Total Eclipse USA 2017

[barx1963]

Is any one else considering travelling to the US for the eclipse next year? We are planning on being in Memphis at the time and hope to find a suitable spot to observe, hopefully meet up with some Aussies while there.

Malcolm

[Wavytone]

Yes we're definitely going - it is a few days away from our wedding anniversary as well as our little boys birthday.

Still trying to decide where to go - west coast obviously not good but we're likely to aim for somewhere on the east side of the Rockies.

[OzEclipse]

Malcolm,

It sounds as though you will be in Tennessee for some other purpose and the eclipse is just a bit of a bonus? If however you've chosen Tennessee mainly because you are chasing maximum duration, you should reconsider.

The clearest weather in is the west - parts of Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and Nebraska have mean cloudiness around 20-30% but not everywhere. Local topography means that there is localized cloud in parts. Cloudiness suddenly drops east of longitude 121W on the path of totality and stays low in parts to Nebraska. As you head to the south east of the USA cloudiness again climbs to 60-80%.

Joe

[Rob_K]

Been planning to go for some time now but it will depend on finances. Hope to catch up with some 'locals' we've observed other eclipses with. Maybe start in Oregon (where one lot live) and travel to who-knows-where along the line.

Cheers -

[SteveInNZ]

Casper, Wyoming. Booked accommodation about a year ago and it's sold out now.

Steve.

[OICURMT]

My inlaws live in Rolla Missouri, so we'll head out north of Jefferson City on the day...

[bojan]

I would love to..

[astroron]

I have a friend who lives in Arkansas,will hopefully stay there and head up north for the eclipse.
Cheers:thumbsup:

[roddz]

Hi Malcolm
I'm planning on going.
At the moment I'm looking as Casper Wyoming, which has a star party on before hand.

Rodd

[Protiotype]

Hi all. I just booked all of my flights (with window seats) last week! My first independent overseas trip too - just a wee bit excited now. :)

I'll be arriving in Seattle on the 12th and departing from Portland on the 22nd. Would like to see it from Madras where the air is dry and elevation is high, but am unsure if traffic will be an issue (and I don't intend to be in the driver's seat). If so and the weather is CAVOK, Salem (around an hour or so south of Portland by train) could be a safer bet.

I was up in Cairns for 2012 but got clouded out during the crucial moments! I briefly considered 95% the way to the edge of the path for 2017, but I think 2 minutes of totality will work just fine for me, more or less a "first timer".

Will be cool to meet any IIS members while I'm over there!

[roddz]

Hi everyone.

What camera/lens/telescope/mount are you all planning on taking?
At the moment I'm planning on taking my Canon 60Da, a Sigma 170-500mm lens with a 1.4 converter, on a Skywatcher adventurer mount.
All reasonabley portable.

Rodd

[Protiotype]

I'll be taking a Google Pixel (128GB), and a Macbook Air for my trip. Planning on taking an excessive number of photos and some videos during my visit, but of course it's eyes first for what will be my first unhindered view of totality. ;)

[barx1963]

Well we are committed to the US trip now!! Flights to LA booked, managed a great deal, $900 each for the 2 flights with Virgin.

Happy days!!

Malcolm

[Protiotype]

$900 each return! Did you score that through a travel agent?

My booking with Air New Zealand back in early October ended up being $1202 + $88 with preferred seating (at the back (2-4-2 seating), window seat for the overnight hops) - quotes online at the moment appears similar to what I paid.

I get to skip LAX entirely as well as take in a few more climbs/descents. ;)

My new passport should be on track to arrive within a few weeks too. TINY bit excited. ;D I just have to sort out accommodation now - I'll aim to do that before February.

(Btw, Plan A will be Madras rather than Salem. I have a ("professional") driver sorted already. Plan B I guess would be Salem and Plan C & D would be to fly to interstate if the weather is looking armageddon. I *should* do better than Cairns 2012... It's going to be a great adventure either way.)

[rowena]

Hi All,


This is my THIRD eclipse!!! :) Ceduna, Cairns, and now most probably Columbia (missouri).

We have booked... 3 Aug BNE to SYD to DFW (Dallas fort worth) on the A380, then for totality looking at either Jeffersen City/Columbia Missouri region (flexible depending on clouds).

Coming back on the 31 Aug departing San fran.
Got flights with qantas going into Dallas and back out from san fran to Brissy for $999. The cool part was they had this deal on before xmas, and i could choose any city (LAX, SFO or DFW) going into USA and then any city of those 3 going out of USA for no extra add on price.

Will be 4 of us travelling, so 2 kids (4 and 7!) and my other half.

I will be taking my trusty Canon 7D and 100-400mm lens. I have a thousand oaks solar filter (which i love), so that is what i will be shooting the eclipse with. Will also get the eclipse glasses for the kids. I am also looking at getting another camera, either a 5D or 1D. Not sure which way i will go, but i do know looking on my 27Inch imac at home my pics i can see all the dead pixels in anything night related photography! also will take my other halfs macbook pro. But normally something like this, i will copy my photos to pc, but not delete from CF card, and buy several large CF cards. e.g 128G. Last trip to usa i shot over 7000 photos in a month, i reckon i could do more this time.

Unsure if to go with car hire or camper van(rv).

[barx1963]

Ah, so you are heading to Oregon? We have decided to fly to LAX then on to New York for a few days, then fly to Denver, rent a car, drive to Cheyanne in Wyoming then drive to the Casper area on the day of the eclipse, though plan may change with forecasts!!
Then we do a 10 day bus tour around the National Parks (Yellowstone, Bryces, Grand Canyon finishing in Las Vegas, then back home via LAX.
The $900 price is net of the award points that we picked up going to the US, Hawaii and Europe over the last few years, price was about $1200 before that for a direct flight Melbourne to LAX with Virgin it was a special that was only available yesterday as far as I can see.

