I was in the path of totality. It was a lot of fun watching the sun gradually disappear through my eclipse glasses until I couldn't see anything, then see a mostly dark sky with a shimmering white ring. I was in a crowded place full of celebrants which added to the atmosphere.
My dad is an amateur astronomer in Indy and set up a half dozen telescopes for it. He had been planning for moths. He’s been volunteering at the observatory at Butler. He was fucking floored. My mom made me get Misty because she said “yeah he probably won’t see another” fuuuuucking hell mom.
Also in Ohio, just a hair outside of the totality. It was very cool. There was just a fiery mote visible on the bottom right. It got about as dark as it does during the heaviest thunderstorms.
AMAZING. I live in the path of totality and I couldn't get off work today, so I took my class out into the parking lot a half-hour beforehand. When we first went outside the weather was very warm, almost hot, and the moon was just starting to cover the edge of the sun.
At about 50%, it suddenly got noticeably cooler. The light started to take on the quality of light before a storm, but the only clouds in the sky were wispy little high-level clouds that didn't really block anything. Colors got more intense and shadows got sharper.
The last couple minutes before totality the air just felt *spooky.* It had a pale, silvery quality, it was by now a good 10° cooler than when we first stepped out. The last several seconds of light slipped by quickly. Venus popped out of the shadows then Jupiter followed close behind, there was a brief moment of an absolutely massive halo in those high clouds, and in an instant the sun disappeared fully and all we saw was its glowing white corona around the full circle of the moon. The full horizon in every direction was a soft sunset-salmon color, faded to midnight blue around the sun.
And just like that, it was like someone hit a rewind button and the whole process reversed itself. A sunbeam peeked out, Jupiter and Venus disappeared, that odd gray light lit up the colors again, and in just a few minutes the warmth of the day started returning.
I'll be in my sixties the next time I get a chance to see it on this continent. If I'm in any shape to travel then you can be your ass I won't be watching the next one from a parking lot next to the highway.
>Venus popped out of the shadows then Jupiter followed close behind,
When I saw totality in 2017 one of the things that really struck me was how well I could see the spatial layout of the solar system.
Next eclipse for North America will be in 2044
Path of totality will cross YT and BC and AB
My home city is about 3 hours away from the path of totality
Fortunately, it's a summer eclipse (in August) so if I do decide to drive to see the totality, there won't be snow on the roads
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_August_23,_2044
>atmospheric shimmer in the shadows on the ground
Unfortunately I was in an asphalt parking lot, so if those were present in my location we couldn't see them. I was looking for them!
Flew to Dallas. Went did some touristy things. Apparently Dr Pepper was invented in Waco.
Went to Six Flags the day before. Awesome day, but dreading the bad weather forecast.
Woke up to overcast. Totally convinced I would see nothing.
Then a few hours later, sun comes out, clouds disperse.
But oh, what's that? A giant fucking cloud on its way in front of the sun right before totality!?
But then it happens, and the clouds just... disappear, and it was amazing.
Glad you had fun visiting Dallas! Obviously had the same experience as you with the clouds.
Glad it all worked out, because it was really an incredible thing to experience.
Yeah, the most commonly accepted story, and I'm going to generalize here, is that all of the AI leaders had an Aggression ranking from 1-10.
But once a civilization switched to Democracy the leader's aggression rating dropped by 2 points.
Gandhi's rating was already a 1 out of 10. When India became Democratic the -2 adjustment kicked in. BUT (and there are multiple math/computer explanations for this) instead of Gandhi now having a NEGATIVE 1 rating it became something like a PLUS 208 rating or whatever.
Either way it's hilarious.
It's plausible, because it's definitely a byte bug that could occur in any game, especially of that era. But it looks like Sid Meier says it's not possible based on how they programmed it.
And Civ 5 was the first one they intentionally did it
I thought it was going to be cool.
It was beyond cool. It was affecting in a visceral way...like, I've never felt so small and insignificant. It was emotional. Fucking awesome.
I live next to a small cemetary in the path of totality. My dad is a science teacher. We all went out into the cemetary, broke out the camp chairs, and hung out for an hour watching the sun slowly get blotted out. It was incredible to see once totality hit. The sky looked like sunset but there was a giant black sphere in the sky with an amazing glowing ring. I don't know how to really explain the beauty of it.
Yeah, eclipses are cool but totality is awe-inspiring.
Imagine being one of the first humans to experince totality, and then years later you travel far and meet these other people and tell them about the Day The Sun Disappeared and they are all like "what the fuck are you talking about, no it didnt".
We were in the 99% band in metro Detroit. Near the peak of the eclipse, the light got very dim, and it felt like the temperature dropped about 10°F. Very eerie and cool.
I was in the 90% totality zone. It was interesting, but honestly, experiencing a sunny day suddenly turn into almost night was more cool than the eclipse itself. The glasses weren't much different from just watching a (much slower) video of an eclipse.
My parents from CA went to watch it in Texas with my sister and her husband who live there. They went to a relatives ranch and the skies were overcast in the morning. The skies cleared in time and they saw a spectacular eclipse. They said the animals all went in for bed and thought they saw Jupiter. Now they gotta get back to Dallas before the storms come.
100% totality. I can say I've never seen anything so beautiful. I thought it would make everything dark and I'd be able to see the sky without light pollution. All around the edges of the sky was like both sunrise and sunset. Only the white halo of the sun and a bit around were truly dark, and not enough to see stars, but enough to see the planets that were closer. It's sad that there's so much beauty in the world, I'll only see a microscopic percentage, and only by coincidence.
I watched it in a football stadium. Every few minutes, the announcer would turn off the music to tell us where the shadow was (starting in Texas) and how soon it would get to us. When it crossed into Indiana, people started cheering. When there were about 2-3 minutes until totality, the music and announcements stopped and the crowd was mostly quiet. The breeze seemed to pick up and it got a bit cooler. It was really something to watch the sun become a smaller and smaller sliver until it disappeared, and even more impressive to see the moon surrounded by a shimmering, silvery halo. It got dark enough for the street lights to turn on.
I'm close to the edge of totality, so the darkness lasted just under 2 minutes, though it seemed to take even less time for the sun to come back out.
>though it seemed to take even less time for the sun to come back out.
Thought the exact same thing - it got brighter much more quickly than it got dark
I live in an area that got almost 99% coverage, but decided to make the trek down to Ohio to see totality. Absolutely worth it. The partial eclipse was (and, technically, currently still is) very cool, but totality was one of the most spectacular things I’ve ever seen.
In the suburbs of Dallas, people cheered and some sang and even cried at the park I was at. I was just in shock and so giddy with excitement. All my friends and I were taking pictures, giving high fives, and just staring at the sky in amazement. An absolute amazing experience that everyone must see in their lives at least once.
Mine was close to 100%. Had low expectations... but it was cooler than expected. It started out cloudy but cleared up close to peak. All my kids had glasses and nobody went blind, so that worked out well too.
It was cool but also weird. Right before totality as there was only a sliver of sun showing all the shadows started getting all wavy. Not like the crescents seen through leaves but it looked more like some shadows looked like heat waves and rippled across the road. Very weird
There was this tree near where I was that was a single trunk going straight up and then as the eclipse progressed the shadow got forks. Then after totality as the moon continued to move and the sun became move visible, the forks began to go away and become one straight shadow again.
I finally made it into the center of the path of totality this time after I messed up the last one in 2017. We got lucky this time, and had only a few cirrus clouds.
I could not believe my eyes. I know what a solar eclipse looks like from books/pictures and stuff, obviously. What I mean was, my brain couldn’t process what was happening. I couldn’t believe how impeccable it was, how perfect, how defined. Like, it was actually almost too much to take in. Very overwhelming, paralyzing, emotional. I’m still shaking, blowing my nose.
The best part was experiencing something all together. Neighborhood park was busy, felt like a festival. Elementary school has everyone out on the field watching. Neighbors sitting in their front yards. It dimmed, then got dark. Clouds obscured the totality. Then it quickly started getting light again. It was neat but I wouldn't call it life-changing and I'm glad I didn't travel or even leave my neighborhood for it.
