2017 Solar Eclipse Path of Totality | Hacker News Reader

2017 Solar Eclipse Path of Totality

svs.gsfc.nasa.gov

114 pointsrootbear24 comments

If anyone is wondering about the somewhat polygonal shape of the lunar umbra, apparently it's not a rendering error, it really is a bit polygonal. The edges correspond to some lunar valleys, as this nasa link explains:

http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/details.cgi?aid=4517&button...

The Earth relief has quite an impact on the umbra shape too, in some cases I would say it can change the diameter of the umbra by a few percent (check 00:26 in the nasa animation)

The NASA Scientific Visualization Studio, where I used to work, has published the most accurate map ever produced of a solar eclipse totality track. This animation combines Lunar geographic data from the LRO spacecraft with Earth geographic data to correctly model the edges of totality.

I'm in luck, the path of totality basically runs over my sister's house in East Tennessee! I hope the Great Smoky Mountains aren't so smoky on that day, August 21, 2017.

I tried to schedule my wedding for the Saturday before the (Monday) eclipse in my GF's rural Idaho hometown so that my science friends would have a reason to make the 800 mile trip from Seattle. Unfortunately, all hotels in the path of totality have been sold out for months. ALL OF THEM. AirBNBs in an area of Idaho with 3bdrms renting for $650/m are going for $1000/night.

Damn! And I was just thinking about looking for a spot in Yellowstone or Jackson for that day :(

I was planning a trip too, but all the hotels I looked at were totally booked more than a year ago.

Happens with every total solar eclipse. By the time the general public gets interested, all hotels have been booked by space geeks.

I scrapped the idea of traveling 9000 miles because I don't want to watch a partial eclipse from a truck stop somewhere in rural Idaho because hotels are booked and roads will be crowded.

Maybe you could try to schedule a flight that will give you an even better view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBoa81xEvNA

Not a better view, just a longer totality and you won't have to worry about clouds. I attended a lecture by Fred Espenak a couple months ago and he said a crappy view from the ground is better than one from a plane.

If you're in the midwest, St Louis hotels seem to have rooms. Nobody has figured it out here yet.

I just booked mine, the totality zone is about 50 km southwest of downtown. Carbondale is about 100 miles to the southeast if you really want that extra 10 seconds of totality.

Hotels in northeast Georgia and western South Carolina seem reasonable, too, and flights to Atlanta or Charlotte shouldn't be too bad from just about anywhere.

I would love to be able to pilot a plane in such a way that I end up in the moon's shadow for the entire day!

Sounds like movie plot.

"The only way to avoid detection from $BAD_THING is to hide behind the moon ... but for how long?"

366,357.1 km at its closest approach.

That's the information everyone wanted from the video, right? 2:19 through, right over Carbondale, IL

Weather statistics are more important for choosing viewing locations. The duration of totality doesn't change that much with location.

I looked into this, and Oregon has best chance of clear skies.

I'll be able to view over 1 minute of totality from my backyard. Check out http://www.eclipse2017.org/2017/every_community.htm for totality times for any town along the path.

Best price on Eclipse Glasses that I've found is these: https://smile.amazon.com/Rainbow-Symphony-Eclipse-Glasses-Vi...

Update: this first sentence is Wrong: Those are pretty expensive at the moment.

You can use Welder's Goggles with a #14 shade [1]. Most welding supplies stores will not have anything that dark, but if you get a set which allows insertion of extra lenses, you can get it dark enough. As a bonus, googles like these will fit over prescription glasses, and also block light from the sides.

Try it out before the eclipse! If you think "this is a bit bright but it's tolerable" then you need something darker. You don't need the sun to look bright at all through the glass -- it just needs to be visible so you can see the shape.

[1] https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/safety.html

That price is for a pack of 25.

I have two of the same brand I bought at the Boston Science museum last summer. I don't know if they still have them, but they were a couple bucks each at the time. I'm sure other museum type stores must carry them.

I can also attest that they work great even for just observing the sun.

Does no one watch it through good old floppies anymore? ;)

(you do need some IR protection on top of that)

cheapest observatory ever https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FkDYVPjNvg0/hqdefault.jpg

You can also poke a pinhole in a piece of paper or even a leaf and project it on your hand. Even cheaper!

you can even use your other hand's fingers to create a pinhole :)

Alright, you win!

Note that you don't need or want those during totality. They would ruin the view. When the eclipse is total, it's perfectly safe to look directly at it, and even use binoculars. It's only the partial phases where there is any danger.

When I went to Oregon for the 1979 total eclipse, an amazing thing happened. The hillside we found ourselves on had people all around with sunglasses on, looking away from the sun, so our eyes would be more adapted to the dark. I didn't see many people looking at the partial phases with "eclipse glasses".

The interesting stuff as it nears totality isn't on the sun anyway, it's on the ground. You see the ripples on the ground, and if you have a view to the west you can see the shadow rushing toward you.

Then when it entered totality, everyone took their sunglasses off and looked right at the sun. Many of us used binoculars. Truly an awesome sight.

The only danger is that as soon as the sun peeks through the first valleys on the moon, you need to stop looking, no matter how tempting it may be.

is Gravity Falls in the center of that thumbnail?

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