this post was submitted on 06 Jan 2024
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chapotraphouse

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Words, pictures, videos don't do it justice. I drove across the country for the one in 2017 and it was the most incredible thing I've ever seen. Sacrificing people on top of a pyramid isn't my preference but i kinda understand where the aztecs/mel gibson were coming from. For real though totality is like a divine searing hole opening in the sky that connects you to cosmic ancient human experience even if just for a few moments. The moon is an actual giant thing falling toward us in perpetuity and never is it more tangibly understandable as such than when it falls literally perfectly in front of the fucking sun. Streamers of plasma millions of miles long whipping out around the black disc of the moon. Undulating liquid-like shadow ripples called shadow bands appear on the actual ground, it's like standing on the beach looking down as a wave washes back out to sea but the beach is the planet on which all life lives and dies and the wave is the infinity of outer space, and you barely even hear about them because the eclipse itself is just that much more spectacular. ~~For most people in the united states, this is the last chance they'll have to see it in their lifetimes.~~ my bad actually there's another couple chances in 2044/2045, but still.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 7 months ago (1 children)

From what we currently know about the universe, it is very very rare to have a moon the size of ours that can eclipse the view of our sun.

If we were part of an interstellar society, aliens from other systems would travel to Earth to view the eclipse.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

And it won't last forever. The Sun will expand in diameter, and the Moon will drift further from the Earth. According to Wikipedia:

Final totality

Total solar eclipses are seen on Earth because of a fortuitous combination of circumstances. Even on Earth, the diversity of eclipses familiar to people today is a temporary (on a geological time scale) phenomenon. Hundreds of millions of years in the past, the Moon was closer to the Earth and therefore apparently larger, so every solar eclipse was total or partial, and there were no annular eclipses. Due to tidal acceleration, the orbit of the Moon around the Earth becomes approximately 3.8 cm more distant each year. Millions of years in the future, the Moon will be too far away to fully occlude the Sun, and no total eclipses will occur. In the same timeframe, the Sun may become brighter, making it appear larger in size. Estimates of the time when the Moon will be unable to occlude the entire Sun when viewed from the Earth range between 650 million and 1.4 billion years in the future.

Those aliens better hurry up.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

Hell yeah. If you are traveling, book a hotel room as soon as possible (you typically can cancel them 48 hours prior without any fees, but booking lets you lock in the current rate). Or find a campground or call up some relatives or something. Get creative. I traveled to see the one in 2017. We booked a room one year out at a normal rate. The day of, the cheapest rooms were like $400/night.

Shit was indescribable. Worth the 14 hour drive both ways.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Yesss great post. The sooner ya start making plans the better. I had what i thought were some extremely off the beaten path campsites lined up in 2017 and it was my plan D before we found a place that wasn't already super packed.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Forget about hotels honestly, they're already booked or going for insane money.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Depends on where you're going. The strip of totality runs from western Mexico to New Brunswick. Austin, Dallas, Indianapolis, Niagra Falls, and Burlington might be booked, but there are many, many, many small towns along that path.

You also don't necessarily need to see the eclipse FROM the place you're staying. You can book a place to stay within an hour or two driving distance of the path. Depending on the weather (a complete dice roll), you might end up driving a couple hours even if you booked a place right in the path of the eclipse.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

don't necessarily need to see the eclipse FROM the place you're staying

yeah that's a key point. seeing it from somewhere in nature is better than a hotel balcony anyway

[–] [email protected] 14 points 7 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

drats! I'm foiled again!

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago

https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/april-8-2024

Shit, it's still going to be partial above Colorado. There's one particular photo I really want to get during a total eclipse and they've yet to happen locally.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago

Yes absolutely, I saw 2017 as well. It was amazing

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago

I saw the 2017 eclipse and it was really pretty and cool, it got super dark and all the bugs came out!!!

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago

Nuh uh I've seen Meloncholia I know whats gonna happen

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago (2 children)

thoughts on tripping during this? am I gonna lose my mind?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago

You will be so sad when the sun says 'goodbye'. Don't do it!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

I'm all for it. I'm trying to convince my parents to come with me to see this one but if i can't then a gram or two of mushrooms with a couple friends might be the plan.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago (1 children)

How long until the one after this?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago (1 children)

in the USA, 2044 (a tiny piece of upper midwest) or 2045 for a swath across the whole USA

for the rest of the world, 2026

https://time.com/4897581/total-solar-eclipse-years-next/

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

Ah good call, i was thinking of the next one specifically in my state (which i seriously doubt will be within my lifetime)

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago

I also saw the 2017 eclipse. Really excited to see this one

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago

Yeah it's cool as hell, everything turns a color that's not quite dusk or sunrise and tree shadows turn into these glittering masses of crescent-shaped light slivers.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago

ive never seen a full one but in both 2017 and last oct i was in a place where it should have been mostly visible but it was cloudy both days lol

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago

I am so pumped. I've been telling my friends/roommates about it for a while now, and for xmas, my roommate planned a trip. Thankfully we can hit totality with a couple hour drive, so i am no sure if we will just go up that day, or do a whole weekend thing.

I am mad cuz my home town is like perfectly on the line, so they dont have to do anything, just walk outside lol.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I wanted to be an astronaut as a kid. Seeing the '17 eclipse was a dream come true. Thankfully, I live in Wyoming, right along the path of totality.

I won't be traveling for this one, unfortunately. Adulting sucks.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Hey so did i and I'm very glad you got to see the one in 2017

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago

I only gotta travel like, a couple hours. So, yeah, imma be on that

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I can't but I am making plans for another one

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

That rocks! I'd really like to see another after this one at some point but i for sure cannot plan international travel that far in advance haha.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Well shit, guess I'm going to Texas howdy-skull

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago
[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

too bad I live in ewe rope

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

ewe will have a chance in 2026 if you go to spain!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

Lived in Japan on the path of totality back in '09, there was a lot of buzz around it. And then it was a cloudy day and we couldn't see shit. It became a darker cloudy day and then went back. Most of the region was clear, it was just the city and a bit outside it that were covered in clouds. At this point I believe I'm cursed by the universe and will not seek it out solely to not ruin it for others.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

Huh. I might be able to catch it during my travels

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

There's also one in 12 August 2026 that will come over the northern part of Spain and one in 25 November 2030 that cuts through South Africa, visible from Durban and Kroonstadt. These are two I'll most likely be able to view

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Hey that’s cool thanks for the heads up!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago