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August 21, 2017 (was "2 Years From Today!")

rbowman

By rbowman,
in Tennessee Valley

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kvskelton

kvskelton

Posted
Posted

That may have been the most awe inspiring, spiritual 2 1/2 minutes of my life. Completely worth the time and effort. Hope tp have some decent photos but it'll be tomorrow before I get home and download them. Hope everyone had as great an event as we had...now to fight the traffic. In no hurry so all is well..


Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

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LithiaWx

LithiaWx

Posted
Posted
35 minutes ago, waltrip said:

Just an unbelievable experience. Been on the  road for over 4 hours and just don't care. Those of us that got to experience this have been blessed! And I still can't believe how perfect the weather was! Just amazing!

Agreed.  We lucked out in Hartwell, GA.  Any clouds that built before the partial stages just fell apart as totally approached.  It was an awe inspiring moment I will never forget.  My favorite part I think was when the sun first peaked back through on the other side.  There was this amazing light that is impossible to describe.  The temp dropped about ten very noticeable degrees.  The darkness was also incredible.  Lights at businesses came on.  Crickets could be heard near totality as well.  In and near otality I could feel the effect of the eclipse on my perception of time.  

 

After seeing this I am sure to say the people who lived before science must have thought the world was ending.

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nrgjeff

nrgjeff

Posted
Posted

Very nice! We were in Decatur, Tenn. My pix don't compare (no real effort) but that is what I remember seeing, down the road from Watts Bar. More reflection tomorrow. Blows the doors off tornado chasing. Indeed that's Mercury!

3 hours ago, dwagner88 said:

VqHTrFD.png

From Watts Bar lake this afternoon. What an amazing experience. I can't really put it into words. I believe Mercury is visible in this image to the left. This was taken on a Nikon DSLR. 

 

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1234snow

1234snow

Posted
Posted

Well that was certainly worth the wait! I'm so glad that I camped out overnight and found a place right on the centerline. I knew what to except going in but nothing can prepare you for what I just saw. The raw emotions were incredible.

20 minutes before crickets started chirping and it got dimmer and dimmer. Right as totality hit the shadow bands of light danced across the ground and the cars and it instantly got dark. Everyone let out a big roar and started clapping and jumping up and down. It was literally a 360 sunset around edges. You could see Mars and mercury and other stars. It went from hot humid to about 10 degrees cooler. There were a bunch of clouds that we thought was going to block the sun but they vanished right before totality. I think it was directly due to the eclipse. The corona was so vivid it's hard to describe. 3 minutes later the moon left and a big diamond ring appeared in the top right corner and the shadow beads returned and totality was over and the birds started going crazy chirping in the distance.

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John1122

John1122

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, Carvers Gap said:

John and knoxtron, what did you all use to get those pics.  Awesome.

I used a canon 6d full frame dslr with a 70-300 lens. The shots were between 250 and 300mm, iso was set on auto, shutter speed 1/4000th of a second. No lens filter or anything like that. Slight gamma and contrast adjustments on mine in post processing. But only very slight.

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Knoxtron

Knoxtron

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, Carvers Gap said:

John and knoxtron, what did you all use to get those pics.  Awesome.

Thanks! I debated taking photos as I didn't want to risk losing the moment! I went full lazy on these photos

Panasonic lumix g3 (micro 4/3rds) - 200 to 300 mm zoom lense - not very good to astrophotoagraphy!

Manual focus (focused on some clouds a few minutes before totality). Set it at the sun on tripod and put lens cap on

Set at aperture mode (set aperture at 8), auto iso, manual Kelvin value set white balance, offset center metering mode

Set each photo to be a 7 bracket metering photo (each push of shutter button takes a light balanced photos, and 6 more photos at +/- fstop of 1, 2, and 3)

Finally, I used the time lapse feature on my camera with a 1 second delay. All i had to do a couple seconds before totality was take lens cap off and push the button! Esentially took 100 photos during totality with no input 

I plan to produce a HDR image from these photos sooner or later. Sorry for the book, I love astrophotrogrpahy!

 

20170821_182418.jpg

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nrgjeff

nrgjeff

Posted
Posted

Sitting in Chattanooga 7-10 days ago I was considering alternate locations due to the forecast. By Day 5 hope began to mount that it could work in East Tenn. Then 2-3 days out I was thrilled to see our forecast way better than climatology, Wyoming climo! Memphis storm chasing partner elected to come this way a day out. We laughed at the irony because it's usually me heading west.

