One can only hope.
I guess it would be a bit cheeky to buy one a week before and return it.
Is a standard solar filter okay, it looks like they are about 16 stops.
Or do you need something that lets more light through?
I already have 3, 6, & 10-stops. Solar filters are advertised as 16-stop, or even more.
Yeah, I have ND 10 & 6. I’ve never done any technical photography like this, is a solar filter doing anything fancy to protect from different wavelengths that a regular ND filter isn’t doing? In other words, why not just stack the 10 and 6?
From what I read at totality you’re going to want to remove the filter completely anyway.
Some ND filters may not block UV and IR very well.
ETA: you want vapor-deposited metal.
I’m seriously considering flying to Mazatlan for it. Looking up all inclusives now and getting my travel agent friend to see what she can find.
I’ll wave back! We’re thinking either Bluffton or Decatur, both are further within the path of totality and within a half-hour drive for us.
Aw, @#$%&, I have to be local both Sat morn & Sun thru mid-day. Planned location is 5-6 hr drive; we were going to up for the weekend & to visit the kid in college, too. If I go, it’s now get up there Sun night & turn around & come home Mon night; can’t have breakfast with a college student; they don’t get up early enough.
I guess if we do go, it’ll have to be a perfect forecast. Isn’t April the month of showers???
Yes. April showers bring May flowers.
Then there’s this from Space.com:
Hoping its clear skies in Cleveland.
The Guardians are trying to figure out how to schedule their opening day around the eclipse.
There was a minor league game in Salem OR during the 2017 eclipse. They scheduled a morning game so that the eclipse would happen during the first inning.
https://baseballhall.org/discover/short-stops/total-eclipse-of-the-park
Well it seems that going to Mazatlan would cost $4200 which is more than I wanted to spend. I really want to see this though. Maybe Texas?
Texas is the best location in the US, but the weather is still iffy. The data I’ve seen says there’s only about a 50% chance of clear skies in the best Texas locations. Everywhere else in the US is worse. Chances are better in Mazatlan but I’m betting on Texas.
ETA Some weather maps here.
Look at Durango too. I was able to book flights, hotel, rental car all at normal prices a few months ago. American via Dallas.
It must surely be much better than 50%! According to Environment Canada it’s around 50% here in Ontario. From what I’ve read, Texas and Mexico are the best locations for clear skies at that time, and the odds get progressively worse as you move northeast, as shown in the maps you posted.
Well, look at the second map on that page: “Percent of time April 1st-15th between noon and 4pm CDT is 20% or less cloudy”. It shows most of the Texas path in the 30%-40% bracket. The very southernmost sliver of Texas manages to reach 40%-50%. Montreal is in the 10%-20% bracket. April is just not a good time to schedule an eclipse.
Hmm… now that I think about it, the 50% number for my area was based on some extrapolating I did myself from weather records and may not be accurate. But also, the odds greatly improve if you consider up to 50% cloud cover to be acceptable. The real disaster, weather-wise, would be a total or near-total overcast. Which is what I’m predicting, because I’m a pessimist!
Hope for the best, plan for the worst. This eclipse would be absolutely fantastic to see at Niagara Falls, one of my favorite places, but because of weather I’m headed to Texas for it.
I’ll probably be in Ingram TX, at Stonehenge II.
I’d never heard of Stonehenge II but it strikes me as a fantastic place to be during a total eclipse!