Have you ever personally witnessed a total eclipse of the sun??

[Shine]

:shrug:
If so, how was it? How long was it? What did you think and/or feel at the time?

There was one today, but nobody in the US could see it.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12052053/

My dad saw one many years ago in Cabo San Lucas and he said there is a whole sub-culture of people who travel around the world to accrue as many minutes in "totality" as possible. He saw people wearing white tshirts with big black numbers and seconds on them, announcing their particular "totality" total. The higher the number, the better. :eyes: It seems like an expensive hobby, but also a quirky one. To each, their own, I guess.

However, I still think it would be an awesome thing to experience, at least once, in my life. I doubt I'd get the tshirt, though. :D

[eyepaddle]

1. It as total in other parts of the world, but I remeber one

in the early nineties which was very close to total. I was in Southeastern Minnesota at the time.

It only lasts a few minutes, and the experience of watcing a sunny and clear day get murky--while remaining sunny and clear--was awesome.

[pitohui]

8. well that was partial here as well

i remember that one well as i found a five foot long snake shed immediately after the total eclipse, a bit new age if you're into your eclipse symbolism

[Shine]

25. Wow. powerful symbolism, indeed.

interesting.
:hi:

[xmas74]

52. I think that was in 1991.

I vaguely remember it-I was in NYC at the time.

[no name no slogan]

2. I saw one when I was 8 or 9

There was a total eclipse right along the US/Canadian border, back in the late 70s. It was in the middle of winter, and we got to stand around outside with our pinhole projectors so we could watch it.

It was pretty cool B-)

[Debi]

16. I bet that's the one I saw in Montana! n/t

[Radio_Lady]

20. Danger! I burned the retinas of my eyes looking at one in the 1960s.

I accidentally looked at the face of the sun with a telescope I thought had a sun filter attached. I felt no pain.

It's permanent eye damage, folks. Luckily, I didn't totally lose my vision. I see dark streaks in my eyes, against a bright sky or snowy background. My brain usually supresses the effect, but it's there.

It is dangerous to look at the sun at any time. Whenever I hear one is coming, I sound the warning. Invariably, some people either don't hear it or ignore it.

Now, I look at partial as well as full eclipses on the Internet.

In peace,

Radio_Lady

[Shine]

26. Wow, you certainly speak from experience, don't you, Radio Lady?

It's a good reminder that you give.

[Radio_Lady]

37. Bitter experience is an excellent teacher, unfortunately.

There were several partial eclipses in Miami and Boston when I did my shows on AM radio. I always gave the warnings -- sometimes even invited eye doctors from Mass Eye and Ear Hospital to chime in.

People would call in and tell me they wanted to look at the sun through fully exposed negative film. That was REALLY dangerous. They were listening -- and lots of people called me back to thank me.

In the early days of local talk radio, according to the ratings, we had approximately 65,000 people per quarter hour in Boston, as I recall from 10 AM to 2 PM. Good to reach all of them.

Thanks for the post!



Sad note: I just looked up one of the newsmen whom I used to work with. Les Woodruff, who moved from Boston to NYC. Looks like he passed away quite a while ago. You guys have to take better care of yourselves!

[Shine]

44. It's the PARTIAL eclipses you have to be really careful about.

it's a bit safer when it's a TOTAL eclipse, but they are much rarer. :hi:

I'd still LOVE to see a total solar eclipse at least once in my lifetime.

[Radio_Lady]

84. (Your journal is gorgeous!) Yes, the partial eclipses are very dangerous.

However, there were pictures of people during the last total eclipse not visible in Portland, Oregon -- they were still looking at the sun through what looked like exposed 35mm film. Terrible!

The world's newspapers tried to spread the word last month. Here's an article from Ghana.

http://www.graphicghana.info/article.asp?artid=11037

Eclipse Of The Sun — It Can Damage Your Eye

(3/15/2006)

Dr Yakubu Seidu Adams, Eye Specialist, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital has warned children to desist from watching the total eclipse of the sun which is to occur on March 29 this year.

He stressed that anyone who tries to watch the eclipse of the sun with the naked eye could become blind or develop serious eye defects.

Dr Adams said in an interview that the eclipse will offer pupils and students a unique opportunity to see a natural phenomenon that illustrates the basic principles of mathematics and science that they are taught in school.

He, however, explained that any person or group of persons who wish to observe this rare occurrence would need a specially designed goggles or sun filters as permanent eye damage could result from looking at the disk of the sun directly, or through a camera viewfinder.

