The map shows greatest eclipse in western Kentucky. Do you all think it’s worth the risk of clouds or rain to try their, or better to try out west in Wyoming with it’s much lower likelihood of cloudy weather?
Easy answer. Go for the best chance of seeing it.
That’s exactly where we will be, along with many others.
And as far as 99% eclipses are concerned, I’ve seen one, in Paris. There was some thin cloud cover, and you could make out a crescent sun through the clouds. Due to refraction, there was some pink and green coloration striking the clouds. Other than that, it was fairly meh, nothing at all as spectacular as totality.
The 2020s are going to be great for eclipses. There will be three long-duration eclipses: 2024, 2027, and 2028. Hopefully Egypt will be stable in 2028.
August clouds in the Southeast US are a given. Go West, young man!
This is a pretty lame “thanks.”
Emphases mine
This point can’t be overstated … even temporary blindness would suck for this eclipse …
I understand the concern. However, cheap can be safe, while expensive may be unsafe. Be careful of scammers.
There is a new ISO safety standard for these glasses and these meet that. So you don’t have to get the expensive ones. And I got the link from the page by Xavier Jubier, the astronomer.
Whatever glasses you use, expensive or not, make sure they meet that standard. There will be scammers out there, trying to make ome buck off of unwitting folk$.
I ordered here – Eclipse glasses for the Great North American total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024 | eclipse2024.org. 
The safety standard is here: ISO 12312-2:2015, Eye and face protection – Sunglasses and related eyewear – Part 2: Filters for direct observation of the sun.
Thanks for that reference. I totally accept that those glasses are safe, in their pristine condition. However, my concern still stands, that it’s much easier to damage coated mylar glasses in a way that makes them unsafe than it is to similarly damage welding goggles. If you toss those glasses in your glove compartment, or jam them into your pocket with your keys, you may find tiny pinpricks of retina-scarring light when you take them out to look at the sun.
I get my welding glass at reputable welding supply shops … This is the glass that mounts in welder’s helmets … the theory is that if it’s scam operation, there will be a mess of angry welders out to get them … not a pretty sight …
Maybe mylar was more common in the past, but modern cheap eclipse glasses aren’t coated–the opaquifier is distributed throughout the plastic. It can’t be scratched off, and the plastic can’t be easily ripped through completely. The biggest risk is that the stupid cardboard arms will slip off your ears and fall off your face.
I’m keeping mine in the shipping tube container. The film doesn’t seem to be coated mylar, it’s pretty dense, but the tube container should keep them well through August and travel. The stupid cardboard arms aren’t great, but I’ll probably be holding them with my hand anyway. It’s just a few minutes before and after the eclipse, before and while the moon is covering / uncovering the sun.
It’s pretty thoughtless and rude to bark at somebody “Just go no matter what!” without considering that many millions of people simply are not able to do something like that.
It’s not “worth it” if you lose your job for an unexcused absence from work. It’s not “worth it” if you don’t have the money to make the trip.
Sure, I’m confident that it’s an awe-inspiring sight, and I would like to see it. But you know what? I can live just fine without it. There are a great many things in life that are vastly more important. If I never get to see a total eclipse, that probably isn’t going to even crack the top 20 regrets that I’ll have when I’m on my deathbed.
Judging by the responses in this thread, most Dopers have absolutely no clue how most people in this country live. And many of you also have a really messed-up sense of priorities.
Ah, that’s different then.
I see this explanation from Perkins Observatory:
They don’t say that their final warning applies only to the mylar versions, so I tentatively assume that even the polymer lenses can get pinhole damage.
Probably be for sale in practically every store along the path of the eclipse anyway.
If you don’t really give a shit, why did you ask at all? For someone that actually likes this stuff, seeing a total eclipse is indeed worth some sacrifices. What’s fucked up is to suggest that other people’s priorities are wrong just because they differ from yours. How dare anyone suggest that, because you expressed an interest in the eclipse, you might want to go out of your way to see it properly.
It’s very unlikely. Sure, someone could literally poke a pin through the plastic, but even heavy wear and tear won’t cause that kind of damage. And anything that could would probably first destroy the cardboard frame and crease the lenses. There’s no chance at subtle damage that requires close inspection.
And to be honest, the risk is kinda overblown. Not saying you want to use damaged glasses, but it’s not going to burn a hole in your retina. Not enough light can get through a pinhole to really cause serious damage.
Then why the hell did you even start this thread, knowing that you have no intention of making the drive? The exact time and path of this eclipse has been known for CENTURIES, long enough to plan your day around it. If it really mattered to you, you could have made arrangements a long time ago to get off work. I, myself, have been planning it since the early 90s, and lots of people are making substantial financial sacrifices for this event. So if it really doesn’t matter to you, fine. But don’t insult those of us who have other priorities.
Flyer, I didn’t see any rudeness or “barking” in this thread – until now. I saw a lot of folks giving a lot of good information and expressing enthusiasm about the nature of this experience. The only one being rude here is you. If you don’t have a sufficient level of interest to justify traveling to the path of totality, or you just can’t make it, it’s a mystery why you asked the question at all, and then lashed out at everyone when you got your answer.
Holy shit that took a turn in tone. To answer your question bluntly: if you can’t make the path of full totality for whatever reason, no, I don’t think it’s worth driving a couple hours to get to an area that has more partial. I can tell you that from the 94% coverage in Chicago in 1994, it doesn’t really get dark, but there are some noticeable changes: drop in termperature, an eerie quality to the light, maybe some birds chirping. But it’s not something I think is worth driving for. I personally found the partial eclipse, after all the lead-up to it that year, quite underwhelming.