Malcolm

[Jen]

Omg I'm getting excited and nervous I have my passport Woohooo so I'm sort of organised 😜😜😜 Yes tickets are on special through virgin at the moment I need to really start planning out what I'm going to do 😱 I'm a little worried about just jumping in a car and taking off on the wrong side of the road 😱😱 I might be travelling solo 🔭🔭 I still have no idea where I'm going to be viewing the eclipse 🤔🤔 but I want to spend at least three weeks over there 😬😅😎

[rowena]

Hi all,

Thought id give a update as to what im doing.. so last post i couldnt decide on either rv or car hire or what camera...

So the second camera will most likely now be a canon 7d mark 2. I am already familiar with the 7d and it has a lot of features which i prefer over the 5d mark v.

I also went camper van hire, but from the 8th of august. First couple of days will fly into dallas and do car hire, will go down to houston and possibly over to san antionio and back out from dallas to fly to tampa.

We are doing rv hire from tampa to san francisco, because it was the cheapest location to hire from, trust me i litereally searched every site!! Orlando is second cheapest. 25 Foot camper van for 4 people including insurance is going to cost $4950US. The same hire from dallas as a example is $6500. So cheaper to add on extra flights from dallas to tampa!. Also means i get to add a side trip to cape caneveral!. The rv allows us to be flexible for the eclipse. As ive learnt from the previous two eclipses, clouds are your worse night mare, and you need flexible transport arrangements in my opinion!

The other thing i have also done is gotten my visa done. Any aussies/kiwis can apply for a short stay visa and must be done before travel.
Website is https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov
Submitted the application and it took 20 minutes for it to be approved. Its valid for two years, and the way trump is changing policies i thought best to get this over and done with first.

We are also looking qt being more westerly then previously posted. Was looking at jefferessen city, but now looking more in kansas state. Due to the fact we will have ten days to get to san francsico, via yellow stone with two kids. Lots of driving!

[Jezkerwin]

My wife and I are heading over. I booked into Moonrise hotel in St Louis as part of the Astronomy Cast podcast event.

We're spending a bit of time in Nashville and Memphis as well. I'm just going to be taking my DSLR gear, but I'm upgrading to a longer focal length lens.

[bigjoe]

I just recently got back from LA and LAS VEGAS , GRAND CANYON, where my brother has some properties , which I hope to stay in to prepare to watch the Eclipse thats when I go back for some more hols!
bigjoe

[bkruse]

For anyone traveling to the US for the August 21 eclipse, the Eclipse Megamovie Project is looking to get photographs to build a movie of images from coast to coast. They need skilled photographers to help create the movie as well as support solar science. UC Berkeley’s press release has good background information on what they are hoping to accomplish: http://news.berkeley.edu/2017/02/21/megamovie-project-to-crowdsource-images-of-august-solar-eclipse/
Their goal is to recruit over 1,000 amateur photographers and astronomers who will be on the path of totality on August 21, 2017. Their website has information and a link to the application to participate: https://eclipsemega.movie

Basic equipment necessary for participating in the Eclipse Megamovie Project
Camera: DSLR (digital single lens reflex)
Telephoto or zoom lens: minimum focal length of 300mm
A stable and level tripod
Ability to identify the GPS coordinates and time to the nearest second

[rowena]

Thanks for that... i submitted my application tonight... i feel Like im now a pro at total solar eclipses.. being my third totality! But its not enough!! Once you have seen one you will have a new addiction! :rofl:

[Jen]

:eyepop: that's so cool I'm not sure where I'm going yet though 😬😬😬

[C.A.L.]

I'm doing the RV thing myself as I am bringing my kids along, planning to observe in Oregon, likely around Madras. Will be hiring the RV out of LA and driving north (with a detour to Yosemite on the way), but still deciding between a couple of RVs at the moment. Campsites (in Yosemite and at the Solarfest in Madras) and flights have been booked already though.

For those who haven't planned anything yet and don't want to get caught up in the last minute booking rush, I just thought I'd mention the trip that Mel Hulbert (from the Sydney Obs) is running, as she mentioned to me yesterday that it will have to close off to bookings in mid-April, which is fast approaching. The website for her trip is here: http://www.spacetimetravellers.com.au/

If you've travelled with Mel before on one of the many trips she's run, you will know that she has an uncanny ability to find clear skies, with plans always in place to switch locations at the last minute should it look like clouding over. While the trips themselves are always good value, seeing the actual eclipse is the main reason for going.


This will be total eclipse number 7 for me - fingers crossed :-)

Cheers,
Cathi

[alphamone]

I will be going to Columbia Missouri to view this eclipse. Sadly I don't have a DSLR otherwise I would have signed up for that megamovie thing. It still won't stop me from taking lots of pictures though. This will be my third total eclipse after Shanghai (which was sadly clouded out) and Cairns (which was perfectly clear and beautiful out on the reef).

I have read that a few, less scrupulous, hotels have apparently been canceling older (made at regular rates) bookings without notice so they can sell those rooms at heavily marked up prices. So, if you haven't done so recently, it might be an idea to check the status of your bookings again just in case.

If you are driving to your viewing location, be aware that in some areas, the traffic is predicted to reach "hurricane evacuation" levels. This is especially important if your accommodation the previous night is outside of totality.

Less than 75 days to go, I am so excited.

[OzEclipse]

These predictions of incredible traffic jams are made before every eclipse What is your source? The anecdotal evidence I am hearing from American eclipse chasers doing outreach is that they are dismayed at the apathetic response they are getting from groups they speak to, family and friends they are trying to enthuse.

I have been to 12 totalities 3 annulars, moved by road on eclipse day or been stationary and in an elevated position to observe traffic for 10 of them. I've been in places with high traffic eg Shanghai. I have never seen any sort of traffic jam that I could absolutely associate with eclipse chaser traffic. During totality in busy traffic places, cars just turn on their lights and keep driving.

Some people think that every American is going to try to drive to the eclipse. People have done crazy calculations to see if there is enough room on the centerline for 300 million people to stand. It didn't happen in Cairns, it's not going to happen generally in the USA. Many Americans only get 2 weeks leave per year. Many others are casuals who will lose money if they take the day off.

I agree that a few larger cities just outside the path of totality might see large volumes of traffic movements over a shortish distance to the path of totality but I don't expect Armageddon style traffic jams. Only time will tell. I won't be in a position to observe traffic this time, high on a Mountain top 10000ft high in the Grand Tetons. For those of you staying here, please post any reports of bug traffic jams you hear from the news.