“Children must know that improper viewing of the sun during an eclipse with items like ordinary sun shades, handkerchiefs or covering their eyes with colourful toffee wrappers could cause "eclipse blindness or retinal burns.”

[Lautremont]

24. I remember that one. I was (am, I guess) the same age as you.

[LynzM]

3. I think I saw the same one that eyepaddle refers to...

Maybe in 93 or 94? We made cool little boxes in science class and went outside to look at the eclipse! It was cool :)

[Ptah]

4. No, but my brother did. Photos from 1979

:hi:

[Shine]

28. I've seen those eclipse pix you've posted before, ptah.

Wow, I didn't know your brother took them! Very cool. Great pix. :thumbsup:

:hi: :hug:

[Ptah]

74. Yes, my brother made his way to Lewiston, Mt.

Feb, 1979.

Winter on the eastern montana flatland.


I can not describe to you how wonderful

it is to have these photos.
When we were young. I love my bro.

[WCGreen]

5. I saw a total eclipse of the heart...

Once....

[Shine]

36. Oh, you!

:silly:

:hug: :hi:

[pitohui]

6. yeah that one in the 60s

i guess i'm showing my age, didn't have to travel anywhere, it came right over my backyard

[Redstone]

10. Yes, 1963 or 1964, wasn't it?

Redstone

[Shine]

29. That must've been cool!

:hi:

[slide to the left]

7. hawaii sometime last century

[Lydia Leftcoast]

50. 1991

I was there, too. :-)

[Hosnon]

9. Yep - awesome stuff. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the Sun is 400

times farther away from Earth than the Moon but the Moon is 400 times closer than the Sun...?

I've heard this since I was a kid...not sure if it is accurate.

[anarch]

17. and yet somehow, they appear to be about the same size in the sky

Coincidence, or (cue dramatic music) Intelligent Design? I think the answer is clear.

[Hosnon]

18. Haha, MUST be ID...I see no other possible explanation...nt.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

11. YES!

My family and I were lucky enough to fly to Hawaii in 1991, to see the total solar eclipse.....

And we did see it, even though the viewing conditions were far from perfect.

The sky was quite cloudy. Nonetheless......

It was stunning. Even though I understood it scientifically, emotionally it is quite disturbing.

The sun vanished! It lasted several minutes......

It was one of the high points of my life!

:woohoo: :woohoo:

[Shine]

30. Why do you think it was emotionally "disturbing"? I'm curious...

I'm interested to hear that people are sometimes moved to tears, seeing a total solar eclipse. Can you put it into words, having experienced one?

hmmm...

I would certainly think seeing one would be an unforgettable experience. That's cool that you saw one.

:hi:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

48. I guess I would say it was emotionally disturbing because

seeing one is so far out of our ordinary experience!

It is literally out of this world....primitive....not under our control...

It was unforgettable, that's for sure.

I would love to see another, better one.....



:hi:

[AllegroRondo]

12. Yes, El Paso TX, 1994

It was amazing. Right in the middle of the day, everything was dark. We stopped working for about half an hour just to go outside and watch.

[puerco-bellies]

32. Socorro New Mexico 1994

It was so odd, even the birds and insects seemed awed, and every animal at the same time just got quiet, no chirpping, no buzzing... It seemed like all sounds deadend, it was very surreal. After being exposed to one I can see how pre-industrial societies viewed them with dread.

[madinmaryland]

13. There was one in Danbury, CT in 1994.

Pretty cool. All the birds and animals went quiet, and then woke up a half hour later when the sun came back out! It was dusk-like out and very quiet. Really neat for 1:00 in the afternoon!

[ovidsen]

14. That was an annular eclipse

And an annular, to a true total eclipse freak, is like kissing your sister, since the moon is too far away from the earth to totally cover the sun.

If you ever experience a total eclipse, you'll know it, because it really gets dark.

Here's a map:

[Shine]

35. "an annular, to a true total eclipse freak, is like kissing your sister"

:rofl: what the heck does that, exactly, mean? :shrug:

[Nikia]

58. I think I saw that too

We were in high school and took turns looking at it through welding glasses.

[Debi]

15. Bozeman, Montana - I think 1979 or 80

Mom and Dad let us stay home from school to watch it. We got to watch the 'moonshadow' move across the mountains and then look at the full eclipse (twenty-five years later and I'm still not blind from it).

That was so cool!

