efforts and take the long trip down under.
Going to invite our long time high school friends who live in FL. Maybe have an epic vacation together with a big exclamation point. It's fun to hope for good things every once in a while.