Joe Cali

[rowena]

I got my success on being part of megamovie project. 98 of us were succesfull on their first upload test day and our images should be part of the megamovie! 57 days til i fly out! Cant wait!

[mbaddah]

I'll be in Knoxville, TN... chasing maximum totality :D

[OzEclipse]

And maximum mean cloudiness - 60-80%. Cairns was 44%. A move west by several states will double your chances of a clear sky. Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon.

This is a climatic history summary not a forecast.
http://eclipsophile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Cloudgraph-MODIS.jpg
Joe

[kkara4]

I only just realised you were on here Joe, you have made an extremely good eclipse filter design for which I ordered some Depron sheet just yesterday! Thanks for sharing your design (found it via google yesterday)!

I have my plans in place now for this one, everything booked and paid for.

I note your post about traffic above, I hope it turns out as you expect with nothing too bad, but my primary spots in Oregon are starting to look very busy indeed, so I am going to assume epic traffic and plan accordingly. I'd rather find out there are almost no people unexpectedly, than unexpectedly encountering thousands of people on the small country roads and not having planned for such an eventuality. I will be in a position to report back after the event on how traffic actually ended up.

Wildfires in Oregon are also a high probability, and repositioning around road closures and smoke will make things interesting, though of course the whole of Oregon certainly won't be on fire at the same time :thumbsup:.

In terms of camera gear i am now geared up nicely. 5D MK iv, 5D MK iii, 240-600mm f/5.6 lens, a wide angle lens, gimbal head tripod, all necessary filters and radio triggers. I think dragging my Losmandy G11 over there would be a tad difficult, as much as i would love to have it there :lol:. I'll also be doing video off a small SX620 compact camera just because i might as well.

[SteveInNZ]

Have you checked that your lens & gimbal setup will let you reach the altitude of the sun at the eclipse ? I checked mine and it would be OK for totality but would collide if I wanted to use it for the partials between C3 and C4.

Steve.

[kkara4]

I have indeed Steve, for me end C4 is approx 55 degrees, i can get to 65 degrees no worries :thumbsup:

[mbaddah]

Hi Joe,

Thanks for that info. Unfortunately I've already booked my accommodation and flights to TN from LAX :( I'll definitely pay attention to the cloud forecast leading up to that day... If I have to i'll start driving out west the day before.

Appreciate the assistance.

Mo

[OzEclipse]

Hi Krishan,

It's great that you found the filter design so useful. I get between 150000 to 250000 pages viewed each year on my website. The DIY filter page is always in the top 3 accessed pages.

When making your filter Just make sure you cut the hole for the flange piece that presses over the lens hood so that it is a very tight firm fit. Undercut and then you can sand it if necessary. If you overcut, you can put a thick wide rubber band around the lens hood and push the flangepiece. On my bigger aperture filters, the tube flange is made of two pieces of self adhesive foamcore glued to each other.

You can remove the filter completely at totality. I usually just leave one springback clip in place and leave it hanging off one corner as long as there isn't too much wind.

If anywhere is going to have traffic issues, it will be the USA. My comments were based on the fact that I have never seen eclipse traffic jams anywhere and am always sceptical of doomsday predictions. People tend to pick their spot and stay there. They are really reluctant to move. Tour groups often find it difficult to move. They may have promised their groups catering, drinks, toilets and can't move.

In 2012, my group had 120 people and another 300 people who were making their own travel arrangements were going to use a field I leased from a farmer in Port Douglas and set up with portable toilets. They were also taking weather advice from me.

When the weather turned bad for the coast, I advised all 400 to abandon the coastal viewing site and move 3 hrs inland to some sites we had p[re surveyed. Some people, about 100, elected not to move. Remarkably, they still saw some totality but interrupted by clouds. A large number of these were tour groups who only had a bus booked to transport them to the field site and pick them up later. The bus was booked for other jobs and so 3hr destination changes could not be catered. But there were a significant number who could have moved and didn't.

Everyone who took the advice to move to the inland locations we chose saw clear totality. It was pretty apparent that inland was going to be clear and the coast would be cloudy, yet the roads were empty as we drove in during the early morning hours. I didn't experience any traffic driving back to Cairns via Port Douglas. I don't think many people moved inland.

While I would naturally expect a lot of people in their cars in the USA, I don't expect to see 300 million of them in hundred mile traffic jams. As I'll be isolated on a mountaintop, I will be very interested to hear about your experiences.

Feedback from other eclipse chasers receiving luke warm responses in the USA to their outreach presentations and activities indicates otherwise. American eclipse chasers I know are mostly arranging mini eclipse tours for their families. They booked accommodation in the path years ago and the whole family will be there for a week.

If you are worried about traffic, leave for your eclipse site at 3-4am, get where you're going then have a snooze in the car. People who are not enthusiast eclipse chasers generally won't get up at that time to drive to a site. Traffic should be light.

Enjoy your trip and the eclipse.

Joe

[Phil Hart]

It's a good question to ask. Lots of video style tripods aren't great for pointing overhead or even high in the sky. In general you can reverse the camera on the quick release plate so that the arm of the tripod points up with the camera rather than down like normal. Then it doesn't foul on the tripod.

Phil

[SteveInNZ]

Probably of equal importance for people using equatorial mounts to check when the Sun crosses the local meridian, relative to the eclipse. I expect there will be a few expletives somewhere along the path when the mount decides to do a meridian flip during totality.

Steve.

[OzEclipse]

Steve,

Interesting point.

Meridian cross occurs between C1 and C2 east of Columbia all the way to the east coast near Charleston.

Meridian cross occurs during totality between Colombia Missouri and Boonville. a ~40km stretch.

Meridian cross occurs between C3-C4 between 10km west of Casper Wyoming to Boonville Missouri.

Note that an azimuth polar misalignment of ±5 degrees in the wrong direction increases the region of totality flip to a 400km stretch from Kansas City to St Louis. Likewise polar misallignment extends the partial eclipse zone. Anyone in the totality flip zone could, with care, purposely misalign their polar axis by a few degrees to avoid the totality flip.

