# I just learned about the annular solar eclipse of October 14, 2023, which will be passing right over my house **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 17, 2022, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-about-the-annular-solar-eclipse-of-october-14-2023-which-will-be-passing-right-over-my-house/962945 "2022-04-17T06:50:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-about-the-annular-solar-eclipse-of-october-14-2023-which-will-be-passing-right-over-my-house/962945/121 "2023-10-14T19:36:16Z")
Crescent, OR. It’s about an hour south of Bend and almost two hours from where I’m staying. All told, 7½ hours from my house. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-about-the-annular-solar-eclipse-of-october-14-2023-which-will-be-passing-right-over-my-house/962945/122 "2023-10-14T19:44:56Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > At least you have next April coming up. Are you planning to head downstate for it? Not a bad idea! Probably should make plans soon. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-about-the-annular-solar-eclipse-of-october-14-2023-which-will-be-passing-right-over-my-house/962945/123 "2023-10-14T19:55:42Z")
I woke up this morning and the weather forecast was for rain all morning and early afternoon, so my brain told me that there was no point in trying to do anything about trying to see the eclipse. So I’m in my office, which has great natural lighting due to a glass door opening onto my deck. Shortly before noon I was trying to figure out why it was so dark. It wasn’t until later, when things brightened up, that I remembered about the eclipse. Oh well, maybe things will be better next April. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-about-the-annular-solar-eclipse-of-october-14-2023-which-will-be-passing-right-over-my-house/962945/124 "2023-10-14T19:56:51Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > Still had to glimpse it through clouds, but we still saw it. That’s actually pretty cool. No filter? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-about-the-annular-solar-eclipse-of-october-14-2023-which-will-be-passing-right-over-my-house/962945/125 "2023-10-14T20:00:57Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > I’m planning to drive to the Jonesboro AR area for the total in April. I’ve never seen one. After what I’ve been been through, if I were you I’d seriously consider heading somewhere else. Per Wikipedia, Jonesboro averages over five inches of rain in April. Uvalde TX (yeah, that Uvalde) looks good. If you’re flying you’d presumably land at San Antonio, which is about 83 miles from Uvalde. This is what I do now, warning people to seek out the driest most desert-y place possible to see eclipses. The memory of hopes before they were dashed – again – is bittersweet. Don’t go anywhere near the ocean, especially on the East or Gulf Coast, and don’t go to the PNW between October and early June. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-about-the-annular-solar-eclipse-of-october-14-2023-which-will-be-passing-right-over-my-house/962945/126 "2023-10-14T20:12:01Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > Not a bad idea! Probably should make plans soon. If at all possible, head farther south. Cairo averages over five inches of rain in April. South Texas looks good. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-about-the-annular-solar-eclipse-of-october-14-2023-which-will-be-passing-right-over-my-house/962945/127 "2023-10-14T20:12:20Z")
I can’t see that picture ☹ The link just takes me to a blank page with a smal grey ⛔ sign on it. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-about-the-annular-solar-eclipse-of-october-14-2023-which-will-be-passing-right-over-my-house/962945/128 "2023-10-14T20:25:04Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > If at all possible, head farther south. I have bookings for Durango, Mexico. It looks like an interesting place to visit, and it has better average cloud cover in April than anywhere in the U.S. Durango itself is 30%, and there are locations within an hour’s drive that are 20%. When I booked a couple of months ago, there was no problem getting flights, hotel or rental car. American flies there from Dallas - the flight was somewhat above average price, probably because Dallas itself is in the path. But I booked the flight on points, so that and all my other bookings are fully refundable. I plan to check the weather forecast a few days before and make a decision whether to go. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-about-the-annular-solar-eclipse-of-october-14-2023-which-will-be-passing-right-over-my-house/962945/129 "2023-10-14T21:42:46Z")
Okay, so here are my 3 best picks. No tripod and using my eclipse glasses as a makeshift filter. It was… tricky: [![](https://songsofbabylon.files.wordpress.com/2023/10/annular1.jpg) ](https://songsofbabylon.files.wordpress.com/2023/10/annular1.jpg) [![](https://songsofbabylon.files.wordpress.com/2023/10/annular2.jpg) ](https://songsofbabylon.files.wordpress.com/2023/10/annular2.jpg) [![](https://songsofbabylon.files.wordpress.com/2023/10/annular3.jpg) ](https://songsofbabylon.files.wordpress.com/2023/10/annular3.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-about-the-annular-solar-eclipse-of-october-14-2023-which-will-be-passing-right-over-my-house/962945/130 "2023-10-14T21:45:28Z")
No, just a zoomed-in camera phone shot through light clouds. I tried fussing with exposure and contrast settings, but it was close to perfect already. I did trim out the chain link fence, leaving only the barbed wire here: [![](https://i.imgur.io/Lg86kBe_d.webp) ](https://i.imgur.io/Lg86kBe_d.webp) ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-about-the-annular-solar-eclipse-of-october-14-2023-which-will-be-passing-right-over-my-house/962945/131 "2023-10-14T21:49:16Z")
Then I daresay you actually got a better picture/view with the clouds than without. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-about-the-annular-solar-eclipse-of-october-14-2023-which-will-be-passing-right-over-my-house/962945/132 "2023-10-14T22:02:09Z")
Yeah. The clouds made for frustrating in-person viewing, but the dramatic photo looks cool enough to make up for it. I have photos of the 2017 eclipse, including a “diamond ring” shot, and of the 2012 transit of Venus. Both are cool, but this one’s going on my wall. ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-about-the-annular-solar-eclipse-of-october-14-2023-which-will-be-passing-right-over-my-house/962945/133 "2023-10-14T22:11:54Z")
Trying again … [![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ADCreHf361uWj3kLzpJHWo9eBa4UsuurJtt2cdSd-M_BxipB9hzFrNSsekWal8A_MGtsgvWSv9TEaWK1gz82lBX6fcIuulTSrJm5lBZ7OvbE1qyzYmbqpm-yYiakm7f15Z2aJb4ZqVjfPkFxA2DaJqBgxNLw6w=w1668-h1252-s-no?authuser=1) ](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ADCreHf361uWj3kLzpJHWo9eBa4UsuurJtt2cdSd-M_BxipB9hzFrNSsekWal8A_MGtsgvWSv9TEaWK1gz82lBX6fcIuulTSrJm5lBZ7OvbE1qyzYmbqpm-yYiakm7f15Z2aJb4ZqVjfPkFxA2DaJqBgxNLw6w=w1668-h1252-s-no?authuser=1) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-about-the-annular-solar-eclipse-of-october-14-2023-which-will-be-passing-right-over-my-house/962945/134 "2023-10-14T22:14:35Z")
By me, we actually had a break in the clouds coinciding with the eclipse duration, so the Mrs. and I caught a few views with a pinhole viewer I made at the last minute. But the wind was blowing 20+ MPH off the lake so we didn’t view it long. Nifty. ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_Blaylock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_blaylock/32/3235_2.png) [@Bob\_Blaylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Blaylock)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-about-the-annular-solar-eclipse-of-october-14-2023-which-will-be-passing-right-over-my-house/962945/135 "2023-10-14T23:07:18Z")
  From Sacramento, this morning.   I was not optimistic, as there was pretty heavy cloud cover.  And @Seanette and I were consumed by the process of moving back into our apartment after a week in a motel while the apartment was down for major repairs. But I was feeling determined to at least give it a try; with my ancient , (late 1960s or early 1970s) 85-205mm ƒ/3.8 Vivitar zoom lens mounted on my not-nearly-so-ancient (2012 or 2013) Nikon D3200.   As it happened, at the most perfect moment, right at 09:21 with the eclipse at its peak, the Sun found a convenient gap in the clouds, giving me a nearly-perfect shot. 205mm, 1⁄4000 of a second, ƒ/22, ISO 100.   I have a crude pinhole insert that I made, an eclipse or two ago, to reduce exposure enough to shoot the Sun, but I guess this time, there was still enough cloud in front of the Sun that I just barely didn’t need it. Hopefully, before the next solar eclipse that is visible from where I am, I’ll be able to fit into my budget, a longer lens and a suitable heavy neutral-density filter to fit it. [![](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53258712815_371c09e7c9_o.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53258712815_371c09e7c9_o.jpg) [![](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53258712905_6455291a8b_o.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53258712905_6455291a8b_o.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-about-the-annular-solar-eclipse-of-october-14-2023-which-will-be-passing-right-over-my-house/962945/136 "2023-10-15T00:25:43Z")
In Montreal, the sun was behind clouds about 50% of the two hour period when the Planetarium staff had set up cameras and provided glasses for the public. The peak 17% coverage was still quite noticeable. Next - April 8, 2024 and totality over most of the city. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-about-the-annular-solar-eclipse-of-october-14-2023-which-will-be-passing-right-over-my-house/962945/137 "2023-10-15T00:52:06Z")
Here in sunny greater Miami it was raining at eclipse time. We were well off center with about 65% occlusion so it wasn’t going to be spectacular. But instead we had a total bust. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-about-the-annular-solar-eclipse-of-october-14-2023-which-will-be-passing-right-over-my-house/962945/138 "2023-10-15T04:32:10Z")
That is a stunning picture! ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-about-the-annular-solar-eclipse-of-october-14-2023-which-will-be-passing-right-over-my-house/962945/139 "2023-10-15T08:40:12Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > and don’t go to the PNW between October and early June. I just saw in our local (digital) daily newspaper that some people around here did get to see the whole ring-- somewhat obscured by the mists but still. But it really depended on where you were and seems to have been the proverbial crapshoot. The same thing happened to me in 2017. I ubered from my waterfront hotel in Charleston to a watch party forty miles inland, where we got a thunderstorm. When I got back to the hotel I learned that people there had seen the eclipse just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-about-the-annular-solar-eclipse-of-october-14-2023-which-will-be-passing-right-over-my-house/962945/140 "2023-10-15T09:41:58Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > I can’t see that picture ☹ > The link just takes me to a blank page with a smal grey ⛔ sign on it. If you were replying to me, I found a privilege issue which I’ve just fixed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-about-the-annular-solar-eclipse-of-october-14-2023-which-will-be-passing-right-over-my-house/962945.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-learned-about-the-annular-solar-eclipse-of-october-14-2023-which-will-be-passing-right-over-my-house/962945.md?page=8)