Mike Masnick ✅

Randomly noting: if you're in the US, in April of 2024, the US will have a solar eclipse pass over a bunch of states for the first time in 7 years, and for the last time in *decades*.

It is an indescribably wonderful experience to be in the zone of totality. This article kinda covers it:. If you're not sure if you've seen one, you haven't. It's the most bizarre thing where it feels like someone flips a light switch and turns off the sky. https://www.space.com/37791-go-see-the-solar-eclipse-in-person.html

Yes, the Solar Eclipse Is Worth the Hype (Trust Those Who Have Seen One)

E.C. Krupp, director of the Griffith Observatory, explains why you should really try to see the 2017 total solar eclipse. (Hint: It’s worth it.)

Space
Apr 24, 2023 at 8:43pmWeb
Show threadMike Masnick ✅Apr 24, 2023
Anyway, if you're at all interested in experiencing it (and, you should), I would recommend trying to find places to stay like... today. Many hotels opened up booking this weekend, and every one we had planned to try sold out almost instantly, despite ridiculous pricing. We eventually found a place and booked it, but rooms are disappearing quickly.
Show threadLeon CowleApr 24, 2023
@mmasnick I’ve been looking forward to this for years — because my house is smack bam in the middle of the path of totality! What an amazing experience (and as an added bonus, we’re a space-geek family!).
Show threadMike Masnick ✅Apr 24, 2023
@leoncowle lucky you! it's such a great experience.
Show threadsuldrew 🚲🏳️‍🌈Apr 24, 2023
@mmasnick 2017 was amazing. Definitely planning on going next year .. but the question is where!
Show threadMike Masnick ✅Apr 24, 2023
@suldrew we went with texas based on the lower chance of clouds...
Show threadmarkApr 24, 2023
@mmasnick I remember signs along highways in 2017, months ahead of the event, telling people not to come to this spot to park and watch.
Show threadMichael SApr 24, 2023
@mmasnick With the last one we were a few hours away from where the total eclipse was visible, so I took my kids out of school and drove downstate. No regrets, even with the insane traffic on the way home.
Show threadMike Masnick ✅Apr 24, 2023
@mstevens86 we had a 14 hour drive home that began with nearly 3 hours trying to get through a single stop sign in rural Oregon. Totally worth it.
Show threadDoctor LURKApr 24, 2023
@mmasnick Thanks for the tip! Instead of tangling with price-gouging Arkansas hoteliers, we checked NASA's totality map and ended up reserving a modest room near the beach in Mazatlán for under $100/night including taxes. Of course, there's still the matter of booking a flight, but this might be worth a look for anyone else having trouble with high prices stateside....
Show threadMike Masnick ✅Apr 24, 2023
@doctorLURK nice!
Show threadsamiratouApr 24, 2023
@mmasnick I booked a VRBO in December, 2021, and there were already lots of places booked up. We were looking in the southern IL/IN area. We were booking for a large group (9 people), which didn't help, but still a lot of stuff was booked already.
Show threadSteve OlsonApr 24, 2023
@mmasnick can confirm. we drove like 4 hours from a wedding we were attending and got a $400 room that was probably usually like $65 in North Platte NE for the last one, and it. was. more. than. worth. it.
Show threadDaveJApr 25, 2023
@mmasnick I gave up on finding something in Texas (my preference), but did find both a reasonably priced AirBnB condo and a group of hotel rooms in Mazatlan. I’m worried the condo will cancel on me when they realize what’s going on. It’s crazy, much more so than last time, when I found a lot of options in South Carolina less than 6 months out.
Show threadDanApr 25, 2023
@mmasnick thank you for the heads up. Just booked a trip. Totally worth a few days out of school for the kids.
Show threadflopperdogApr 25, 2023
@mmasnick
If you're flying into DFW, book a car now. National and Enterprise are sold out. Hertz wanted $2800 for a midsize SUV for three days. It's a MADHOUSE
Show threadMike Masnick ✅Apr 25, 2023
@flopperdog huh. good to know... not going to DFW, but I'll start looking.
Show threadJoe LaBondeApr 25, 2023
@mmasnick
We (wife and 2 kids) booked an RV and a campsite in Vermont about a month ago. Yes being in totality is totally worth it, we were in WY in 2017.
Show threadJeff CraigApr 25, 2023

@mmasnick We happened to be driving from Indiana to Louisiana on the day of the last Eclipse and stopped in Southern Illinois for the experience. We posted up on the north shore of the Carbondale Reservoir, and I'll *never* forget the moment of Totality, the sudden drop in temperature, the fish in the reservoir suddenly coming to the surface looking for food.

Now we're in New Hampshire for this eclipse, and Totality won't pass over our house, but we're definitely making plan to go North.

Show threadK SmithApr 25, 2023

@mmasnick yeah. We need to reserve a place to stay within the next couple days.

I'm only about 60 miles from the path of totality, but will try to go further south to get some better weather.

Show threadJonApr 25, 2023
@mmasnick Don't skip the campsites! Shawnee National Forest is going to have some great viewing spots in SW Illinois, if you can book them
Show threadJonApr 25, 2023
@mmasnick There's also a bunch of great camping in the Mark Twain National Forest in south Missouri that ought to be pretty close, based on the maps I've seen
Show threadMike Masnick ✅Apr 25, 2023
@Phyrkrakr yeah, we did campsites for the last one. and had a campsite picked out in texas as a fall back. but we're bringing my parents and some friends who... are not really the camping type.
Show threadMike MerrittApr 25, 2023
@mmasnick Just booked to ensure I have something. May look for another option but I also chose Texas. May do a train trip out of it!
Show threadMike Masnick ✅Apr 25, 2023

@mikewmerritt awesome. Texas is a better bet to have clear weather than further north.

And very cool on the train ride. We've done a few extended train rides recently, and it's great.

Show threadTristan CrawlApr 25, 2023
@mmasnick Signed on with a tour company for 2017 and it was the best, they found lodging and our own spot to watch the eclipse. Signed up with them again for 2024, we'll be near San Antonio.
Show threaddannfullergamingApr 25, 2023
@mmasnick Ooooh, I live about 30 minutes north of Toledo so that's the first time I've said that and implied it has actual benefit.
Show threadBrooks DavisApr 25, 2023
@mmasnick I managed to score a decent rate (~$210/night) in downtown Dallas today, but most places started at $600. Hopefully airfare isn’t completely insane when reservations open up in a week or two...
Show threadPusher Of Pixels (old account)Apr 24, 2023

@mmasnick yep, my first was a few years ago in SC. Truly amazing thing to experience in person.

I'm lucky in that my parents live right in the path so it's already a planned trip;-)

