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manholt

Solar Eclipse

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Who is heading where?

Linda and I are leaving this morning for Ruidoso Motorcoach Ranch, Alto, NM...nice and cool.  Original plan was on a family ranch in NE Oregon!  I guess 70% eclipse is good enough! :)

Word of caution, do not look directly at the Sun/moon during the event unless you have NASA approved solar glasses or camera lens filters! You will do permanent damage to your eyes if you look directly at it!  I'm putting my camera on a tri pod with a timer that will allow exposure every 15 minutes.  It's a 2 hour 58 minute event, starting at approx. 11:40 am central time.  To view, take a piece of cardboard or white paper, punch a hole in it and view the eclipse indirectly, like the sidewalk or any flat surface with your back to the Sun!

Hope it's a clear day for all 

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I wish we were out West as we would have a better chance of catching a glimpse of the upcoming event.  We are in FL and waiting until the last minute in hopes the weather forecast improves.  It there is even a 50/50 chance of clear weather then we will head N. to the Santee, SC area and overnight in a truck stop nearby.  We have to be back in Boynton Beach, FL by the 23rd so we will head S. again the same afternoon.

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We opted for the Nashville area because of the races in Bristol.  Good chance that cloudy skies will hamper viewing of the eclipse.

Ordered our viewing glasses last December.

Blake

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18 hours ago, manholt said:

Word of caution, do not look directly at the Sun/moon during the event unless you have NASA approved solar glasses or camera lens filters!

There are no ordinary camera filters that will protect your camera or your eyes.  Neutral density filters do not reduce the UV or Infrared radiation from the Sun. Use only filters that are specifically solar filters for photographing or viewing the partial phases of the eclipse.  For the total phase of the eclipse which will last a little more than 2 minutes, depending on where you are to view the eclipse, no filters are necessary for your eyes or your camera.  If any tiny bit of the sun is directly visible, eye and camera damage can occur.  Leading up to the total phase of the eclipse and following the total phase the sun will be partially eclipsed.  Keep your solar eclipse glasses on when looking at the partial phases.  The same with your camera.

The total eclipse is a spectacular event, nothing else compares.  A partial eclipse is a poor substitute.  If at all possible, get into the narrow strip of totality to see the real thing.  Check my, blog for more details and to see where we plan to view the show.  I have given a number of links in my first and following posts.  Some of the links deal with exact maps of the path of totality.  Others have information on proper viewing, safe filters and how to photograph the eclipse.

Good luck to all.

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Tom.  Right on, I saw the last total eclipse in 1979...1918 was a bit early for me!  Herman might have been there...:rolleyes::lol:

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Oh such a short memory. We were sitting out by our nearly new covered wagons sipping rye. I believe we were coming back from driving our cattle to KC. It was somewhere in Oklahoma. 

Herman 

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22 hours ago, hermanmullins said:

Will the race be going on at the same time as the eclipse? If so I hope the cars will have real lights and not the decaled ones.:rolleyes:

Herman

They are night races on Bristol's 1/2 mile track.  The last race is Saturday night so no conflict with Monday's eclipse!

Blake

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Jumping in late, as I just returned to the forums.

We headed to Cherokee, NC, and ended up with spectacularly clear skies.  Our 40 seconds of totality there were just amazing.  Well worth the long drive for a short stay, as Pennsylvania was only in the 75% range.  (Besides, we needed an excuse for another higher-mileage excursion to continue to put our purchased-new-in-April Bounder.)

The atmosphere at the RV campground felt like one big happy family of humanity -- all together sharing the wonder.  A really moving experience.

The picture attached here is of a small group of us (that is a blurred me turning to run for my DSLR camera, which I had put back on the picnic table in the shade because of how sunny and hot it was just moments before) during the first moments of totality (Howee in the background -- Howee is our "Home On Wheels [for] Esherick's Explorations" (what we named our RV).  Notice Howee's interior lights and our mosquito lanterns glowing on the table -- this was 2:36 p.m. EDT at totality, moments before it was sunny with a cystal blue sky).  FYI, the lighting in this picture is accurate.   And those are complete strangers in the chairs -- just hanging out with us because we had one of the few unobstructed views of the eclipse from our campsite.  LOL... it really was just like one big family event (the whole campground erupted in a cohesive cheer when the moon finally competely covered the sun). :D

And, lest anyone is concerned, we had the NASA approved glasses and special certified solar eclipse binoculars and certified solar filters to protect the sensors in our cameras, all of which we could remove safely during the few moment of totality (which is why you don't see them in the pic).  We did get some amazing photos.

All that is to say, the RV community we experienced during the eclipse reminded me once again of how small our world really is, and how big our capacity is to welcome each other. :)    Great fun! 

 

Happy trails, all!

Joan

Howee at Totality August 21 2017.jpg

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If you missed the eclipse due to weather or ?  You can go see it April 8, 2023 in the Hill Country of Texas, 100% eclipse right over my house!  :)

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5 hours ago, manholt said:

If you missed the eclipse due to weather or ?  You can go see it April 8, 2023 in the Hill Country of Texas, 100% eclipse right over my house!  :)

Do you have FHU?

Also, Earlene doesn't like to rough it so is there a Walmart nearby?

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