Cloud forecasts, PW forecasts, 700/vv/RH forecasts, 925/850 mb wind direction, and climo (lower elevation) all pointed to the intersection of the centerline and the Tennessee River. Convenient! Lucky so close to home I could enjoy this with my family as well. We all rolled out uneventfully in the morning. Stopped in Decatur, Tenn to look at data. First Baptist Church of Decatur was kind enough to let us and some nice eclipse chasing families hang out, so we just stayed there.

Scattered Cu evaporate about 30 minutes before Totality. Heat and humidity give way to pleasant weather. Cicadas start up a couple minutes before totality. Shadow bands dance on a white blanket somebody brought. Northwest sky turns Royal blue before a Navy blue paintbrush colors it even darker. Few seconds later the Cu on the horizon (Plateau) flips from white to grey. Almost immediately the shadow envelops us. Totality!

I miss the diamond ring going in because the northwest horizon mesmerizes me. No regrets! My adrenaline peaks with shadow bands and the sky shadow. It's really happening! Look up at totality to witness God's second greatest gift to man. Bright ring around the moon fades to a dimmer yet radiant milk. Whiskers or cotton candy strands stretch out left and right. Adrenaline gives way to pure awe. Venus is hanging out with us too.

Is this real? Am I one of those lucky people who travel to exotic destinations for a total solar eclipse? Well, yes, I'm right up the road with family and friends. 360 degree sunrise/set is incredible. High clouds outside the path are still white on the navy blue sky. Almost look like noctilucent clouds, but they are conventional cirrus. Quickly I remember solar flares are seen more easily through binoculars. Boom! Prominence is ejecting hot pink orange at 5 o'clock on the Sun. Not much totality left. Drop binoculars and observe the main show again. Navy blue button over the sun gives way to the corona cotton candy and whiskers. Oh my it is the sight of a lifetime!

Standing there in denial after totality ends I remember how high I felt from 98% to totality. Maybe do it again, but nope. Where is that feeling now? We pack up our stuff and forget to take the group photo we were too preoccupied to do before totality. Pleasant surprise the car is cool inside, even the dash and steering wheel! That happens when 90% of the sun is blocked. We ride back to Chattanooga listening to an old Eiffel 65 song, Lucky in My Life. Blue is more famous but Lucky is perfect!

Per the storm chasing tradition we get steak dinner in Chatty. We always talk about it but never do it. Get back late from storms. Rush out next day. Welp, Monday we had the steak dinner to celebrate the chase of all chases! Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond comes on. His music always reminds me of my parents. Feels like they are in Chatty. Rarely is a day so special and nearly perfect on this Earth. Monday August 21, 2017 is a lifelong blessing.

Total solar eclipse (TSE) is my #1 ranked spectacle. Aurora (northern lights) is a fairly close second because it lasts longer, but a TSE is more beautiful. Yosemite Valley and the Na Pali Coast are tied at #3 somewhat lagging a TSE and Aurora. Comets Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake are tied at a close #4. Real noctilucent clouds are #5. Tornadoes get honorable mention. You all know how passionate I am about tornadoes. Now, you know the rest of the story. I'm exceptionally lucky and blessed to have seen the whole list.

Lucky (in My Life) by Eiffel 65 is a dance/pop song of faith by a usually secular group. Check it out on You Tube or Google.

Church_Steeple.jpg

Aug_21_2017_Horizon.jpg

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LithiaWx

LithiaWx

Posted
Posted

The blue and grayish colors of the sky as totality set in was pretty majestical.  I don't believe I've ever seen those colors in the sky before. The 360 degree sunset was also quite bizarre.  The whole event was a huge hype but the event lived up to it IMO.  I may never see that sight again. Pretty hard to even start to wrap my head around that one.  

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ice1972

ice1972

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, nrgjeff said:

Sitting in Chattanooga 7-10 days ago I was considering alternate locations due to the forecast. By Day 5 hope began to mount that it could work in East Tenn. Then 2-3 days out I was thrilled to see our forecast way better than climatology, Wyoming climo! Memphis storm chasing partner elected to come this way a day out. We laughed at the irony because it's usually me heading west.

Cloud forecasts, PW forecasts, 700/vv/RH forecasts, 925/850 mb wind direction, and climo (lower elevation) all pointed to the intersection of the centerline and the Tennessee River. Convenient! Lucky so close to home I could enjoy this with my family as well. We all rolled out uneventfully in the morning. Stopped in Decatur, Tenn to look at data. First Baptist Church of Decatur was kind enough to let us and some nice eclipse chasing families hang out, so we just stayed there.

