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f-stop
Active Member
Did an overnight road trip to watch my first total solar eclipse, driving my Tesla down from Vancouver BC to Independence OR, 1300km round trip total. What an amazing spectacle and experience! (worth every minute of the long slow drive through Oregon trafffic home).
Encountered a few full Supercharger locations in either direction (Burlington, Centralia, Woodburn) but was lucky and in each case either got the last slot or only had to wait a few minutes for one to become available. The small lineup that was forming afterwards was always orderly. Met lots of nice people waiting while charging, one woman was giving out "eclipse cookies" to those of us hanging around the chargers. On the way down, tried out the new SC at Arlington WA (16 chargers, almost all empty there). Felt a bit of range anxiety in the crawling stop&go (mostly, just "stopped") traffic between Woodburn and Centralia on the way home after the eclipse, detouring through many side roads to avoid I-5 traffic jam and taking ~2.5times longer than normal to make that leg, but in the end it turned out the energy estimate at the start was right on so no problem. (thanks to Google Maps and Waze finding a way around the mess). Turned out a quick extra little charge in Woodburn for additional safety margin before heading home probably uncessary. Once we got back into WA state, traffic was much smoother.
AP1 on the highway worked well and helped make the drive less stressful, felt especially great on those stretches of really smooth highway (an aside - why is it back home we can't seem to build roads as smooth as the ones in the US?). As noted elsewhere, the current Tesla firmware version has that bug where the MPH speed limit signs no longer get converted to metric equivalent in the dash display (or vice versa for US cars visiting Canada)
Photos don't really do the eclipse experience justice - being there and feeling the air quickly get cooler, seeing the strange change of lighting, that strange glow on things as it darkens as if there's a strange spotlight in the sky... and as others have noted, seeing that black "hole" punched out of the sky during totality where the sun should be, and of course the loud cheer from the crowd when it suddenly got dark, and later suddenly bright out again - were all amazing to experience in person.
at risk of duplicating Doug_G's excellent photos above, here are 3 of my shots of different points during totality. The 1st, just seconds after the start of totality, the 2nd at the midpoint of totality, and the 3rd at the very end of the 2 minute period of totality we saw in Independence:
Encountered a few full Supercharger locations in either direction (Burlington, Centralia, Woodburn) but was lucky and in each case either got the last slot or only had to wait a few minutes for one to become available. The small lineup that was forming afterwards was always orderly. Met lots of nice people waiting while charging, one woman was giving out "eclipse cookies" to those of us hanging around the chargers. On the way down, tried out the new SC at Arlington WA (16 chargers, almost all empty there). Felt a bit of range anxiety in the crawling stop&go (mostly, just "stopped") traffic between Woodburn and Centralia on the way home after the eclipse, detouring through many side roads to avoid I-5 traffic jam and taking ~2.5times longer than normal to make that leg, but in the end it turned out the energy estimate at the start was right on so no problem. (thanks to Google Maps and Waze finding a way around the mess). Turned out a quick extra little charge in Woodburn for additional safety margin before heading home probably uncessary. Once we got back into WA state, traffic was much smoother.
AP1 on the highway worked well and helped make the drive less stressful, felt especially great on those stretches of really smooth highway (an aside - why is it back home we can't seem to build roads as smooth as the ones in the US?). As noted elsewhere, the current Tesla firmware version has that bug where the MPH speed limit signs no longer get converted to metric equivalent in the dash display (or vice versa for US cars visiting Canada)
Photos don't really do the eclipse experience justice - being there and feeling the air quickly get cooler, seeing the strange change of lighting, that strange glow on things as it darkens as if there's a strange spotlight in the sky... and as others have noted, seeing that black "hole" punched out of the sky during totality where the sun should be, and of course the loud cheer from the crowd when it suddenly got dark, and later suddenly bright out again - were all amazing to experience in person.
at risk of duplicating Doug_G's excellent photos above, here are 3 of my shots of different points during totality. The 1st, just seconds after the start of totality, the 2nd at the midpoint of totality, and the 3rd at the very end of the 2 minute period of totality we saw in Independence:
⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️
Village Idiot
We went to Clinton S.C. for the eclipse. Saw one Model S on the way. We flew in to Charlotte and drove an ICE rental to Clinton using state highways instead of the Interstates. No problem at all, except turning on the wipers instead of shifting into drive, forgetting to turn the car off, and forgetting to lock the car. Not to mention sitting in the drivers seat trying to figure out what I should be doing next and where to do it. My family had to constantly nag me. Five months in the X now, and this and the trip to the airport are my only ICE driving during that time. Traffic was only bad for one 25 mile stretch and the way there, but pretty bad most of the way back again.
We had 50% clouds, but thank goodness it cleared enough to catch totality and plenty of the partial coverage. Just seconds before and after totality it is much brighter and eclipse glasses are necessary. During totality you can look at it with naked eyes and it is night-time dark with a red horizon. Completely different than 98%. 2024 should be even better.
We had 50% clouds, but thank goodness it cleared enough to catch totality and plenty of the partial coverage. Just seconds before and after totality it is much brighter and eclipse glasses are necessary. During totality you can look at it with naked eyes and it is night-time dark with a red horizon. Completely different than 98%. 2024 should be even better.
I drove my Bolt EV up to central Oregon from San Francisco and then set out with some local folks for the annual Oregon Star Party astronomy geek fest.
The OSP's usual location in the Ochoco National Forest east of Redmond and Prineville just happens to be within the area of totality this year.
I focused on the experience rather than taking fancy photos but here's a snapshot from my iPhone.
The OSP's usual location in the Ochoco National Forest east of Redmond and Prineville just happens to be within the area of totality this year.
I focused on the experience rather than taking fancy photos but here's a snapshot from my iPhone.
Morristhecat
Member
Amazing photos F-stop. I kept snapping photos, but none of them turned out... I might just save yours in my photo directory...
My 7yr old son and I did a similar trip from Vancouver, headed down Sunday and stopped at the superchargers in Arlington, Centrailia, Woodburn and Lincoln City. We stayed overnight at a small beach access lot and tried the model S in camper mode for fun. Got an amazing spot on the beach to watch the eclipse. Then as the moon was half way through entering the sun, the fog rolled in, so we quickly packed up, headed to high ground and found a sunny spot within 10 minutes. Plenty of time to spare to see it in totality and the momentary panic was over.
Totality was simply amazing and wierd. I will remember that for the rest of my life. As it approached, the sun was oddly dim. Then the sliver of sun went out, the ocean breeze that had been lightly blowing all morning suddenly stopped, and it appeared like the sun was showering it's beams across the atmosphere around the shadow. The streetlights were on. Then just before totality returned, we felt the ocean breeze again, the diamond appeared signalling the return of our glasses, and light started to come back to day.
Afterward, headed up to Cannon Beach for a while before stopping in the superchargers in Seaside, Centrailia, and Burlington. I wonder if you were one of the fellows we were chatting with at any of those stops. I also seemed to always get the last spot at the chargers, except in Arlington and Burlington. Traffic was bad heading down to Woodburn, and also coming out of Lincoln City, but that was about it. Our round trip was 1400km, which was tiring considering that my older S doesn't have autopilot. The charging breaks were certainly appreciated. Overall, lots of fun.
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Nice photos, all. Here are a few of mine.
A couple embracing on a hill as the sunrise begins:
GIF of the eclipse from start to finish:
Corona:
Bailey's Beads:
It was an experience I will not forget, and one I'll look to relive in 2024. Highly recommend you seek out totality at least once in your life if you're able!
A couple embracing on a hill as the sunrise begins:
GIF of the eclipse from start to finish:
Corona:
Bailey's Beads:
It was an experience I will not forget, and one I'll look to relive in 2024. Highly recommend you seek out totality at least once in your life if you're able!
