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Very cool! Just remember the one truth about solar eclipses: total or nothing. While I don't want to dismiss partial eclipses entirely, please don't think that

by glimshe 2mo ago

Very cool! Just remember the one truth about solar eclipses: total or nothing. While I don't want to dismiss partial eclipses entirely, please don't think that partial eclipses are "almost the same" as total eclipses. One is a curiosity, the other is a memorable life event.

teraflop 2mo ago
Agreed, but I'll just add that annular eclipses occupy an intermediate point on that scale. With a partial eclipse, shadows look odd and the sunlight "feels" noticeably dimmer and more muted, but if you're not paying attention you might not notice much out of the ordinary. An annular eclipse is much more dramatic and unmistakable. It's not as striking as totality, and of course you can't directly observe it without eye protection, but the "ring of fire" is beautiful in its own way.
monster_truck 2mo ago
If you've ever needed an excuse to rent a sports car and drive for 4-8 hours, this is the one.
- spenrose 2mo ago
  Got caught in a day-long traffic jam leaving a rural area in North America after the 2017 total eclipse.
  - tverbeure 2mo ago
    It’s the one time I remember when the French highway toll booths said F that, let’s just open them up and let everyone pass. The August 11, 1999 solar eclipse. The whole of Northern Europa driving back up, me included. To bad it was cloudy, not sun to be see. I saw the 2017 one in Oregon though, it was scorching hot but no cloud to be seen.
    - dylan604 2mo ago
      I got to enjoy the 2024 eclipse from my backyard. It was cloudy right up to totality, and I had serious concerns of not being able to see it. So unless it's raining, it's still worth a look up. Years before that there was a partial eclipse where a group of people left because it was cloudy. I stuck it out and just before sunset it popped out of the clouds to give a great view of ~80%.
  - monster_truck 2mo ago
    Why were you in such a hurry to leave? I just wander around a city I will probably never go back to, taking it all in.
echelon 2mo ago
Partial and annular solar eclipses are interesting. Total solar eclipses are magical. The sun turns into a gleaming jewel and all of nature around you enters another dimension. The animals freak out, the temperature of the air around you drops dramatically, your shadows morph and multiply into weird shapes, it feels like midnight with an ethereal glow. You see the atmosphere of the sun glow in all chromatic glory. You'll never witness anything else like it.
- folkrav 2mo ago
  The drop in temperature was the most striking part for me. It wasn't just dark, it was night in the middle of the day for a couple of minutes.
  - consp 2mo ago
    I found the sudden quietness quite a lot more interesting. It was really weird, not like nighttime where you glide into it but sudden like someone flipped a switch and it was done.
    - dylan604 2mo ago
      It made me think of a movie effect where they do a quick whoosh type of fade to silence rather than just cut as the totality came on. It was one of the most memorable moments of it to me.
- estearum 2mo ago
  Just to add onto the strange observations to encourage more people to go: - I saw a child start laughing uncontrollably at 99.9% and then go completely silent and literally fall over at 100% - A grown woman began sobbing Occurred to me that we humans are among those animals that "start acting strangely" when this event occurs. Even when we know what's happening! For me personally, it was the first and only time in my life that I felt, in a spatial awareness sense, that I was on a rock flying through space. The immensity, scale, anciency, and inevitability of the whole system just really hit me in the face in a way that is impossible to describe.
guillego 2mo ago
Obligatory reference https://xkcd.com/2914/ https://xkcd.com/2914/
otherme123 2mo ago
This one passes nearby me. I have a 2 hour car drive planned for the day. Trying to convince people, specially with kids, to go to the totallity path, has proven useless: the websites say "eclipse will be at 99.9 something% here", and they are fully convinced it will be close enough.
- mplanchard 2mo ago
  It isn’t. I’ve seen both total and partial, and it’s (literally) night and day. There’s no comparing the two, in my opinion.
- glimshe 2mo ago
  Total or nothing. The sun is so bright even 0.1% will prevent you from seeing the eclipse directly. With all respect for your family, they are very wrong on this one. I'd beg them to accept the drive if I knew them. I drove 14 hours each way to see the last eclipse and boy it was so worth it.
- estearum 2mo ago
  +1 to the sibling comments. I'd hardly even step outside my door to see 99.9%, but would travel continents for 100%. In fact I had a flight booked to Spain to see this one which I unfortunately won't be able to make anymore. It is literally night and day. Total eclipses are absolutely profound.
dom96 2mo ago
Really? Well that's sad. I'll be going to see my first partial eclipse this week.
- mplanchard 2mo ago
  It’s worth traveling to see totality if you can swing it
- bhaak 2mo ago
  A partial eclipse is still cool. I witnessed a 70% partial eclipse once and it was still impressing. The colors changed, the sun was visibly dimmer. A total eclipse is just on a whole different level. BTW, you can't photograph a partial eclipse with your phone directly but you can snap a picture of the reflection in the lenses. https://imgur.com/a/partial-solar-eclipse-europe-march-2015-c7AkkJ2 https://imgur.com/a/partial-solar-eclipse-europe-march-2015-... Just be careful while looking towards the sun even if you're concentrating on the screen. Even though it's not as strong as normal it's still strong enough to potentially damage your eyes. Some kind of shade is advised.
- estearum 2mo ago
  1. Try to travel to totality if you can 2. Don't let your partial experience this week check off the "see an eclipse" box and then not try to see totality – totality is an absolute must-see event

by glimshe 2mo ago

teraflop 2mo ago

Agreed, but I'll just add that annular eclipses occupy an intermediate point on that scale. With a partial eclipse, shadows look odd and the sunlight "feels" noticeably dimmer and more muted, but if you're not paying attention you might not notice much out of the ordinary. An annular eclipse is much more dramatic and unmistakable. It's not as striking as totality, and of course you can't directly observe it without eye protection, but the "ring of fire" is beautiful in its own way.