Scattered Cu evaporate about 30 minutes before Totality. Heat and humidity give way to pleasant weather. Cicadas start up a couple minutes before totality. Shadow bands dance on a white blanket somebody brought. Northwest sky turns Royal blue before a Navy blue paintbrush colors it even darker. Few seconds later the Cu on the horizon (Plateau) flips from white to grey. Almost immediately the shadow envelops us. Totality!

I miss the diamond ring going in because the northwest horizon mesmerizes me. No regrets! My adrenaline peaks with shadow bands and the sky shadow. It's really happening! Look up at totality to witness God's second greatest gift to man. Bright ring around the moon fades to a dimmer yet radiant milk. Whiskers or cotton candy strands stretch out left and right. Adrenaline gives way to pure awe. Venus is hanging out with us too.

Is this real? Am I one of those lucky people who travel to exotic destinations for a total solar eclipse? Well, yes, I'm right up the road with family and friends. 360 degree sunrise/set is incredible. High clouds outside the path are still white on the navy blue sky. Almost look like noctilucent clouds, but they are conventional cirrus. Quickly I remember solar flares are seen more easily through binoculars. Boom! Prominence is ejecting hot pink orange at 5 o'clock on the Sun. Not much totality left. Drop binoculars and observe the main show again. Navy blue button over the sun gives way to the corona cotton candy and whiskers. Oh my it is the sight of a lifetime!

Standing there in denial after totality ends I remember how high I felt from 98% to totality. Maybe do it again, but nope. Where is that feeling now? We pack up our stuff and forget to take the group photo we were too preoccupied to do before totality. Pleasant surprise the car is cool inside, even the dash and steering wheel! That happens when 90% of the sun is blocked. We ride back to Chattanooga listening to an old Eiffel 65 song, Lucky in My Life. Blue is more famous but Lucky is perfect!

Per the storm chasing tradition we get steak dinner in Chatty. We always talk about it but never do it. Get back late from storms. Rush out next day. Welp, Monday we had the steak dinner to celebrate the chase of all chases! Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond comes on. His music always reminds me of my parents. Feels like they are in Chatty. Rarely is a day so special and nearly perfect on this Earth. Monday August 21, 2017 is a lifelong blessing.

Total solar eclipse (TSE) is my #1 ranked spectacle. Aurora (northern lights) is a fairly close second because it lasts longer, but a TSE is more beautiful. Yosemite Valley and the Na Pali Coast are tied at #3 somewhat lagging a TSE and Aurora. Comets Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake are tied at a close #4. Real noctilucent clouds are #5. Tornadoes get honorable mention. You all know how passionate I am about tornadoes. Now, you know the rest of the story. I'm exceptionally lucky and blessed to have seen the whole list.

Lucky (in My Life) by Eiffel 65 is a dance/pop song of faith by a usually secular group. Check it out on You Tube or Google.

Church_Steeple.jpg

Aug_21_2017_Horizon.jpg

Hey that first shot you posted.....it looks like the shot I took with my iPhone at totality.....line didn't have the black hole but I managed to edit the highlights and get a great ring out of it.....

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kvskelton

kvskelton

Posted
Posted
On 8/21/2017 at 11:01 AM, Chattownsnow said:

I'm about 5 minutes south of sweetwater at a friends family house. Drove up from Soddy daisy with basically very light traffic up highway 27 around 730am to 830am. Friends traveling up now are in heavy traffic on 27. I'll show a picture in a bit. Bonus butterfly as well lol

I like the butterfly a lot more than the traffic, Chattownsnow! Took us 4 1/2 hours to go from Niota to Knoxville after the event...but worth every minute!

I didn't have a butterfly, but did have a tag-along for a while yesterday...

 

Eclipse2017i.jpg

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WxBlue

WxBlue

Posted
Posted

I don't care I was dealing with consistent traffic jams the next 30 hours after it ended. I don't care I-81 tried to kill me several times. I don't care I had two hours of sleep on August 21st. I don't care my right foot and my neck are screaming in pain from all the driving.

What I saw over rolling hills of Vonore, Tennessee for two minutes was one of greatest sights I've ever seen in my young life... and I took incredible pictures with my full frame camera that I'll hang on wall of my apartment. Thank you y'all for hosting me and providing with excellent information so I could enjoy it with y'all. What a day!

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