Thanks, Chuck. We stayed with a friend in Ammon, Idaho. I’ve known him since the sixth grade. His home was really nice. His friend, Ed “Woody” Woodford and his family threw an eclipse party at their house. We drove over from Kevin’s place and set up in Woody and Deb’s (his wife) back yard. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The breeze was very light. I could see smoke on the horizon, but I don’t think it made too much of a difference. At least, it didn’t for me. Ed is a great cook, so there was plenty to eat. There were a lot of people in his back yard, but only Kevin and I were set up with equipment to photograph. I had never witnessed a total eclipse. I can appreciate its legendary status, now. During totality the street lights came on and people all along Ed’s block were cheering. The temperature dropped precipitously. Important safety tip….if an alien culture buzzes in and says they’re going to blot out the sun, or else…do what they want. Because I was the only one in the back yard with a telescope everyone thought I should be the one to give an impromptu lecture on the finer points of eclipse mechanics…the difference between the mechanics of annular eclipses and total eclipses, things like that. The temperature dropped precipitously. Then, for some reason I had a vision of Giordano Bruno. I wasn’t burned at the stake, so I guess the crowd thought the explanations made sense. Another heretic saved. Charlotte and I went to Ammon on Saturday. It was a nice visit with Kevin and his wife for a few days. I haven’t seen Kevin’s wife for nearly 30 years. What was weird was that on the day of the eclipse Woody’s wife was wearing an Ammon, ID eclipse t-shirt, except the printer had screwed up and printed Ammond, ID. After looking at the t-shirt I made a mental note to at least get the name of the town correct in the future. Then she proceeds to tell me that it was a misprint and she hadn’t noticed it for about two weeks. OK, so Ammon was correct. Another “senior” moment averted. I wish you well on your 2024 endeavor. If I’m alive maybe we can photograph the eclipse together. You have to give the lecture. Dave
On Aug 23, 2017, at 18:41, Chuck Hards <chuck.hards@gmail.com> wrote:
Nice shots, Dave!
I purposely left the H-a scope at home; while it would have made for some interesting shots, I figured it secondary to the main event. I also had no room to spare since we took the Fiesta to save on gas. Didn't have to buy a drop of gas in Idaho.
I don't have any prior total eclipse experience, but I felt the sky pretty darn dark. It was completely cloudless at Thornton. Before sunrise I noticed just the thinnest band of reddish smoke on the northern horizon, it didn't extend up more than a few degrees. Terrestrial visibility didn't seem too compromised by suspended particles in the air. Ground visibility was very good in all directions going home that afternoon.
Dust in the air probably contributed to the lighter sky some eclipse veterans mention, but I think the size of the umbral shadow played a big part as well. A 2-minute centerline totality means a much smaller umbral shadow than a six minute centerline totality. The illuminated countryside outside the shadow is much closer with the shorter eclipse. It's the equivalent of a shorter span of time after sundown.
I'm not in a rush to go through my photos, there are hundreds and I'm paying the price at work by taking two days off. I *am* going to hie myself on down to Walmart and have a poster or three printed up, however!
I'll be retired in 2024 so can do what I want to, when I want to, for that one. And I'll only be 87 in 2045 when I won't have to go anywhere. ;-)
On Wed, Aug 23, 2017 at 5:51 PM, Dave Gary <davegary@me.com> wrote:
I’ve posted this album to Flickr. I have not cleaned up the photos and don’t have time to do so at the moment. What impressed me most about the eclipse was the difference in air temperature I felt at totality. Sorry, no H-alpha filter, just white-light filtered photos.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/78046474@N06/albums/72157687999587425 < https://www.flickr.com/photos/78046474@N06/albums/72157687999587425>
Dave
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