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Travel the path of the solar eclipse
- cwkoss 9y agoRelevant xkcd https://xkcd.com/1868/ https://xkcd.com/1868/
- chippy 9y agoThe description in the article says Google Earth (not Google Maps) and that they were exported (not screenshotted). So not at all like the heavily editorialised title.
- iaw 9y agoOriginal title: Travel the path of the solar eclipse
- sctb 9y agoThanks, we've updated the submission title from “We built this 2017 solar eclipse map starting with 73 Google Maps screenshots”.
- dpflan 9y agoThis is a nice idea. NASA has created copious maps too using various resources to ensure accuracy. You can traverse and explore the path too. Interactive maps seem nicer than a linked list of screenshots in my opinion. > https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/ https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/ > https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-maps https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-maps
- hnau 9y agothe orientation is horrible. why is north right-ish? just no.
- cwmma 9y agobecause it's mapped the convention of scrolling down on a web page and mapped the path of the eclipse onto that and because you don't always need north to point up just like you don't always need a compass rose or a scale bar.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- _jgvg 9y agothe orientation is horrible. why is north up? just no.
- rexaliquid 9y agoWelcome to the Cartographers for Social Justice!
- Raphmedia 9y agoThere is a minimap in the upper right corner to help you orient yourself.
- hnau 9y agothe minimap is oriented differently (north is up) whereas the main map view is not; that just contributes to the spatially confusing presentation in my opninion. maybe a rectangle of the full map fov along the minimap path rather than a circle would help mitigate this, I don't know... it's also following the path of the eclipse backwards, which is also distracting.
- jmhobbs 9y agoNot a journalism piece, but this is a great map for getting details along the path; http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/TSE_2017_GoogleMapFull.html http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/TSE_2017...
- emamd 9y agoWe actually used the data on this site for a related graphic here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/eclipse/?utm_term=.a759052397cd https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/eclipse/?ut...
- Klathmon 9y agoI really like the attention to detail where the shape of the "shadow of the sun" changes based on the distance from the equator.
- theoh 9y agoThough it can be thought of as varying with latitude in this case, it's much more complicated than that for eclipses in general. So latitude can work as a pragmatic proxy variable in this case but not for all eclipses: e.g. http://www.hk-mcc.net/david/eclipse/image/se20080207.GIF http://www.hk-mcc.net/david/eclipse/image/se20080207.GIF Moon's orbit is not on the equator (closer to the ecliptic), the Sun isn't fixed in the sky, etc.
- Klathmon 9y agoThat's cool, I didn't even think about that! So in your opinion does the linked article (it feels wrong to call it that...) accurately depict this (or at least depict it accurately enough that it's not deceiving)? Or like you kind of hinted at, is it close enough during this particular eclipse to not really matter?
- dekhn 9y agoit's really the shape of the projection of the shadow of the moon onto the irregular surface and doesn't really have to do with distance to the equator.
- euroclydon 9y agoI love North America! I feel privileged to live here and have access to the Interstate System to travel across such varied topology.
- Kuberkibo 9y agoThe governments of the countries built them. Engineering solved the issues of building roads over varied terrain efficiently. You should give back instead of just "feeling privileged".
- learc83 9y agoWhat was the purpose of this comment? Since when does "feeling privilaged" imply not "giving back"?
- awkwarddaturtle 9y agoYou mean america/US. North america is a continent.
- Mz 9y agoIt is also peppered with nice little sound bites of cool info: McCool Junction, Neb., won’t get McCold, but the air temperature during totality drops by an average of about 12 degrees Fahrenheit, according to astrophysicist Fred Espenak.
- mkstowegnv 9y agoI started a group with a long shot dream that some day total solar eclipses will be properly celebrated in the form of giant high tech festivals http://shadow.dance http://shadow.dance. But in addition to celebration, they are opportunities for somber reflection on history. Any arbitrary long path anywhere on earth will include historic sites that reveal depressingly dark human behavior but the Aug 21 path is remarkable in that it includes the most important historic sites for almost all the dark aspects of US history, including the Minidoka Internment Camp, Fort Laramie where the Sioux were falsely promised the Black Hills, The Trail of Tears and Sullivan’s Island (North America’s largest slaveport). (The most detailed map is on p 6 of the detailed technical proposal which is 3 clicks in – the 16 sites still sadden me when I look at them.) Readers here could be a big help for our project which was unable to get support for our 2017 ambitions but hopes to find fruition in the 2024 Mexico US Canada eclipse – contact information on the web pages.
- lomnakkus 9y agoI may just be a bit thick, but what's the significance of Aug 21 in this? (In plain terms, if you can.) Just for context: I have actually observed a total Solar eclipse, and while it was pretty significant and "awesome" in confirming my (philosophical term:) belief in Science[1], it -- in no way -- implied much else. [1] It was predicted at least 2 years in advance... which is astounding given the speed at which the earth is hurtling around its orbit, etc. I don't think they even needed much more than Newton's laws for that prediction.
- mkstowegnv 9y agoSorry I do not really understand your question. I hope I made it clear that I do not attach any supernatural significance to the fact that the Aug 21 eclipse includes "dark" history in its path. By chance it includes historical sites that most people have heard of, and it is a shame that we couldn't drum up some luminaries to talk about them and emphasize the common themes - humans are at their worst engaging in horrors that you hate to think about - when: bigotry is widely accepted, when there is assymetry of power between groups, when ruthlessness in the pursuit of profit and power is not condemned and when the actions remain out of sight and there is no investigative journalism to reveal them. If we are of good conscience and do not want to repeat our past then we must constantly be on guard against those factors.
