Monday, April 8, 2024

When the Moon Eats the Sun

 

Hopefully those of you who live in the path of totality could see the solar eclipse today - and those of you who live close to it could make it to a location within the path of totality because that is the only place where you can actually see the total eclipse. Did you see it?

During my lifetime I have seen several partial eclipses, one annular eclipse and two total solar eclipses. Not to forget several lunar eclipses which are fascinating as well.

On May 20, 2012 there was an annular eclipse over Northern California. We drove up to Redding for that, a four hour drive one way - and so worth it.


I wrote about it here.

Five years later, on August 21, 2017, a total solar eclipse could be seen on the West Coast, but the path of totality didn't even touch California. We were determined to see it and were on the road for almost four days in total. We never regretted this crazy trip. You can read about it here

What I liked about both events despite the show in the sky were the shadow crescents that were everywhere - including on my camping mug which is my ticket to this week's T Tuesday, so generously hosted by Bleubeard and Elizabeth.

Today's solar eclipse was only a partial one in California - I think 35% or so. Nevertheless, I took out my trusted eclipse glasses that we had bought back in Germany for our first total eclipse - the good ones from Zeiss. I was able to look into the sun and see the moon creeping up, eating parts of it - and then go on her way again.

This will never cease to fascinate me.



20 comments:

Elephant's Child said...

Great captures - and I particularly like the one you caught on your mug.

Tom said...

...in Rochester, NY we were in the path of the total eclipse, but the sky was overcast. None of the expected lead up to eclipse was visible,the minutes of darkness followed by light was eerie.

roentare said...

wow, what a capture! I was in bed at the time

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Absolutely stunning photos, dear Carola. I have seen one total eclipse and that was in the late 1980s. Everything was so quiet and I was surprised how cool it got as the eclipse occurred. Today was 87% where I lived and 83% just north of me. Once again, I noticed a visible temperature drop.

The shadow crescents on your mug were amazing. Thanks for sharing this wonderful event from your perspective and your camping mug with us for T this week, dear friend.

Mae Travels said...

Eclipses are indeed fascinating. We saw the 3.5 minutes of totality this afternoon in Indianapolis. We had reserved places at a lovely park center where they served food and we could sit on a large lawn to watch the sun be eaten and then spit back out by the wolf. We were thrilled by the sight — and delighted that the weather was very favorable for both seeing the sun and for sitting outdoors. This was my first total eclipse, though I have seen other partial ones.

best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com

Iris Flavia said...

ZEISS, was sonst?
Als mein Kunde noch VW war hatten wir auch eine partielle Sonnenfinsternis - wir waren in Kästorf, ein Bürozentrum aufm Dorf.
Plötzlich waren alle Vögel still, es war ein bisschen unheimlich!

Danke für die Fotos (in allen Beiträgen dazu).
Mein Vater hatte eine Kuppel und drei Celestrons, ein "Sternenfreund" - leider hat er nie eine Sonnenfinsternis sehen dürfen.

David M. Gascoigne, said...

We were at the edge of the main trajectory, Carola, so we didn’t get the full impact. Niagara Falls was the place to be, but almost a million people had the same idea, so we decided to give it a miss! Better watch out down there in the states; Marjorie Taylor Green says it’s god’s wrath for you all being so wicked. The earthquake in New York too. Such a lovely lady. So smart too! 😁

My name is Erika. said...

We went up to Vermont to see it, and it was sooooo amazing. I love seeing your photos, and I noticed you had some of that crescent moon shaped reflections in some of my photos too. The total eclipse is definitely worth it to go see. Thanks for mentioning that to me (I think it was) last week. Have a super T day and week ahead, and I'm glad you were able to see at least some of the partial eclipse yesterday. hugs-Erika

DVArtist said...

Great photos. It's quite exciting to see an eclipes. Have a great day today.

Michelle said...

Great photos! We got a high percentage of totality here in KY. We had a little bit of cloud cover, but it made for beautiful light.

Barwitzki said...

Wie gut es ist durch Bloglandia zu reisen - was für spektakuläre Fotos du machen konntest.
Es ist ein Erlebnis - und die Zeiss Brille ist ein muß :-)) dafür.
Wir hatten Ostern das herrlichste Wetter und es wurde sogar in den letzten Tagen noch einmal übertrumpft mit bis zu 26 Grad im Schatten... Sommersonnentraum :-)) Freude pur.
Nach einem Gewitter und heftigem Regen liegen wir jetzt bei normalen 9 Grad und das ist gut so, denn wir wollen grüne Felder und Wiesen.
Schönes Foto auch mit deiner Campingtasse, die Farben sowie Licht und Schatten. Gute Laune soll die Woche dir erhalten.
Eine Umarmung für dich.

Veronica Lee said...

Amazing photos, Carola!
Even though I missed seeing the eclipse myself, your stories and photos made me feel like I was there with you.
I especially loved the picture of the eclipse on your camping mug.

Hugs and blessings

CJ Kennedy said...

Fabulous photos and the shadows on your mug are so cool. Happy T Day

Jeanie said...

We went to Toledo which had 99 percent totality and it was great. In 2017 I saw a bit of one while in Toronto and someone loaned me their glasses. Your photos are just fantastic!

Lowcarb team member said...

In my part of the UK we were not able to see the eclipse but enjoyed seeing the pictures on TV news.
I do like all the photographs you've shared in your post.

All the best Jan

Rostrose said...

Liebe Carola,
du hast tolle Fotos von den Ereignissen!
Wir haben 1999 die totale Sonnenfinsternis in Europa gesehen, als wir gerade in den Niederlanden Familienurlaub gemacht haben. Das war für uns auch sehr beeindruckend.
Ich hoffe, inzwischen bist du kniemäßig wieder ganz mobil!
Alles Liebe nach meiner Blogpause,
Traude
https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2024/04/back-again-ich-bin-wieder-im-lande.html
PS: Morgen geht's los mit dem Reisebericht...

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos, Carola. We did see the eclipse here in nashua, NH, and it was certainly not totality, but still an amazing site.

Teresa said...

Me habría encantado verlo, pero por aquí no se pudo ver. Tus fotografías están preciosas. Espero que todo vaya bien. Un abrazo.

Rostrose said...

Liebe Carola,
ich hoffe es geht dir gut und du kommst nur wegen angenehmer Dinge nicht zum Bloggen! Hab einen guten Wochenstart!
Alles Liebe, Traude
https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2024/04/weltreise-2024-1-station-singapur.html

Valerie-Jael said...

Your photos are absolutely wonderful, thanks so much for sharing. Have a gret week, hugs, Valerie