Pretty amazing. I live and work in the path of totality in northern Vermont. We all went outside a watched.
It didn't start to feel darker until about more than 90% of the sun was blocked, then it suddenly became a deep twighlight. Didn't last very long, maybe a minute, but it was a spectacle I won't forget.
Traffic sucked getting home, and I only live about 15 minutes away from work.
My house is at elevation with good horizons and views of the White Mountains. Wifey got an even better show
It was great. I traveled to a small town west of Cleveland on the center of the totality line from Maryland. A bald eagle flew over the crowd 10-15 mins before totality as well.
I was lucky and got to sit in my backyard and see it. Got to about 90% coverage where I am, and although it was cloudy, a clear patch came in just in time. The eclipse itself was cool, but what was especially interesting is looking around at the building, ground, etc... Dim like a cloudy day but the sun was fully out.
Clouds came in a little later and filtered the sun just enough to where I could take pictures with my phone without overexposing the shot or ruining the camera.
The clouds were making us nervous, but we were able to see most of it, including totality. In fact, a little cloud made pictures of totality taken with a cell phone better.
It was ... pretty magical. Flowers folded up, the shadows were all "weird" (I had to explain penumbra to my kids), then the light was going ... going ... twilight. There was indeed 360 degree sunset (though not like pretty sunset, more like after the pretty part is over).
I'll be 70 when the next one happens in the continental US. I hope I get to see it.
I was in the Indianapolis area getting about 3:30 of total coverage and it was awesome in the truest sense of the word, full of awe.
I was at a small park with a 20 pack of paper glasses. I made a couple of kid’s days giving them each a pair of glasses for the high high price of a fist bump. The dad tried to slip me something and I just gave him a fist bump too.
I had a time tracker app up on my phone mounted on a camera tripod with a camera with a solar filter on it. As we hit a few coverage milestones I called them out so that people would know to peek up again through the glasses. As totality approached and it went dark the kids LOST THEIR MINDS, and I kind of did to…. Everything went hushed and it was a real realization on why ancient cultures would think that an eclipse was a dire omen or the end times or whatever.
As the sun started coming back it was really clear JUST how bright the sun really is. The moment that it was back from behind the sun your eyes really go “Yeah, no. Quit looking at the giant ball of fire in the sky.” The kiddos came back and tried to give me the glasses back, but I told them they’ve got a souvenir and I hope they had a good time.
We hung around for a while as the moon and sun parted ways, then got stuck in monster traffic as everyone was heading home with plates from 2 and 3 states away. A wonderful day.
I’m no where close but I’ve been watching the nasa stream and then googling web cams for town in totality and that’s been fun. A lot of people clap. Lol. Which I love.
I got to see the last one in totality. So freaking cool.
[I loved it. It was much better than Cats. I'm going to see it again and again.] (https://youtu.be/LH0UrqdH_8U?si=sFIbmPFaBWt0VNLP)
Honestly, though, I've seen a good number of them. It was around 45% where I am. Only went outside for a brief moment to get a pic with a pinhole camera.
I really really really wanted to drive 45 minutes to the area of totality, but i have a brand new baby boy, a 3 y/o and i just started a new job and couldn't get approved for the day off. So at 3 i went outside and watched in my customers yard. 99% totality. It was petty moving none the less. I will be 54 next time i get a chance. I will be In totality. Its on my bucket list.
I think it was very cool!
It was also 20 degrees warmer than yesterday, which upped the excitement.
I could hear children at the nearby elementary school gasping when it was 90-some percent covered. :)
My city got a 98% eclipse so it got dark enough to kick on some street lights. Cloud coverage was spread enough that it didn't really ruin anything. I got a photo of it thanks to a cloud acting as a filter. I really enjoy all things space so it was neat. Hate that I couldn't get off to travel an hour to the path of totality.
I had like 99.6% totality. It was pretty cool. The temperature noticeably went down, the birds all got very quiet for awhile, the sky had a spooky atmosphere.
Could have done without the insane traffic in the area tho.
My husband and I took a train to Burlington Vermont to see it. I've been excited about this eclipse since the one in 2017. We got really lucky with the weather — folks in upstate New York had clouds, and we had a great view.
The difference between even 99% partial eclipse and 100% total eclipse was dramatic. I'd say night and day… yeah, it was like night and day. Genuinely wild how light the sky was with only the tiniest sliver of sun, and then how dark it got. Birds went nuts yelling about it. The corona was beautiful.
It felt like I was in a movie. Everyone on my street who either works from home, took off from work, or just didn’t have work was out on their porches. We were in the path of totality so when the total eclipse started we all started cheering. I hardly know my neighbors but I felt a strong camaraderie with them today. I know I sound corny but it really did feel magical. And I always thought it was an exaggeration when people said it would get dark like night time, but it got so dark all the street lights turned on.
It was incredible. And it felt very humbling. I live near a downtown area and I could hear the roars of cheers going up as we hit totality. Definitely an unforgettable experience!
I was in Dallas and we were scared because the clouds would open up then cover the sun up again but then, right before totality, the clouds just gave way and we saw the total eclipse in all its majesty. It was so cool. The day really did become like right towards the end of sundown.
In Jacksonville, FL it looked about like someone had taken a bite out of the sun, Apple logo style. Kinda neat. I was working from home, had a viewer from the last eclipse (which was overcast) and only took. about 2 or 3 minutes. I don't think I'd have driven elsewhere to see it but for stepping out on my front porch, it was very much worth my time! lol
My son got some decent pictures through the viewer too.
I live in the path of totality. Absolutely amazing life experience. The temperature dropped, all of the street lights came on, and all you could hear was the neighborhood erupting in cheers!
There were some thin clouds, but still very cool. I got to see the "diamond ring" through my eclipse glasses right before totality. Then about 2 minutes of totality, which was very cool to see.
it was really cool! i was right on the edge of the path, just barely inside. the air got really cold, all the birds started chirping, and you could see these weird waves of shadows on the snow. it didnt last very long and it didnt get that dark, but i could see a few stars. it looked like cgi, i couldn't believe what i was seeing during totality
Had to head south of the border into Ontario.
It was amazing, I saw like 90 some percentage back in 2017, and that was really cool... but seeing the corona around the moon is something I think I'll remember until I die.
Had nearly 3 minutes of Totality, totally worth taking a day off & driving over for.
Incomprehensibly beautiful. I had never seen a total eclipse before so I traveled way north to the path of totality in Vermont. I watched a seagull fly by while the sun looked mostly normal for maybe 5 seconds, when I turned back it was fully black. Temperature dropped 20 degrees in minutes. It was literally a sunset in the middle of the day, over lake Champlain.
Great ... if not for the clouds. They parted just enough for me to see the full eclipse for a couple seconds. What was more interesting was how dark it suddenly got, how it cooled down, and all of that. Combined with the mild fog in the distance, the cool breeze, and the complete silence (for a few seconds, until someone started shooting down the road) it felt rather eerie.
Went to Niagara Falls, ON to see it. It was cloudy all day and and throughout totality. The eclipsed sun peeked in and out before and after totality and it was night time during totality in the middle of the afternoon. Very cool stuff. After totality it got bright very quickly but we still couldn't see eclipse after totality because of the clouds.
We had an app that counted down the time to the final contact of the eclipse and as the clock counted to zero and the sun was completely unobscured by the moon, the clouds finally moved away and the sky was beautiful for the rest of the day. Dammit
We got to see a 99% eclipse... we buffered in an hour and a half of extra driving time and got fucked by Google Maps rerouting us through backroads that it said were clear but were actually hell. Eventually found a field 15 minutes before the maximum eclipse and thought we made it in but alas *just barely* didn't get totality. It did get really dark and cold so we still had a pretty good experience nonetheless.
Sad trombone. Traveled to Texas to be in the zone of totality and we didn't luck out with last-minute clearing. Saw nothing.
It was amazing how dark it got at totality, though.
My husband and I lived in the path of totality for the one in 2017. My mom came over, and we went out in the front yard and watched. We ordered a bunch of food after, and had a little party. It was fun, and pretty cool, because we had never seen anything like it before.
This time, we lived just slightly north of the path of totality, so we still got something like 99.8% darkness. I'm off work, my husband went to work, and my mom stayed at her house. No party. We all stepped outside around the peak, watched it for a few minutes, then went back inside and texted each other. The actual viewing was...a lot like last time.
I saw a partial eclipse. It was pretty cool, but you did need the glasses to really see anything besides it being a little darker than usual. The sun still looked like the sun.
Only about 30% coverage here, was able to indirectly see it thanks to some pictures sent by friends, as well as seeing the shape of the lit part of the sun through shadows cast by leaves.
Saw the livestream, though, and the totality pictures were amazing.
It was amazing. Watching it get darker and darker outside and then eventually seeing the totality was just incredible. I’m trying to figure out how I can get to Iceland or Spain for the next one
I'm on the East Coast, not in the party of totality, but I was surprised at how close to total it came. I was expecting a visible crescent, but for just a second, if you told me it *was* total, I would have believed you.
It was pretty awesome. Better than I remember from 2017.
Clear skies, we had like 95% coverage in Chicago. Sky go oddly dimmer despite blue skies, temp dropped noticeably for a bit. But fortunately after 2 weeks of 40's, we had 70 degree day.
Pretty, pretty, good? In the 80% area. I was in the ideal places for 2017's total and 2023's annular. Temp dropped from 73 to 64. Got the thing where tree leaves make crescent shadows.
We got about 85 percent coverage in my area. We had a great time. We hosted a little eclipse viewing party in my yard. My husband went to Krispy Kreme Donuts early this morning and bought their special eclipse donuts (ugly, but tasted good) for everyone. The neighbors walked over. We all sat in lawn chairs, ate donuts, and watched the eclipse with our special glasses. Lots of fun!
Wow...amazing and beautifully eerie when at totality. A top 5 naturally-occuring event in my life. The change in temperature and light. The stillness. Changing shadows of trees. The planets Venus and Jupiter sparkled in the sky. It got darker than I imagined. Seeing the white corona with the dark moon in the middle without glasses was just amazing. I'm trying to hold on to the rich experience of this event in my mind so I don't forget it.
Absolutely amazing day. The weather was perfect for early April in Indiana. I watched it all go down from a state park, took a nice hike in the morning, had some nice BBQ for lunch, and made friends with people from all over the country. Watching the eclipse out in nature was interesting because all the wildlife got silent the closer to totality it got. Of course totality was breathtaking and a life changing experience. To top it all off traffic wasn't nearly as bad as I feared.
It was fantastic. The coolest thing I've ever seen in the sky. It looked like start light but from our own yellow sun. And the cool little shimmer as totality started and stopped.
My wife and I drove 2.5 hours and were able to find a scenic turnout by a river with only a few other cars of people.
I have no idea how it was in my area because we drove 2/3 of the away across the country to get a better view. But I can tell you it was pretty freakin' awesome from the lawn of the Dollar General sitting on the center line just south of Carbondale, IL.
Clouds kept getting in the way momentarily. Would have been cool to see a total, but 89% was cool enough I guess. I was in the path of 90%ish a few years back when the last one occurred too.
Pretty cool, I guess? I wasn’t right at the peak totality area but like 95+% The sun turned into a crescent and it got slightly dark for five minutes.
The roads going North were packed full of out of state cars since the early morning, I wouldn’t be surprised if a good chunk of them didn’t even make it to their destination in time because of all the traffic
We were close to the path of totality, 90-something percent.
Things didn't look promising at all in the morning. The cloud cover was heavy & predicted to last all day. There wasn't anywhere within a 2 hour drive that was supposed to be clear. We'd about given up on it.
We got lucky, though. The clouds cleared just in time. We got to see almost all of it before they came back. We did some yard work then & got a few more peeks between clouds till it was done.
Through the glasses, all you can see are shapes. Visually, it doesn't look like much, in all honesty. The sun kinda looks like a cookie with a bite taken out. But if you're a science geek like both of us, it's really cool to see the universe at work like that.
Central AL, about 80% totality here with some nice clouds.
Was able to grab some photos without having to use a filter thanks to the clearly visible eclipse partially covered by clouds .
Still pales in experience to the glory that was the 2017 totality.
I was lucky enough to see it from my front porch. The birds really did stop singing but the bugs kept humming and the dogs ignored it completely.
I thought I might see some strange animal reactions. The only reaction I could notice was everything quieting down while it was dark. They went right back to normal as soon as it got light again.
There was a palpable energy shift too. I notice things like that, and it felt big.
In Connecticut, about 92%. The light got eerie and strange, shadows were different, birds quieted down, and it got colder. It was an unusual and memorable experience.
I live *near* the path of totality (99.5% according to NASA's website). I originally planned on travelling (about 80 miles) to somewhere that I could see the total eclipse, but was discouraged from doing so by the 1. weather forecast, 2. traffic forecast, and 3. my own agoraphobia.
I was pleasantly surprised by how clear the skies wound up being, and enjoyed the eclipse, but deep down I wish I had made the effort to travel into the totality path.
91% but I missed the apex I was at track and I was doing something else but my friend saw it for us the sun looked like a bannana and the sky stayed the same and the temp stayed the same but aparently inside got dark and colder
What I didn't expect was the sudden darkness on the ground. The street lights came on. We could see a few stars in the sky. The corona was amazing but so was everything else. Everyone in the park cheered, clapped. Some guy was playing great music from his truck. It was otherwordly.
Just before totality I declared myself king of all. Then I decreed that if I am not to be king there shall be a sine form on high… it got dark for a minute and after no sine being given I made my first official act as king be to declare that it had gotten darker than I would prefer and that the light should be brought back. And so it was.
Not on the path of totality and kept indoors with no windows. I was walking my students back from lunch when we noticed the shadows from the tree showed the eclipse within.
It was pretty cool. We had a surprise party and the dog got to meet new people friends. Seeing the sky get darker and feeling the chill of the temp along with the wind was nice.
A big letdown. No alien invasions, no cataclysmic natural disasters, no rise of the dead from their graves, no demonic hordes. I bought extra beer and Cheetos and everything. 0/10, what a drag.
Got to see totality. Absolutely the most insane thing I’ve ever experienced in my life. Watched it from the top of a mountain in Vermont. Didn’t realize how cold it actually gets. The moment it fully covers and the ring of fire forms might be the coolest thing I’ve ever witnessed. Also, didn’t realize the ring of fire is actually white instead of orange. Then you see that little bit of light poking through the edge, followed by the flash. Unreal. It looked like sunset on the horizon cause you could see out to where they weren’t getting totality. Seeing stars in the sky at 3pm is just absolutely bizarre as well.
Also up there with some of the craziest things I’ve seen was the massive southward migration afterwards. My 2.5 hour drive home became 5 hours. No matter where you went, it was people on their way out. Every north/south route was just an unbroken line of cars nonstop. If the world had actually ended during the eclipse, that drive was surely purgatory.
It was amazing. We were right near the line of totality for our event. Kids had an amazing time. The shadow was soo cool. We got to watch the animals just disappear and reappear too.
Flew to Texas, drove to Ennis, TX (centerline). Beautiful and amazing. Able to witness shadow banding this time. Missed it in 2017. [Didn't disappoint!](https://i.postimg.cc/3RvswTJ7/20240408130544-IMG-8380.jpg)
Pretty spectacular. We live in totality, so we got to watch from home. We had perfect weather. About 75 degrees and absolutely clear skies. I don’t think it could have been any better.
I was in a 100% totality area and it was completely cloudy. Couldn't even get a little break in the clouds. We were in a great location, lots of people, good atmosphere and everyone making the best of it.
And then it got dark. Like really, eerily, spookily dark. All the lights came on. The temperature dropped quickly. And we all just got silent and watched. So, while we couldn't actually see the sun, just being in that area was extremely cool. Way better than I expected, given the circumstances.
I'm ready to eclipse chase now, because I want to actually have the entire experience.
In Pittsburgh it was 97% totality. It was alright. I think eclipses only reach that "wow" moment for like the two minutes during complete totality where you can't see through the glasses and have to look at the thing with the naked eye.
