ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Well, poor BDT might have missed the eclipse in Columbia, but he didn't miss a thing on the Science Channel's much-ballyhooed "live event" from 11:00 until 4:00 today!

The first hour was just a repeat of the promo for it I saw last night.

At 12:00 the "live report" started . . . which turned out to be an episode of How the Universe Works, interrupted periodically by a few quick interviews from Masdan, Oregon, with some of the folks who gathered in a big field for the first totality event. The interviews were interesting, and I got to see the area get darker and darker until totality finally occurred.

But this was not what they promised us, and I wasn't happy about it.

At 1:00 I was expecting a different series of reports from a new location along the path of totality . . . but something went wrong apparently, because the Science Channel just reran the entire first hour again ??? complete with the same How the Universe Works episode with same "live" interviews in Oregon!

The third hour from 2:00 to 3:00 . . . was the first hour AGAIN!

And the fourth hour from 3:00 to 4:00 . . . reran the FIRST HOUR AGAIN!

I don't know what happened, but there were other channels that advertised all-day coverage, and I hate the fact that I missed them!

The Science Channel described the event like this.
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Science Channel will be capturing every moment of the Great American Eclipse with live coverage on air and online. We'll be live in Madras, Oregon ??? one of the nation's premier viewing spots ??? with astronomers and educators, in partnership with the Lowell Observatory.

We'll also provide live footage from other prime viewing destinations across American including locations in Tennessee, Idaho, Nebraska, and South Carolina.

You'll also get glimpses of the eclipse taken from the International Space Station.
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Absolutely none of the events described above (other than the first hour shown over and over) were aired. Dammit, I was so damn disappointed!

I found a butt-load of lousy eclipse videos on Youtube that failed to portray this historic occasion ??? until I finally stumbled onto one below that does a fine job of showing what it was like watch the eclipse in Columbia, SC!

I admire the folks who made this video ??? which succeeds in doing (in a small way) what the idiots at the Science Channel didn't do in four hours of highly promoted programming!

Ladies and gentlemen, this one is for Bulldogtrekker!

_______________ Total eclipse in Columbia, SC


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[orzel-w]

That was cool, watching the area quickly grow dark and all the smartphone screens becoming visible.

I slept through the whole thing. I evidently picked up on a time slot that was for someplace in the Eastern time zone. Oh, well. In another 28 years we'll get another chance in SoCal.
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...or not...

WayneO
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[MetroPolly]

Well, NASA had a live feed going, that's how I saw it. Damn fog pretty much wrecked everything.

[Bud Brewster]

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Well, that's okay, Wayne. Older folks like us aren't expected to be early risers. And retired people are famous for not knowing what day it is.

Besides, California was so far from "where the action is" during this eclipse, our friend Custer had a better view than you did . . . in England.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Gord Green]

Saw the partial here in NY. I've seen partials before so I wasn't expecting too much.

Still, it's so cool!

The Earth is the ONLY planet in the entire Universe (As far as we know!) that has a total eclipse where the Moon is just the right size and in just the right eclliptic that it is just the right size to perfectly mask the Sun!

Unlike the C-57-D we can not "make our own eclipses.".
We have to rely on the "coincidence" just like we rely on the sheer "coincidence" that our planet just happens to be perfect for life.

Here's the ISS "photobombing" the eclipse:





Makes you think, doesn't it?

[Gord Green]

And here's what the Moon's shadow looked like passing over the Earth FROM the ISS!!

[orzel-w]

[orzel-w]

[alltare]

Cloudy sky almost kept me from seeing the syzygy today. The sky finally cleared up about 15 minutes after max occlusion, so I was only able to view the sun about 25% covered (max here in Albuquerque was 75%). The next eclipse observable in the US will be on April 18, 2024. I think Albuq will be closer to the umbra than we were today.

I managed to get a few photos with my smart phone. I held my cardboard eclipse glasses over the phone's lens so the imaging chip wouldn't be damaged. Unfortunately, the dark lens kept the camera from focusing properly, so the pix are a little blurry. Has anyone else tried this? Did you have acceptable results? Hopefully, I'll have a more appropriate camera in 2024.

[bulldogtrekker]

I saw the eclipse just fine thank you. (EDIT:They took me to an glassy passageway).

And I was discharged from the hospital Tuesday 8/22 at noon.

[Bud Brewster]

[Gord Green]

I heard when he went out in the passageway his gown fell open in the back! It took a nurse tying his gown shut to give his "full moon" a total eclipse!!!!

[orzel-w]

This is almost more than I can bare.
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...or not...

WayneO
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[Bud Brewster]

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Well, he's home now, so I guess the fun is over.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)