[djeseru]

19. A total in California in 1979.

I was living in Cupertino at the time, and when it occured, the teachers let us all go outside for the whole show. I can't remember length of time, but I do remember it felt unreal, as if we'd slipped sideways into some other reality for a short time. An interesting mix of amazement and disquiet. I've only seen one other partial back in the early 1990's in Texas.

[Shine]

31. I was in CA, at that same time, but I don't remember it, strangely.

I was living down in Ojai, near Santa Barbara. Hmmmm....I'll have to think more about that.

I would've been around 14 or 15 at the time. Weird, I have no memory at all.

:hi:

[ovidsen]

21. I've seen three

The first was in Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA on March 7, 1970, and I was hooked. BTW, this was the one that crossed over Nova Scotia, and inspired the "total eclipse" line in the song "You're So Vain".

The second was in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on February 26, 1979

The third was in Cabos San Lucas, Baja Sur, Mexico on July 11, 1991.

There are no words to describe just how beautiful total solar eclipses are. No picture does them justice. Suffice it to say that when the moon finally covers the sun, the winds picks up, the temperature drops, birds go crazy, and when you look up at the sky (you can look at totals with the naked eye; it's the annular and partial eclipses that can make you blind) you see a blanket of stars and this black hole with blue fire around it where the sun used to be.

Yes, there are eclipse groupies who travel the world to see them. If I had the cash, I'd go to every one.

FUTURE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSES IN NORTH AMERICA



Be there or be square.

[AllegroRondo]

23. Looks like 2017 will go right over St Louis

I'll finally get to see another one!

[Shine]

34. Cool! Something to look forward to.....

:hi: I want to see one, at least ONCE, in my lifetime.

Maybe we should come visit. :)

:hi:

[AllegroRondo]

38. Well, if I start cleaning the guest room now...

I might have it ready by 2017.

see you then!

[Shine]

41. heheheh. You got it!

:hug: :pals:

[Shine]

33. VERY cool, ovidsen! I appreciate reading your experience.

How incredible that you've seen three total solar eclipses in your lifetime! Seeing one would be gift enough, I would think.

My dad saw the Cabo one, too, as I mentioned in my OP. Wasn't that one like, 7 minutes of totality? I kind of remember it having the distinction of having the longest amount of totality in quite some time, as in HUNDREDS of years. How cool.....

So, the experience is "beyond words", eh? I'm not surprised to hear you say that. Did you feel uplifted, inspired, awe-struck, humbled, connected? I've read many are actually moved to tears, by seeing one.

I'm interested in the symbolism of what eclipses represent, too. Hmmm...

Cool map, too, btw! Thanks for posting!
:hi:

[ovidsen]

42. They are simply jaw dropping

All the things you said... uplifted, inspired, awe-struck, humbled... that's me at total eclipses. Most totals last anywhere from a few seconds to 3 or 4 minutes, but the one in Cabo was 6 1/2 minutes as I recall, close to a record.

I didn't cry, but there were people around me who did.

I'm agnostic, but total eclipses are (to me anyway) evidence that there just might be a Higher Power.

God, in His (Her?) infinite wisdom, decides to put the moon around the earth in an orbit that means it JUST covers the sun... but only once or twice a year (for the whole planet) and virtually never for any one spot. That's because this alignment throws a shadow on the earth's surface along a very narrow track that most of the planet doesn't see. So most people never experienced totals, and until things like mail, telegrams and radio came along, a lot of people dismissed eclipses as myths... "so what were you drinking/smoking?"

It's God with a sense of humor, testing our curiosity. "Okay, all you primates! Figure THIS one out!!"

[Shine]

43. Maybe we're meant to embrace the Mystery that life is.

and not necessarily figure it all out. Perhaps eclipses, on some level, remind us of that truth.

...to Lighten Up, so to speak.....and trust that it's ALL GOOD.

"God with a sense of humor", indeed.
:pals:

[ovidsen]

68. A few more eclipse memories

When you see one, be prepared for how suddenly it gets dark. You'll be waiting in an open field, or on a beach, a rooftop or some other open space where you can see the horizon, and up to just before totality begins, you'll wonder if maybe eclipses are overrated. That's because even though 99.9% of the sun is covered, it's still as bright as a very cloudy day. You could easily read a book, provided the print isn't too small.

But then, in the space of just a second or two, it's like somebody pulled a switch. It goes from dusky light to near total darkness. That's one of the things that must have made total eclipses so unnerving to our ancestors who didn't know beans about astronomy. The sudden darkness is surprising!