monster_truck 2mo ago

If you've ever needed an excuse to rent a sports car and drive for 4-8 hours, this is the one.

spenrose 2mo ago
Got caught in a day-long traffic jam leaving a rural area in North America after the 2017 total eclipse.
- tverbeure 2mo ago
  It’s the one time I remember when the French highway toll booths said F that, let’s just open them up and let everyone pass. The August 11, 1999 solar eclipse. The whole of Northern Europa driving back up, me included. To bad it was cloudy, not sun to be see. I saw the 2017 one in Oregon though, it was scorching hot but no cloud to be seen.
  - dylan604 2mo ago
    I got to enjoy the 2024 eclipse from my backyard. It was cloudy right up to totality, and I had serious concerns of not being able to see it. So unless it's raining, it's still worth a look up. Years before that there was a partial eclipse where a group of people left because it was cloudy. I stuck it out and just before sunset it popped out of the clouds to give a great view of ~80%.
- monster_truck 2mo ago
  Why were you in such a hurry to leave? I just wander around a city I will probably never go back to, taking it all in.

echelon 2mo ago

Partial and annular solar eclipses are interesting. Total solar eclipses are magical. The sun turns into a gleaming jewel and all of nature around you enters another dimension. The animals freak out, the temperature of the air around you drops dramatically, your shadows morph and multiply into weird shapes, it feels like midnight with an ethereal glow. You see the atmosphere of the sun glow in all chromatic glory. You'll never witness anything else like it.

folkrav 2mo ago
The drop in temperature was the most striking part for me. It wasn't just dark, it was night in the middle of the day for a couple of minutes.
- consp 2mo ago
  I found the sudden quietness quite a lot more interesting. It was really weird, not like nighttime where you glide into it but sudden like someone flipped a switch and it was done.
  - dylan604 2mo ago
    It made me think of a movie effect where they do a quick whoosh type of fade to silence rather than just cut as the totality came on. It was one of the most memorable moments of it to me.
estearum 2mo ago
Just to add onto the strange observations to encourage more people to go: - I saw a child start laughing uncontrollably at 99.9% and then go completely silent and literally fall over at 100% - A grown woman began sobbing Occurred to me that we humans are among those animals that "start acting strangely" when this event occurs. Even when we know what's happening! For me personally, it was the first and only time in my life that I felt, in a spatial awareness sense, that I was on a rock flying through space. The immensity, scale, anciency, and inevitability of the whole system just really hit me in the face in a way that is impossible to describe.

guillego 2mo ago

Obligatory reference https://xkcd.com/2914/ https://xkcd.com/2914/

otherme123 2mo ago

This one passes nearby me. I have a 2 hour car drive planned for the day. Trying to convince people, specially with kids, to go to the totallity path, has proven useless: the websites say "eclipse will be at 99.9 something% here", and they are fully convinced it will be close enough.

mplanchard 2mo ago
It isn’t. I’ve seen both total and partial, and it’s (literally) night and day. There’s no comparing the two, in my opinion.
glimshe 2mo ago
Total or nothing. The sun is so bright even 0.1% will prevent you from seeing the eclipse directly. With all respect for your family, they are very wrong on this one. I'd beg them to accept the drive if I knew them. I drove 14 hours each way to see the last eclipse and boy it was so worth it.
estearum 2mo ago
+1 to the sibling comments. I'd hardly even step outside my door to see 99.9%, but would travel continents for 100%. In fact I had a flight booked to Spain to see this one which I unfortunately won't be able to make anymore. It is literally night and day. Total eclipses are absolutely profound.

dom96 2mo ago

Really? Well that's sad. I'll be going to see my first partial eclipse this week.

mplanchard 2mo ago
It’s worth traveling to see totality if you can swing it
bhaak 2mo ago
A partial eclipse is still cool. I witnessed a 70% partial eclipse once and it was still impressing. The colors changed, the sun was visibly dimmer. A total eclipse is just on a whole different level. BTW, you can't photograph a partial eclipse with your phone directly but you can snap a picture of the reflection in the lenses. https://imgur.com/a/partial-solar-eclipse-europe-march-2015-c7AkkJ2 https://imgur.com/a/partial-solar-eclipse-europe-march-2015-... Just be careful while looking towards the sun even if you're concentrating on the screen. Even though it's not as strong as normal it's still strong enough to potentially damage your eyes. Some kind of shade is advised.
estearum 2mo ago
1. Try to travel to totality if you can 2. Don't let your partial experience this week check off the "see an eclipse" box and then not try to see totality – totality is an absolute must-see event