The Great American Eclipse of 2017

We have returned from our road trip and I’m happy to report it was a phenomenal success. We watched “The Great American Eclipse of 2017” from  Cherokee N.C.

It was an awesome sight. It started out sunny and mid 80’s.
Then slowly, slowly, the moon began to eat the sun.

 

We started to feel the temperature change. It began to get dark.

The sun was a tiny sliver in the sky.

Then it was gone.

 

With the naked eye it looked crisp, the corona seemed like a fine line around a perfectly black circle.

Then the sunlight could be seen through the craters of the moon (Baily’s Beads).

Within seconds (90 of them in our case) the sun flashed back, showing the “diamond ring.” Even that tiny spark of light was too much to view with the naked eye.

The photos above and below were taken within seconds of each other. The one above is without the solar filter and the one below after I put the filter back on.

Then, slowly, the process reversed itself.

Until we were back to full sunlight

and everyone dispersed.

The entire process took several hours, but it felt like minutes. About 5-10 minutes before totality we started talking about the change in temperature, then the change in the light. It wasn’t like dawn or dusk, it wasn’t red-orange light. It was still daylight, just dimmer and dimmer until it was gone. It felt like the air was clear and crisper than usual. The lights came on in the Inn. It was noticeably cooler for a short time, then it was over.

Amazing. Phenomenal. Incredible. Awe inspiring. I don’t have the words to describe it.

2,415 days until April 8, 2024. This time I can stay home and the eclipse will come to me. I can’t wait.