Show threadMike Masnick ✅Apr 24, 2023
@pixelpusher220 excellent!
Show threadOphitoxaemiaApr 24, 2023
@mmasnick During Oregon totality we heard a weird, throbbing noise. Have you?
Show threadMike Masnick ✅Apr 24, 2023
@Ophitoxaemia definitely do not recall that...
Show threadThomApr 24, 2023
@mmasnick the temperature drop at max covetage is what gave me the goosebumps. I knew it'd get dark, but wasn't prepared for the coolness on a hot Summer day.
Show threadPusher Of Pixels (old account)Apr 24, 2023
@ThomM @mmasnick Yes THIS! My first was in the SC summer...*very* pronounced drop in temps even during midday
Show threadNathan A. StineApr 24, 2023
@mmasnick my grandma's farm is about dead center in the zone of totality and everyone is expected to go there and enjoy it together.
Show threadMike Masnick ✅Apr 24, 2023
@stinerman nice!
Show threadGeoff GreenApr 24, 2023
@mmasnick it’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen. Seriously. I have a video from the last one and it’s just me and the kids going “wow wow wow wow” over and over.
Show threadMike Masnick ✅Apr 24, 2023
@geoff_green yup. just a constant stream of 'wow" and "OH MY GOODNESS!"
Show threadKirk KittellApr 24, 2023
@mmasnick I stayed home from work and made a janky pinhole camera when the 2017 eclipse passed over St. Louis. Total eclipse is not overrated. Absolutely fantastic. It was an exceedingly strange experience. If any ancient or modern cultures considered total eclipses as evidence of the world ending, I can validate the feeling.
Show threadKirk KittellApr 24, 2023
@mmasnick (also I apparently grew better tomatoes when I had an apartment balcony than now when I have a backyard garden)
Show threadGreenDotGuyApr 24, 2023
@kittell have you tried adding some epsom salt to the soil? Seems weird, but look it up. Tomatoes & peppers love it.
Show threadKirk KittellApr 25, 2023
@DarcMoughty Sure, I'll have a look at it, thanks for the suggestion. If epsom salt works, it works. The soil is more like clay than soil around here. If the epsom salt doesn't work, I'm considering dynamite next.
Show threadGreenDotGuyApr 24, 2023
@mmasnick I booked a few rooms for family and friends. Now I have to start making sacrifices to the Old Gods so the sky is clear... in New England... in early April.
Show threadGregneeApr 24, 2023
@mmasnick
2 photos from annular eclipse at Lake Tahoe May 2012.
Show threadMark FletcherApr 24, 2023
@mmasnick Ooh, thanks for the reminder. Works out great with the kids’ spring break.
Show threadMike Masnick ✅Apr 24, 2023
@wingedpig yeah, same. we'd already said we'd take the kids out of school for a few days to see it if necessary, and it was the first thing we checked when the next year school schedule was released
Show threadDaily Pokémon CardsApr 24, 2023
@mmasnick this article seems to be about the 2017 eclipse- which was stellar even though I was only in 98% totality range. Where is the 2024 one?
Show threadMike Masnick ✅Apr 24, 2023
@girlbaus https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/eclipses/2024/apr-8-total/where-when/
Where & When | 2024 Total Eclipse – NASA Solar System Exploration

NASA’s real-time science encyclopedia of deep space exploration. Our scientists and far-ranging robots explore the wild frontiers of our solar system.

NASA Solar System Exploration
Show threadOLD ACCOUNT - Nicholson PriceApr 24, 2023
@mmasnick Is viewing roughly the same within the zone of totality, or does it make a difference to be closer to the center line?
Thank you for the heads-up!
Show threadMike Masnick ✅Apr 24, 2023
@nicholson closer to center means much longer in totality. worth it to try to get pretty close... you want it to last as long as possible.
Show threadKen FarinskyApr 24, 2023
@mmasnick
Things to note about total eclipses: First, you'll need special glasses to look at the sun until totality. Make sure you have them. Second, seeing it at 99% or 99.9% is NOT a total eclipse. Make sure you're in the range of totality, it matters.
Show threadMike Masnick ✅Apr 25, 2023
@kfarinsky yup. that's what that article is basically saying. you need to be in the 100% part. Because the switch from 99.9% to 100% is like someone hitting a light switch.
Show threadKevin LeecasterApr 25, 2023
@mmasnick
Since I've already experienced a total solar eclipse, I won't add to my carbon footprint to view another, but yeah they're cool for sure.
Show threadMemphisDaPlaya 🎲🎲Apr 25, 2023
@GreenFire
I live in the path dead center.
Show threadAppagal CrochetApr 25, 2023
@mmasnick This will be in my neck of the woods! Chances of overcast in Ohio during winter/spring 98.99999% 🤣🤣🤣
Show threadChris GriggsApr 25, 2023
@mmasnick saw it in 2017 in Paducah, Kentucky. Incredible!
Show threadSpontaneous RejectApr 25, 2023
@mmasnick Thanks for the heads up!
Show threadZorro Notorious MEB 😡Apr 25, 2023
@mmasnick Yeah, I caught the one in August of 2017 in Salem, OR. 10/10
Show threadOld One EyeApr 25, 2023
@mmasnick It was astounding to me, last time, that another was happening so soon in the future (and passing right over my home) allowing me to actually skip out on traveling for that one.
Show threadKathy E. Gill 🇺🇦Apr 25, 2023

@mmasnick

Did you go to Oregon? It was amazing!

I’m trying to talk my husband’s family into another eclipse road trip.