Lovely lovely Gif.. can you post another one with double or triple the number of frames, to get a more smoother picture?
Questions that has been mind since the Eclipse:
- Why is the Corono visible only during totalilty when that glow should always be there even before totality?
- The Beads - why are they visible only on the moment right after totality? Shouldn't there be an equivalent bead just a few seconds before totality on the opposite side? Every picture I have seen so far has the bead only at C3 and never at C2.
Questions that has been mind since the Eclipse:
- Why is the Corono visible only during totalilty when that glow should always be there even before totality?
- The Beads - why are they visible only on the moment right after totality? Shouldn't there be an equivalent bead just a few seconds before totality on the opposite side? Every picture I have seen so far has the bead only at C3 and never at C2.
If only.
I don't have a tracking mount on my tripod, so that cursed rascal of a sun kept moving. I cropped the photos to minimize movement but clearly could have done a better job. I also don't have enough additional frames to smooth it into a video-like look, as I was actually watching the process as well as capturing it. That GIF is around 30 frames. I know there are other more professional captures out there that are a lot smoother than mine.The corona is only visible from Earth during a total eclipse because the central body of the sun is much (much) brighter. It's only when that is blocked that we can see the chromosphere and corona.
The diamond ring and Bailey's Beads are visible both before and after totality. Just for a very short period. I would imagine people are more likely to capture the tail end than the beginning.
In other words, I think it is there all the time, but without the moon blocking it, the main body of the sun is too bright and your eyes can't look in that area.
You can't see the corona much through the eclipse viewing glasses, so people carefully take them off during totality, which is the one time you can safely look straight towards the sun without protective lenses. People have to be careful to put the glasses back on quickly as soon as the totality starts to end.
Again, no camera is able to capture this they way your eye can. The corona prominences were bigger, shinier, and generally more amazing in person than in a picture. I think people gasp and were in awe because they have never seen anything quite like this before.
HankLloydRight
No Roads
My eclipse chaser friend* says the sun is 10,000 times brighter than the corona, which is why you can't see it at any other time.
I'm simply amazed at the coincidence that the sun's diameter is 400 times larger than the moon, but the moon is 400x closer, which is why a total eclipse works this way. I wonder how many other moon/sun/planets in our solar system have this same ratio, and do they (the planets) experience total solar eclipses?
* he's been on a charted a Alaska Airlines flight the last solar eclipse to get a guaranteed cloud-free view of the solar eclipse. He got some great photos which Alaska Airlines ended up licensing from him to use a promotions for future eclipse flights, including 2017.
** in 1973, a bunch of folks chartered the Concorde to fly at Mach2 inside the totality zone for as long as possible, I think it was about 72 minutes. Too bad that will never happen again.
I'm simply amazed at the coincidence that the sun's diameter is 400 times larger than the moon, but the moon is 400x closer, which is why a total eclipse works this way. I wonder how many other moon/sun/planets in our solar system have this same ratio, and do they (the planets) experience total solar eclipses?
* he's been on a charted a Alaska Airlines flight the last solar eclipse to get a guaranteed cloud-free view of the solar eclipse. He got some great photos which Alaska Airlines ended up licensing from him to use a promotions for future eclipse flights, including 2017.
** in 1973, a bunch of folks chartered the Concorde to fly at Mach2 inside the totality zone for as long as possible, I think it was about 72 minutes. Too bad that will never happen again.
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And to answer Hank's question: there are zero other planet/moon combos that have the correct positioning and size to experience a solar eclipse in our system. Per Neil Tyson Pluto has something fairly close, but of course Pluto's not a planet anymore.
HankLloydRight
No Roads
And OTOH, I play the stats... in that of all the planets and all the moons in just our local Milky Way galaxy, there has to be other examples of the same phenomenon. Not counting the billions of other galaxies in our universe.
Disclaimer: I'm a hard-core skeptic, critical thinker, and athiest.
I do have one Tesla observation from my trip. While waiting for transport at the Portland airport I saw 3X as many X's as S's.
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