- tomkat0789 9y agoAs somebody planning on watching it from the Willamette Valley in Oregon, I should point out that the clouds in question will probably stick to the immediate coast. It'll be the sunny dry season past the first range of mountains. I think my favorite little blurb was learning of Carhenge in a place just west of nowhere in Nebraska: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carhenge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carhenge
- tzs 9y ago> Unfortunately for residents of Oregon’s historically cloudy coast, NOAA scientists have calculated the chances of a clear day at about 44 percent. ... > A few hours east, however, the odds increase dramatically. Because the Cascade Range creates a significant rain shadow across central and eastern Oregon, chances are high that the view will be unobstructed. How good are the short term forecasts for Oregon? If the day before the forecast for an area west of the Cascades calls for a clear day, is that almost always right? My plan currently is to drive to Oregon from the Seattle area the day before, and head to one of (1) the Salem/Albany area, (2) the Madras area, or (3) somewhere around where the 84 crosses the centerline of totality, with the choice being based on the weather forecasts at the time.
- zeotroph 9y ago> clear day That is not enough though. Since the temperature drops during any eclipse the air can suddenly hold a lot less water and you have fog ruining your view. So a place with lower humidity is the second thing to consider after the cloud cover itself.
- repiret 9y agoWill less than three minutes of darkness actually cool the air very much?
- zeotroph 9y ago"3/4 or 1/2 the maximum day-night temperature difference" says eclipse2017.nasa.gov[0], space.com has more details on that[1]. If this drop means the air cools below its current dew point you get fog. Seen and felt it twice with partial eclipses (both of which just happened to be where I was, so no loss). [0] https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/typically-how-big-temperature-drop-do-you-get-during-total-solar-eclipse https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/typically-how-big-temperature-d... [1] https://www.space.com/37201-solar-eclipse-temperature-drop.html https://www.space.com/37201-solar-eclipse-temperature-drop.h...
- repiret 9y ago
- tzs 9y agoThey should have mentioned which of the listed places have an airport that is served by one or more major airlines. Those places provide the opportunity of simply flying in, hanging out at the airport until the eclipse and watching from there, and then flying home. I checked a few, looking for round trip flights from Seattle leaving Seattle the day before and returning the day of the eclipse. For some it may be possible to arrive the morning of the eclipse, but I didn't get into sufficient detail to check that. Casper, WY: many flights, around $800. One week later is around $300, so it looks like the eclipse has driven prices up. St. Joseph, MO: Many flights, $400-500, including a few nonstop so only 3.5 hours (as opposed to 6 to 7 for all the ones with a stop). (I did check same day for this one. There are leaving very early Monday morning from Seattle arriving before the eclipse). Carbondale, IL: many flights, $700ish and up. Metropolis, IL: Many, $1000ish. Nashville, TN: Many, $500ish. Clemson, SC: Many, $600-2000. That was just cities that the article highlighted. There are also many fairly significant cities, some near the center of totality, that they left out. Columbia, SC (which has many flights staring at $700), for example.
- idlewords 9y agoSt. Louis is a good hub near the eclipse track. You can rent a cheap car and head right into the New Madrid Seismic Zone to watch the eclipse from scenic Chester, IL! http://www.idlewords.com/2015/07/confronting_new_madrid.htm http://www.idlewords.com/2015/07/confronting_new_madrid.htm
- madcaptenor 9y ago
- amelius 9y agoThis is a nice opportunity for navigation software to set themselves apart: let the navigation along the given path be time-constrained. Thus, if the user is lagging behind, send them to a highway; if the user is ahead schedule, let them wait for a while.
- xtreme 9y agoCars, and even planes are way too slow to track the moon's shadow across earth. The speed seems to vary from ~1500-3000 mph depending on how close you are to the equator. An SR-71 Blackbird would have a hard time keeping up with that.
- idlewords 9y agoThe Concorde flew the path of totality in 1973, remaining in the shadow for 74 minutes. https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/8q8qwk/the-concorde-and-the-longest-solar-eclipse https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/8q8qwk/the-concor...
- onychomys 9y agoIf, like me, you're planning on being on the Wind River Reservation for it, don't worry too much about the permit you supposedly need. The town of Pavillion is charging five bucks for parking, but that's literally the only thing I can find anywhere that mentions any cost at all. This site, which is linked to by the city of Riverton, seems pretty official, and doesn't mention permits of any sort (...guess we'll see on eclipse day!): http://www.windrivereclipse.org/ http://www.windrivereclipse.org/
- xyclos 9y agoNo need to travel, watch the whole event live from the comfort of your own device: http://eclipse.stream.live/ http://eclipse.stream.live/
- idlewords 9y agoOr you can just slowly blink and keep your eyes closed for two minutes, from the comfort of your chair. It's really worth it to see this in person. There's nothing like it in the world.
- xyclos 9y agoProbably right, and I do intend on seeing it in person when it gets to SC. Sadly, not everyone will have that opportunity.
- desireco42 9y agoJust booked my hotel near Carbondale to go with my family. Prices in the area are INSANE! I am genuinely excited and can't wait to see it. I hope weather will be nice. Look forward to hang around huge group of people and enjoy the phenomenon.
- losteverything 9y agoRent a convertible