My Eclipse pictures

[erkme73]

Admittedly, these pictures are NOT from (or about) my MP. I did have it up as high as I could go and still feel comfortable about getting it down with some electrons left in the tank - but the resulting video was a disappointment since the shadow of the mood did not have a distinct border. In the span of 68 seconds it went from bright to black to bright (I forgot to remove my ND16 filter).

That said, here are a couple of pics I took from the ground using the Nikon P900. These are unedited (other than cropped for file size since I'm uploading at 1mbps (0.1MB/s) here in the boonies of middle-TN).

Waning sun


Total eclipse


Diamond ring (as sun exited totality)


And waxing sun:



As drab as the MP video was, I'd post it, but with 2min of pre/post totality, and 68 seconds of darkness, the total video would take about 3 days to upload to YT given my ISP speeds here. Simply not worth it.

 

[tibook]

We drove 8hrs to Knoxville to stay with friends and watch. Got 40 seconds of totality from their front porch. My favorite part was the diamond ring at the end. But it was really incredible to see the glowing ring around the moon during totality.

 

[erkme73]

We drove 8hrs to Knoxville to stay with friends and watch. Got 40 seconds of totality from their front porch. My favorite part was the diamond ring at the end. But it was really incredible to see the glowing ring around the moon during totality.

It's amazing, isn't it? I've never seen totality before. Been through many partials, but never enough to affect how things looked. What was most freaky/creepy to me was the few minutes before and after totality. The shadows became fuzzy on one side, and the the ambient lighting looked like there should be storm clouds above - yet the sky was cloudless, and shadows were still being cast. It was trippy.

I can fully understand how people get bit by the eclipse bug - and travel the world to catch the next one. We were on the northern edge of the path. If we'd traveled 20 miles further south, we would have had 2.5 min of totality (vs. 68 seconds where we were). Given that I was watching from my own back yard, no crowds, no traffic, and a happy wife:



I'd say the extra 90 seconds would not have been worth the hassle.

 

[tibook]

It's amazing, isn't it? I've never seen totality before. Been through many partials, but never enough to affect how things looked. What was most freaky/creepy to me was the few minutes before and after totality. The shadows became fuzzy on one side, and the the ambient lighting looked like there should be storm clouds above - yet the sky was cloudless, and shadows were still being cast. It was trippy.

I can fully understand how people get bit by the eclipse bug - and travel the world to catch the next one. We were on the northern edge of the path. If we'd traveled 20 miles further south, we would have had 2.5 min of totality (vs. 68 seconds where we were). Given that I was watching from my own back yard, no crowds, no traffic, and a happy wife:

View attachment 20311

I'd say the extra 90 seconds would not have been worth the hassle.

Yeah, I think I'll go to Cleveland or Dallas for the next one in 2024. I want my 16mo old to know what he's looking at.

Yes, it was overcast looking and all of nature sounding like it was sunset. The temperature noticeably dropped.

I would have loved to had another min, we thought about going to Sweetwater but wasn't sure about traffic and a spot.

 

[tibook]

Yeah, I think I'll go to Cleveland or Dallas for the next one in 2024. I want my 16mo old to know what he's looking at.

Yes, it was overcast looking and all of nature sounding like it was sunset. The temperature noticeably dropped.

I would have loved to had another min, we thought about going to Sweetwater but wasn't sure about traffic and a spot.

Btw good job with the pics. Exactly as I remembered it.

 

[erkme73]

I had put my 4yo and 2.5yo down for their naps. While I would have loved to see their reaction, I figured it wasn't worth the risk of them taking off their glasses and get permanent retinal damage from something they'd never remember anyway. Besides, I didn't want to take my own eyes off the sun during the moment.

Like you, we're already making plans to go to the 2024 eclipse. By then they'll be old enough to appreciate (and remember). I can only imagine how many new astronomers were born today...

 

[jljbtm]

I stayed with my daughter in the path in SC and the views were exceptional. What I did notice during total eclipse was a slightly cooler temperature and the crickets started making their noise

 

[sdharris]

Total eclipse

Beautiful picture!

 

[2nckayakers]

We drove 4 hours to get into the path and then it took us 5 hours to get back so in total (with time on the ground added) we were gone 16 hours. BUT, I can absolutely say without any regrets that it was totally worth all the hassle for the 2:35 seconds that we got. It wasn't long enough!

 

[DrStrange]

Those are some amazing shots. I was fortune enough to be in South Carolina in the path of totality for work and I must say it was a pretty amazing thing to see with the naked eye.

Did you use any solar filters for the other shots?

 

[erkme73]

Those are some amazing shots. I was fortune enough to be in South Carolina in the path of totality for work and I must say it was a pretty amazing thing to see with the naked eye.

Did you use any solar filters for the other shots?

I used standard solar film (the kind used for binoculars or cameras) on all shots where any of the sun was visible. I removed it during the totality when only the corona was visible.