Eclipse 8/21

GSOHunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
We are planning on viewing the eclipse. We were offered a place in Murphy but were unable to board the dogs etc... It looks like we will make a day trip out of it. They are saying that traffic will be of epic proportions so we are a little scared of risking missing something by hitting traffic. What is everyone planning on doing? I think if we leave really early that morning we can get somewhere in the path of totality without much traffic. The ride home might be a different story.
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Staying at the cabin in Peachtree for that weekend and Monday. Should be able to get some work done and if the weather holds, have an awesome view of the full eclipse from the front porch.
 

QBD2

Old Mossy Horns
They're expecting 100k+ around Murphy...good luck...I can't imagine all the nightmare the the Gorge is gonna be.

I've got family directly in the center of the path in N GA, but I ain't even going. Somewhere in SC might be easier to get in and out of.
 

sky hawk

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I've got an aunt that lives in SC in the path, right down I85, but with all of the traffic expected, I don't want to be anywhere near it. It's just not worth that to me. If it's as bad as some are predicting, a day trip could be spent mostly in traffic.

I did order some glasses and some solar filter film for the binoculars and camera. We will be in the 95% range here, and that's good enough for me. I don't like mass numbers of people congregated in one area and all dependent on others for the necessities.
 

witler

Eight Pointer
Saw on the news yesterday, expecting approx. one million to converge on Columbia, SC area.
 

Markfromflorida

Eight Pointer
I'm visiting the grandparents near cashiers nc. They live halfway up yellow mountain, there is a private drive all the way up. The top of the mountain is a state park, and people hike ~3miles up trails to reach the fire tower. It's comical to see there faces when we drive up with adult drinks in our hands! (They don't know we drive as the last 50yds are walking only)
 

lasttombstone

Kinder, Gentler LTS
Depends on the temps. If it is 90 or better, I'll be inside in the A/C trying to find something else on TV. If under 90 I'll probably be mowing grass so I guess I'll have to turn the lights on for a bit.
 

witler

Eight Pointer
I've got an aunt that lives in SC in the path, right down I85, but with all of the traffic expected, I don't want to be anywhere near it. It's just not worth that to me. If it's as bad as some are predicting, a day trip could be spent mostly in traffic.

I did order some glasses and some solar filter film for the binoculars and camera. We will be in the 95% range here, and that's good enough for me. I don't like mass numbers of people congregated in one area and all dependent on others for the necessities.

Where did you order camera filters from?
 

aya28ga

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
A million people in the Columbia SC area? 100s of thousands more along the path of totality? No thanks, I'll be just fine with what we get in the Raleigh area.

Besides, imagine how pissed everybody will get if it's a total rain-out after traveling all that way.....
 

sky hawk

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Where did you order camera filters from?

The real camera filters are more expensive, so I ordered a sheet of the film, and a $8 step up ring. You just cut the film and glue it inside the ring and screw it on like you would any filter. This way I can use the rest of the film for my 2 sets of binoculars too. I just ordered it off Amazon.
 

GSOHunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Supposedly the edge of totality is where you want to be if you are taking photos. You get wild colors.

I'm going to check out the weather forecast the day before and figure out where to go. Shouldn't be much traffic before sunup.
 

Firefly

Old Mossy Horns
Saw the total solar eclipse in March of 1970 I think it was up in JOCO with some friends headed to Holts Lake for some fishing after the second Sun rise of the day...Unfortunately the fish didn't bite too well after the eclipse...I remember the street lights came on in Smithfield NC..
 

NCST8GUY

Frozen H20 Guy
Saw the total solar eclipse in March of 1970 I think it was up in JOCO with some friends headed to Holts Lake for some fishing after the second Sun rise of the day...Unfortunately the fish didn't bite too well after the eclipse...I remember the street lights came on in Smithfield NC..

I'm hoping for a similar kind of memory, except it turns the fish bit on this time!!
 

NCST8GUY

Frozen H20 Guy
So the next one is in I think 2024? If so, it passes in April through some seriously good turkey hunting areas. Do y'all think the turkeys might actually go to roost, and then fly back down in the same few hours? That would be a pretty cool scientific spectacle imho.
 

smith-n-stokes

Old Mossy Horns
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ill be driving home from work during the peak time. Outta be interesting...[emoji52]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

NCST8GUY

Frozen H20 Guy
So my cousin's kids' schools' in Atlanta, are keeping the students longer tomorrow. The normal time out is around peak eclipse, so since it'll be getting dark, and with the liklihood that some idiots are no doubt going to drive while wearing the glasses, it seems it'll be safer to keep the kids till it's over. Not sure I disagree.

Murphy and Andrews NC are unexpectedly quiet considering the onslaught they've been preparing for. They actually expected gas shortages, ATM's to be depleted, dogs and cats living together, AND, I'm not kidding, they actually told people to stock up on milk and bread!!!! For a 2 hour event!
 

shaggy

Old Mossy Horns
Another alternative is the live streaming that several news channels and the weather channel will be doing. Plenty of opportunity to watch the eclipse unfold on TV without risk of traffic or damage to your eyes.

Heard there were some recalls on some of the glasses as they weren't the right shading or something.
 

NCST8GUY

Frozen H20 Guy
Tested ours glasses today (oldest family member tried first lol). It's important to COMPLETELY sheild one's eyes from any direct sunlight. And then, when looking directly at the sun in the glasses, our Sun appears about as bright as a full moon without glasses. It's scary. You're entire instinct is to NOT DO what you are about to do, but you do it anyways.

I would be VERY leery about allowing youngsters to wear them and look, as their instincts haven't built up yet, imho, and I fear a 2 or 3 year old, maybe older might make a permanent mistake. Especially if the 80-90% area which is a LOT of America.

But like with bike helmets, seat belts, and swimming 5 minutes after eating, the well taught ones will be just fine.. lol.

I do think, if lucky enough, it would be cool to look with the nekkid eye at the Sun's corona. To see stars @ 2 pm. I would travel a ways to see that. Even if only for 2 minutes.
 
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Tipmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
When I was a kid I would grab my dad's welding mask and look at the sun through it. The sun looked like a pale green ball. Pretty neat to a ten year old.
 
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aya28ga

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
My brother is a serious amateur astronomer and he'll be at the Pisgah Astronomical Observatory today to view the eclipse, he's been planning this for years. We decided to stay put here in Warren county, 95% totality will be fine for us. We are talking about a family get-together in Maine for the 2024 eclipse; it will be totality right over the family home.

And that blindness caused by looking at the sun unprotected is real. I remember the eclipse in 1963, and hearing reports of 100s of schoolchildren suffering permanent eye damage from looking at the sun.
 
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