Anyone going to see the Eclipse?

[Serutan]

The real wildcard in the traffic on Monday is going to be how many of the millions who could make a last
minute decision to go to the path of totality. Given that there apparently aren't any rooms and maybe
campsites available in the path, there's going to be a pretty good crowd no matter what. Wyoming is
advising people to enter the state with a full tank of gas, and be fully supplied for two days even
if you only intend to do it as a day trip.

The thing that would be fun to do if it was feasible would be to charter a boat and go out to
the point in the Pacific where the Sun will rise fully eclipsed.

 

[warpus]

In one of Iain M. Banks' stories a couple of the (human) characters (IIRC) theorize whether aliens ever visit the Earth in disguise to witness the eclipse. It's a bit unique in that the length of the diameter of the moon as visible from the surface of the Earth is basically exactly as long as the diameter of the sun as visible from the surface of the Earth. Creating a neat effect that is probably somewhat rare.

So watch out for those aliens

 

[Samson]

In one of Iain M. Banks' stories a couple of the (human) characters (IIRC) theorize whether aliens ever visit the Earth in disguise to witness the eclipse. It's a bit unique in that the length of the diameter of the moon as visible from the surface of the Earth is basically exactly as long as the diameter of the sun as visible from the surface of the Earth. Creating a neat effect that is probably somewhat rare.

So watch out for those aliens

If we had evolved just ~100,000 years later, an eyeblink in evolutionary timescales, no human would have seen a total eclipse.

 

[Perfection]

If we had evolved just ~100,000 years later, an eyeblink in evolutionary timescales, no human would have seen a total eclipse.

Cursory googling on estimates gives that date as hundreds of millions of years away not hundreds of thousands

 

[Samson]

Cursory googling on estimates gives that date as hundreds of millions of years away not hundreds of thousands

I think you are right, I do not know how I got it so wrong.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I think you are right, I do not know how I got it so wrong.

What's a few zeroes among friends?

 

[warpus]

I think you are right, I do not know how I got it so wrong.

Nice try, Mr. "trying to pretend I'm not an alien"

 

[Broken_Erika]

Nice try, Mr. "trying to pretend I'm not an alien"

The Earthling is on to us.....

 

[Disgustipated]

Cursory googling on estimates gives that date as hundreds of millions of years away not hundreds of thousands

Yeah I'm pretty sure the sun will eat us alive before any of that happens. That always freaks me out a little. In that no matter what, humans will die out (I deem space travel to be completely impossible to colonize another planet). Of course even if that didn't happen, the future of the universe doesn't look much better. It all has to end sometime.

 

[Kyriakos]

You know, you could just get yourself one of those anti-Kythera mechanisms, and plan ahead for any eclipse you are interested in

 

[Disgustipated]

Really having second thoughts. I'm seeing an article estimating 500,000 to 1 million drivers in Eastern Idaho. How can that even work? You only have a 2 lane road (presumably private farmland on both sides), all those cars can't fit into that space. I don't think I'm going to be able to reach the zone of totality.

Can't cancel my reservations, so I guess I'll see what happens.

Damn the news media for telling everyone about this.

 

[Hygro]

I'm on my way up through Oregon right now. Traffic is thick but manageable here in nowhere South Oregon

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I just got off the phone from booking a ride downtown here for Monday (for reasons completely unrelated to the eclipse), but happened to mention the eclipse to the booking agent. He sounded really interested... and asked if he would need a telescope to see it!

I told him it was the Moon moving in front of the Sun, so no, he would not need a telescope, and since we're only getting about 70-75% totality here, it's too dangerous to look at without special glasses.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

I have to work tomorrow, but a coworker who is leaving to visit the path of totality is leaving me some extra eclipse glasses so I can step outside and view a 97% partial eclipse.

 

[Cutlass]

Looking at an eclipse through a telescope is not recommended.....

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Looking at an eclipse through a telescope is not recommended.....

I told him that. He also asked "was it on tonight" and my first thought was "did I not just say "eclipse of the Sun"?". Funny how people get those mixed up.

I tell people that lunar eclipses are perfectly safe to look at with the naked eye. Solar eclipses are not. I am going to be out for awhile on Monday, but since I don't have anything that's safe to use, I won't be seeing the eclipse. Should be interesting to see what 70% totality looks like outside, though, even if I can't look at the Sun.

 

[Perfection]

Pullin into st lious

 

[Ferocitus]

If you have trees near you, take a moment to look at some dense parts
of their foliage.

During the total eclipse in Adelaide, it seemed to me like the light was
polarised and a very strange shimmering violet colour in narrow gaps
between leaves.

 

[ThERat]

Take some pictures please. Saw a partial eclipse last year here (87%) and didn't have the right protection. Hence, I used my phone to take some pictures. The sky got strangely dark, almost eerie. However, I woudn't travel just to see that

 

[Zkribbler]

With this CNN site, you can watch it live from anywhere in the world. Less than 14 hours to go.

http://edition.cnn.com/specials/vr/total-solar-eclipse-2017/

Edit: Now 5 hours, 15