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
I heard from some people, and apparently this was a widespread problem, that their AirB&B reservations were cancelled by the hosts and re-listed for over $1000/night on other services. Some didn't find any new accommodations in the path of totality. #SolarEclipse2024 #astronomy
Some pics from my visit to #NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. Almost everyone I met there was also visiting as a next stop after wherever they went to see #SolarEclipse2024 . #space
One more #space related landmark as last stop before leaving Texas on my #SolarEclipse2024 trip... I made my second visit to the Sierra Madera impact crater. It's 8mi/13km across. If you look up the Wikipedia page, it has a picture from my first time there. #astronomy #geology
Continuing to visit #space related landmarks on the way home from #SolarEclipse2024, I saw the US🇺🇸 National Science Foundation's Very Large Array (VLA)🔭 in Socorro County, New Mexico. 27 radio antennas use interferometry to act like a big dish the width of the array. #astronomy
Arizona's Meteor Crater, also known as Barringer Crater, was the final planned #space related landmark on my #SolarEclipse2024 trip. It was the world's first scientifically confirmed impact site, instrumental in developing the science for later ones. #astronomy #geology #LowFlyingRocks
Safe at home in Portland. So the #SolarEclipse2024 trip is now a complete success. #astronomy #space #travel
Looking forward to #SolarEclipse2026 (Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, Atlantic & Spain), it will coincide with the annual #Perseids2026 meteor shower peak. Some lucky observers may see up to a few meteors during 2 minutes of totality. Map by EclipseWise/Fred Espenak. #astronomy #space #travel
"Looking Up and Down During the Eclipse" by @NASAEarth Observatory - #NASA imagery of #SolarEclipse2024 looking up from the ground and down at the Moon's shadow from orbit https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/152683/looking-up-and-down-during-the-eclipse #SolarEclipse #astronomy #space
I learned more about interaction of cloud cover and lowering temperature in an eclipse. Cumulus clouds that form from rising air lose energy and may clear in an eclipse, as happened in Mesquite TX for me in #SolarEclipse2024.
Mountains can cause stratus to form or worsen in eclipses. Clouds formed in both annular eclipses I attempted. In Reno NV 2012, Sierra Nevada mountain wave cloud formed. In 2023 north of Roseburg OR, it was overcast and then fog formed at the center. #astronomy #weather
Mountains can cause stratus to form or worsen in eclipses. Clouds formed in both annular eclipses I attempted. In Reno NV 2012, Sierra Nevada mountain wave cloud formed. In 2023 north of Roseburg OR, it was overcast and then fog formed at the center. #astronomy #weather
"Prominences during April 2024 solar eclipse" is among the amazing photos posted by Dr Paul Ricker of U of Illinois. I met him at #SolarEclipse2024 Totality Dallas. He was set up a few steps from me. He posted on AstroBin: https://www.astrobin.com/dq4i97/ #astronomy #weather
"April 8, 2024 solar eclipse HDR image" by Dr Paul Ricker, posted on AstroBin. I was set up a few steps away from where he took the images that went into this composite HDR image at Totality Dallas. https://www.astrobin.com/xumccp/B/ #SolarEclipse2024 #astronomy
Odd moment on return from #SolarEclipse2024 on US Hwy 89 from I-40 in Arizona to I-15 in Utah. GPS said a town 15 minutes ahead had ETA 45 minutes in the past. Arizona has #PermanentStandardTime. But the Navajo Nation uses DST. 3 time zone changes back & forth between MST & MDT in 100mi/160km on one road.
"The April 8 Total Solar Eclipse: Through the Eyes of NASA" by @NASA - #SolarEclipse2024 images by #NASA from public presentations, studies of animal reactions, jets, satellites and space station astronauts https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/skywatching/april-8-total-solar-eclipse-through-the-eyes-of-nasa/ #astronomy
The April 8 Total Solar Eclipse: Through the Eyes of NASA
On April 8, 2024, the Moon’s shadow swept across North America, treating millions to a breathtaking view of a total solar eclipse. As the Moon passed in front of the Sun, it revealed the Sun’s wispy white outer atmosphere — the corona. Pictures of total solar eclipses are beautiful — they capture a moment happening […]
"Eclipse Path Maps" by @XKCD comic - After #SolarEclipse2024, the cartoonist takes elements of #SolarEclipse2026 and others to add up all the worst fears of eclipse chasers in how to plan a trip to one https://xkcd.com/2921/ #astronomy #travel
City of Dallas posted "Totality Dallas Festival Recap" from April 8 #SolarEclipse2024. I attended that event, which was held at Samuell Farm Park in Mesquite. (Dallas owns the park. But it's southeast outside Dallas.) We had 4min 8sec totality. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP1jy2HEbVY #astronomy #travel
Totality Dallas Festival Recap
"Cloudy with a Chance of Eclipse" by @NASAEarth Observatory / @avoiland - Some observers during #SolarEclipse2024 helped #NASA collect geographically widespread data on #SolarEclipse effects on clouds. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/152771/cloudy-with-a-chance-of-eclipse #astronomy #weather
A year ago I was on the way to see the Total #SolarEclipse2024. With snowfall expected to close I-84 in eastern Oregon's Blue Mountains, I had to leave a day early on the road trip to stay ahead of it. The snow followed just behind me until the Rocky Mountains in New Mexico where the storm weakened enough that a slightly late 9:30am departure allowed the sun to melt snow & ice on the pass on I-40. Overnight stops were in Boise ID, Price UT, Albuquerque NM and Wichita Falls TX. #astronomy #travel
One year ago was the day before the April 8, 2024 Total #SolarEclipse2024. I got to Mesquite, Texas (eastern Dallas metro) around mid-day to try to arrive ahead of the crush of traffic as everyone came from everywhere to the path of totality. Even before I found a place to get lunch, I met a news crew preparing to cover the next day's festivities in downtown. I was interviewed by AP aerospace reporter Marcia Dunn. https://spacey.space/@AstroHawk/112231193378607141 #astronomy #spacegeek #eclipse #travel
Astro Hawk (Ian Kluft) 🚀🛰️ (@[email protected])
Attached: 1 image 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
Marcia quoted me in her article, "I have arrived in the path of totality!" After the interview, we chatted about where we met before. I remembered her from 10 years earlier in 2014 at NASA's CRS-3 launch (SpaceX Falcon 9 & Cargo Dragon to ISS) where I had a "NASA Social" one-time social media pass and she was one of the pro media covering it. NASA TV showed us at adjacent seats asking questions in the post-launch news conference. https://spacey.space/@AstroHawk/112232761322006141 #astronomy #spacegeek #eclipse #travel
Astro Hawk (Ian Kluft) 🚀🛰️ (@[email protected])
"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
JL Johnson 
@AstroHawk @ikluft until the next great adventure!
invno1@AstroHawk so cool! Is that near petrified forest national park?
@invno1 They're about 85 miles apart
simonbp@AstroHawk How windy was it? Nearly lost a good hat there once.
@simonbp No hats were harmed in this visit. There was a strong breeze on the ridge top. I didn't think of estimating wind speed at the time.
@AstroHawk @ikluft on my to do list 🤩
FreddyB Aviation Photography@AstroHawk Sierra Madre? were badges required? cause we don’t need no stinking badges. sorry could not resist
@cvvhrn Spell check: the crater is Sierra Madera. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Madera_crater