I have two EQ mounts. One is my own design built in 2001 the other is a Starlapse. Both are driven but not goto. I back myself to be able to find the sun if I'm having a good day :). Both drives and flips are under my control and can drive well past the meridian without collisions.

Joe

[kkara4]

Thanks for the advice Joe.

I received my Depron so i will be making all my filters this weekend. I actually want to modify your design a bit, and i will have a small bolt in one corner, so that the filter simply drops out of the way once i release the clips. Saves using two hands, one to support the filter and one on the clips and speeds things up. Ill see how that concept goes.

How much warning did you get regards to impending cloud cover forecast?

One thing that greatly surprises me is the lack of swearing and general rage at the cloud cover on the youtube videos of the malaysia (and other clouded eclipses) eclipses :lol:. Perhaps they came to accept the cloud situation. I will be quite devestated if i get random clouds in my way :sadeyes:

Time will tell on this one, but i will certainly report back here for you on the traffic situ. There are other concerns too around wildfires, running out of cell network capacity, it will be interesting to see if they come to fruition.

[Jen]

It's getting closer now 😱😱 I'm doing a test run on luggage and I'm already up to 13kilos and I haven't put any clothes in my case yet hahaha 🙄
All my plans are finally falling into place for four huge weeks of touring around the states woohooo I'm so excited 🤗🤗 I will be in Casper for the eclipse 💜💜
IS IT AUGUST YET ? 😍😍🤣🤣🤣

[Jen]

My solar filter sheet has arrived it's time to get creative and make some filters to go go on my camera lens 🤗 Any one got a good link ?

[SteveInNZ]

Are you going to Astrocon Jen ?

Steve.

[Jen]

What's Astrocon Steve 🤔

[SteveInNZ]

The Astronomy League's annual convention at the Parkway Plaza Hotel, Aug 16-19. We're there for that and then heading to the Tetons and Yellowstone for the following week and seeing a bit of South Dakota, Nebraska and Wyoming the week before.

Steve.

[rowena]

I'm heading to the states next week! Got a new solar filter from B&H photo yesterday as my Thousand Oaks Optical solar filter has been thrown out!! :O *So Peeved* lets throw out a card board box and not check whats in it! :( so not happy, but just glad i have my new filter in time. Will be heading to dallas, houston, dallas, orlando (nasa of course), tampa, atlanta, chattanooga, huntsville, nashville, st louis, branson, aurora, alliance (totality), yellowstone, and then back to san fran. lots of science/astro/space places in between too!

Good luck fellow eclipse chasers!

[Jen]

10 more sleeps till I fly out of here :eyepop:
Woohoo how exciting 😜😜😜😜🔭🔭🔭🔭🍾🍾🍾🍾

[rowena]

2 more for me!! :) It looks like long range forecast is cloud cover for most of nebraska and missouri... at this stage I'll be heading to Glendo or Casper, but staying at or around Scottsbluff the night before.

[OzEclipse]

Don't pay much attention to those long range forecasts. You may as well draw weather forecasts out of a hat. About 3-4 days before the eclipse, look at forecasts generated by two different models. Compare the two models with each other on a given day and compare the forecasts day to day. If they are saying the same thing, and if the models aren't flipping from cloudy to clear on consecutive days, the forecast has a better chance of being correct.

If the forecasts disagree, or if the predictions are flipping to opposing forecasts day by day, the model(s) aren't settling and the forecast probably isn't reliable so it could be :stargaze: or :cloudy:

Clear Skies

Joe

[Protiotype]

Just a bit over a week until I "leave Australia"! This will be a big one for me - my first overseas trip since 1997 when I was a kid.

I'll be visiting Seattle, Portland as well as San Francisco (...plus Auckland from the air) and plan to view the eclipse from around Madras, Oregon. I was clouded out for Cairns 2012 due to a combination of having family about and me not wanting to drag us up the range so early in the morning, so this one will have a few backup plans on hand.

My other plans are to cycle around to explore those three towns - I was initially only going to transit in SFO, but United Airlines pushed me to a later flight that couldn't connect me with AirNZ at SFO with everyone escaping Portland on the 22nd, so I'm rolling with it. I'll also visit the Museum of Flight and Boeing factory in Seattle. :)

Gear that I'll be using will be eclipse glasses (none with B. Ralph Chou's new ISO 12312-2:2015 standard, but they have all the other existing standards in place and are in good condition, especially the two I bought in April) for the partial phases. I'll also use a Celestron Nature DX 8x42 binocular that I purchased a few weeks ago for the corona during totality only (I won't mess around with filters).

Being all too familiar with non-corona observation of the surroundings from Cairns 2012, I know what I'll be focusing on but will also see if I notice any shadow bands in the minute before and after totality. I'll let my smartphone record video of my group in 4k on a tripod for most of it and will make sure I don't get distracted from the main show.

I'll be keeping an eye on weather.gov as well as aviationweather.gov - METAR being my favourite tool for regular cloud reports.

Apart from aiming to do my best to get in the right place at the right time (feels like a rocket launch), I'll keep it relatively simple. :)

[Protiotype]

This reminds me of magicians asking members of the audience to pick a card followed by asking if they're happy with their choice. Invariably, they'll stick with their first pick despite knowing the "odds" will be "rigged". A little bit of sunk cost fallacy and human nature, I guess.

Heck, I was at the Cairns Esplanade in 2012 and opted not to move anywhere despite seeing a huge looming cloud that we hoped would shift in time. Interestingly people in other parts of Cairns (including the northern end of the Esplanade, I think) got to see some corona so it was very location-dependent. Port Douglas was in a similar situation with gaps in cloud, from what I heard. The Cairns Esplanade in 2012 wasn't exactly packed - certainly nowhere near the level of NYE, a festival, or Ironman event. Free parking spaces were still available about an hour before.

I've noticed on an eclipse Facebook group that there are still frequent questions from many assuming that staying in 80% or 99% locations will be good enough - the levels of education or enthusiasm with reference to eclipse chasing just doesn't appear all there. No one else I personally know in Australia is actually going despite a good handful taking overseas trips of late (some even to the United States!)

