Phone picture of totality. Venus is visible at the top of the tree on the right.
As totality ended over Oregon in August of 2017, the 2024 eclipse seemed to be far into the future. Despite the seven year gap, I already had ideas about the encore eclipse. The path did not come near my home in Georgia; that long arc on the map was nearly 500 miles away at its closest approach. One of the nearest locations was the Ozarks of Missouri where I had spend plenty of time outdoors as a youngster. By good fortune, my relatives owned property in the path of totality.
|
The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns spinning around us.
We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below.
|
“The Farm” as we called it, would be my primary destination. Another group of relatives would gather in southern Illinois, so that was Plan B. And if the weather forecasts were truly awful for both locations, I would make a long drive to a more favorable location. As the day approached, the forecasts looked good.
Five days out, the cloud-cover models pointed to clear skies over Missouri. Enlarge.
The maps changed from day to day, but never showed more than a 30% chance for cloud cover. My original plan was to go partway on April 6 to get past Atlanta, but Google traffic maps showed red and orange lines all over the place. Instead, I got up very early the next morning, and drove the entire 650 mile distance in one day. It was a good choice, because I zipped through Atlanta and Chattanooga with no problems.
By 4:00 in the afternoon, Success was mine.
Success, Arkansas was in the path of totality. Even if my car quit on me, I’d get to see the eclipse.
I chose to take less-traveled roads across northeast Arkansas, rather than major highways in Missouri that might have a lot of pre-eclipse traffic. The route took me through Doniphan, Missouri, where an eclipse festival was happening.
Perched near the centerline of totality, Doniphan enjoyed more than 4 minutes of darkness.
Not exactly a huge crowd for the live music, but it was the day before Eclipse Day.
As I did for my 2017 diary, I took a photo to show how bad the traffic was.
No traffic jams here!
I reached my destination with about two hours of daylight to spare, joining about a dozen relatives and inlaws. One of the first things I did was to make a guess about where the sun would be at eclipse time, so that I could plan for viewing. Many of the trees were still bare, so it turned out that just about any place would do.
The big day arrives!
Early on the morning of the 8th, even before coffee, the big question was, What does the sky look like? There were a few thin, high clouds; othewise the sky was gloriously clear. The partial phase of the eclipse would not begin until after noon, so there was plenty of time for visiting, and for wandering around the property. A few butterflies darted around, including a zebra swallowtail that stopped long enough for me to snap a few pictures.
By the time the moon had taken the first bite out of the sun, everyone was ready with their lawn chairs, eclipse glasses, cameras...and gnat protection. Gnats absolutely love the Missouri Ozarks, and this day was no exception. Most folks in our group wore netting over their heads. I opted for a heavy dose of repellent.
Somewhere near the 50% mark of the partial eclipse, the decreased light became evident. I really noticed it after going into the house for a couple minutes. When I went back outside, it was obvious to my eyes that something was different. The change was less noticeable to those who stayed outside, because their eyes gradually adjusted to the dimming light.
Around this time, I made note of the temperature, 79F. It would drop to 70 degrees before rebounding.
Here are two pictures, taken 15 minutes apart (roughly 27 and 12 minutes before totality). Note the white bands that appeared in the sky near the sun.
1:29 pm
1:44 pm
Close-up of the bands, 1:46 pm
I had brought a kitchen strainer with me, but the holes were too large to focus any crescents. Someone else brought a colander with smaller holes.
About 30 minutes prior to totality.
My car was parked underneath an elm tree that was just beginning to leaf out. The shadows became distorted as totality approached. This was a fun photo to attempt, trying to hold the binoculars in exactly the right spot to project two crescents, while holding the phone with the other hand and attempting to compose the image.
About two minutes before totality.
I had a DSLR camera handy, but I barely used it. All of the above images were taken with my phone. At first, the DSLR was set up on a tripod; but the sun was so high in the sky that I realized the tripod was impractical. Here are two pics taken with the camera, handheld.
Slightly distorted, taken through a filter.
Totality. I took exactly one shot, and set the camera aside.
During the 2017 eclipse, the DSLR refused to work at low light levels. This time around, I put it on manual focus, sports setting. The image is nowhere near professional grade, but at least it came out!
Everyone noticed a bright red line emerging from lower portion the eclipsed sun. It was a solar prominence, widely photographed and reported in news stories. My picture came out a bit too bright to capture the prominence.
Venus and Jupiter were easily visible during totality. Astronomers said that a comet might be visible near Jupiter. I looked through my binoculars, but the thin clouds were just enough to hide the comet. After a quick search, I returned to the main event, totality.
Four minutes might seem like forever if you’re waiting at a traffic light, but it goes by quickly during an eclipse! It was great to enjoy those four minutes with family, and with excellent viewing conditions. I’ll close with a brief video taken at the start of totality. Note the swarm of gnats at the start!
Link to my 2017 eclipse diary:
The Daily Bucket: One Forester's (And One Cat's) View of the Eclipse
Today’s poll is identical to the one in my 2017 diary. It will be interesting to see how they compare.
Okay, the floor (and the sky) is yours. What’s happening in your part of the world?
Also, note the Clickadee has an eclipse diary scheduled for Tuesday. I’ve peeked at it, and it’s “totally” different from mine. Enjoy them both...and any other Bucketeers who witnessed the eclipse are welcome to post their accounts. The more, the merrier.
