Thoughts on eclipse next year, April 8

[gregl]

I thought the beginners' forum would be the best place for this as those of us who are new to this would benefit. We went to the last total eclipse in the U.S. and I've got a couple of thoughts to share for the next one on April 8 of next year.

First, if you're going to travel to see it, book now. Places along the path are filling fast. We're going to go to the southern part of Texas where the chances of cloud cover are less than places to the north, and several places we contacted were booked and another said they only had a few left.

Second, we learned from the last eclipse that the best views at totality are either naked eye or with binoculars. Filters aren't needed at that point. I brought all my artillery including the binos, the 8-inch SCT, and a solar scope, and the best view was with the binos. Quite frankly, the solar scope wasn't needed at all. This is subjective, of course; we liked seeing the entire corona in its entirety. Some of you might prefer scope views of smaller sections of the corona. But even so, don't skip the overall view.

Third, solar filters are good to have for for scopes and binos for times before and after totality, and are easy to make from the Baader solar film. And the cardboard solar glasses are OK for eyeballing before and after totality.

Fourth, the time of totality goes fast. By the time everyone in my family had a look through the one pair of binos I brought, it was over, and each of us only got a very short time. So my advice is for each person to have his or her own binos.

Fifth, if there is any way you can get to see it, do it. After the last one I fully understand those folks who will travel the globe to see every one they can. It's a phenomenon you just can't imagine until you experience it yourself in person. Watching it on a screen just doesn't do it.

[SkyHiker]

All good ideas. Last time I decided to simplify it by just using a superzoom on a tripod and no telescopes, and 20x80 binos for viewing. At the time of the total eclipse, I was messing with the camera removing the filter and adjusting it for the proper exposure time. As a result, I lost viewing time, and it was over pretty quick. The total eclipse was not super impressive to me, more like, "Ok, so this is it?". Maybe I was too distracted by the camera. I was happy with the pictures I took even when they could have been better.

I did not plan the trip until the day before I left. I just looked for BLM land in the path of the total eclipse in the middle of nowhere. I found a nice BLM site to camp at 3AM after a drive starting early in the morning the previous day. I arrived a few days ahead of time to fend off the traffic congestion and also competitors for BLM sites. My neighbors were amateur astronomers from the East Bay, so I had interesting company. It was nice to have a few days to just look around and read a book. The drive back was worse than I expected; I even got off the road for a few hours to not have to sit in traffic.

[messier 111]

very well said, thx.
PS:
DO NOT LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN WITH YOUR EYES UNPROTECTED.

[gregl]

SkyHiker above makes a good point about the drive back. The traffic we hit leaving Madras, Oregon, after the last eclipse was horrific. Plan to stay another night and then leave Very Early in the morning.

[Bigzmey]

I thought the beginners' forum would be the best place for this as those of us who are new to this would benefit. We went to the last total eclipse in the U.S. and I've got a couple of thoughts to share for the next one on April 8 of next year.

First, if you're going to travel to see it, book now. Places along the path are filling fast. We're going to go to the southern part of Texas where the chances of cloud cover are less than places to the north, and several places we contacted were booked and another said they only had a few left.

Second, we learned from the last eclipse that the best views at totality are either naked eye or with binoculars. Filters aren't needed at that point. I brought all my artillery including the binos, the 8-inch SCT, and a solar scope, and the best view was with the binos. Quite frankly, the solar scope wasn't needed at all. This is subjective, of course; we liked seeing the entire corona in its entirety. Some of you might prefer scope views of smaller sections of the corona. But even so, don't skip the overall view.

Third, solar filters are good to have for for scopes and binos for times before and after totality, and are easy to make from the Baader solar film. And the cardboard solar glasses are OK for eyeballing before and after totality.

Fourth, the time of totality goes fast. By the time everyone in my family had a look through the one pair of binos I brought, it was over, and each of us only got a very short time. So my advice is for each person to have his or her own binos.

Fifth, if there is any way you can get to see it, do it. After the last one I fully understand those folks who will travel the globe to see every one they can. It's a phenomenon you just can't imagine until you experience it yourself in person. Watching it on a screen just doesn't do it.

All are good points! The solar eclipse of 2017 was fantastic. We flew to Oregon, but could not book hotel in the path and opted for two hour drive. I decided to keep it simple: solar glasses for everyone in the family and naked eye for the totality. I believe it was a right choice. It was a life changing experience for my family. Drive back to the airport - not so much. We almost missed the plane due to the traffic.

[AstroBee]

We were in Rigby, ID for the 2017 eclipse and we stayed an extra day to NOT deal with the traffic, so that's the best suggestion I can offer for anyone.
Also, remember, the 2017 eclipse totality only lasted a bit over 2 minutes, I think 2:18 if I remember correctly. The 2024 eclipse is going to last an extra 2 minutes at 4:18.
If you just HAVE to image it......like me.....plan to spend at least 1 minute of totality just soaking it in with the naked eye and don't forget to observe your surroundings.
Automating your image capture will allow you to enjoy the eclipse even more. If you are shooting with a DSLR, I highly recommend using a program called Eclipse Orchestrator (no affiliation) it's just an excellent program, that allows you to automate your Canon or Nikon camera and bracket exposures during totality so you really can just sit back and enjoy the eclipse. The key to this program is making sure your EXACT location and EXACT time is set on the computer running it. I used a Garmin USB GPS device to set my computer's location and sync time. It really does require very precise settings for proper bracketing of the exposures.
If you are within a couple of hours of the path and think the partial eclipse will be just good enough, you are WRONG. Nothing compares to the totality.
I'll be imaging with a white-light filter and with my Ha scope, hoping to get some really nice prominences along the limb. The sun was not very active during the 2017 eclipse but this one should be great.