So as you say, everything else combined with the fact that not everyone can organise leave from Mondayitis will be a significant factor. My bet is also that traffic is unlikely to be apocalyptic (conversely, think of how many choose to stay during disasters) but I'll make arrangements to "beat" it as early as possible and observe from there on.

I recognise that America is in love with the car and interstate highway "system", but it's not like India and China aren't normally congested either - so provided there aren't any oil tanker crashes, roads *should* continue to work.

Accommodation within the path is hard to find now, but that's mostly all small-town country. Campsites are still taking bookings, and I notice places like Portland still have some vacancies (albeit at inflated prices). What I still find interesting is the number of eclipse festivals that continue to be toted with earnest promotion, as if the main show won't be enough (events management and promotion is a tough gig). It's really just not something I'm into given what space already has on offer (disclosure: fireworks have bored me ever since I discovered satellite chasing).

All of this suggests to me that there won't be that much of a mass exodus from neighbouring cities near the path - not like how it was for Brisbane during the 2014 G20 when everyone instead preferred to hit the beach with a long weekend instead of chasing motorcades. :p

[Protiotype]

Have a great flight today rowena and enjoy the excursion! Hope you have a good time on that whale plane - it'll still be a while until I'll get to try it. Maybe in 2024 to DFW. :)

[Vega]

Some great maps and useful info on this site including weather prospects. http://www.americaneclipse2017.org/

[roddz]

I'm in Chicago now. Planning on seeing the Adler Planetarium and science Museum tomorrow and the Yerkes Telescope the day after. Then the long drive to Wyoming.
Who else will be in Casper?

Rodd

[OzEclipse]

Rodd. The Art Institute of Chicago is really worth seeing if you have the time and like impressionist art. One of the biggest and finest collections in the world. Joe

[Retrograde]

I'm up at Niagara Falls at present as part of a US holiday and will be flying to Denver on the 18th & driving up to Casper over two days.

[Protiotype]

Depending on how I find this one, I'll be weighing up whether to go to Toronto/Niagara Falls (cloud and all) or DFW for the 2024 eclipse.

[barx1963]

I hope to be there on the 21st

[Retrograde]

Not sure what the weather is like in April (apart from colder) but for what it's worth it was beautiful and clear on the two days I was there.

[Camelopardalis]

Sounds like a great trip! Just be aware that the weather in the Pacific NW is generally cloudy...I spent some time in Seattle a few years back, beautiful city, if you get the time take a day trip out to Mt Rainier, up to Snoqualmie to see the falls featured in Twin Peaks, there used to be the cherry pie shop there too :D The view from the top of the Space Needle on a clear day is breathtaking, and ride the ferry out to one of the islands and back for the classic view of Seattle from the Sound. The Columbia river valley is stunning too, and the contrast in landscapes on the opposing sides of the Cascade range couldn't be more stark. If you're into aviation, you might want to take a trip to the Evergreen museum while you're in the Portland area.

I never made it to Portland, but both SFO and SEA are very hilly...you should get plenty of cardio cycling around there ;)

[Protiotype]

Yeah I'll have to weigh up poor weather statistics versus that of Texas. It will be nice to visit Canada though and since the duration will be longer, I may well gamble that way. Just around 6 so years to save up and decide...




Yeah the coast in the path isn't very good but Madras should hopefully be the best in the country.

The passenger in seat 11D (great eclipse chat; Joe will head to Idaho) of my Alaska/Horizon Airlines Embraer 175 actually pointed out a snowed up Mt Rainier to me! I won't be able to fit it in this time but will see if I can sight it with my binocular if I get a clear vantage point. I'm actually thinking of going to the Sky View Observatory instead of the Space Needle, based on reviews comparing the two.

I'll definitely get some "biking" in - from what I observed from the sidewalk today (and the previous night after finally arriving at my destination at close to 23:30 PDT)), it seems a friendlier place than Brisbane but I'll still need to try it from the saddle. Some of that is actually enshrined in the language of the road rules (amazing what small differences can make).

For Seattle, I originally had plans to see both the Future of Flight (Boeing) tour as well as the Museum of Flight; but right now I need to keep my schedule flexible and easy so we'll see how much I put in.

[Camelopardalis]

Good luck :thumbs up:

I recall sliding down the side of snowy Rainier on my backside after walking into the snow line from the Paradise visitor centre...at the end of June! Weather was beautiful, and I consequently got badly sunburned. The view along the Cascades spying the other volcanoes in the distance is worth the trip.

I don't recall the Sky View, maybe it's more recent than my last trip. The food at the Space Needle restaurant is pretty decent IIRC, but that was 10-15 years ago.

Brisbane reminds me of Seattle in a lot of ways, well, besides the weather :lol:

[alphamone]

I have been doing late-night test runs for my eclipse photos over the past few nights (practicing changing the exposure settings and hitting the shutter button while looking at the target instead of the camera). I picked up a remote shutter release cable today, and I am going to see how it affects my timing later. This time I will also remember to take a couple of raw shots at higher exposure (after timing practice) to play around with getting earthshine. (I will be shooting raw+jpeg for the actual event, as I wont have raw editing capabilities with me during the trip)

Also, it is 32 hours til I catch the bus to Sydney, and then fly out the next day (go go 16 hour plane ride).

Sorry if the post is a mess, it is a combination of needing sleep and anticipation of my trip.

[Protiotype]

Yeah it appears that the observation deck was only opened for the public around 4 years ago although the building has been around since 1985: https://seattle.curbed.com/2013/7/23/10217282/higher-better-view-from-the-top

A friend of mine said that he could slot right into Seattle - I get what he means now.

[Protiotype]

Hopefully you get some good sleep within the next 28 hours - do get it done earlier rather than later as the closer you get the less likely you'll get any sleep at all, as was my case. Be happy with dreamless dozing on a 16 hour flight if it's Economy; expect more and be disappointed - resting still is still good for the body; see if you can get your breathing down to 2 breaths per minute and have your mind wander with random imagery. :)

Here's my no-sleep log (times in UTC, fuzzy times in UTC+10):

2017-08-10 Thu ~5pm wake (07:00Z) (I'm an owl...); tidied house, started packing.

