Our eclipse was right on schedule Monday at 2:34 PM here in Rome, Ga. We had about 98 percent coverage of the sun. We took the same pictures that probably millions of others who were not in the path of totality did. Here are the crescents made by the sun filtering through a sparsely-leafed maple next to the driveway.
We made an eclipse viewer from a cardboard box. I cut a flap out of the side so we could look in. I made a small hole — a pinhole, as they say — that focused the sun’s rays pretty well, but I have to admit that viewing an eclipse that way is not all that satisfying. I think our new cat is going to get more use out of it than we did.
A couple of hours from of us (in normal traffic, not eclipse traffic) the extreme northeastern tip of Georgia was within in the path of totality. The TV stations covered it, of course. The thousands of people who gathered in the little towns in northeast Georgia had a scare as the clouds moved in, but I think they got a pretty decent look at the fully-eclipsed sun. The televised image from a telescope was probably better than what they got with the naked eye.
My brother was in Tennessee at almost the exact center of the moon’s shadow, so he got the full effect of the eclipse.
I would like to experience a total eclipse. Although I would like to see the solar corona when the sun is fully covered, what I would really love to see is the shadow of the moon racing towards us at 1800 miles an hour.
They say the next eclipse in the continental US is in 2024. I will be 74 by that time, but I hope I’m still able to travel. Maybe Leah and I can start making plans right away.
Watching the shadow was cool, but the coronal ring? Awesome. Unbelievably so.
Also cool was hearing the night insects start up, watching the sky darken to where you could see Jupiter, and even seeing the lights around the lake switch on automatically as the sky darkened.
We didn’t get to see a thing here even at 85%. The fog was as thick as ever, and thicker than it had been all summer. A total bummer. It did get very dusky and then it got light again. I didn’t know about coronal ring, and I’m just about to go googling! Glad you got to see the eclipse there!
Karen — My brother, who saw the eclipse in Spring City, tried to take a photo of the corona with his iPhone, but I’m sure it didn’t do it justice. I would have liked to see that. It didn’t get as dark here as I expected it to with only two percent of the sun visible.
Robin — We’re thinking of going to Texas in seven years to see the corona and the approaching shadow of the moon. Why don’t you and Roger plan to meet us there?