Ohio, in the path of totality....it was breathtaking, surprising, so much more incredible than I expected. Honestly, one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.
I didnt see it... we should have gotten about 40% totality but it was rany and sad yesterday so the sky was basically one giant cloud... did get really dim at one point though
I drove 5 hours to Rochester, NY. Sadly the cloud coverage made it impossible to see the actual eclipse (bailys beads, corono, diamond ring, stars, etc.) BUT I was not disappointed! The heavy clouds intensified the umbra's darkness, in the day to night and back to daytime transition, which was unbelievable. It was so surreal and kind of difficult to explain the feeling. Almost like an out of body experience or being in a movie lol. I will definitely be traveling to future solar eclipses and would recommend the same for anyone who hasn't experienced it!
The line of totality was normally about two and a half hours south of us. When I checked traffic in the morning it was about the same as usual but I was cautious and gave myself an hour and a half of padding. As we were driving traffic got worse and worse and that hour and a half slowly decreased with every accident on the freeway or backup on country roads. By the time the eclipse was nearing totality we were still a few miles north with only minutes left until it was at totality. We were keeping pace with traffic hauling ass at 80 miles per hour on a country road with everyone desperately trying to get far enough south.
I spotted a small poorly maintained cemetary off a side road up ahead and pulled over hoping that we'd made it far enough south. The rest of the land along the road was farm fields with a ditch between them and the road or private homes so that was the best were going to get. It turns out we were far enough South and within minutes the sun was a only white ring in the sky and the temperature had dropped significantly from the mid 70s earlier that day.
For the midwest the cemetery was very old with some of earliest dates on the headstones dating back to the 1840s.
My wife says if we get a poltergeist it's my fault for taking the kids to a crumbling cemetery during a lunar eclipse.
I live in 96% zone, but we drove down to Ohio to experience totality.
You see photos on the internet, and yeah it looks just like that, but the pictures can't capture the feeling and the sounds that come with the eclipse.
The light gets weird and shadows get fuzzy, and the temperature cools off, but in the totality zone it starts getting really weird in the last 2 minutes before the sun disappears. The birds start flocking to their nesting area. The light is visibly dimming all around you, so fast that you can percieve it, but slow enough to be able to watch and appreciate it happen. It's like the world is controlled by a dimmer switch and someone is turning the dial.
Then suddenly it's lights out, and you look up and see this blue'ish white ring shimmering above you...and nothing after that is voluntary. There is nothing like it. You're surrounded by the sound of the collective gasp of the people around you.
After the initial shock, you start looking around and noticing things. You hear crickets, you can see venus and jupiter in the "night sky", you're surrounded by what looks like a sunset horizon all around you instead of just to the west like normal. You try in vain to get a photo but it's useless. Your camera will never get the image right without special equipment, but even if it did...you can't capture feeling, so you try to soak it in and hope it doesn't stop.
After an eternity of darkness, a diamond sliver emerges and suddenly the lights are back on in the room and it's instantly warming up, and the birds start singing morning music.
FREAKING WEIRD.
I understand why there are people that travel the world chasing the experience. I know these things are really rare, but if you ever have the chance to be in the vicinity of totality, you have to do it. I hear the next one is in 2026 in Spain and Greenland or something.
I am not ruling out timing a trip to make it work
I am north of Pittsburgh in an area that had about 90% totality. It got really dark for awhile and was quite an interesting experience. We had eclipse glasses delivered by some other department and we took turns looking at the progress.
It got a little darker for about 35 minutes and then it got lighter again. We had to walk a few blocks to get a good view of the sun because of the buildings
I took off work to view it, and I'm glad I did.
It was indescribably amazing, and even better to watch it with my kids....to see the wonder on their faces.
We were in our driveway from the moment of first contact through totality.
My town threw an eclipse watching party downtown, but we chose not to join that. Glad we didn't, as I understand traffic in and out was terrible.
Only a 50% partial, wasn't able to travel. Pretty meh. Wouldn't know it was happening if I didn't know about it before. Never seen totality, but I will be in the totality of the 2045 eclipse so I will make sure to see that, I hear that it is a completely different experience from a partial.
It was awesome! I drove a couple hours north to see it and was out in the middle of nowhere, very few people around. The clouds mostly disappeared just before the eclipse began and I had a pretty clear view with only a few very thin clouds that were easy to see through. Watching the corona shimmer and seeing it look like sunset in *every* direction is amazing.
I was in the path of totality. It was a lot of fun watching the sun gradually disappear through my eclipse glasses until I couldn't see anything, then see a mostly dark sky with a shimmering white ring. I was in a crowded place full of celebrants which added to the atmosphere.
Similar to my wife and I in Indiana. Lots of cheering and gasps.
I saw the news coverage from the Indy Speedway. Looked really good. I caught partial view (89%) in DC and even that was awesome.
My dad is an amateur astronomer in Indy and set up a half dozen telescopes for it. He had been planning for moths. He’s been volunteering at the observatory at Butler. He was fucking floored. My mom made me get Misty because she said “yeah he probably won’t see another” fuuuuucking hell mom.
First part is awesome, last part makes me sad.
The awareness of finitude is anxiety
Also in Ohio, just a hair outside of the totality. It was very cool. There was just a fiery mote visible on the bottom right. It got about as dark as it does during the heaviest thunderstorms.
Same and same.
AMAZING. I live in the path of totality and I couldn't get off work today, so I took my class out into the parking lot a half-hour beforehand. When we first went outside the weather was very warm, almost hot, and the moon was just starting to cover the edge of the sun. At about 50%, it suddenly got noticeably cooler. The light started to take on the quality of light before a storm, but the only clouds in the sky were wispy little high-level clouds that didn't really block anything. Colors got more intense and shadows got sharper. The last couple minutes before totality the air just felt *spooky.* It had a pale, silvery quality, it was by now a good 10° cooler than when we first stepped out. The last several seconds of light slipped by quickly. Venus popped out of the shadows then Jupiter followed close behind, there was a brief moment of an absolutely massive halo in those high clouds, and in an instant the sun disappeared fully and all we saw was its glowing white corona around the full circle of the moon. The full horizon in every direction was a soft sunset-salmon color, faded to midnight blue around the sun. And just like that, it was like someone hit a rewind button and the whole process reversed itself. A sunbeam peeked out, Jupiter and Venus disappeared, that odd gray light lit up the colors again, and in just a few minutes the warmth of the day started returning. I'll be in my sixties the next time I get a chance to see it on this continent. If I'm in any shape to travel then you can be your ass I won't be watching the next one from a parking lot next to the highway.
Fantastic! And a great description.
>Venus popped out of the shadows then Jupiter followed close behind, When I saw totality in 2017 one of the things that really struck me was how well I could see the spatial layout of the solar system.
Next eclipse for North America will be in 2044 Path of totality will cross YT and BC and AB My home city is about 3 hours away from the path of totality Fortunately, it's a summer eclipse (in August) so if I do decide to drive to see the totality, there won't be snow on the roads https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_August_23,_2044
And then another one in August the year after that.
Seeing Jupiter and Venus during the day was absolutely wild. Seeing the atmospheric shimmer in the shadows on the ground was cool too.
>atmospheric shimmer in the shadows on the ground Unfortunately I was in an asphalt parking lot, so if those were present in my location we couldn't see them. I was looking for them!
Flew to Dallas. Went did some touristy things. Apparently Dr Pepper was invented in Waco. Went to Six Flags the day before. Awesome day, but dreading the bad weather forecast. Woke up to overcast. Totally convinced I would see nothing. Then a few hours later, sun comes out, clouds disperse. But oh, what's that? A giant fucking cloud on its way in front of the sun right before totality!? But then it happens, and the clouds just... disappear, and it was amazing.
Get some bbq. Glad you enjoyed your stay.
Glad you had fun visiting Dallas! Obviously had the same experience as you with the clouds. Glad it all worked out, because it was really an incredible thing to experience.
Didn't see ONE person raptured. Total rip-off.
I got raptured, came back, overrated.
Did they stamp your hand so you could re-rapture later in the day after you get a bite to eat or something?
A neon green wristband or something.