2017-08-11 Friday day: Rode bike to be more tired at night... (hmm....) Repacking.

Friday night: 2 hours sleep.

2017-08-12 02:20Z Depart YBBN

2017-08-13 03:45Z Arrive KSEA (after 4 hour delay out of KSFO due to a cancelled flight) - transfers were at NZAA and KSFO. Baggage collection delay due to an odd scan on my barcode and earlier flight changes through Air New Zealand. But I was happy I got it an hour after landing rather than a day later.

2017-08-13 06:30Z into room in Seattle
08:30Z sleep.

72 hours. 2 hours sleep. Other times dozing and microsleeps only. No REM sleep. 22 hours of flights (including transit) ended up being 26 hours with a 4-hour mechanical delay. 32 hours door to door.

So, in case you haven't done this before (especially with everything else lining up), I strongly recommend *not* doing last day exercise because it won't help with sleep; it'll only make for more tired legs at the airport.

Also, use the free trolleys at every opportunity if your carry on doesn't have wheels. 6.8kg over such distances adds up... People don't tend to mention these things.

And change of clothes, etc for transfers & delays. Don't forget your toothbrush (I didn't, phew)!

Interestingly, I think my terrible sleep hygiene has paid off in cancelling out any jetlag. Flying west again on the 23rd will be interesting; hopefully a night time departure with more sleep in the bank means I won't mind so much this time.

[roddz]

I'm in Casper, 4 days till the eclipse!

[Protiotype]

Forecasts currently seem to suggest that most of the continent should have clear skies, unlike Cairns 2012!

Portland's weather has been beautiful so far, and Madras is still looking superb.

[Jen]

Not long to go now 😱😍 good luck everyone 👍👍

[Protiotype]

Getting very exciting now. How great is it to randomly go up to nearly anyone and be able to talk about the eclipse? Most aren't totally sick of it yet (!).

[Jen]

:party::party::party::party:

[pfitzgerald]

Enjoy folks! Looking forward to hearing all the stories and seeing the images when you all get back here on the forum and at SVAC!

[kkara4]

I am in Bend, OR now, arrived two days ago. Everything is very much business as usual here, walmarts fully stocked (except for the eskies...).

US Hwy 26 has been completely rekt for two days out of Prineville due to the 35K+ people trying to get to the hippy eclipse festival happening NE of there.

Today it seems much more calm, but as Friday closes and the weekend begins, every man and his dog from Portland and generally west of the cascade mountains is due to come to Madras. it will be interesting to see how much of a zoo it becomes, and whether the people numbers exceed or fall short of estimations.

I drove through Madras, it is a much smaller town than i was expecting. similar to Beaudesert in size i would say.

Weather prospects are excellent. a large wildfire is presently burning just NW of Bend, sending smoke through Bend, but wind forecasts should keep it completely away from the path of totality. No other wildfires yet in the whole of Eastern Oregon. Transparency is otherwise excellent east of Bend.

I will report back Tuesday morning (AU time). Good luck to everyone that came over!

[glend]

Good luck, in Crazy Land, sorry but i can't get excited about yet another eclipse. Hopefully Trump doesn't take it as a sign to push the button.

[lazjen]

Just hit Cheyenne tonight (after a few days in Denver), going up to Casper tomorrow (19th) to stay for the eclipse.

There's a lot of media on the eclipse and a fair buzz around as you talk to locals about it. There's warnings on the highway to be prepared for extra traffic.

Here in Wyoming, all hotels for over 200 miles radius are booked out for the weekend/eclipse. According to the hotel receptionist they're banning trucks/semis from the interstate highways on Monday as they're expecting so much traffic.

Should be interesting. :)

[Retrograde]

I am a day behind you Chris.
Heading to Cheyenne this afternoon and then to Casper tomorrow (might leave early tomorrow to try and avoid some of the traffic).

Eclipse weather link kindly sent to me by Phil Hart fo anyone headed to Wyoming region:
http://www.mountainweather.com/jackson-hole/2017-solar-eclipse/

[alphamone]

Flying out to my spot in Missouri at lunch time. Also, my US flight was fun, 6 hour takeoff delay and a diversion to phoenix Arizona for a medical emergency, we arrived 8 hours late.

Still, I have enjoyed the start of my trip, and am super hyped for tommorow. It looks like Columbia Missouri will have decent weather. The coast reports on the other hand, seem to be looking like a cloud/smoke out.

[Jen]

We have rocked up to our destination at the Highland Camping Ground in Casper Wyoming and a small storm is currently going through right now 😱 Let's hope it moves along. The excitement is building :P good luck everyone 👍

[OICURMT]

42°50'33.9"N 106°25'51.4"W

High level cirrus... 45min to go.

[alphamone]

Hazy clouds in Columbia MO, but sun is just barely visable. Gonna have to bump up the iso to get images.

[OICURMT]

Skies have almost cleared...

15 to go

[alphamone]

So excited after watching totality that i accidentally posted my post eclipse to the wrong thread. I was also so excired watching that i forgot about my video camera filter for a minute of totality

[Peter Ward]

Weather at Jackson Hole was perfect.

Got some great data. a small sampler attached...jpg only at this this stage, processing RAW files will have to wait until I get back to SYD.

Traffic was however nuts after the eclipse. Glad to be back at the lodge with my feet up.

[pfitzgerald]

Nice shot Peter. 'Twas a tad too early here (3:15 am) to get up and watch the livestream.

Paul

[alan meehan]

Watched live on NASA tv this morning looked great ,the ones that went will have some nice photos AL

[OICURMT]

Nice shot Peter.

High level thin cirrus clouds were at my location. Could easily see all aspects of the event.

The missus got a kick out of it (her first one), especially when I told her to start looking though the binos... I think I had more fun watching her than the eclipse haha. She really went all excited just as 3rd contact approached and she see could see "lots of red stuff" coming off of the sun.

A perfect start to a new chapter in our life, as she just arrived yesterday from Australia.

Now kicking back in Laramie having a beer watching the weather channels coverage of the event.

