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[Smiley90]

I got some glasses from a Maker's Fair a few months back, what's the best way to verify they're good enough to use?



Corvallis Parks & Rec still has RV and tent spaces available if you want to get a little closer. $200 seems cheaper than what some people are charging for this.

I kept checking the Best Western website every couple hours and managed to snag a room in Albany for 20000 points - roughly 200USD.

Cash rate ask for the room was 720USD.


So it looks like I'll drive to Portland, spend Sunday there, then drive to Albany in the evening and WONT have to get up at 4am to drive somewhere!

 

[patrickthehedgehog]

my city will have 99.2% coverage...that's enough for me

I understand the difficulty in getting out to see this in the path of totality, but the difference between 99.2% and total coverage is huge.

A reasonable person might conclude that an 80 percent eclipse is 80 percent as interesting/spectacular as a 100 percent eclipse. That is completely wrong. As one illustration, it gets about 10,000 times darker when the moon covers the last 1 percent of the sun's surface! Moreover, most of the effects mentioned above occur only during or just before/after totality and not at all outside the path of totality. A total solar eclipse is also nothing like and enormously more spectacular than a total lunar eclipse. I have traveled far across the world to see the former and sometimes not even bothered to step outside my house to see the latter.
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/a-partial-eclipse-is-interesting-a-total-eclipse-is-mind-blowing/

If you have the means then get out to totality!

 

[Kthulhu]

Anyone know where to get some eclipse glasses?

 

[perfectchaos007]

woo! I just got a week of vacation for August approved, timed for this event. My mother-in-law just bought a condo in eastern TN, so we have a place to stay..

I'd also add: North America won't have many of these events over the next 50 years. When I did the math on my life expectancy and realized that I only have a few eclipses left, taking time off was a no-brainer.

Thanks for this. Looks like Dallas, TX will be in the 100% track in 2024. That will be a much easier trip for me than this months eclipse

 

[MomoPufflet]

Anyone know where to get some eclipse glasses?

Here's a list of approved retailers

Do not buy them anywhere else unless you want to risk knockoffs (which do exist and can blind you)

 

[Fried Food]

come on do I really need to pay 100 dollars to guarantee myself glasses at this point?

 

[kamakazi5]

What are eclipse glasses composed of? I was looking for welding glasses earlier and these things were extremely thick/dark but only level 10. It's hard to believe I need at least a 14.

 

[Smiley90]

What are eclipse glasses composed of? I was looking for welding glasses earlier and these things were extremely thick/dark but only level 10. It's hard to believe I need at least a 14.

The better question is: "How bright is the sun"

the answer is: extremely.

 

[Chris R]

I kept checking the Best Western website every couple hours and managed to snag a room in Albany for 20000 points - roughly 200USD.

Cash rate ask for the room was 720USD.


So it looks like I'll drive to Portland, spend Sunday there, then drive to Albany in the evening and WONT have to get up at 4am to drive somewhere!

Nice, we land at 5 AM on Sunday, have to go into Washington to get the rental car and then get to our hotel in Beaverton.

Planning on sticking WEST of I-5, taking various country roads and what not to get into the totality zone.

 

[kamakazi5]

The better question is: "How bright is the sun"

the answer is: extremely.

1/2cm thick black glass - not enough.
What look like old school 3D glasses - safe.

That's why I was curious as to what they were made out of. It doesn't really matter, more curious.

 

[Jedi2016]

I've already done some photography with the filter I bought, so I know it's good. Ditto for the glasses, they're actually darker than the filter is.

I do plan on photographing the event (only a partial from here), I probably won't spend much time actually looking at it directly.

 

[Yoshimitsu126]

So you can only see the eclipse if your city is within its path? Picture below from forbes has the path in black.

Or can people outside those cities still see it? And will they need to have glasses too?

 

[muu]

I kept checking the Best Western website every couple hours and managed to snag a room in Albany for 20000 points - roughly 200USD.

Cash rate ask for the room was 720USD.


So it looks like I'll drive to Portland, spend Sunday there, then drive to Albany in the evening and WONT have to get up at 4am to drive somewhere!

Hah that's awesome. I5's probably going to be a shitshow so I wouldn't wait too long to get down here though. Traffic always slows down around Wilsonville and I assume it'll get much, much worse.

 

[The Sum of Zero]

So you can only see the eclipse if your city is within its path? Picture below from forbes has the path in black.

Or can people outside those cities still see it? And will they need to have glasses too?

That path is only 100% totality.

Here's a better map.

 

[itwasTuesday]

Got my sunglasses ready, gonna cut up a pair to make a makeshift camera filter.

 

[Ding II]

An actual Total Solar Eclipse, where the moon gets to cover the sun perfectly during the day, and -if you have protecting eyewear- allowing you to see the Sun's corona.

Actually, for those few minutes during totality, you don't need eye protection at all. The corona can safely be viewed with bare eyes. It's relatively dim, which is why it's so hard to see, normally. You won't be able able to see shit through eye protection, and will be wondering why the people standing next to you are oohing and ahhing.

But that part only lasts for about 2.5 minutes, tops. And it only occurs if you are positioned right under the path of totality. If you are further away from the path, or are viewing the partial eclipse before and after the period of totality, protect those eyeballs!

 

[Ding II]

1/2cm thick black glass - not enough.
What look like old school 3D glasses - safe.

That's why I was curious as to what they were made out of. It doesn't really matter, more curious.

Up close, the lenses look a lot like mylar. Shiny, thin, reflective, silver. I tried them out in the front yard the other day, and the only things I could see through them were:

The sun.

and

The occasional reflection of the sun, on car windows.

 

[Ding II]

Looks like Atlanta is the largest city to be under the 100% coverage line

No, Atlanta is well south of the path of totality. Or, is that what you meant by "under"?

I live 45 minutes north of Atlanta, and I'm going to have to drive another 2 hours (if traffic's light) north into Tennessee to have a chance at viewing a total eclipse.

 

[fallout]

For eye safety, it's worth keeping in mind that glancing at the Sun with inadequate protection isn't going to blind you or anything. It's when you stare at it for several seconds or more that you start increasing your chances of damage. The problem with an eclipse is that you will very likely stare for a few seconds out of curiosity.

Also, has been said a few times: you do not need eye protection for totality. That said, be safe at the edges of totality.

What are eclipse glasses composed of?

Typically mylar or some metallic polymer variant:

http://oneminuteastronomer.com/999/choose-solar-filter/

Those glasses are coated in metal. You don't need a lot to block most of the sunlight.

I was looking for welding glasses earlier and these things were extremely thick/dark but only level 10. It's hard to believe I need at least a 14.

You do need 14s if you want to stare for more than a few seconds. It also works if you take 2 blocks of 7 rating welding glass and stack them.

 

[louiedog]

One question, I'm like really worried about going blind from this thing. I know they say to take off your glasses during totality but how will I know for sure when to take them off and put them back on? I'm like worried I'll time it wrong and mess myself up

This is a very late reply, but if anyone else is wondering this there's an app called Solar Eclipse Timer (Android, iOS) that looks at your GPS coordinates and walks you through each stage. I wouldn't trust it absolutely 100% because your location could be a little off but it should help.

 

[perfectchaos007]

No, Atlanta is well south of the path of totality. Or, is that what you meant by "under"?

I live 45 minutes north of Atlanta, and I'm going to have to drive another 2 hours (if traffic's light) north into Tennessee to have a chance at viewing a total eclipse.

Ah my bad I was looking at the map wrong. It goes through South Carolina not Georgia like I though

 

[Turbo Killer]

Really considering driving down to Carbondale, but the one in 2024 is gonna pass through there too maybe I'll go then.

 

[fallout]

Cloud cover predictions:

 

[Chris R]

Yeeeessssssssssssssssssssssssssssss be clear Oregon

 

[Husker86]

Dang, so close to one of the better areas in Nebraska--but cloudy skies will ruin in.

Bill Nye is coming to where I'm going and the turnout is expected to be extremely high...gonna be a big bummer if we can't even see it.

 

[Beer Monkey]

I'd make glasses and filters out of Pop Tart wrappers if I was improvising and couldn't find anything certified.

Various materials tested

 

[EYEL1NER]

Looks like it'll be 100% here in Sumter, SC? I know the park in town has a big celebration and food trucks (from somewhere that matters, maybe? Not sure where they're coming in from) planned. I need to get some glasses for my family, I guess. Hopefully the clouds along the coast don't move inward at all.

 

[kamakazi5]

Cloud cover predictions:

Hopefully, it isn't that bad, that's pretty rough. Unfortunately, the west coach is pretty much the only place I don't have any shot of flying too.

 

[The Sum of Zero]

Cloud cover predictions:

FUCK those clouds in Alabama are right over where I live.

 

[Smiley90]

Cloud cover predictions:

Yeeeessssssssssssssssssssssssssssss be clear Oregon

OREGON WINS AGAIN

 

[B.K.]

FUCK those clouds in Alabama are right over where I live.

We're still a week out. It's too early to start freaking out already over the weather.

 

[ronco2000]

This is happening on my birthday! And I'm basically dead center of the eclipse's path.

I think you'll be turning into a werewolf. That's what I'm hearing anyway.

 

[GameAddict411]

We have very clear skies in the summer in Oregon! Yay

 

[ph1l0z0ph3r]

Damn is there anywhere online that isn't sold out with an official ISO Certified pair. Have a telescope but never used a solar filter on it.

 

[LowlySmokeGuy]

How long would I have to look at the eclipse for it to be dangerous for the eyes? If I just glance at it for a second, would my eyes get fucked up?

 

[The Sum of Zero]

We're still a week out. It's too early to start freaking out already over the weather.

I'm just being pessimistic. The weather here is too random at times for my liking so I'm trying not to hope too much.

 

[VariantX]

All I got to do is hope I'm off work next monday and it doesn't decide to rain or be overcast.

 

[poppedcollar69]

i scheduled the week off a year ago but now i guess everyone is trying to see this and the freeway is going to be a disaster

 

[Zelenogorsk]

Looks like my town is in the path of totality, so I guess i'll be able to just walk outside and see it (assuming there are no clouds...)

I work for a city government in mid-Missouri and we're preparing all kinds of stuff for this. People from all over the world have been asking us about it for two years now and our hotels are already getting booked up. Town is going to be crazy packed... I may take a vacation haha.

Sorry for snooping but looking through your post history I figured out that you're from the same town as me, and I have to work a shift at a downtown restaurant on Monday night!!!!! Gonna be fun lol.

 

[tonysidaway]

In 1999 I grabbed a CD ROM as we were all heading out of the office to watch a partial solar eclipse in London. That worked very well.

 

[Crispy75]

How long would I have to look at the eclipse for it to be dangerous for the eyes? If I just glance at it for a second, would my eyes get fucked up?

Re-state your question, but with "sun" in place of "eclipse"

The answer is "more than a few seconds"

You don't normally look a the sun because it's really fucking bright. When it's partly covered by the moon, it looks super interesting, so you'll want to look at it. But even when mostly covered it's still thousands of times brighter than needed to damage your eyes.

Only during totality, when the sun is entirely covered, is it safe to look at without protection.

 

[FyreWulff]

Cloud cover predictions this far are out are useless. Especially out here in Nebraska where cloud cover can literally explode into existence within a half hour.

I usually expect Nebraska to suddenly have heavy cloud cover for these events but roast us for the rest of the month, though.

 

[Nostremitus]

I'm in Missouri. 100% path... But... There will most likely be cloud cover... Lol.

 

[tonysidaway]

Checkmate, flat earthers!

It's a spectacular demonstration of certain astronomical facts, you'd think. Samuel Rowbotham, the founder of modern flat-earthery, simply denied that the moon was involved at all, and posited an otherwise-unseen object that passed in front of the sun. Conveniently for his idea, solar eclipses always happen during the new moon. Rowbotham maintained, on the grounds of certain passages in Genesis, that the moon generates its own light.

Modern flat earthers tend to be just as dim when it comes to astronomy, and many of them think the fact that the path of totality goes from West to East is a killer argument. They fail to take into account the sheer distance between Earth and the moon, which means the shadow of the moon overtakes the eastwards motion of Earth's surface even though the moon's angular velocity around its orbit is much slower than the angular rotation of Earth.

The relatively small size of totality is also a "gotcha" moment for some flat earthers. Apparently it's gospel to them that a shadow cannot possibly be smaller than the object that casts it.

I shudder for the geometrical illiteracy of the flat earthers, whose numbers though small seem to be growing.

 

[OfficerRaichu15]

Live in Nashville and got my NASA approved sunglasses so I'm ready!

 

[Alastor3]

I find it funny that OP is banned XD

 

[Aiustis]

Yay! it's during my lunch!

 

[Hoho for breakfast]

Damn probably too late to get glasses anywhere? Prices I'm seeing are fucking ridiculous, or they aren't in stock/wouldnt be delivered in time.

Maybe in 2024.

 

[tonysidaway]

Damn probably too late to get glasses anywhere? Prices I'm seeing are fucking ridiculous, or they aren't in stock/wouldnt be delivered in time.

Maybe in 2024.

Just use a CD or any similar laserdisc.

You can also easily view the shadow of the eclipse projected by leaves of any nearby trees. That's far more spectacular than it sounds.

Another option is to turn a cardboard box into a home-made camera obscura and observe the eclipse projected through the pinhole onto a screen. Use a black binbag with a hole in it. Put it over your shoulders to exclude as much light as possible. Be sure to test it on a normal sunny day before the big event.

 

[DoomGyver]

I'm just going to use my welding helmet. The eclipse in 2024 goes right over my hometown.