Monday, August 21, 2017

You Can Never Get Enough Corona Time

1m11.4s was the duration, of which I missed the first second or so looking for, and failing to spot,  shadow bands.

But wow, did I get a great binocular look at prominences. After it was over, I caught a broadcast from Nebraska  at https://www.nasa.gov/eclipselive/#NASA+TV+Public+Channel. I was fortunate enough to see far more than were seen there. That pure pink Hydrogen-alpha light is beautiful. Pure like laser light, but without that speckled quality. And I did see a great Diamond Ring at the end of totality.

The 1979 eclipse was better, overall. Longer, and I saw it from a location with long views, and fantastic shadow bands. This time, no bands, and without long views from a high point, I didn't see the moon's shadow racing across the ground. That provides the visual cue that allows you to realize that you are seeing the clockwork' of the solar system. Maybe west Texas in 2024?

OTOH, no racing around trying to find a blue hole to see it through: it was nice and clear. No worries about forest fire smoke, and all I had to do was walk outside and have a seat. If you are ever given a choice of locations, pick the one that overlooks surrounding terrain. It was just unfortunate that I didn't have that opportunity this time.

That said, this is is very far from anything like an expression of disappointment. It was awesome --  a word I don't use casually. I had forgotten about that rapid decrease in light during the last minute or so before totality. Very dramatic, and having forgotten about it, it was pretty much a New Thing for me.

People were parked all over the roadsides, a parking lot at a nearby boat launch was beyond normal capacity, and I could hear the cheering when the corona jumped out from my place, half a mile away. Obviously some very happy people.

What a wonderful morning.



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