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The Great American Solar Eclipse, 2017

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_August_21,_2017

On Monday, August 21, 2017, a total solar eclipse will be visible in totality within a band across the entire contiguous United States; it will only be visible in other countries as a partial eclipse.

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon’s apparent diameter is larger than the sun’s, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth’s surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometers wide.

The last time a total solar eclipse was visible across the entire contiguous United States was during the June 8, 1918 eclipse, and not since the February 1979 eclipse has a total eclipse been visible from anywhere in the mainland United States. The path of totality will touch 14 states (although a partial eclipse will be visible in all fifty states), and 16% of the area of the United States.[4] The event will begin on the Oregon coast as a partial eclipse at 9:06 a.m. PDT on August 21, and will end later that day as a partial eclipse along the South Carolina coast at about 4:06 p.m. EDT.

For the first time in 38 years (Hawaii, you don’t really count), a solar eclipse will be visible from the United States of America. For a such a historic event, a thread is required. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the thread for the 2017 Great American Solar Eclipse.

Warbler said:

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You Europeans can’t beat us now. This is the ultimate eclipse for the ages, and it might be the only good thing to happen to this nation this year! Make America… Eclipse Again?

#MAEA!

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I will be viewing the eclipse from a particularly good vantage point, around the 95% visibility mark, because I don’t want to travel 90 miles on what will be a particularly bad traffic day just to see 5 more percent. I think you’d get much of the same effect anyway.

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yhwx said:

I will be viewing the eclipse from a particularly good vantage point, around the 95% visibility mark, because I don’t want to travel 90 miles on what will be a particularly bad traffic day just to see 5 more percent. I think you’d get much of the same effect anyway.

I live in a 100% area.

The Person in Question

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Southern end of Lake Michigan here, and I work on Monday. But hey, they’re giving us an outdoor picnic during eclipse time, so that’s cool I guess. Wish I had a vacation day to use so I could take a trip down to a 100% area.

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ChainsawAsh said:

Southern end of Lake Michigan here, and I work on Monday. But hey, they’re giving us an outdoor picnic during eclipse time, so that’s cool I guess. Wish I had a vacation day to use so I could take a trip down to a 100% area.

I also am being given an hour off watch the eclipse. I don’t get paid hourly so I could get away with going outside anyway but it’s nice to know that it’s condoned by the higher ups.

The Person in Question

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I remember driving to WV during an eclipse, I suppose it must have been in 2012, and glancing up to see a big bite out of the sun. I didn’t realize that an eclipse would be happening, so we were unprepared.

This time we’re more prepared. Although, we would have to travel 3 hours to get to the full eclipse, and since my girlfriend is working that day, we’re staying put. If it isn’t cloudy, I may even get to see it with a cereal box pinhole camera or some binoculars pointed at the sidewalk.

PSA: Don’t stare right at even a partial eclipse or you’ll poke your eyes out with deadly sun lasers. Keep your pets inside, lest they become enraptured by the mystic gloom and gaze heavenward. Also, brush your teeth.

That last one is just general advice.

You probably don’t recognize me because of the red arm.
Episode 9 Rewrite, The Starlight Project (Released!) and ANH Technicolor Project (Released!)

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In spite of living in Canuckistan, I’ll still get to see 80+% of the eclipse.

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A couple of people tried to ruin it for me, but I just blared Dark Side of the Moon through my headphones to drown everything else out. It didn’t look quite how I expected, but it was still weird and interesting.

The Person in Question

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Whereabouts were you guys? Anyone in/near the 100% coverage band? I was about 6-8 hours north of it (JEDIT: 85% or so) and it was still pretty damn cool. (When the clouds weren’t in the way, that is.)

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We got to see the eclipse at 94%, and the sky got about as dark as 7 PM. I had made an eclipse viewer out of a long easel box, and we passed it around throughout the event. So it was strange and cool, and afterwards we got Krispy Kreme doughnuts. They had special chocolate glazed ones coming off the conveyor for eclipse day. They were pretty good.

You probably don’t recognize me because of the red arm.
Episode 9 Rewrite, The Starlight Project (Released!) and ANH Technicolor Project (Released!)

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I was in [REDACTED] and it totally [DOUBLE REDACTED].

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Did the birds go bonkers? The thing I remember most from the last time I saw an eclipse (other than all the sun stuff) was how they all just started squawking and then went quiet before going back to normal when the light came back.

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I was in an 85%-ish zone, and thankfully I had real glasses and not fake ones. I’m statistically likely to have bad eye problems in the future anyway (thanks Marfan syndrome!) so I’m very glad my eyes are still fully functional for now. I’m also glad that I’ll be in the totality line for the 2024 eclipse, provided I don’t move too far away between now and then.

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80% where I was. I didn’t have the glasses and I decided not to risk it. It looked like twilight for bit here.

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I stayed up all night so I wouldn’t miss it. Then I decided around 8:00 that it wouldn’t hurt to rest my eyes for twenty minutes or so. When I woke up around 10:50ish, I’d missed essentially the whole thing.

My sister caught it, though. She decided to look directly at the sun, thinking her sunglasses were protection enough. She told me it left her seeing spots. My sister is a Darwin Award winner in the making.

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DominicCobb said:

I slept in and missed it. Got the time wrong.

I slept in and missed it because I was partying until late last night and didn’t care. Top gun anyway?

I’m glad it’s over though so people will stop asking if Walmart has the glasses. Yes we had them. Yes we ran out. No, if we had more would everyone be having so much trouble finding them? Not that I was ever actually annoyed with people for asking I was just tired if the question

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How late do you guys sleep in? It happened around 2:30 here.

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I mean AFAIK Duracell is eastern Canada which means it should have been mid-afternoon, right? Why would he stay up all night for a mid-afternoon event?