Astro Hawk (Ian Kluft) ✅🚀🛰️Long-range #weather outlook by @theeyewallwx / @mattlanza for April 8 #SolarEclipse: early Spring has high probability of clouds across much of the path of totality in central Mexico, eastern USA (Texas to Maine) & eastern Canada https://theeyewall.com/digging-into-the-model-data-to-tell-you-what-we-know-about-the-weather-for-april-8ths-solar-eclipse/ #SolarEclipse2024 #astronomy
Possibly controversial opinion: fireworks are a completely unnecessary distraction during a #TotalSolarEclipse. A total eclipse is only a short number of minutes long. The eclipse, solar corona, daytime stars & twilight are the experience. Look! 👀😎 #SolarEclipse2024 #astronomy
"A way-too-early look at the cloud cover forecast for the solar eclipse" by @washingtonpost / @stillmand - Another overview of #weather outlook/probabilities for April 8 #TotalSolarEclipse. Probabilities of clouds lower south. https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2024/03/27/solar-eclipse-cloud-forecast-totality/ #SolarEclipse2024 #astronomy
As April 8 #TotalSolarEclipse approaches, there's literally a day & night difference between 100% eclipse "totality", and 99% eclipse which is a million times brighter. The term totality is 100% eclipse. You can use percent for eclipse, not totality. #SolarEclipse2024 #astronomy
"Solar Eclipse Timer App Review" by Jason Barnette / Road Trips & Coffee blog - App for #Android & #iOS annunciates eclipse events. Free app, no ads, $2 data file each eclipse - reasonable to support developer. https://www.roadtripsandcoffee.com/solar-eclipse-timer/ #SolarEclipse2024 #astronomy #mobile #tech
"The 2024 total solar eclipse is 1 week away" by @SpaceDotCom / @DaisyDobrijevic - Trip planning & preparation. Climate data for April has poor odds for avoiding clouds anywhere. #Weather forecasts are just getting into range. https://www.space.com/total-solar-eclipse-2024-one-week-away-what-you-need-to-know #SolarEclipse2024 #astronomy
"Eclipse Coolness" by @XKCD comic - Even in 99% eclipse, it's daylight. At totality, it's suddenly twilight. The planets and stars come out. The Sun's corona is visible without a filter, beyond what #photography can capture. https://xkcd.com/2914/ #SolarEclipse2024 #astronomy
"Eclipse Clouds" by @XKCD comic - The #weather can very much control what kind of #eclipse you see. The comic suggests if you get clouded out, positive spin calls it a multi-layer eclipse with more than one thing blocking the sun.🤔 https://xkcd.com/2915/ #Eclipse2024 #astronomy
"What happens if it's cloudy for the April 8 solar eclipse?" by @SpaceDotCom / @JoeRaoWeather - Possible to use cloud cover to observe movement in arrival and departure of the Moon's shadow. Observe cooler temperature & darkness. https://www.space.com/what-if-it-is-cloudy-for-total-solar-eclipse-april-8-2024 #Eclipse2024 #astronomy
If you can't get to the path of totality for Monday's #TotalSolarEclipse, there will be a partial eclipse across North America. (graphic by Fred Espenak made before he retired from NASA) Do not look at the sun.😎 Even if you don't have eclipse glasses, either make an eclipse projector or find bits of sunlight in the shadow of a tree, which project images of the eclipse. #Eclipse2024 #astronomy
Wikipedia has a section of its solar eclipse article on viewing partial solar eclipses. Using a tree as a projector is fascinating and free. (images by Bree~commonswiki & Bhadrapriya BC on Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse#Partial_and_annular_eclipses #Eclipse2024 #astronomy
I have arrived in the path of totality for #SolarEclipse2024 in Mesquite, Texas. Now the #eclipse will come to me.