If you're lucky, you may see shadow bands. I saw then at Virginia Beach in 1979 (it was on the ocean and you could see for miles up and down the shore) and again in 1991 in Cabo San Lucas (I was on the roof of a 3 story hotel, the tallest building around, in a desert near the Gulf of California). No such luck in 1979 in Winnipeg.

Shadow bands are very rapid lines of light and darkness moving across the ground. Very few photos exist. This is the best one I could find:



Scientists aren't sure what causes them. But there are theories.

During totality itself, you can see the sun's corona, the gases around the sun, seem to slowly pulsate. It's mostly an optical illusion, but imagine all those still shots of an eclipse you've seen, and then imagine that white-blue fire encircling the sun/moon almost breathing.

You know your total eclipse has come to an end when you see the phenomenon nicknamed the Diamond Ring effect or "Baily's Beads".



The explanation for this is quite simple. The edge of the sun is shining through the valleys of the moon. Seconds later, it will be bright enough to read again, only I'll wager that reading is the last thing on your mind.

:boring:So now either I've bored you to tears... or you're packing your bags!:yourock:

[Shine]

71. Bored? Are you kidding?! I'm totally fascinated and officially jealous.

Thanks for posting your additional memories, ovidsen. I've never heard of shadow bands before. Trippy. Wild pix, too. Which one are you gonna go to next? Can you shoot for 4?

Your descriptions further inspire me to make it happen that I see one. I really, really, REALLY want to see one at least once in my life.

With a name like SHINE, can you blame me?? heheheh.

:hug:

[ET Awful]

22. Yes. I think I was in 5th or 6th grade, so whatever yeard that was

:P

I thought "Cool, this is neat" and that was about it. Hey, what do you expect? I was in fifth or sixth grade :)

[NewWaveChick1981]

27. I remember the one back in the late 70s...

I was 14 or 15. I was (I think) a high school sophomore, and I was the only one they let out of the building to see it. I was really into astronomy and knew what to do (and what not to do!) about viewing it. I had one of those projectors, and it was too cool.

[Horus45]

39. The one time in my life when I could have seen a Total Eclipse

of the Sun, it rained.

[Shine]

40. Aw, crap.

Sorry about that. :hug: How disappointing.

Welcome to DU, btw, Horus45! Hope you won't be disappointed here. :toast:

:hi:

[Kathleen04]

45. My uncle travelled

to Egypt to watch this one. Seems like a long way to go to me, I've never seen one..

[Shine]

53. Wow, he travelled there, specifically to see it?

that is a long way to go, but I hear they are pretty incredible to see in person.

It'll be interesting to ask your uncle about his experience, later. :hi:

[Kathleen04]

82. Yep specifically

to see it, I believe. It would be interesting to see..will have to ask how it was..

[TrogL]

46. sort of

Five minutes before totality, the loss of heat by reduced sunlight caused the air to fall below the dew point and the whole sky clouded over.

I was heartbroken.

[Shine]

55. That must've been incredibly disappointing, TrogL.

:hug: I'm sorry to hear it.

How bizarre that could happen so quickly like that.

[Aristus]

47. Well...

I was walking in the wholesale flower district the other day...

DA-DOO!

Where there's this old Chinese guy who sells me exotic clippings...

CHANG-DA-DOO!

He didn't have anything interesting that day...

NOPE-DA-DOO!

So I was about to, you know, just walk on by...

GOOD-FOR-YOU!

When suddenly, and without warning, there was this...

TOTAL-ECLIPSE-OF-THE-SUN!

B-)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

49. I saw 97% totality in Honolulu in 1991

I was attending a summer session for language teachers at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, and we all got out of class and went up to the roof of the dorm where we were staying. For weeks the local stores had been selling eye shields, which we dutifully put on.

It was an amazing sight, but what was most amazing at all was how much light only 3% of the sun can still produced. It didn't get as dark as night. Rather, it looked like the kind of darkness you get before a severe thunderstorm.

The Big Island had totality, but in some places, it was too cloudy to see the spectacle.

[ovidsen]

67. That's the freaky part!

The sun puts out an amazing amount of light, which is why when an eclipse goes to total (I've seen 3) it's like somebody (God??) flipped a switch.

I can only imagine how our ancestors (who weren't expecting a sudden blackout in the middle of the day) must have reacted to that....

[noonwitch]

51. There was a close to total eclipse in 1994

I remember it distinctly, because a delinquent kid I worked with died that day during the eclipse.

