OctNovDec2017

The Great American Eclipse of August 21, 2017

ASNH members had it covered!

This was the first total solar eclipse to cross the entire continental United States in about a hundred years, and ASNH members made sure they did not miss it.  Our members spanned virtually the entire eclipse path across the US, some in the zone of totality and others at home in Connecticut, where about 68% of the Sun was covered at the maximum.  Here are some pictures and reports of our members’ experiences, listed from west to east, following the Moon’s shadow across the country.

The red markers show locations of ASNH members who submitted reports to us.

Stayton, Oregon

By Jim Mazur

Laurie Averill and I stayed at a bed-and-breakfast at the home of Tony and Edna Graham, who invited many of their relatives from as far away as British Columbia to visit for the event.  Tony and Edna were wonderful hosts, and they made us feel like members of the family.  On the night before the eclipse, many of us went out into the yard and did some star gazing with binoculars.

Stayton was very near the center line of the eclipse, and totality lasted for 2 minutes.  The skies were perfectly clear, and the eclipse was a spectacular show.

This was the first total eclipse either of us has seen, and I decided not to put a lot of effort into taking pictures, choosing instead to sit back and enjoy the experience.  However, I did take some pictures during the partial phases using a Canon T6i camera and a 200mm lens through a solar filter.  For totality, I put the camera on automatic, and it snapped a picture every few seconds.

The two pictures at the bottom show the group of people we were with.  The first picture was taken about a minute before totality.  At about that time, we could see the “shadow bands” on the grass in front of us, and the air temperature dropped substantially.  The picture on the right was taken during the middle of totality.

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