The Great American Solar Eclipse

A poet spoke about the solar eclipse on the radio. That set into motion this amazing trip.

For a while, it seemed unlikely that I could make it happen, as all the lodging seemed sold out even in May. It was tough to get anything in Oregon. Madras had some camping options. But the thought of over quarter a million people descending on a town of fewer than 10000 people, made it unenticing.

I decided to head to Idaho for the eclipse and visit the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation area as a bonus.

Scenic Idaho

Everything lined up. I even managed to rent a parking space in a small town called Smiths Ferry. It was right in the center of the path of totality.

Smiths Ferry Parking Field

August 21^st finally arrived. It was a 2-hour drive to the parking spot.  I left very early, at around 2 am. The roads were clear. I got to the parking lot and slept. I woke up to see I was surrounded by about 6000 people in just this parking area. The town of 40 odd people had suddenly filled with tens of thousands of people. The crowd was amazing. Even a group of Corvettes showed up.

Payette River flows right through the town and there were many people at the banks. An osprey flew overhead. But I decided not to bird and got ready for the eclipse.

Payette River

Eclipse glasses - check. Camera – check. Filter for the camera – check. Oops - I forgot to bring my tripod.

I tested the camera and handmade filter. I wasn’t sure I would use the camera but I found it really helped with the viewing. Looking at the camera display was easier on the eyes. I could also zoom in. I took a test image. Noticed the sunspots. I later heard that the large lower sunspot was about 20,000 miles across. I was thrilled to see that the filter was working so well. Link to my setup for shooting the eclipse.

Camera Filter Test (arrows point to sunspots)

High-resolution image https://goo.gl/3aX4vi

The partial eclipse took its own time – about an hour to totality. I shot pictures at around 5-minute intervals. There was plenty of time to shoot pictures and take in everything. Even when most of the sun was obscured it still felt like a regular day. With only a sliver of the sun peeping out and at 1/100 its brightness, it still felt close to regular day time. Sun is really bright.

Partial Eclipse Stages

Then time sped up. Everything happened very quickly. 

The moon eclipsed the sun. It was suddenly very dark. The temperature had been dropping slowly but now it felt so much cooler. A fellow eclipse watcher measured a 10-degree drop from beginning to the totality.

Totality is remarkable. Being there in person, it was immersive. I noticed the sun disappearing. The entire field of view filled with the darkness. Skin registered the temperature change. Perhaps even the lack of radiant energy. I saw planets and stars. And I saw the things, like the Corona, that one cannot see otherwise. It is great that the moon is the right size and the right distance to just eclipse the sun.

The Corona of the sun was beautiful.  This white plasma that surrounds the sun was literally breathtaking. There is structure there as the plasma is charged and lines up based on the sun’s magnetic lines of force. 

Corona

High-resolution image https://goo.gl/LSCttd

The surface of the sun is hot at around 10,000 deg Fahrenheit. Corona is hotter still at around 10,000,000 deg Fahrenheit.  This is strange given that Corona is further away from Sun’s core. How can it be hotter? There is some really cool work where scientists are theorizing that the heating is because of breaking and rejoining of twisted magnetic lines (called nanoflares). 

It was amazing to see the Corona, it’s structure and visualize the magnetic lines.

Then there are Baily’s beads. I saw red spots where the sun shines through. Moon is not a perfect sphere. It has topography with mountains, valleys, and craters. The deepest crater is about 5 miles deep. These features show up as beautiful beads.

Baily's Beads

High-resolution image https://goo.gl/WjQsM5

Before I knew it, the totality is over. Two minutes is too short a time. A flash of light signaled the Diamond Ring. The sun reappeared as a sliver. It was day time again.

People around cheered and the energy was amazing. What a thrilling experience!

I returned shortly after and thankfully the traffic was not too bad. It took an hour longer on the way back.  I heard stories of terrible traffic from a colleague who went to Madras. It took him 14 hours to drive 100 miles on the way back. Tough!

At the airport, there were so many eclipse watchers. It was great chatting and exchanging stories. One person had been waiting four decades to see this eclipse. Someone had seen the Shadow Bands in Huntington.  Another pointed out the sunspot and had an estimate of the size. A lot of good cheer!

It is a remarkable feat of science to be able to predict when and where a solar eclipse will be visible. And there are so many interesting phenomena to look for. Seeing cosmic forces playing out helps have some perspective. I personally want to do this again and hope to see a Shadow Band. 

If you can, do go watch a total solar eclipse. There is really nothing like a totality.