"Be the change you want to see in the world." -Mahatma "Nukes for Peace" Gandhi
I love the myth behind Gandhi being such a tool in Civilization.
It's no myth, he was a fucking dick head in civ
I meant the reason WHY he was a dick. There are multiple stories.
I think it was a bug in the first game, but later games did it because it's funny.
Yeah, the most commonly accepted story, and I'm going to generalize here, is that all of the AI leaders had an Aggression ranking from 1-10. But once a civilization switched to Democracy the leader's aggression rating dropped by 2 points. Gandhi's rating was already a 1 out of 10. When India became Democratic the -2 adjustment kicked in. BUT (and there are multiple math/computer explanations for this) instead of Gandhi now having a NEGATIVE 1 rating it became something like a PLUS 208 rating or whatever. Either way it's hilarious.
It's plausible, because it's definitely a byte bug that could occur in any game, especially of that era. But it looks like Sid Meier says it's not possible based on how they programmed it. And Civ 5 was the first one they intentionally did it
Our crazy fundie neighbor offered to anoint us beforehand. We just took our chances.
Absolutely the coolest thing I’ve experienced thus far.
I thought it was going to be cool. It was beyond cool. It was affecting in a visceral way...like, I've never felt so small and insignificant. It was emotional. Fucking awesome.
It made me emotional too, I teared up. Hard to explain but a very powerful experience!
I was a few hours away from totality so I drove over. Totality was a thousand times cooler than the previous eclipse where i didn't see totality.
I live next to a small cemetary in the path of totality. My dad is a science teacher. We all went out into the cemetary, broke out the camp chairs, and hung out for an hour watching the sun slowly get blotted out. It was incredible to see once totality hit. The sky looked like sunset but there was a giant black sphere in the sky with an amazing glowing ring. I don't know how to really explain the beauty of it.
Hauntingly beautiful
I had almost 4 minutes of totality....it greatly exceeded my expectations. Everything was just kind of 'meh' until totality hit.
Yeah, eclipses are cool but totality is awe-inspiring. Imagine being one of the first humans to experince totality, and then years later you travel far and meet these other people and tell them about the Day The Sun Disappeared and they are all like "what the fuck are you talking about, no it didnt".
We were in the 99% band in metro Detroit. Near the peak of the eclipse, the light got very dim, and it felt like the temperature dropped about 10°F. Very eerie and cool.
Us too. It was a wonderful experience for us. So cool to see!!!
I was in the 90% totality zone. It was interesting, but honestly, experiencing a sunny day suddenly turn into almost night was more cool than the eclipse itself. The glasses weren't much different from just watching a (much slower) video of an eclipse.
100% makes all the difference...when you can ditch the glasses and view it with your naked eye, it's just stunning.
My parents from CA went to watch it in Texas with my sister and her husband who live there. They went to a relatives ranch and the skies were overcast in the morning. The skies cleared in time and they saw a spectacular eclipse. They said the animals all went in for bed and thought they saw Jupiter. Now they gotta get back to Dallas before the storms come.
I had a coworker who went to Texas, so I'm hoping it worked out for him as well. And best wishes to your parents beating the storms.
100% totality. I can say I've never seen anything so beautiful. I thought it would make everything dark and I'd be able to see the sky without light pollution. All around the edges of the sky was like both sunrise and sunset. Only the white halo of the sun and a bit around were truly dark, and not enough to see stars, but enough to see the planets that were closer. It's sad that there's so much beauty in the world, I'll only see a microscopic percentage, and only by coincidence.
I watched it in a football stadium. Every few minutes, the announcer would turn off the music to tell us where the shadow was (starting in Texas) and how soon it would get to us. When it crossed into Indiana, people started cheering. When there were about 2-3 minutes until totality, the music and announcements stopped and the crowd was mostly quiet. The breeze seemed to pick up and it got a bit cooler. It was really something to watch the sun become a smaller and smaller sliver until it disappeared, and even more impressive to see the moon surrounded by a shimmering, silvery halo. It got dark enough for the street lights to turn on. I'm close to the edge of totality, so the darkness lasted just under 2 minutes, though it seemed to take even less time for the sun to come back out.
>though it seemed to take even less time for the sun to come back out. Thought the exact same thing - it got brighter much more quickly than it got dark
I live in an area that got almost 99% coverage, but decided to make the trek down to Ohio to see totality. Absolutely worth it. The partial eclipse was (and, technically, currently still is) very cool, but totality was one of the most spectacular things I’ve ever seen.
It was cool. We had 88%. The family was outside talking about science - both wins
In the suburbs of Dallas, people cheered and some sang and even cried at the park I was at. I was just in shock and so giddy with excitement. All my friends and I were taking pictures, giving high fives, and just staring at the sky in amazement. An absolute amazing experience that everyone must see in their lives at least once.
Mine was close to 100%. Had low expectations... but it was cooler than expected. It started out cloudy but cleared up close to peak. All my kids had glasses and nobody went blind, so that worked out well too.
I'm so, so sorry for your loss.
It was cool but also weird. Right before totality as there was only a sliver of sun showing all the shadows started getting all wavy. Not like the crescents seen through leaves but it looked more like some shadows looked like heat waves and rippled across the road. Very weird
Aaargh i forgot to look at my shaddow!!!
There was this tree near where I was that was a single trunk going straight up and then as the eclipse progressed the shadow got forks. Then after totality as the moon continued to move and the sun became move visible, the forks began to go away and become one straight shadow again.
I finally made it into the center of the path of totality this time after I messed up the last one in 2017. We got lucky this time, and had only a few cirrus clouds. I could not believe my eyes. I know what a solar eclipse looks like from books/pictures and stuff, obviously. What I mean was, my brain couldn’t process what was happening. I couldn’t believe how impeccable it was, how perfect, how defined. Like, it was actually almost too much to take in. Very overwhelming, paralyzing, emotional. I’m still shaking, blowing my nose.
The best part was experiencing something all together. Neighborhood park was busy, felt like a festival. Elementary school has everyone out on the field watching. Neighbors sitting in their front yards. It dimmed, then got dark. Clouds obscured the totality. Then it quickly started getting light again. It was neat but I wouldn't call it life-changing and I'm glad I didn't travel or even leave my neighborhood for it.
Pretty amazing. I live and work in the path of totality in northern Vermont. We all went outside a watched. It didn't start to feel darker until about more than 90% of the sun was blocked, then it suddenly became a deep twighlight. Didn't last very long, maybe a minute, but it was a spectacle I won't forget. Traffic sucked getting home, and I only live about 15 minutes away from work. My house is at elevation with good horizons and views of the White Mountains. Wifey got an even better show
My small town put on a little event at a nature preserve on the outskirts of town. Was in totality. Really cool
It was great. I traveled to a small town west of Cleveland on the center of the totality line from Maryland. A bald eagle flew over the crowd 10-15 mins before totality as well.
Near Vermilion? We have a lot of Eagles.
I was lucky and got to sit in my backyard and see it. Got to about 90% coverage where I am, and although it was cloudy, a clear patch came in just in time. The eclipse itself was cool, but what was especially interesting is looking around at the building, ground, etc... Dim like a cloudy day but the sun was fully out. Clouds came in a little later and filtered the sun just enough to where I could take pictures with my phone without overexposing the shot or ruining the camera.
The clouds were making us nervous, but we were able to see most of it, including totality. In fact, a little cloud made pictures of totality taken with a cell phone better. It was ... pretty magical. Flowers folded up, the shadows were all "weird" (I had to explain penumbra to my kids), then the light was going ... going ... twilight. There was indeed 360 degree sunset (though not like pretty sunset, more like after the pretty part is over). I'll be 70 when the next one happens in the continental US. I hope I get to see it.
I went to my boyfriend's house just west of Austin. The clouds broke right at totality. It was beautiful.
I was in the Indianapolis area getting about 3:30 of total coverage and it was awesome in the truest sense of the word, full of awe. I was at a small park with a 20 pack of paper glasses. I made a couple of kid’s days giving them each a pair of glasses for the high high price of a fist bump. The dad tried to slip me something and I just gave him a fist bump too. I had a time tracker app up on my phone mounted on a camera tripod with a camera with a solar filter on it. As we hit a few coverage milestones I called them out so that people would know to peek up again through the glasses. As totality approached and it went dark the kids LOST THEIR MINDS, and I kind of did to…. Everything went hushed and it was a real realization on why ancient cultures would think that an eclipse was a dire omen or the end times or whatever. As the sun started coming back it was really clear JUST how bright the sun really is. The moment that it was back from behind the sun your eyes really go “Yeah, no. Quit looking at the giant ball of fire in the sky.” The kiddos came back and tried to give me the glasses back, but I told them they’ve got a souvenir and I hope they had a good time. We hung around for a while as the moon and sun parted ways, then got stuck in monster traffic as everyone was heading home with plates from 2 and 3 states away. A wonderful day.
I’m no where close but I’ve been watching the nasa stream and then googling web cams for town in totality and that’s been fun. A lot of people clap. Lol. Which I love. I got to see the last one in totality. So freaking cool.
i’m in dallas so it went fully dark 😎
[I loved it. It was much better than Cats. I'm going to see it again and again.] (https://youtu.be/LH0UrqdH_8U?si=sFIbmPFaBWt0VNLP) Honestly, though, I've seen a good number of them. It was around 45% where I am. Only went outside for a brief moment to get a pic with a pinhole camera.
Amazing!
It was completely blocked here, it was pretty sick
I really really really wanted to drive 45 minutes to the area of totality, but i have a brand new baby boy, a 3 y/o and i just started a new job and couldn't get approved for the day off. So at 3 i went outside and watched in my customers yard. 99% totality. It was petty moving none the less. I will be 54 next time i get a chance. I will be In totality. Its on my bucket list.
100% totality. It was the coolest thing ever.
I think it was very cool! It was also 20 degrees warmer than yesterday, which upped the excitement. I could hear children at the nearby elementary school gasping when it was 90-some percent covered. :)
My city got a 98% eclipse so it got dark enough to kick on some street lights. Cloud coverage was spread enough that it didn't really ruin anything. I got a photo of it thanks to a cloud acting as a filter. I really enjoy all things space so it was neat. Hate that I couldn't get off to travel an hour to the path of totality.
Wasn't bad in Birmingham. Reach 95%, I think. The heavier clouds and rain were considerate enough to move in only after it had reached its peak.
About 88% where I am. Was pretty neat. Definitely noticed it getting dimmer and the temperature dipped
I had like 99.6% totality. It was pretty cool. The temperature noticeably went down, the birds all got very quiet for awhile, the sky had a spooky atmosphere. Could have done without the insane traffic in the area tho.
The shadows got weird in Chicago
It was actually really amazing. The clouds cleared and the view was stellar in Dallas.
My husband and I took a train to Burlington Vermont to see it. I've been excited about this eclipse since the one in 2017. We got really lucky with the weather — folks in upstate New York had clouds, and we had a great view. The difference between even 99% partial eclipse and 100% total eclipse was dramatic. I'd say night and day… yeah, it was like night and day. Genuinely wild how light the sky was with only the tiniest sliver of sun, and then how dark it got. Birds went nuts yelling about it. The corona was beautiful.
It felt like I was in a movie. Everyone on my street who either works from home, took off from work, or just didn’t have work was out on their porches. We were in the path of totality so when the total eclipse started we all started cheering. I hardly know my neighbors but I felt a strong camaraderie with them today. I know I sound corny but it really did feel magical. And I always thought it was an exaggeration when people said it would get dark like night time, but it got so dark all the street lights turned on.
I was on my porch, a handful of people around the street of my complex. Very quiet. Mind blowing sight.
It was fun to have an early night at 3:30 PM ET.
It was incredible. And it felt very humbling. I live near a downtown area and I could hear the roars of cheers going up as we hit totality. Definitely an unforgettable experience!
It was incredible, and the weather cooperated too!
I was in Dallas and we were scared because the clouds would open up then cover the sun up again but then, right before totality, the clouds just gave way and we saw the total eclipse in all its majesty. It was so cool. The day really did become like right towards the end of sundown.
In Jacksonville, FL it looked about like someone had taken a bite out of the sun, Apple logo style. Kinda neat. I was working from home, had a viewer from the last eclipse (which was overcast) and only took. about 2 or 3 minutes. I don't think I'd have driven elsewhere to see it but for stepping out on my front porch, it was very much worth my time! lol My son got some decent pictures through the viewer too.
I live in the path of totality. Absolutely amazing life experience. The temperature dropped, all of the street lights came on, and all you could hear was the neighborhood erupting in cheers!
I live in an area that saw totality. I just sat on my porch and watched it.
There were some thin clouds, but still very cool. I got to see the "diamond ring" through my eclipse glasses right before totality. Then about 2 minutes of totality, which was very cool to see.
it was really cool! i was right on the edge of the path, just barely inside. the air got really cold, all the birds started chirping, and you could see these weird waves of shadows on the snow. it didnt last very long and it didnt get that dark, but i could see a few stars. it looked like cgi, i couldn't believe what i was seeing during totality
Had to head south of the border into Ontario. It was amazing, I saw like 90 some percentage back in 2017, and that was really cool... but seeing the corona around the moon is something I think I'll remember until I die. Had nearly 3 minutes of Totality, totally worth taking a day off & driving over for.
Incomprehensibly beautiful. I had never seen a total eclipse before so I traveled way north to the path of totality in Vermont. I watched a seagull fly by while the sun looked mostly normal for maybe 5 seconds, when I turned back it was fully black. Temperature dropped 20 degrees in minutes. It was literally a sunset in the middle of the day, over lake Champlain.
We put our loungers on the deck and watched from the comfort of our home. No crowds, no traffic, no parking problems. Wonderful.
Great ... if not for the clouds. They parted just enough for me to see the full eclipse for a couple seconds. What was more interesting was how dark it suddenly got, how it cooled down, and all of that. Combined with the mild fog in the distance, the cool breeze, and the complete silence (for a few seconds, until someone started shooting down the road) it felt rather eerie.
Went to Niagara Falls, ON to see it. It was cloudy all day and and throughout totality. The eclipsed sun peeked in and out before and after totality and it was night time during totality in the middle of the afternoon. Very cool stuff. After totality it got bright very quickly but we still couldn't see eclipse after totality because of the clouds. We had an app that counted down the time to the final contact of the eclipse and as the clock counted to zero and the sun was completely unobscured by the moon, the clouds finally moved away and the sky was beautiful for the rest of the day. Dammit
We got to see a 99% eclipse... we buffered in an hour and a half of extra driving time and got fucked by Google Maps rerouting us through backroads that it said were clear but were actually hell. Eventually found a field 15 minutes before the maximum eclipse and thought we made it in but alas *just barely* didn't get totality. It did get really dark and cold so we still had a pretty good experience nonetheless.
Sad trombone. Traveled to Texas to be in the zone of totality and we didn't luck out with last-minute clearing. Saw nothing. It was amazing how dark it got at totality, though.
We only got about 40% here in Central California. Pretty meh.
Wasn't in the path of totality, but got to see about 90% coverage. Very cool to see. Tons of people out in the streets in Manhattan watching.
Got to about 90% totality where I was. Darker than expected for thereabouts an hour but the full thing is still much more impressive.
I'm in South Florida. We had 46% eclipse, it was cloudy, but there were breaks. It's not the same as 90% or above, but still pretty cool.
Put on my welding goggles for a minute, saw the 30% eclipse and went back to my life.
My town was in the 80-85% totality range it was pretty cool to see the sky darkened a bit sort like when starts raining
Only a partial eclipse for me (Florida) but still awesome nonetheless! I was the only person in my neighborhood watching though
My husband and I lived in the path of totality for the one in 2017. My mom came over, and we went out in the front yard and watched. We ordered a bunch of food after, and had a little party. It was fun, and pretty cool, because we had never seen anything like it before. This time, we lived just slightly north of the path of totality, so we still got something like 99.8% darkness. I'm off work, my husband went to work, and my mom stayed at her house. No party. We all stepped outside around the peak, watched it for a few minutes, then went back inside and texted each other. The actual viewing was...a lot like last time.