[Shine]

56. Interesting timing.

hmmm...

[Orsino]

54. July, 1991.

I was in Army satellite communications school at the time, in Augusta, GA. I couldn't believe that I was the only soldier in the whole company who cared enough put a pinhole through a card to watch it. It looks as though the thing lasted a couple of hours--and of course was not total in Georgia--and I only saw it over a break between classes.

[Shine]

57. You were the only cool one, that's why.

:thumbsup: I can't imagine missing out on that opportunity, if it was so convenient to see it in person. Good for you, I'm sure it was awesome. Am I correctly reading that it was almost 7 minutes long?! Wow, amazing.

:hi:

[Orsino]

81. Oh, I think it lasted thirty minutes...

...though perhaps only 30% totality at most. Still enough to darken the landscape and sky noticeably. Weird, and a nice reminder that despite the artifical rigors of Army life, the universe spins merrily on.

[Maddy McCall]

63. I saw that one, too.

:toast:

I was in Longview, Texas, when I saw it.

[pokerfan]

76. Even before reading this thread, I was going to write 2017

As far as 1991 goes, a friend of mine was there:



http://www.thebarrens.com/babylon5-pg3.html

[beyurslf]

59. Yes. In Delores Claiborne there is a long one. It was nice except she

murdered her husband in it.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

60. Back in my junior year of high school, I think it was...

Maybe my sophomore year. We had those glasses. It was awesome.
Duckie

[Kali]

61. ironically Turkey was to be one of the best viewing spots

wonder if kaloogian was around. haha

I saw one about 15 years ago, maybe a little longer, I know my 20 yearold son was aware at the time.

We looked at it with a welding helmet. It was pretty cool. Felt sort of "priveleged" to witness a naturall phenomenon that was fairly rare. It really got quite dark - as if heavy heave clouds had instantly moved in and a few minutes later back to normal. This was SE Arizona.

[Maddy McCall]

62. Yes, when I lived in Texas. Summer of 1991.

It was awesome. I pulled the jeep over and watched as best I could. It was very eerie.

[Lumily]

64. Yep, I was in high school in North Carolina.

So it had to be 1984-85, because I know I couldn't drive yet.

I think it lasted a few minutes. They let everybody out of class to watch it. I remember it got dark and there was almost a reddish/orange glow about the darkness.

[Kat45]

65. A friend of mine is in Libya right now; went to see the eclipse.

He's an astronomer, and he sent me an email from a tent city in the Sahara Desert. He said there were 7000 people from all over the world in that particular tent city. He said the eclipse was spectacular, and he loved the fact that people from many countries came together to share the experience. He said the Libyans were very gracious hosts, even to Americans.

[Shine]

69. That's cool, notmyprez!

I love hearing about your friend's multi-cultural experience of the eclipse. Very inspiring, too.
:grouphug: We're all one big family, afterall.

:hi:

[ScreamingMeemie]

66. I want to say it was 1994. I was at work when it happened.

I cannot remember how long it lasted.

[reyd reid reed]

70. Back when I was little...maybe 8 or 9

I remember my mom warning us not to look at it, so we made these little doo-hickey thingies to look through...

We were living in Maryland then, so it must've been in the late 60s.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

72. Not quite total, but extremely close...

I don't remember how long it lasted, because I didn't have the time to stop and watch the whole event. What I remember most was how beautiful the sunlight was as it cast crescent-shaped spots under the trees...

[Extend a Hand]

73. 1970 solar eclilpse

I lived in FL. I saw the 1970 eclipse when I was 9. We all made little cardboard viewers at school. That's all I remember about it.

[Shine]

75. Huh, a lot of posters on this thread must be the same age.

many of them refer to being about 8 or 9 and on the east coast at the time. Funny.

:hi:

[wildhorses]

77. 1970 in Roanoke, Virginia...wicked cool it was

what with the teen angst and all...

[ProfessorGAC]

78. Not On This Planet, No

But, i've seen several elsewhere.
The Professor

[ProfessorGAC]

79. Stupid Triple Posts!

The Professor

[ProfessorGAC]

80. Stupid Triple Posts!

The Professor

[yellowdogintexas]

83. GREAT one in 1970 or 1971..saw it in Boston.

we built a peep hole box so we could see it in silhouette, which was pretty cool.

I have seen partials many times. There was another total that was totally clouded over and we couldn't see much of anything except it was darker.