Already some fun as I was interviewed by Marcia Dunn, Aerospace writer at AP. #astronomy
Already some fun as I was interviewed by Marcia Dunn, Aerospace writer at AP. #astronomy
I arrived for #SolarEclipse2024 around noon. All afternoon I've seen traffic slowing down, probably happening to some degree everywhere along Monday's path of totality. Highway signs in Texas say:
Solar eclipse Monday
delays possible
arrive early
stay put
leave late
"Weather is the hot topic as eclipse spectators stake out their spots in US, Mexico and Canada" by @AP - I was interviewed by Marcia Dunn of AP when I arrived in Mesquite TX. Here's her article. https://apnews.com/article/total-solar-eclipse-sun-moon-06767dd9e63cce8eb2351c22e90e38b1 #SolarEclipse2024 #astronomy
Total solar eclipse 2024: Spectators stake their spots along the totality path
Eclipse enthusiasts are staking out their spots across three countries, fervently hoping for clear skies. Forecasts are calling for clouds along most of the sun-vanishing route stretching from Mexico to the U.S. to Canada on Monday. North America won't see another coast-to-coast total solar eclipse for 21 years, prompting the weekend's worry and mad rush. Four minutes of daytime darkness beckon in Mesquite, Texas, where many locals are getting the day off. Others traveled thousands of miles to witness the cosmic event, if the weather allows.
"NASA issues a warning about smartphones and the solar eclipse" by @PhoneArena - Just like you must not look directly at the sun except during totality, your phone camera can also be damaged by pointing it to direct sunlight. https://www.phonearena.com/news/nasa-warns-smartphone-users-about-solar-eclipse_id157041 #SolarEclipse2024 #astronomy
I'm at the Totality Dallas festival in Mesquite, Texas. Currently watching presentation by Alysha Shugart of the Rubin Observatory on "Eclipse Soundscapes", sounds to expect during an eclipse and effects on people & animals. #SolarEclipse2024 #astronomy
Previously overcast skies are breaking to partly cloudy at Totality Dallas in Mesquite TX. Hoping for a view of totality over an hour from now. Partial #eclipse has begun here. #weather #SolarEclipse2024 #astronomy
Cell phone networks will probably become overloaded in the path of totality, delaying social media reporting until later in the day. #SolarEclipse2024
The clouds parted just enough just in time to view totality here in Mesquite TX. (my cell phone pic) #SolarEclipse2024 #astronomy #weather
Some reporting about total solar eclipses is a bit misleading. It's correct there won't be another total eclipse in Dallas for 300 years, or continental US for 20 years. But eclipses happen somewhere in the world every 6 months. #travel #SolarEclipse2024 #astronomy
"AP PHOTOS: Total solar eclipse sweeps across North America" by @AP - In Mexico🇲🇽, the USA🇺🇸 and Canada🇨🇦, millions witnessed the total #SolarEclipse. The full story is more than just the view, also people's reactions. https://apnews.com/article/2024-total-solar-eclipse-photos-us-0a07725f59906849b00949e43177e6d9 #SolarEclipse2024 #astronomy
"What Were the Red Dots around the Total Solar Eclipse?" by Scientific American @SciAm - We all noticed the red solar prominence where I watched. This explains what it was. (Though we already knew.) https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/red-dots-around-total-solar-eclipse-explained/ #SolarEclipse2024 #astronomy
"Now is your moment to shine" by @Oatmeal comic - It was the ultimate photobomb when the Moon ran in front of the Sun. https://theoatmeal.com/comics/eclipse #SolarEclipse2024 #astronomy
"A tale of 3 eclipse chasers: Despite technological gains, nature calls the shots" by @GeekWire / @alanboyle - Reporters from #PNW viewed #SolarEclipse in Arkansas (abandoning Texas), Indiana and in flight. https://www.geekwire.com/2024/eclipse-chasers-tale-nature-vs-tech/ #SolarEclipse2024 #astronomy #aviation #avgeek
"Types of eclipse photo" by @XKCD comic - These actually do cover most of the pictures posted. https://xkcd.com/2917/ #SolarEclipse2024 #astronomy
Many used historical climate data to plan where to watch #SolarEclipse2024, since reservations would be gone months before #weather forecasts were in range. That's why so many went to Texas. Actual weather turned out backwards from expectations, better northeast. #astronomy
Nick Benson“The captain of the Delta flight warned passengers not to stare at the sun. There were no cheers from the packed flight during the eclipse, and a large number of passengers couldn’t even be bothered to open their window shades or divert their attention from seatback screens.”