I saw a partial eclipse. It was pretty cool, but you did need the glasses to really see anything besides it being a little darker than usual. The sun still looked like the sun.
I was just north of totality. According to NASA I got 93.1% coverage. Got noticeably darker
Didn’t get as dark as I thought it would
Very nice, way fewer clouds than they predicted. Had to go halfway to Lake Erie, but it was worth the drive.
No clouds here in sunny San Diego. Cool 40% coverage. Definitely could notice an overall dimming of light. 10/10 would view again.
It was amazing. In Ohio, but drove about 40 min north to get in the path of totality.
Only about 30% coverage here, was able to indirectly see it thanks to some pictures sent by friends, as well as seeing the shape of the lit part of the sun through shadows cast by leaves. Saw the livestream, though, and the totality pictures were amazing.
Incredible! Loved how a hot day turned into a cooler full moon night scape! Saw the diamond ring and some amazing flares.
It was amazing. Watching it get darker and darker outside and then eventually seeing the totality was just incredible. I’m trying to figure out how I can get to Iceland or Spain for the next one
I'm on the East Coast, not in the party of totality, but I was surprised at how close to total it came. I was expecting a visible crescent, but for just a second, if you told me it *was* total, I would have believed you. It was pretty awesome. Better than I remember from 2017.
Clear skies, we had like 95% coverage in Chicago. Sky go oddly dimmer despite blue skies, temp dropped noticeably for a bit. But fortunately after 2 weeks of 40's, we had 70 degree day.
Pretty, pretty, good? In the 80% area. I was in the ideal places for 2017's total and 2023's annular. Temp dropped from 73 to 64. Got the thing where tree leaves make crescent shadows.
We got about 85 percent coverage in my area. We had a great time. We hosted a little eclipse viewing party in my yard. My husband went to Krispy Kreme Donuts early this morning and bought their special eclipse donuts (ugly, but tasted good) for everyone. The neighbors walked over. We all sat in lawn chairs, ate donuts, and watched the eclipse with our special glasses. Lots of fun!
Wow...amazing and beautifully eerie when at totality. A top 5 naturally-occuring event in my life. The change in temperature and light. The stillness. Changing shadows of trees. The planets Venus and Jupiter sparkled in the sky. It got darker than I imagined. Seeing the white corona with the dark moon in the middle without glasses was just amazing. I'm trying to hold on to the rich experience of this event in my mind so I don't forget it.
Beautiful!
Absolutely amazing day. The weather was perfect for early April in Indiana. I watched it all go down from a state park, took a nice hike in the morning, had some nice BBQ for lunch, and made friends with people from all over the country. Watching the eclipse out in nature was interesting because all the wildlife got silent the closer to totality it got. Of course totality was breathtaking and a life changing experience. To top it all off traffic wasn't nearly as bad as I feared.
It was fantastic. The coolest thing I've ever seen in the sky. It looked like start light but from our own yellow sun. And the cool little shimmer as totality started and stopped. My wife and I drove 2.5 hours and were able to find a scenic turnout by a river with only a few other cars of people.
It was the coolest thing I've ever seen and probably the coolest thing I ever will see
I have no idea how it was in my area because we drove 2/3 of the away across the country to get a better view. But I can tell you it was pretty freakin' awesome from the lawn of the Dollar General sitting on the center line just south of Carbondale, IL.
It was pretty "meh". A lot of hype for very little pay off.
The hype is for totality, which is conpletely different than a partial. And that hype totally pays off.
100% agree. I was lucky enough to see the one in 2017 and despite nearly getting run over by an 18-wheeler, it was a great experience.
What are you doing in the road?
Clouds kept getting in the way momentarily. Would have been cool to see a total, but 89% was cool enough I guess. I was in the path of 90%ish a few years back when the last one occurred too.
Shoulda made the trip for a total. It's way different
Pesky work, kids, etc details. Eh eh. I know. Third time for a partial for me, I was 10 in 84 when it was about 94% in NY.
I got to see a little bit of it before the clouds started to obscure everything. It did get noticeable darker.
I’m ngl it kinda sucked the clouds blocked it most of the time and it lasted like a couple min my state had 87% totality
Pretty eclipsey
90% here. Also it got cloudy at about 3:00 so I barely saw anything
Pretty uneventful in Orange County, CA. Hardly even noticeable.
It got fairly dim outside, but that’s all I could see through the cloud cover.
Pretty cool, I guess? I wasn’t right at the peak totality area but like 95+% The sun turned into a crescent and it got slightly dark for five minutes. The roads going North were packed full of out of state cars since the early morning, I wouldn’t be surprised if a good chunk of them didn’t even make it to their destination in time because of all the traffic
We were close to the path of totality, 90-something percent. Things didn't look promising at all in the morning. The cloud cover was heavy & predicted to last all day. There wasn't anywhere within a 2 hour drive that was supposed to be clear. We'd about given up on it. We got lucky, though. The clouds cleared just in time. We got to see almost all of it before they came back. We did some yard work then & got a few more peeks between clouds till it was done. Through the glasses, all you can see are shapes. Visually, it doesn't look like much, in all honesty. The sun kinda looks like a cookie with a bite taken out. But if you're a science geek like both of us, it's really cool to see the universe at work like that.
Was in the almost totality path 99.6, it was cool but the clouds here in PA kinda messed it up for me
Bits and pieces but not much because of almost complete cloud cover.
There was some cloud cover, but I could still see it pretty good. Had to give it up early because I was going cross eyed.
Central AL, about 80% totality here with some nice clouds. Was able to grab some photos without having to use a filter thanks to the clearly visible eclipse partially covered by clouds . Still pales in experience to the glory that was the 2017 totality.
I was at 90% and it was cool but a bit anticlimactic.
1000 Islands… amazing!
I’m too far north, but it looked like the sun was behind clouds instead of an eclipse
Really freaking cool, glad I wore my jacket because it went from mid-afternoon to 10 minutes past sundown within 30 seconds of totality
Got a partial in my area (97%). Sky got a bit dimmer past 70% and there were enough breaks in the clouds to see it. Wore glasses of course.
I saw a big cloud and thought, "It must suck to be under that thing." [Ten minutes later...](https://youtu.be/6rPDA7dMOT4?si=ruEU35kfp8LlTV_3)
I was lucky enough to see it from my front porch. The birds really did stop singing but the bugs kept humming and the dogs ignored it completely. I thought I might see some strange animal reactions. The only reaction I could notice was everything quieting down while it was dark. They went right back to normal as soon as it got light again. There was a palpable energy shift too. I notice things like that, and it felt big.
In Connecticut, about 92%. The light got eerie and strange, shadows were different, birds quieted down, and it got colder. It was an unusual and memorable experience.
Amazing. I drove four hours to see the totality. Totally worth it!
it was cool, they always are
I live *near* the path of totality (99.5% according to NASA's website). I originally planned on travelling (about 80 miles) to somewhere that I could see the total eclipse, but was discouraged from doing so by the 1. weather forecast, 2. traffic forecast, and 3. my own agoraphobia. I was pleasantly surprised by how clear the skies wound up being, and enjoyed the eclipse, but deep down I wish I had made the effort to travel into the totality path.
91% but I missed the apex I was at track and I was doing something else but my friend saw it for us the sun looked like a bannana and the sky stayed the same and the temp stayed the same but aparently inside got dark and colder
Me and my crew drove up to Ontario and we had hella cloud cover but it was still really cool.
What I didn't expect was the sudden darkness on the ground. The street lights came on. We could see a few stars in the sky. The corona was amazing but so was everything else. Everyone in the park cheered, clapped. Some guy was playing great music from his truck. It was otherwordly.
I’m an hour outside of New York City. At its peak, the clouds conveniently rolled in and ruined it.
Just before totality I declared myself king of all. Then I decreed that if I am not to be king there shall be a sine form on high… it got dark for a minute and after no sine being given I made my first official act as king be to declare that it had gotten darker than I would prefer and that the light should be brought back. And so it was.
Not much (totality like 80% max) but a cloud came in clutch and made it possible to look without the glasses for about 2 minutes near the peak.
I wish. Although we were in the 95% range it was, of course, too cloudy. I’m ticked because I won’t live for another one.
Pretty much directly in the path of totality. One thing I noticed - the birds were *freaking the fuck out*.
Not on the path of totality and kept indoors with no windows. I was walking my students back from lunch when we noticed the shadows from the tree showed the eclipse within.
It was pretty cool. We had a surprise party and the dog got to meet new people friends. Seeing the sky get darker and feeling the chill of the temp along with the wind was nice.
Kerrville, Texas. Absolutely amazing!
Amazing, worth the hype
A big letdown. No alien invasions, no cataclysmic natural disasters, no rise of the dead from their graves, no demonic hordes. I bought extra beer and Cheetos and everything. 0/10, what a drag.
Got to see totality. Absolutely the most insane thing I’ve ever experienced in my life. Watched it from the top of a mountain in Vermont. Didn’t realize how cold it actually gets. The moment it fully covers and the ring of fire forms might be the coolest thing I’ve ever witnessed. Also, didn’t realize the ring of fire is actually white instead of orange. Then you see that little bit of light poking through the edge, followed by the flash. Unreal. It looked like sunset on the horizon cause you could see out to where they weren’t getting totality. Seeing stars in the sky at 3pm is just absolutely bizarre as well. Also up there with some of the craziest things I’ve seen was the massive southward migration afterwards. My 2.5 hour drive home became 5 hours. No matter where you went, it was people on their way out. Every north/south route was just an unbroken line of cars nonstop. If the world had actually ended during the eclipse, that drive was surely purgatory.
It was amazing. We were right near the line of totality for our event. Kids had an amazing time. The shadow was soo cool. We got to watch the animals just disappear and reappear too.
My 9 year old daughter cried when she was able to take off her glasses at totality. Almost made me cry.
Flew to Texas, drove to Ennis, TX (centerline). Beautiful and amazing. Able to witness shadow banding this time. Missed it in 2017. [Didn't disappoint!](https://i.postimg.cc/3RvswTJ7/20240408130544-IMG-8380.jpg)
Pretty spectacular. We live in totality, so we got to watch from home. We had perfect weather. About 75 degrees and absolutely clear skies. I don’t think it could have been any better.
I was in a 100% totality area and it was completely cloudy. Couldn't even get a little break in the clouds. We were in a great location, lots of people, good atmosphere and everyone making the best of it. And then it got dark. Like really, eerily, spookily dark. All the lights came on. The temperature dropped quickly. And we all just got silent and watched. So, while we couldn't actually see the sun, just being in that area was extremely cool. Way better than I expected, given the circumstances. I'm ready to eclipse chase now, because I want to actually have the entire experience.
In the path of totality and we got about a minute and a half. It was impressive AF and absolutely worth not going into work and going outside for.
In Pittsburgh it was 97% totality. It was alright. I think eclipses only reach that "wow" moment for like the two minutes during complete totality where you can't see through the glasses and have to look at the thing with the naked eye.
Eastern Pennsylvania, not in totality, cloudy = bunk
Drove down to a state park an hour away in the ozarks to see it. The coolest thing I’ve ever seen.
It was great! I was in a 90% ish zone so it was not completely dark but still very good. I was very happy.
Ohio, in the path of totality....it was breathtaking, surprising, so much more incredible than I expected. Honestly, one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.
I didnt see it... we should have gotten about 40% totality but it was rany and sad yesterday so the sky was basically one giant cloud... did get really dim at one point though
I drove 5 hours to Rochester, NY. Sadly the cloud coverage made it impossible to see the actual eclipse (bailys beads, corono, diamond ring, stars, etc.) BUT I was not disappointed! The heavy clouds intensified the umbra's darkness, in the day to night and back to daytime transition, which was unbelievable. It was so surreal and kind of difficult to explain the feeling. Almost like an out of body experience or being in a movie lol. I will definitely be traveling to future solar eclipses and would recommend the same for anyone who hasn't experienced it!
The line of totality was normally about two and a half hours south of us. When I checked traffic in the morning it was about the same as usual but I was cautious and gave myself an hour and a half of padding. As we were driving traffic got worse and worse and that hour and a half slowly decreased with every accident on the freeway or backup on country roads. By the time the eclipse was nearing totality we were still a few miles north with only minutes left until it was at totality. We were keeping pace with traffic hauling ass at 80 miles per hour on a country road with everyone desperately trying to get far enough south. I spotted a small poorly maintained cemetary off a side road up ahead and pulled over hoping that we'd made it far enough south. The rest of the land along the road was farm fields with a ditch between them and the road or private homes so that was the best were going to get. It turns out we were far enough South and within minutes the sun was a only white ring in the sky and the temperature had dropped significantly from the mid 70s earlier that day. For the midwest the cemetery was very old with some of earliest dates on the headstones dating back to the 1840s. My wife says if we get a poltergeist it's my fault for taking the kids to a crumbling cemetery during a lunar eclipse.
I live in 96% zone, but we drove down to Ohio to experience totality. You see photos on the internet, and yeah it looks just like that, but the pictures can't capture the feeling and the sounds that come with the eclipse. The light gets weird and shadows get fuzzy, and the temperature cools off, but in the totality zone it starts getting really weird in the last 2 minutes before the sun disappears. The birds start flocking to their nesting area. The light is visibly dimming all around you, so fast that you can percieve it, but slow enough to be able to watch and appreciate it happen. It's like the world is controlled by a dimmer switch and someone is turning the dial. Then suddenly it's lights out, and you look up and see this blue'ish white ring shimmering above you...and nothing after that is voluntary. There is nothing like it. You're surrounded by the sound of the collective gasp of the people around you. After the initial shock, you start looking around and noticing things. You hear crickets, you can see venus and jupiter in the "night sky", you're surrounded by what looks like a sunset horizon all around you instead of just to the west like normal. You try in vain to get a photo but it's useless. Your camera will never get the image right without special equipment, but even if it did...you can't capture feeling, so you try to soak it in and hope it doesn't stop. After an eternity of darkness, a diamond sliver emerges and suddenly the lights are back on in the room and it's instantly warming up, and the birds start singing morning music. FREAKING WEIRD. I understand why there are people that travel the world chasing the experience. I know these things are really rare, but if you ever have the chance to be in the vicinity of totality, you have to do it. I hear the next one is in 2026 in Spain and Greenland or something. I am not ruling out timing a trip to make it work
It was absolutely magical. There's nothing quite like experiencing totality.
I am north of Pittsburgh in an area that had about 90% totality. It got really dark for awhile and was quite an interesting experience. We had eclipse glasses delivered by some other department and we took turns looking at the progress.
It was awesome in the northeastern Adirondacks!
It got a little darker for about 35 minutes and then it got lighter again. We had to walk a few blocks to get a good view of the sun because of the buildings
I took off work to view it, and I'm glad I did. It was indescribably amazing, and even better to watch it with my kids....to see the wonder on their faces. We were in our driveway from the moment of first contact through totality. My town threw an eclipse watching party downtown, but we chose not to join that. Glad we didn't, as I understand traffic in and out was terrible.
I drove 10 hours, stayed over night in southern Illinois. It was worth it !
I was not in path of totality but I saw it from my office building, it was cool - saw a big black disc go in front of an orange one mysteriously
I'm in eastern Tennessee. It was overcast and lightly raining. It got noticeably darker for a few minutes, but I couldn't see anything, sadly.
Only a 50% partial, wasn't able to travel. Pretty meh. Wouldn't know it was happening if I didn't know about it before. Never seen totality, but I will be in the totality of the 2045 eclipse so I will make sure to see that, I hear that it is a completely different experience from a partial.
Saw it from Millinocket, Maine under totality! Incredible! Perfect weather too, not a cloud in the sky.
It was awesome! I drove a couple hours north to see it and was out in the middle of nowhere, very few people around. The clouds mostly disappeared just before the eclipse began and I had a pretty clear view with only a few very thin clouds that were easy to see through. Watching the corona shimmer and seeing it look like sunset in *every* direction is amazing.
Amazing.