Saw this one from Rend Lake in southern Illinois. Traveled from St. Paul.
Perfect viewing conditions, nary a cloud to be found.
3+ minutes of totality but not on the centerline. The 2017 totality I saw in Wyoming was in black and white,
this one in Illinois was in color! Spectacular.
Pics may be coming after processing.
total solar eclipse on a 14er
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Re: total solar eclipse on a 14er
I gotta get me an Avatar.
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Re: total solar eclipse on a 14er
Yup! When totality arrives, light changes happening over the land or water can be even more breathtaking than those happening in the sky. From the western shore of Lake Champlain we could see Vermont still showered in colors, but this celestial caprice lasted mere seconds.
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Re: total solar eclipse on a 14er
Sure, some places will be absurdly crowded. But I've seen the last 2 total eclipses, respectively in Eastern Oregon (Malheur county, somewhat off the center yet in totality zone, off some BLM road on top of a small bluff, courtesy of local geologists' knowledge of the area), and this time in SE Illinois at an organized event at a regional airport about 5-10 miles from the eclipse axis (I drove in but some people flew in, which is cool, anyway, I digress...).
Both were mesmerizing, and each was different (not as dark in Illinois than it got in Oregon), but now to my point: none of these places were crowded. No traffic issue to get to the site and back in Oregon; I didn't leave the Illinois site until a couple of hours after (and got there the night before) but there was no visible congestion even though the site is away from freeways. Events in cities, big and small, were another story, and the people who left early to "beat traffic" all got beaten.
So... my point is: if you want to see that eclipse in 21 years away from the crowds, you will. Just don't go to Bierstadt and hope to be back down in Georgetown by 2PM. My gut feeling is that 13ers or 12ers will provide spectacular and quiet viewing opportunities. I don't know where I'll be, but I'll be watching that eclipse for sure and preferably on top of a ridge or peak, and definitely not on top of Quandary or Grays! Bear in mind that it's not just Colorado that will be in the path of totality, but the whole country from N Cali to Florida.
Until then, much of the Cantabria range of Northern Spain will be in a path of totality in August of 2026.
Both were mesmerizing, and each was different (not as dark in Illinois than it got in Oregon), but now to my point: none of these places were crowded. No traffic issue to get to the site and back in Oregon; I didn't leave the Illinois site until a couple of hours after (and got there the night before) but there was no visible congestion even though the site is away from freeways. Events in cities, big and small, were another story, and the people who left early to "beat traffic" all got beaten.
So... my point is: if you want to see that eclipse in 21 years away from the crowds, you will. Just don't go to Bierstadt and hope to be back down in Georgetown by 2PM. My gut feeling is that 13ers or 12ers will provide spectacular and quiet viewing opportunities. I don't know where I'll be, but I'll be watching that eclipse for sure and preferably on top of a ridge or peak, and definitely not on top of Quandary or Grays! Bear in mind that it's not just Colorado that will be in the path of totality, but the whole country from N Cali to Florida.
Until then, much of the Cantabria range of Northern Spain will be in a path of totality in August of 2026.
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Re: total solar eclipse on a 14er
I was NE of you towards Olney and Vincennes. Amazing weather. We lucked out SO MUCH, especially after how miserable Sunday was...Iguru wrote: ↑Wed Apr 10, 2024 7:18 pm Saw this one from Rend Lake in southern Illinois. Traveled from St. Paul.
Perfect viewing conditions, nary a cloud to be found.
3+ minutes of totality but not on the centerline. The 2017 totality I saw in Wyoming was in black and white,
this one in Illinois was in color! Spectacular.
Pics may be coming after processing.
You must have been one of those MN plates I saw on the freeway. Joining in the migration from far N IL down I-39, I was one rare local plate in the middle of mostly Wisconsin and Minnesota drivers. Iowa drivers were joining the party down I-74 past Bloomington.
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Re: total solar eclipse on a 14er
This was my first total solar eclipse and I thought it was stunning. Went back to my hometown of Carmi, IL just a few miles off the centerline. A high school friend turned 65 Monday and had a hog roast at his farm with half the town turning out which is half of not very many. Some folks opted to drive an hour to Carbondale but even the day before the crowds and traffic there were crazy. It’s historically very rainy in April so I wasn’t expecting much plus the weekend weather was lousy. After heavy fog in the morning it burned off to a cloudless 75 degree afternoon. I’m an avid night sky watcher but had never seen an eclipse so kept my glasses on when totality started. People hollered at me to take them off and when I did and saw Venus I could barely breathe. The temperature dropped noticeably and birds fluttered everywhere. We really got lucky with the weather as the next three days had solid rain. I won’t miss another eclipse at least one within a two day drive though I guess they’re not for everybody my wife could have cared less and stayed in CO.
"I'll make it." - Jimmy Chitwood
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Re: total solar eclipse on a 14er
Seeing a total eclipse is a curse in a way.
You want to tell everyone how amazing it is, but people who haven't seen one just don't understand how insanely cool it is.
You want to tell everyone how amazing it is, but people who haven't seen one just don't understand how insanely cool it is.
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Re: total solar eclipse on a 14er
So glad you had the opportunity. It really is a mind boggling event to witness.JChitwood wrote: ↑Thu Apr 11, 2024 2:49 pm <snip> I’m an avid night sky watcher but had never seen an eclipse so kept my glasses on when totality started. People hollered at me to take them off and when I did and saw Venus I could barely breathe. The temperature dropped noticeably and birds fluttered everywhere. We really got lucky with the weather as the next three days had solid rain.
Yep - and I'm even strongly considering scheduling international holidays around them...I won’t miss another eclipse at least one within a two day drive
I feel kinda bad for folks that aren't awed by a total eclipse. You can't force people to be amazed, though, I guess.though I guess they’re not for everybody my wife could have cared less and stayed in CO.
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Re: total solar eclipse on a 14er
Sounds like a dead show
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Re: total solar eclipse on a 14er
Absolutely!
I read a short article a few weeks back saying, the difference between a 99% partial eclipse and full totality (100%) is an almost 10,000x difference.
Hoping to make it back to Iceland (Snæfellsbær Peninsula) in 2026 for that totality.
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Re: total solar eclipse on a 14er
It is pretty amazing. Never saw a full solar eclipse before this one. And without the viewing glasses, one could not really discern there was anything different happening with the sun until the last minute or two before totality when it slowly changed then instantly changed literally from day to night and back.
The sun is so bright that even that 2-5% of solar disc remaining and showing prevented you from looking at it and provided enough sunlight that any passerby likely would have not known the difference without wearing those $5 viewing glasses and actually seeing it.
Temps dropped about 20 degrees at that moment and oddly, the breeze stopped and any prevailing wind was calm though not sure if entirely related. I was tempted to climb up a local peak at the time to watch it, but figured if clouds had moved in, would have prevented us from moving/driving to another possible cloud-free area.
The sun is so bright that even that 2-5% of solar disc remaining and showing prevented you from looking at it and provided enough sunlight that any passerby likely would have not known the difference without wearing those $5 viewing glasses and actually seeing it.
Temps dropped about 20 degrees at that moment and oddly, the breeze stopped and any prevailing wind was calm though not sure if entirely related. I was tempted to climb up a local peak at the time to watch it, but figured if clouds had moved in, would have prevented us from moving/driving to another possible cloud-free area.