🙃
@ottergoose @alanboyle Yeah, unbelievable that people would be in an ideal spot, and be "totally oblivious" to it. 🤪
I met a guy in Mesquite who came to Dallas anyway after a gov't training class was canceled due to the eclipse, because he had already paid for the trip. Initially he was annoyed at all the fuss and traffic. After I told him what to expect since he was already in motel at a spot that would get 4 minutes totality, he later said he was very impressed and glad he talked with me. 😎
I met a guy in Mesquite who came to Dallas anyway after a gov't training class was canceled due to the eclipse, because he had already paid for the trip. Initially he was annoyed at all the fuss and traffic. After I told him what to expect since he was already in motel at a spot that would get 4 minutes totality, he later said he was very impressed and glad he talked with me. 😎
simonbp@AstroHawk With quote by my colleague Lisa!
Cmonster@AstroHawk that was basically our view in Killeen. Pretty awesome in the end!
Ross of Ottawa@AstroHawk our strategy is to find a viewing spot near a thriving restaurant and bar zone and then retire for a beverage after the event, and get back 'home' via the metro.
jonathankoren™@AstroHawk I saw a similar sign outside of St. Louis
@jonathankoren It matches my experience from Madras, Oregon in 2017.
@AstroHawk same in Indiana / Ohio. My fingers will be crossed in Dayton at the USAF Museum tomorrow.
@AstroHawk FYI, you’re quoted in the top story on Drudge Report now, via AP: https://apnews.com/article/total-solar-eclipse-sun-moon-06767dd9e63cce8eb2351c22e90e38b1
Total solar eclipse 2024: Spectators stake their spots along the totality path
Eclipse enthusiasts are staking out their spots across three countries, fervently hoping for clear skies. Forecasts are calling for clouds along most of the sun-vanishing route stretching from Mexico to the U.S. to Canada on Monday. North America won't see another coast-to-coast total solar eclipse for 21 years, prompting the weekend's worry and mad rush. Four minutes of daytime darkness beckon in Mesquite, Texas, where many locals are getting the day off. Others traveled thousands of miles to witness the cosmic event, if the weather allows.
FreddyB Aviation Photography@AstroHawk very cool!!!! Have fun
Hanno Rein@AstroHawk FWIW I always thought of Fred Espenak as the authority on eclipses (rightly so I think!). But as a result I never questioned the plot while trying to calculate the timings myself. And I just couldn't match the results. As it turns out my calculations were more accurate because the plot hadn't been updated in a while: the Delta T used for the plot is 81.2s but it is now closer to 69.2s. Super obvious in retrospect. But that took me a long time to figure out... but hey, I learned a lot!
JL Johnson 
@AstroHawk @ikluft the drive, plus traffic, plus high chance of clouds ruining it have soured me on the idea ☹️
@User47 @ikluft Yeah. Going to attempt to see an eclipse needs understanding and accepting the risk that weather can block the view. As Heinlein said, "Climate is what you expect. Weather is what you get."
Dropping temperatures can even cause clouds to form at exactly the wrong time, as I saw from Reno at the annular eclipse of May 2012.
The best strategy is to plan the trip to have other things to enjoy in addition to the eclipse. The eclipse depends on luck. But the other plans shouldn't.
@User47 @ikluft I posted a video from my successful expedition to the 2017 total solar eclipse, as seen from Madras, Oregon. A bike helmet camera captured my view without having to think about it (except when I walked it into a camp canopy). A second camera aimed away from the sun on a fence got a combined view of two Oregon stratovolcanoes: Mt Jefferson disappeared in the shadow of totality while Mt Hood was in 99% eclipse, remaining in daylight. Also, traffic jams. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRqDSXCWSJY
