Completely overcast here in NE Iowa. Other than crickets chirping and birds being quiet it hasn’t been any different than a usual crappy rainy day.
I watched the eclipse via a local storm chasing FB group who went to SW Iowa and live-streamed it. They had cloud cover, too, but it was light enough that the coronal effect could be seen.
^ Smithers: Owls will deafen us with incessant hooting.
In my case, pretty much all of it.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4427/35902504694_0f6dee25e2_k_d.jpg
On the plus side, I got the chance to meet some online friends, including several Dopers, for the first time IRL. Props to Jonathan Chance for hosting the viewing party, and to all my fellow guests who made the day good.
Did we commiserate?
Hell yes, we commiserated!
Boy, you weren’t kidding! Getting 85 percent coverage of the sun here in Charlottesville sounded reasonably impressive. But the sky – at least the parts that were peeking through all of the damn storm clouds – was bright enough that I wouldn’t have been aware of any cool celestial activity going on if I didn’t already know. Really kind of a drag. But I can at least take heart in the knowledge that my hometown is barely off the path of totality for the solar eclipse that is scheduled to take place in 2024, so I will be sure to schedule a visit to see the folks when it happens.
You do need to be aware it’s happening, but an 85% partial eclipse is enough to bring about some interesting effects. I’ve seen a couple of partials of that magnitude, and what impressed me most was how the overall level of light on the ground and my surroundings did seem noticeably dimmer. It seemed to me about like a cloudy day, but then I would notice that objects were still casting sharp shadows on the ground. At 85% I believe you can also see the pinhole-lensing effect as the sunlight shines through trees or certain kinds of fences.
