Eclipse 2017

I live near Seattle which has about 92% coverage. I am driving to Salem, Oregon to see totality. Hotels were way too extreme on prices and sold out months ago. I will be sleeping in my van in front of a friend's house.

I live about 2.5hrs north of totality. I was planning on driving down with my 10yr old, as it's a bucket list for us both, but it'll be my only day off this week and I don't relish the idea of fighting traffic. I've had an offer to pitch my tent in a friend's yard near the totality zone the night before, but.... Still undecided. Might be nice to get out of the smoke for a bit, tho
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5375/

I'm in Charleston, SC...1,000,000+ visitors expected...we are not a big city...expecting major gridlock on the highways and many other problems.. hotel rooms here have been booked for a year...I'm planning to stay home later today for a few days...police will have their hands full.

Totality will be bracketed by around an hour and a half of partial eclipse before and after.
Eclipse glasses are required then; but any flat mirror can be used to reflect the image of the sun
on the side of any building, where it can be safely viewed with the naked eye.
While walking home, I was aware of a partial solar eclipse several years ago,
and my purse mirror let me watch the moon have its feast on the side of a warehouse.

We live in an area that will have 96% coverage. I bought glasses just in case we look. I remember a previous eclipse on a special birthday for me. Standing in the yard under a tree, in each of the areas the sun came through the leaves an image of the eclipse showed on the ground. Pretty cool to see so many of them. Nice birthday present too.

Catnapper - Joanie

chunkyfrog wrote:Totality will be bracketed by around an hour and a half of partial eclipse before and after.
Eclipse glasses are required then; but any flat mirror can be used to reflect the image of the sun
on the side of any building, where it can be safely viewed with the naked eye.
While walking home, I was aware of a partial solar eclipse several years ago,
and my purse mirror let me watch the moon have its feast on the side of a warehouse.

Don't you need a concave mirror, to focus the light?

No, a regular mirror will give the best result.
You can have fun with a magnifying mirror, but the image will be large and dim.
Turning the mirror so the image falls on the underside of a flat, shaded surface works best.
I just tested it under our gazebo. Be prepared to keep the mirror CLEAN.
Every smear and smudge is visible.
EDIT: The reflection will only show the sun if the reflection is cast at least a certain distance away.
Larger mirrors will need to aim at targets farther away.

palerider wrote:

chunkyfrog wrote:Wyoming is being overrun with rental motorhomes from California.
(My brother thinks their drivers licenses are given out by lottery.)

HAH! they get 'em outta gumball machines.

If they are illegals, they don't have to have drivers licenses. Jim

These are mostly WHITE dweebs--
You never heard the stereotype about who are the best mechanics?
Also awesome drivers! Check that semi that just passed your heap.

chunkyfrog wrote:These are mostly WHITE dweebs--
You never heard the stereotype about who are the best mechanics?
Also awesome drivers! Check that semi that just passed your heap.

I resemble that remark, except I never drive semi's, they are too small and can't carry a heavy enough load. 150 ton plus loads! Jim

My son was experimenting with square or rectangular mirrors,
and the image needs to be cast at last a couple hundred feet to get a true image of the sun.
The tree shadows are so cool. Watch for them.