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In north central Alabama, I wasn't expecting to see anything other than a little more darkness. It was supposed to be raining, but the clouds thinned and were in and out and we had a much better view than I anticipated.
We had about 90% coverage of the sun. The clouds thickened so it's hard to tell if the darkness was due to the clouds or the eclipse. Both to a certain extent.
Here in the D.C. area it's definitely darkened the sky to some extent. It's about 87% coverage and the sun is technically 'out' (I can see the sunshine reflecting on car hoods and the like), but it's a quite subdued form of it. The light - a restrained, weak form of sunshine - reminds me both of very hazy wildfire smoke days and situations where the sun comes out in the vicinity of strong thunderstorms, but it is unique because the air is very clear and there are no storm clouds.
About 81% here in the upstate of SC.. A tad overcast, but you could see the sun perfectly fine through the minimal clouds.
I was trying to warn people that this would be much less exciting than the August '17 eclipse, when we were in the path of totality.. But they were a bit shocked at how much less it was. Until you get into that 95% range of the sun being blocked.. While you notice that it's darker than it 'should' be.. It doesn't really jump out at you until you get in the high 90% range.
The next "Great American Eclipse" (From Sea to Shining Sea) similar to August 2017 will be in 2045. In fact, it'll follow almost the exact path of the 2017 eclipse, but be about 250 miles south.
I ran the numbers on Madison, AL.. If you want to see totality.. You need to go to it.
The last total solar eclipse that Madison was in the path of was July 20, 1506
the next? April 14.. 2591.
That being said.. You will get a 95% on Aug 12, 2045. Which will be about one percent less than what you saw today.
your next eclipse will be Jan 26, 2028, which will only be 14%, but the next year, Jan 14, 2029, you'll have about a 50% eclipse.
About 81% here in the upstate of SC.. A tad overcast, but you could see the sun perfectly fine through the minimal clouds.
I was trying to warn people that this would be much less exciting than the August '17 eclipse, when we were in the path of totality.. But they were a bit shocked at how much less it was. Until you get into that 95% range of the sun being blocked.. While you notice that it's darker than it 'should' be.. It doesn't really jump out at you until you get in the high 90% range.
The next "Great American Eclipse" (From Sea to Shining Sea) similar to August 2017 will be in 2045. In fact, it'll follow almost the exact path of the 2017 eclipse, but be about 250 miles south.
I ran the numbers on Madison, AL.. If you want to see totality.. You need to go to it.
The last total solar eclipse that Madison was in the path of was July 20, 1506
the next? April 14.. 2591.
That being said.. You will get a 95% on Aug 12, 2045. Which will be about one percent less than what you saw today.
your next eclipse will be Jan 26, 2028, which will only be 14%, but the next year, Jan 14, 2029, you'll have about a 50% eclipse.
Cool numbers! There was so much cloud cover that we never saw the "eclipse shadows" through tree leaves like we did in 2017. But, we had a much better view than was predicted.
It happened about an hour ago here in Indianapolis. It was amazing! It was a sunny day, then it started cooling off. Porch lights came on. Then it turned chilly and went totally dark--no shadows at all. I stood against my house for warmth. There was only light on the horizon. People cheered and set off fireworks. A few minutes later, it started getting light.
I took a colander and got some neat pictures of crescent shadows.
My fourth eclipse but first total eclipse (I did have a total eclipse of the heart once)
I thought it would get much darker, it did create some weird shadows and did freak out some crows that like to hang around my house, but outside of that it really was no big deal.
This is the first total eclipse in the US since 1991 that I wasn't in the path of totality for.
I happened to be out at Ft Shafter, HI in 1991 when the eclipse happened there (Bad weather, visability was poor) and here in the upstate of SC in August of 2017.
What would have been astoundingly neat would have been if this eclipse had fully hit somewhere like Virginia and was.. maybe a month later.
a total solar eclipse, plus the emergence of two of the largest broods of cicadas all happening at the same time..
Solar eclipses are not all that rare. Happening, on average, about once every 18 months. The problem is.. Totality is a very small band, and.. As seen from the numbers on Madison, AL.. It's been about 500 years since the last one there, and will be another 500 years before the next.
Another example.. Home plate at Dodger Stadium.. The last time a total solar eclipse was visible from that spot was May 22, 1724
the next time.. There may not be another. there's not going to be one before the year 3000 and that's about as far out as calculators go for now.
Within the next 100 years, the best that point will see will be 96% on May 4, 2106.
Few people alive today will be around to see that one.
Kansas City.. Last total eclipse was Jun 16, 1806. Next.. Probably the great eclipse in 2045.. Nope.. only 92%. June 17, 2672.. Followed by another one just nine years later, on June 8, 2681.. And preceeded by an annular eclipse (Moon too far away from Earth to totally block the sun) Aug 29, 2668. Mark yer calendars. lol
So.. If you have the ability to see a total eclipse, especially if you've never seen a total solar eclipse.. See it. Because while they're not all that rare.. They are exceedingly rare for a specific area.
The light level looked like storm clouds were coming, but there were no clouds.
What was also interesting was seeing the solar flares around the total eclipse from the other locations.
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