Originally Posted by
Walter S
For those outside the path, there is no dramatic moment of totality, no dance of Baily’s Beads around the edge of the moon’s disk, no intense darkening of the skies, no stars and planets suddenly revealing themselves against an impossible twilight, no corona flashing into view (the otherworldly beauty of which makes even veteran total eclipse observers gasp in amazement), and no primordial fear which sinks ever so slightly even the modern heart. There is no pitch-blackened disk of the sun, no discernable temperature drop, no impossible nighttime during the day, no scintillating chromosphere or glorious prominences, no 360-degree sunset effect around the horizon, no uncontrollable shouts of emotional overload from the assembled crowd, and no lingering post-eclipse sensation of certainty that you have just done one of the coolest things you’ll ever do in your life.
Originally Posted by
Walter S
Neil Degrasse Tyson says "For those who [say] you’re not going to see the eclipse, there is no excuse! There’s nothing you can say to justify not going to the eclipse," he said. "I don’t even want to hear it -- just talk to the hand. There’s nothing you can tell me. We live in a day when everyone can travel. It’s not like 400 years ago when nobody had a car, nobody had an airplane. Today, everyone has access to mobility, so there is no excuse."
I won't miss the "
uncontrollable shouts of emotional overload from the assembled crowd," let alone the challenge of driving and parking in a convergence zone where drivers from both north and south will be flocking; but thanks for posting this since I did not know about the sunrise/sunset effects around the horizon. Maybe by next eclipse, employers will offer a week off to bike to the totality zone and there will be free camping along the way.