TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE 8/21/2017 !!!

Nanbo

Nanbo

Cathlete
Is anyone else fired up about the total solar eclipse? I've had my viewing glasses and event t-shirt ready for months! I'll be in about 94% totality if I stay home; but I REALLY want to get to totality if possible...the traffic may be too much, though.
I want to start the day out with a great Cathe DVD...
Which one(s) do you think exemplify a solar event such as this?
 
Yes I heard this was coming when I attended a Planetarium show recently. I think this calls for a huge blaster like Terminator lol!
Jamie
 
I'm also very close to the zone of totality. I could travel about 30 minutes north and be totally in the zone. Staying home I'm around 95% I think. I've been doing a lot of reading lately, and many professionals are recommending that one not view the eclipse even with approved glasses. They are saying you won't even know your eyes are being burned at the time. You'll wake up the next day with blurry vision that can't be fixed. I am choosing not to take the chance. I am considering viewing with the pinhole/cardboard method, but will probably just not be outside at all. I hate to be a killjoy, but taking a chance with my vision just isn't worth it to me.
 
I won't look at it either......but I am going to stand under a big tree and watch the shadows move.....I did the same thing years ago and took pictures....it's really weird looking.
 
I just saw that Amazon is recalling all the eclipse glasses!! I guess the pinhole device is a better way to go, although I really have no idea what that is. I'm in a 67% zone.
 
I thought it was awesome!
In NH we had about a 60% coverage. The lighting outside was definitely different. It is hard to compare it to anything I've seen.
We watched the eclipse through a piece of welders glass.
It is certainly something we will always remember.
 
When I was in elementary school, we all made pinhole boxes, and watched the eclipse. So, this time we made pinhole boxes with the grandkids. They thought it was the "bestest thing ever!!!!!" Quite impressive. We had almost a total eclipse, but not quite. I'm sure I won't be around for the next one.
Quite happy we didn't go to Idaho Falls, Idaho, for a full eclipse. I heard traffic across the state line was bumper to bumper at 5mph, and a hotel room was $500 a night!
 
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We decided to "settle" for 96% coverage at home and not join the big crowds and traffic! We had cloud-free, brutally hot/humid viewing and LOVED IT!!! We had our AAS eclipse viewing glasses from Meade telescope along with our solar filtered Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope and event T-shirts to make for a very comprehensive event. It was quite eerie during maximum coverage with the dimming light and all the wildlife quieting down...I have never experienced this much coverage before and got goosebumps not only from the temperature drop! Loved that we were so relaxed at home: very convenient to have our private restroom, popsicles and cool drinks, and PRIVACY during the whole thing. Also, very grateful for SPF50 and Blue Moon beer.
 
We had rain, lots of clouds, but you could still tell something was way different (I'm in Minneapolis). I would not take a chance with my eyes either and I think its rather tragic that Amazon is recalling glasses. We were talking about that before the eclipse, if one should trust *cheap sunglasses* when its known how bad this can be for your eyes. I streamed the event live on my computer.
 
I've heard from 3 people that said their eyes felt funny all day. Each of these people had no particular interest in the eclipse, nor did they make attempts to view it. Being in NY it got a little dark like it would before a storm and the temp dropped but that's really it. So does anyone know what the deal is with the eyes?
 
tlc93 said:
I've heard from 3 people that said their eyes felt funny all day. Each of these people had no particular interest in the eclipse, nor did they make attempts to view it. Being in NY it got a little dark like it would before a storm and the temp dropped but that's really it. So does anyone know what the deal is with the eyes?
Click to expand...

I copied this for you:

Only time can tell if one's retina is permanently damaged. Jacob Chung, the chief of ophthalmology at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in New Jersey, told USA Today that it doesn't take much time staring at the sun — “10 seconds is probably too long and 20 seconds is definitely too long” — for the sun's rays to damage uncovered or improperly covered eyes.

“That damage is typically irreversible, and there's no treatment for this,” Kavali said in a video about viewing the eclipse safely. “The way the damage occurs on a cellular basis is that the UV rays from the sun induces a photochemical reaction that damages the photo receptors of the retina, and the part of the retina that's damaged is the part that's responsible for your central vision.”

However, because the retina has no pain receptors, you may not realize you've damaged your eyes until the symptoms appear, anywhere from a few hours to a few days after the event, according to PreventBlindness.org. Signs to look out for include loss of central vision, distorted vision or altered colors.
 
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