OIC!

[h0ughy]

wow when you do get to processing it those streamers will be fantastic. looking at some other images there will be some great shots to come out of this. Was the landscape a silvery colour during totality?

[AstralTraveller]

Very nice. I'm glad the weather cooperated. I'm also looking forward to seeing the final versions.

[OzStarGazer]

Me too. It was fantastic. It must have been very exciting to be there.

[Allan]

It took me 2.5 hours to drive south of St Louis last night, and 6.5 hours just now to get back. Worst traffic I have ever seen.

Won't take the gloss off a fantastic eclipse with perfect weather. The Diamond Ring was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, ever. Spent most of the time looking at the corona through binoculars, that was spectacular.

They got the timing wrong where I was, I'm pretty sure totality only lasted 30 seconds! Where does the time go?

Surreal, spectacular, amazing!!!

[roddz]

Got some good shots from Casper (400 using Eclipse Orchestrator), but also had some high cloud obscure some of the corona.

[kkara4]

its been a hectic few days. ive got some down time at PDX to finally get a bit of a report done. my initial spot was Fields Peak, OR, however after getting to the top and realising that even 30 people simply wouldnt fit at the top, i had to abandon it and go to one of my many backup spots. At the trailhead carpark, many people recommended i go to Aldrich Fire Tower, 15 miles west. i had 15kg plus of gear to lug up there, they said it was a much easier ascent than Fields Peak. I debated with myself whether to go or not. In the end i chose to. what an epic decision that turned out to be.

i arrived Sunday morning at Fields Peak, by the time i got to Aldrich it was about 5pm. I went up there, took me 45 minutes with a light payload. I was presented with the most stunning view, and more importantly plenty of space. The fire tower was manned by an elderley couple, the nicest people. They let me stash gear up there so i didnt have to lug it up in the morning (still ended up taking about 13kg up there).

traffic was unexpectedly absent for every authority around. the forest people had a small camp at the bottom expecting to be busy organising hordes of people. as it happens this happened at pretty much every other location in the John Day valley after talking to them, but we got lucky. i slept in the car, and got up at 3am, organised my stuff and started my ascent at 4am. everything was dead quiet, the transparency was incredible at 7000 ft elevation. it took me 2 hours 15 mins to get up there with frequent rest stops. had to be careful not to sweat too much, it was pretty cold.

i took my time watching the sunrise and staking out my spot and began setting up. i was all by myself for at least 3 hours. the couple in the fire tower even made me a cup of coffee and let me use their little dunny (a critical factor often overlooked with these things lol). then the smoke came. there was (and still is) a major fire burning about 200 miles west, and all the smoke was forecast to be pushed completely west, but the winds turned out to be the opposite and injected smoke at high altitude right over me. this was about 2 hours before partial. it was thick. my soul was getting destroyed. it was too late to move, so had to stay. at least i could see the sun so i would see something, but photographs being great i thought were out of the question

people started arriving slowly. we ended up with about 40 of the nicest people ive met, it was a pleasure enjoying it all with all of them. we were all very spread out, everyone had their own space, it was fantastic. i was the only one up there with pro grade gear. every single person came and looked at the sun through the camera at 600mm FL. most had never seen sunspots before and were amazed. every single person had so much respect for me bringing up all that gear and letting them look through it. i was even interviewed by a fella who turned out to be a freelance journalist. pretty much everyone wondered why an aussie would choose that spot! the fire tower had a guest log, can confirm im the first aussie to be there (record went back to 1998).

15 minutes before partial began, the smoke cleared to a very light haze. transparency was average, but way good enough for photos. what an emotional roller coaster. i started getting mega excited, but had to keep a lid on it so i didnt mess up my exposures! every person wanted my contact details, i just gave them my facebook ad, explaining i would be uploading pics as a public post, but i might wait till i get back to AU before uploading a full set. i made many new friends.

i still have no words for totality. ill leave them for another time. we are two days later and i still have no words. i couldnt have been more happy with my pictures, given the atmospheric circumstances. there were so many things i observed in 2 minutes, i had to spend a few hours when i got back to Bend that evening just to digest it all and replay it. every detail i read about, chromosphere, all the corona features, Baileys Beads, Diamond ring, i saw every bit of it and every bit was absolutely amazingly awesome in person.

the most incredible thing i have ever seen. and details which i never read about. eg Corona is pure white to the eye, the purest white, and the moon there is zero discernible earthshine, just the blackest hole you have ever seen. stunningly black. i thought about this, you actually very rarely see something truly black. that thing was black. the contrast was stunning and striking. the corona is overall far far brighter than the full moon. i heard it described as such, but that is completely wrong. lucky i bracketed and tested my exposure sequences. only one ISO adjustment was needed. people describe the surroundings as a sunrise all around at the same time. that is also completely wrong. the lighting is absolutely unique and cannot be effectively described.

i didnt say a single word (checked video recording afterwards).

the crowd reaction added to the ambience. 40 people was just amazing, not too crazy and rowdy, i heard later that in Madras, a town of 6000 people, well over 100000 people were present and someone did silly stuff like letting off a flare, and the sound was deafening.

during totality it was amazingly quiet. i think everyone was just stunned.

towards the end, Mount Hood could be seen fully lit while we were still in shadow. an amazing thing.

i saw the chromosphere emerge from the lunar disc and warned everyone diamond ring was coming. i was watching it live on the screen while i prepared for the final exposure sequence. as i triggered the last few i watched the eclipse end. no Baileys Beads at the end, must have been a large lunar crater or Mare where the sun emerged.

one lady sat on a rock just looking at the sun for the rest of the eclipse, shocked and stunned. her expression and body language was very unique, i think something only a total eclipse can do to someone.

afterwards many people left not wanting to wait for partial to end. i stayed to the end, and i had the highest magnification so i called it when C4 occured. everyone left applauded and thanked the couple in the fire tower for their hospitality. afterwards my new friends helped me carry all my stuff back down. we sat down at their little tent for a couple hours to go over what we saw, obviously i had more time at the camera so there were somethings i wanted them to describe to me.

traffic was completely recked across the state, everyone wanted to leave. i took back roads, pre-planned route, and encountered zero traffic. i had zero internet from 24 hours before C1, so i dont know in the end what traffic was like leading up to the event.