Finally, HAVE FUN!!!!

[Ylem]

I found a small town park in South Carolina with restrooms for the last eclipse. A rather small crowd, everyone had a good time.

I just brought a ST80 with a white light filter, and a pair of binos with filters, I also taped the filters on for safety.

Totality was awesome, seeing the birds fly back to their nests and hearing crickets was the highlight for me

[SkyHiker]

SkyHiker above makes a good point about the drive back. The traffic we hit leaving Madras, Oregon, after the last eclipse was horrific. Plan to stay another night and then leave Very Early in the morning.

I now recall that's what I did; tired of sitting in traffic I parked by the road, climbed up the bank with my tent and sleeping bag and set up just out of sight of the road. The next morning at dawn the road was clear and the rest of the drive was fine.

[gregl]

One issue to keep in mind is that the last one, visible in the western U.S., was over lots of federal land including BLM and Forest Service land on which you can set up and camp. This time, according to the maps I have found, there is very little such land in Texas. So SkyHiker's impromptu adventure might not work this time. I do recall that there were some private landholders in Oregon who opened up their fields and for a fee let folks in to camp and watch the eclipse. I would hope that this would happen this time.

[AstroBee]

Getting real close to the April 8th eclipse, no point in starting a new thread.
What's everyone's plans?
I'll be just outside of Morrilton, AR at a friends house. Approximately 1.4 miles from the centerline!
We are hoping for clear weather. I had thoughts of chasing clear skies in the day or two leading up to the eclipse but now I'm thinking we will just stay put at our friends place. Worse case, we enjoy it online.
I spent the better part of today working on my Eclipse Orchestrator script and testing it so I have as much automated as possible. I really want to soak in this eclipse with friends.

[helicon]

I am still on the wait-list for a UC sponsored trip to near Amarillo for the eclipse. At this point I am realizing that a spot as an attendee is probably not in the offing so I have to make plans for a workaround and soon.

[Mike Q]

For anyone interested, the current weather forecast for North Central Ohio is 92 percent cloud cover and rain. Unfortunately this is probably a very accurate forecast, as clouds and rain defines Ohio in April. My only suggestion if you are planning on coming to Ohio for this, head to the western basin of Lake Erie. It is your best bet for fewer clouds.

[gregl]

By the way, Bell county in Texas between Austin and Waco has declared an emergency in advance as they expect to be overrun with eclipse viewers. They are expecting the population to double for the event and roads to be choked with traffic and serious strains on all other resources. If you are going somewhere, plan to be as self-sufficient as you can. Bring all the food and water you think you'll need. Be sure your gas tank is full. And, as I wrote above, the traffic immediately after the eclipse will be heavy as folks flee for home, so if you can plan to stay at least the rest of the day, or better overnight, do so.

[KathyNS]

I have my reservations for the nights before and after. The town is just outside the edge of totality, so it is about an hour's drive to the centreline (in normal traffic). But the town has better highway connectivity if I have to alter my plans due to weather. Odds of clear skies are only 22%, so going elsewhere is a real possibility.

My viewing glasses and solar film arrived in the mail this week. I am taking my C-90 with solar filter and a DSLR with a 210mm zoom lens, for which I will make a filter. I am not planning to try for a photo of totality, though I won't rule out the possibility if the opportunity arises. Someone else will get a better picture. This is my first and last solar eclipse, so I want to do some naked eye viewing.

[JayTee]

About 10 days ago I booked an Airbnb house in Killeen Texas that was cheaper per night than the cheapest hotels in Waco. If you can secure an Airbnb or a VRBO that might be something to look into.

[ewomack]

By sheer serendipity, we're driving through the area of totality on the very day of the eclipse. We will watch weather forecasts the entire way in and try to determine the best destination. I've seen a 97% eclipse (at Cahokia on top of Monk's Mound, which was fantastic), but I'm looking forward to totality. Hopefully the clouds will cooperate.

[gregl]

...
I've seen a 97% eclipse (at Cahokia on top of Monk's Mound, which was fantastic), but I'm looking forward to totality. Hopefully the clouds will cooperate.

There is no substitute for the real thing. You just can't understand it until you've experienced it. After the Oregon one I now understand why people travel the world to see them.

And to reiterate what I wrote in my o.p., don't get too caught up in equipment such that you waste valuable totality time. I found binos to be the best view. As to photos, for me I can find better ones on the net than anything I could take, and why waste time and effort to duplicate that.

[Mike Q]

Since i live in the area of totality i am just taking the day off and staying home. Even though I am only 25 miles or so off of dead center of totality chances are the only thing i will see will be clouds, which would be completely normal for Ohio in April

[Gordon]

I won't be getting totality, but I'm going to try to capture a time lapse with the See Star.

[Mike Q]

While pedicting weather here in the midwest is tricky, so far April the 8th will have 92 percent cloud cover and a 60 percent chance of rain, and temps near 60 degrees.