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I think there are all of four tips in this guide. Mostly it's a profile of eclipse chasers. Tips: 1. Get to somewhere in the path of totality. 2. Get there th

by js2 9y ago

I think there are all of four tips in this guide. Mostly it's a profile of eclipse chasers. Tips: 1. Get to somewhere in the path of totality. 2. Get there the day before. (There's already highway signs up near me in NC warning of traffic and I'm five hours away from the path of totality.) 3. Stay mobile if you can to be able to drive to clear skies in case of weather. 4. Don't bother with a camera; just observe as much as you can with your eyes. I'll add a fifth. Reconfirm your reservation with your hotel. Mine called me yesterday.

AnimalMuppet 9y ago
The problem with "get there the day before" is that you then have to get back. You might want to do that the day after. (I'm not. I'm getting there two days before, and trying to get back the same day, and I'm nervous about the second part...)
- munificent 9y ago
  At least if you're late getting back, you miss work. If you're late getting there, you miss the eclipse.
  - AnimalMuppet 9y ago
    Very true. And if I miss a day of work, there's another one the next day. If I miss the eclipse, there's another one in... eight years.
chiph 9y ago
My sister lives in Charleston - she says the hotels are full, even though many demanded a 3-night minimum stay. If you're driving somewhere Monday afternoon, you might want to pull over - not just because that way you'll get to see the eclipse, but to avoid all the people craning their neck to see it as they drive. Monday probably should have just been declared to be a national holiday. No one is going to get anything done anyway.
- pavel_lishin 9y ago
  > Monday probably should have just been declared to be a national holiday. No one is going to get anything done anyway. I feel really sorry for people who can't just take a break to watch the eclipse. That ranges from people like emergency room surgeons and nurses, to subway train drivers, and to poor McDonald's employees who may not be in a position to risk their job to run outside.
- 13of40 9y ago
  I'm driving to Oregon, but I bought a dashcam so even if I don't make it I should have some good footage.
ajmurmann 9y ago
Having seen a few of these I also strongly recommend to learn about phenomena you can see during a eclipse. Look up things like Bailey's Beads, shadow band and the awesome stuff that will happen to your shadow leading up to the eclipse. Also bring a white cloth so that you can see the shadow band of they occur. It's well worth it.
Florin_Andrei 9y ago
> Don't bother with a camera; just observe as much as you can with your eyes. "Look up (at the Sun), don't look down (at the camera)." I'm actually going to install the full astrophotography stack - telescope, camera, computer, software, battery, etc. But it's all dialed in, it will take a timelapse on its own while I'll kick back and enjoy the show. I only need to remove / replace the main filter at the edges of totality, at the same time when I take off / replace my eclipse glasses.
- js2 9y ago
  I look forward to seeing your time lapse. Thank you for taking the time to record it! :-)
  - Florin_Andrei 9y ago
    It will be up on my channel some time after the event https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIU4rTjkOVHvuucaVDdrhQQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIU4rTjkOVHvuucaVDdrhQQ
    - ScottBurson 9y ago
      Excellent! I think a "Show HN" post would be in order.
hellogoodbyeeee 9y ago
My plan was to set my camera up on a tripod facing my family and record our reactions and the transition into and out of darkness on the landscape behind us. I'm not sure how good my dslr does at transitioning exposure on it's video mode so it might turn out useless, but I figure it's got a chance of being interesting.
- AdamJacobMuller 9y ago
  You can test this to see if you can adjust the settings to fix it by setting it up in a room at night and turning the lights on/off. Might not be anything you can do about it, but, it might allow you to adjust a setting to make the video come out!

by js2 9y ago

AnimalMuppet 9y ago

The problem with "get there the day before" is that you then have to get back. You might want to do that the day after. (I'm not. I'm getting there two days before, and trying to get back the same day, and I'm nervous about the second part...)

munificent 9y ago
At least if you're late getting back, you miss work. If you're late getting there, you miss the eclipse.
- AnimalMuppet 9y ago
  Very true. And if I miss a day of work, there's another one the next day. If I miss the eclipse, there's another one in... eight years.

chiph 9y ago

My sister lives in Charleston - she says the hotels are full, even though many demanded a 3-night minimum stay. If you're driving somewhere Monday afternoon, you might want to pull over - not just because that way you'll get to see the eclipse, but to avoid all the people craning their neck to see it as they drive. Monday probably should have just been declared to be a national holiday. No one is going to get anything done anyway.

pavel_lishin 9y ago
> Monday probably should have just been declared to be a national holiday. No one is going to get anything done anyway. I feel really sorry for people who can't just take a break to watch the eclipse. That ranges from people like emergency room surgeons and nurses, to subway train drivers, and to poor McDonald's employees who may not be in a position to risk their job to run outside.
13of40 9y ago
I'm driving to Oregon, but I bought a dashcam so even if I don't make it I should have some good footage.

ajmurmann 9y ago

Having seen a few of these I also strongly recommend to learn about phenomena you can see during a eclipse. Look up things like Bailey's Beads, shadow band and the awesome stuff that will happen to your shadow leading up to the eclipse. Also bring a white cloth so that you can see the shadow band of they occur. It's well worth it.

Florin_Andrei 9y ago

> Don't bother with a camera; just observe as much as you can with your eyes. "Look up (at the Sun), don't look down (at the camera)." I'm actually going to install the full astrophotography stack - telescope, camera, computer, software, battery, etc. But it's all dialed in, it will take a timelapse on its own while I'll kick back and enjoy the show. I only need to remove / replace the main filter at the edges of totality, at the same time when I take off / replace my eclipse glasses.

js2 9y ago
I look forward to seeing your time lapse. Thank you for taking the time to record it! :-)
- Florin_Andrei 9y ago
  It will be up on my channel some time after the event https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIU4rTjkOVHvuucaVDdrhQQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIU4rTjkOVHvuucaVDdrhQQ
  - ScottBurson 9y ago
    Excellent! I think a "Show HN" post would be in order.

hellogoodbyeeee 9y ago

My plan was to set my camera up on a tripod facing my family and record our reactions and the transition into and out of darkness on the landscape behind us. I'm not sure how good my dslr does at transitioning exposure on it's video mode so it might turn out useless, but I figure it's got a chance of being interesting.

AdamJacobMuller 9y ago
You can test this to see if you can adjust the settings to fix it by setting it up in a room at night and turning the lights on/off. Might not be anything you can do about it, but, it might allow you to adjust a setting to make the video come out!