Sorry guys that got really long

i refuse to put pictures here at 200kb. that would be the biggest injustice to the pics i took. ive posted an initial 2 on my facebook wall, public post. Krishan Kara. check it out.

[kkara4]

sorry to be clear - the Corona was far far brighter than the full moon, whereas id read it was as bright as the full moon.

[N1]

Great thread, many interesting reports - re Corona brightness, I think it's the integrated brightness of the whole thing that sort of compares to the full moon. Inner Corona is pretty intense even compared to the outer corona.

[kkara4]

very good point. i need another eclipse to burn the details i wanted to but didnt into my brain. as Allan says, wow the time goes FAST!!

[kkara4]

Allan with the unaided eye how many solar radii out do you think you could see the Corona before it was indistuingishable from the background sky? and did you see the three distinct lobes (with the eye)?

[leon]

Jen, why is your text original :question: and not purple, have you grown out of that phase of your life, :lol:
Opp,s if I had looked properly i would have seen some is Purple and some is Black. sorry.

Leon :thumbsup:

[lazjen]

We were in Casper, WY, but on the morning drove to south of Douglas on route 94, to be very close to the center line. There was a nearby field where lots of people gathered and so many large buses turned up - at least 15. We were parked on the side of the road with a clear view in all directions.

The weather was absolutely perfect - the only clouds were around the horizon.

As it was our first eclipse we did not plan to do any real photography, so we just took a few hand-held shots during the event (my wife managed to capture at least one good totality pic). I spent my time just watching it. It certainly went fast, but it was really amazing. I could see (naked eye only) red beads on the moon, a star? that was quite close (and Venus much further away on the other side) and the streaming corona (which was interesting for the shape, with some parts protruding further than others).

For the sky, it looked like everywhere was in near sunset at once, unlike the normal sunset glow. And those clouds helped to bring out the colours. While the light dimmed, it certainly was bright enough to see around easily.

We also noticed the temperature drop as it was going towards totality, so we put on jackets to be comfortable.

While there's a number of things I'll take away from this eclipse, one memory that's strong is that when I saw totality it was like something completely alien - it just was not normal. :)

I'm starting to plan for the next one. :)

Edit: Forgot to mention the insane traffic afterwards - we had to drive back to Denver. It should have taken about 4 hrs - it took us 14 hrs instead. I 25 was backed up for many miles - I think more than 100.

[kkara4]

Chris, thanks for your post. same question for you as i asked above how far out did you see the corona extending?

i still have no words for totality and diamond rings.

all i can say is im hooked. absolutely hooked.

[lazjen]

I saw 3 significant "spikes" to the corona. Using the moon diameter for "size" measurement, I think it extended at least another diameter out to maybe 1.25 diameters. I really can't say for sure as I wasn't thinking of that at the time.



I know I want to see more, and I'd like to have some gear to see things better too. Not sure what I can possibly do for Chile 2019, but I'll think about it.

[kkara4]

no problem Chris. the reason i ask is because i dont remember either, and now i really want to know and im annoyed at myself for not remembering exactly. however i am with you on pretty much all details there. so maybe we are close :)

ive done quite a bit of research on Chile. im definitely not doing it alone like this one, and i am extremely wary of going there with all my gear. i also want to go there with someone who speaks spanish, and i know a few people but getting them to commit this early on will be impossible i think.

but i NEED to see that again.

im quite surprised by the lack of reports here from the USA, and the lack of good video on youtube from more amateurs.

ah well its not been a week yet i guess!

[alphamone]

Finally got home from my trip. Remaking the post that I wrote up on the day but accidentally posted in the completely wrong thread.

At the start we had thick cloud that made first contact almost imperceptible through glasses, though with my filtered camera I was able to get a few (haze blurred) pictures of the early eclipse. As the partial phase progressed, the haze got thinner, and the cloud to the southwest (which is where the wind was coming from) kept promising that the clouds would thin, but the thinner clouds never seemed to come.

It wasn't until about five minutes before totality that I noticed a distinct contrail through the clouds that I realized that the clouds HAD thinned, it was just that because the sun had been dimming, the clouds looked much thicker than they actually were. In the last few minutes before totality, the crickets and other bugs started getting very loud.

Totality itself was very impressive (impressive enough, that as previously mentioned, I forgot about my video camera's filter), even if it was slightly blurred by the mild high-level haze, which meant I needed to use a far higher ISO for my camera than I wanted to. Even with the haze and noise I my photos still show the details of the corona (I haven't gotten round to making cropped versions yet).

In the 15 seconds before third contact, the top right of the corona turned red (presumably the last layers of plasma before the photosphere) which was really impressive.

After totality ended, the insect noise returned, and so did the clouds. Just five minutes after third contact, the sun became completely covered by clouds, at least for around twenty minutes.

The difference in temperature between totality and the last few minutes before 4th contact was dramatic. In totality, the temperature was very pleasant (probably mid 20s C) and when it reached the end of the partial phase, it turned back to stinking hot humid mid 30s C midwest weather.

[Protiotype]

2019 for Chile might not present as good conditions as 2020 with the sun lower in the sky (therefore having a higher chance of being obscured by cloud) in 2019.

I'm going to run out of money if I try to go to 2020. I've got 2023 (Exmouth) on the cards, and maybe 2024 from Niagara Falls (I haven't been to Canada before and am prepared to chance it with weather; otherwise I'd have to go to Texas and Canada). 2027 in Spain is also a possibility as that'll be my chance to visit Netherlands and Germany while I'm at it. Then it's Australia again in 2028, 2030, 2037, 2038...

Lots of opportunities, but can't take each one for granted!

As for reports and video - it's really difficult to take good video during an eclipse and as far as reports go, most people don't have the attention for viewing my trip photos let alone read through a long report!

[Jen]

Wow wow wow is all I can say I'm so glad I went ����
Here's a few of my pics ��

218731
218732
218733

There is a few more pics in this thread ��
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=161723