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Just got back from watching the eclipse!

Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2017 9:36 pm
by Jackolantern
So I flew from Texas up to my sister's house in Nashville, Tennessee which just happened to be right smack dab in the path of totality. It was an absolutely amazing sight I had wanted to see since I was a small child. This was the first I had ever seen and I am already planning for the 2024 eclipse that will be a bit closer to home in Dallas, Texas.

Did anyone else travel to see it? Or anyone who was in the path of totality that just had to walk outside?

Re: Just got back from watching the eclipse!

Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2017 8:47 am
by SpiritWebb
My wife and I moved to Oregon, just south of Portland at the beginning of the month. Though work I couldn't get away to head to Salem, I heard it was an awesome sight!

Re: Just got back from watching the eclipse!

Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2017 10:45 pm
by Jackolantern
Awww, I'm sorry you were there but couldn't see it! :(

Re: Just got back from watching the eclipse!

Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 7:02 pm
by SpiritWebb
Jackolantern wrote:Awww, I'm sorry you were there but couldn't see it! :(
No worries, I had other stuff I had to do. I did get outside to look though :)

Re: Just got back from watching the eclipse!

Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 9:02 pm
by hallsofvallhalla
I refuse to look at the sun, regardless of cheap carboard glasses.

Re: Just got back from watching the eclipse!

Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 10:23 pm
by Jackolantern
hallsofvallhalla wrote:I refuse to look at the sun, regardless of cheap carboard glasses.
Why is that? As long as you had the ISO-certified glasses, it was extremely comfortable to look at it. I would watch for up to 5 minutes straight without even having to squint. I had the nice plastic ones I had bought about 6 months ago, although we did have a ton of the paper ones, too, to give away.

There were some fakes ones going around on Amazon and apparently it got so bad at one point that Amazon was prompting customers to get refunds and they were shutting down fake glasses sellers online, so I can imagine there being some anxiety about that. But For the most part the vast majority of glasses were real and made looking at the sun no problem.

Re: Just got back from watching the eclipse!

Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 2:34 pm
by hallsofvallhalla
Imagine if everyone who looked at the sun during the eclipse regardless of glasses went blind. Those of us that didn't would be kings! I am amazed on how much faith people put in science when science truly understands so little and does not recognize anything it can't explain.

Re: Just got back from watching the eclipse!

Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 3:47 pm
by Jackolantern
Haha! That is some planning ahead there!

I will say, though, that there is nothing special about eclipse light. It is just like looking at the sun during any normal time. If it hurts, stop looking at it. Pretty simple and safe. Something like 200M people watched the eclipse and injuries have been minimal.

Re: Just got back from watching the eclipse!

Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2017 9:36 pm
by Kesstryl
I used a telescope to project the sun onto a foam whiteboard, and used that to look at the eclipse. It worked out great, you could see sunspots on the projected image. We didn't have totality where I lived, but we got to about 85% coverage. I think it was better than glasses because with glasses the sun would look so much smaller. I did end up melting the edge of my eye piece holder though, but only by a little bit. The telescope itself is fine.

Re: Just got back from watching the eclipse!

Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2017 11:38 pm
by Jackolantern
I wished I had thought to get some black mylar to filter a pair of binoculars. Because yeah, it was pretty small looking directly at it with the glasses. But totality was breathtaking. I definitely recommend trying to make it to the 2024 path.