Solar Eclipse April 8

In 2017, we drove to Hopkinsville, KY to see the eclipse. It was the location with the longest totality of the eclipse. Because of that, we were able to get some incredible pictures:

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We got the "Diamond Ring" shot!
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I like this one because it looks like Pac-Man. LOL

Whatever you do, DO NOT LOOK AT THE ECLIPSE (at any time) WITH YOUR BARE EYES! You will severely damage your eyes!

Be sure to get glasses that are certified to watch a solar eclipse (ordinary sunglasses will NOT work). You can find appropriate glasses on Amazon. I suggest you get them early before supplies dwindle and prices go up.

I highly recommend this site for ALL of your eclipse questions:
Great American Eclipse

My parents went up to TN for the one in 2017.

Gotta ask...what kind of filter did you use on your camera? My dad shoots with a mirrorless Canon and I have a Canon DSLR. Since I'm getting roped into this, I might as well have some photography fun :) I know last time, he took a few on his phone camera by placing the eclipse glasses in front of the phone lens, but this won't work with our actual cameras.
 
My parents went up to TN for the one in 2017.

Gotta ask...what kind of filter did you use on your camera? My dad shoots with a mirrorless Canon and I have a Canon DSLR. Since I'm getting roped into this, I might as well have some photography fun :) I know last time, he took a few on his phone camera by placing the eclipse glasses in front of the phone lens, but this won't work with our actual cameras.
Maybe some help here.........

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explor...d-solutions/how-to-photograph-a-solar-eclipse
 
I have a room reserved in Ashtabula, OH for the evening of the 8th, using a free night certificate. I spent 7 years of my childhood there so may revisit a few old haunts from the 70's. When DH drove to TN for the last one he said traffic was bad afterward, so he would prefer to not drive home immediately. We may spend the night before somewhere in the northern Pittsburgh area. Guess I should see what hotel points i have for that.
 
Thanks for posting about this - I didn’t know an eclipse was happening this Spring - I’ll have to look into it.

This was my daughter and I on her 14th birthday 6 years ago - this eclipse was a big deal by us. It was a very cool birthday for her that year.

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We are in the totality path. It’s a Monday and not sure what the school district plans to do. I might work from home that day to avoid the traffic jams, plus the totality is slightly longer where my house is versus the office.
 
We went to Charleston, SC for the one in 2017, and we're heading to Dallas for this one. If you haven't already booked a hotel somewhere along the path, good luck! We booked just under a year out and were able to get a nice downtown hotel at $154/night, but a lot of places along the path were already sold out or insanely expensive.
 
Might be fun to see for the couple of minutes if the viewing path is near where you live, but certainly wouldn't travel out of town or stay overnight somewhere just to see it.
 

I’m from Buffalo too & looking forward to it. I put the eclipse glasses in my family’s Christmas stockings, lol. I have’t checked myself, but I thought I heard hotels around here are pretty booked up too.

It’s a Monday and not sure what the school district plans to do.

Our district is closed. They’ve had a Superintendent’s conference day in the calendar since it was released last year.
 
Might be fun to see for the couple of minutes if the viewing path is near where you live, but certainly wouldn't travel out of town or stay overnight somewhere just to see it.
Why not? It's a huge event. When we were in Charleston last time, there was a big presentation by NASA, we went out on a special boat tour to view it, we even sat in a 2 hour drive-through line at Krispy Kreme for Eclipse donuts. It's a fun all-day affair, not to mention a great excuse for a 3-4 day trip to somewhere you haven't been.
 
Absolutely. After it went directly over us in 2017 (Nashville), it is just too darn amazing and close to home to miss again in my lifetime. To sit in the pool and watch everything turn immediately dark with the crickets/cicadas chirping and neighborhood cheering was an experience. Currently looking at heading to Paducah. I believe the next one in US is 2044 going over the west, too far from home.

Yes, don’t forget to get your glasses early, they will sell out.
 
I'm not in the path of totality, but about 5 hours north is. We're planning to go up. That's where my family is from and where the family cottage is, but it'll be too cold (and probably still snowed in) to use. Hotel rates are skyrocketing there, so will probably stay with family an hour away. Maine has a few towns designated as "star sites" in the path of totality, and each town is having different events. I'm not sure where we'll head to see it, but looking forward to some of the activities happening over that weekend. I also haven't been up there that time of year since I was a child, so I'm looking forward to seeing "spring" (aka the continuance of winter) in the county.
 
Cedar Point (in Sandusky, OH) is opening for April 8th for the eclipse - details aren't out yet about what's planned, but the park normally doesn't open until early May, typically.

https://www.cedarpoint.com/events/total-eclipse-of-the-point
It would be cool to ride Steel Vengeance or Millennium Force when the sun hides, but with “select” rides available, it would probably be Blue Streak or Iron Dragon.

I’ll wait for more details.
 
Why not? It's a huge event. When we were in Charleston last time, there was a big presentation by NASA, we went out on a special boat tour to view it, we even sat in a 2 hour drive-through line at Krispy Kreme for Eclipse donuts. It's a fun all-day affair, not to mention a great excuse for a 3-4 day trip to somewhere you haven't been.
Well we didn't reserve the night anywhere simply because we don't know the weather. If the weather is bad where we plan on going, we'll head somewhere else if it is in range or we may not go. The Eclipse of totality only lasts about 4 minutes. And it's fairly bright within about a minute after that. We'll make a day trip out of it and if we have to stay the night somewhere, it will be on the way home rather than where the eclipse was.


Might be fun to see for the couple of minutes if the viewing path is near where you live, but certainly wouldn't travel out of town or stay overnight somewhere just to see it.

Considering the next Total eclipse over a large portion of the U.S. isn't until 2045, I think it's worth it to drive at least some ways to go see it, especially if one didn't get to see the one in 2017 or the annular eclipse last year. We did see the one in 2017. It was great. We'll be driving about 3-5 hours or so depending. I think it worth a day trip.
 
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