Eclipse Chasing

[Larimar]

Anyone else going to get up horrifyingly early tomorrow morning to watch the total lunar eclipse?

Anyone else like traveling to see eclipses? Got any good stories? I've made several domestic trips, but no international ones, for the purpose. Watching an annular eclipse from the rim of Bryce Canyon - a long time ago now - was awesome beyond words. Also got to see a total solar eclipse in South Carolina some years ago, and got to see the effect of sudden twilight falling in the early afternoon. It was absolutely gorgeous, and eerie at the same time. Now that travel is possible again I'm looking forward to more.

Larimar

[poiuy]

Hi Larimar: kudos to you for getting up at a crazy hour to watch the eclipse and your other experiences. 
I did watch the solar eclipse you saw a few years ago - not complete in my area but still almost complete with the amazing near-total darkness in the early afternoon and the birds fell silent. It was an awe inspiring experience but I am never able to muster the energy to chase phenomena at odd hours of the night.
All the best for your moon watching tonight.

[ergative]

Not really an option for me, since--barring about ten minutes of sun yesterday--I haven't seen the sun or moon or stars for five weeks.

[cathwen]

I got up at 5:00 in time to see the moon go into full eclipse.  It was behind some bare tree branches, but I got a couple of decent pictures.  I was surprised that I saw it at all, since we have nightly cloud cover on a regular basis.

[arcturus]

I am often willing to stay up all night to observe things in the night sky. However, lunar eclipses are not my thing, so I slept through the event.

Solar eclipses, on the other hand, are well worth making the time to see. I drove a few hours so that I could see the total solar eclipse in August 2017 (it would have been a partial eclipse if I had stayed home). My town is in the path for the total solar eclipse in April 2024. I hope that we will have clear skies here that day, as there has been much work done already to prepare for the expected crowds. I highly recommend "eclipse chasing" if you have the opportunity to experience a total solar eclipse!

[cathwen]

I am often willing to stay up all night to observe things in the night sky. However, lunar eclipses are not my thing, so I slept through the event.

Solar eclipses, on the other hand, are well worth making the time to see. I drove a few hours so that I could see the total solar eclipse in August 2017 (it would have been a partial eclipse if I had stayed home). My town is in the path for the total solar eclipse in April 2024. I hope that we will have clear skies here that day, as there has been much work done already to prepare for the expected crowds. I highly recommend "eclipse chasing" if you have the opportunity to experience a total solar eclipse!

My daughter lives in an area on the edge of the next full solar eclipse zone.  She was warned during the last eclipse to prepare for a visit in April 2024!  I still have my eclipse glasses from last time.  During the last eclipse, we were too far from the full eclipse zone to travel, so we only saw a partial eclipse.  But the full one will be really cool.

[nebo113]

Canine wanted out.  Very, very dark.  Saw blood moon through trees.  Eerie and ominous.

[apl68]

I am often willing to stay up all night to observe things in the night sky. However, lunar eclipses are not my thing, so I slept through the event.

Solar eclipses, on the other hand, are well worth making the time to see. I drove a few hours so that I could see the total solar eclipse in August 2017 (it would have been a partial eclipse if I had stayed home). My town is in the path for the total solar eclipse in April 2024. I hope that we will have clear skies here that day, as there has been much work done already to prepare for the expected crowds. I highly recommend "eclipse chasing" if you have the opportunity to experience a total solar eclipse!

My daughter lives in an area on the edge of the next full solar eclipse zone.  She was warned during the last eclipse to prepare for a visit in April 2024!  I still have my eclipse glasses from last time.  During the last eclipse, we were too far from the full eclipse zone to travel, so we only saw a partial eclipse.  But the full one will be really cool.

My parents live very near the zone of totality as well.  Here a couple of hours away we'll get a pretty good partial.  I still hope to contrive a visit to them that day.

[Juvenal]

Not in any way "awesome."  Lunar eclipses are laid-back events.  For the other, more rare solar thing, no sudden darkness as the sun is covered, here just a gradual darkening and then an undarkening. 

Oh, I got up around 5:15 (NY Metro area) and put on slippers and robe and scuffled through leaves on the drive to the street.  Tree branches obscured things, but since they did not move, I did.  Too close to moonset to see what folks call the "blood moon."  What I saw was a dim, gray orb.  That was enough.  I've seen one or the other kind of lunar eclipses over sixty years.  Two of them--anyone recall?--the eclipse was so dark that you could not even see the eclipsed moon.  Now that was "awesome."

Next total lunar 03/14/2025.  That will be six months before I turn eighty-one.  Should I still be sublunary.

[Larimar]

I did go out and see this morning's eclipse as planned.  It was neat to watch the diminishing crescent of light as the partial phase progressed, and finally the last spark of shine vanish at the moment totality began. The eclipsed moon didn't look real, grayed and appearing more three-dimensionally spherical than usual. It looked like a painting. Very cool! Glad to hear everyone's perspectives.

[clean]

I am more of a meteor shower guy.  At least I was a few years ago.  At that point, I had listings of the major and near major shower dates.

However, for the next BIG solar total Eclipse in April of 2024, I plan to make reservations this spring (a year in advance) over the primary spot.  (it will be about six hours from my house to get the FULL experience!   

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

I was up around 3am to see the Moon enter the penumbra- not that exciting, so I went back to bed until around 4am and then went outside to see it in the umbra (which was much better). I think I was outside for about 30 minutes or so, then stumbled back to bed and woke up late. Still, it was pretty cool.

Clean, there's a solar eclipse on October 14, 2023 (starts around 11:43 am EST) and it will be either annular or partial depending on where you are.

[clean]

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

"The next total solar eclipse to visit North America will be April 8, 2024. The duration of totality will be up to 4 minutes and 27 seconds, almost double that of The Great American Eclipse of August 21, 2017. "

I will add the October 2023 to my list, but the BIG one in 2024 is what Im holding out for!  ( https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/october-14-2023 ) "his eclipse will be an appetizer for the spectacle of a total solar eclipse crossing the United States just 177 days later on April 8, 2024. While not as dramatic as a total solar eclipse, an annular solar eclipse promises a spectacular vision featuring the striking sight of the Sun as a ring."

My first target retirement date (the day I get health insurance in retirement) is April 2024, so the Great One is more to my liking.