A Total Eclipse of the Sun
It’s happening again in 2024, a total eclipse of the sun will create a swath of darkness from the south to the north, from Texas to Maine, on April 8, 2024. The biggest show-stopper is that its totality will last almost two minutes longer than in 2017, Cities are prepping for the phenomenon by planning events and raising hotel rates. It’s an economic driver for small communities that will cash-in on the people that move in mass toward the national eclipse.
Texas seems to be the sweet spot, lasting twice as long as the one in 2017. I think Ennis, Texas, is a sure bet - an entire 4 minutes, 23 seconds.
Find everything there is to know about that Monday on the National Eclipse website. From safety to weather to destinations to trivia, it’s all there. If you’re planning on perching your camera at one of the totality sites, make plans now and prepare to shell out big bucks. However, it is a true once-in-a-lifetime experience to watch the day turn into night.
A Total Eclipse on August 21, 2017 | Murphy, NC
All this hullabaloo happened on one, very hot, summer's day. August 21, 2017, to be exact. We all knew it was coming, but the mystery of it all proved to be as exciting as the actual event. There were a few certainties. One, there would be a solar eclipse, the first one to cross the United States from coast to coast in nearly 100 years. Two, its path had been posted, pasted, projected, and placed on every website that had anything remotely to do with the sun, the moon or both. Three, we knew the cities where totality was promised. After that, you could simply throw up your hands!
If you started planning a year or even six months prior to this once-in-a-lifetime marvel, there was a good chance you'd uncover a hotel, motel or campground waiting just for you. Less that six months, well, another hand-throwing-up moment. Totality was occurring in a few major cities with many options for lodging, but for most, it came through tiny towns bragging of only a main street and maybe a Dairy Queen. Accommodations were almost non-existent. It was at this point that many saw the economic possibility and turned fields into campgrounds, spare rooms into a B & B.
Then, there was the issue of weather. Judging from this summer's history, an afternoon thunderstorm would roar through just about mid-afternoon (at least in it was our trend in northern Georgia), masking the sky with clouds, then disappearing into a vibrant blue sky right before dusk. The weather was anyone's guess. We'll just have to wait and see, said everyone.
Our base was McCaysville, Georgia, a small northern town that is literally split down the middle. One side McCaysville, Georgia; the other, Copperhill, Tennessee. This town's draw, a stop on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway coming from Blue Ridge, Georgia, or the Tennessee Railroad coming from Etowah, Tennessee, and a photo op, where folks can plant both feet in two states at the same time. This weekend was no different; there were train people and there were photo op people; however, there were lots of eclipse people, too.
I suspect most tiny towns that were in the path of totality mirrored McCaysville. Overflowing with people and cars. McCaysville would revel in 1:33 of darkness. For the nerd or geek (names we heard tossed around by those with cameras and telescopes attached) in us, we required more. More darkness.
No pressure. You have two minutes to get the shot. Len, along with Birmingham, Alabama, photographer Mark Peavy, test lenses and solar filters prior to Monday's event. Without a filter, the lens is fried, along with the camera body. An expensive mistake. For Len's shot, he used a Sigma 600mm lens.
Location | Fields of the Wood
Anticipation for the shot of a lifetime took us to Fields of the Wood in Murphy, North Carolina. Oddly enough, this place wasn't just a random spot but one that transported me back to my childhood. On several of our road trips, my parents and I landed here; although I hated it because it was a mountain and it was usually during the hot summer, it didn't impress me. I could climb mountains and sweat at home. However, today, it would have been incredible to have mama and daddy beside me, face peering heavenward. I have a feeling they did the same thing when they visited even though there was no light show. So, this is a little bit for them. For every Southerner, I believe, there's always a memory associated with everything . . . no kidding.
At this very spot, we will experience 2:27 of total darkness. The path of totality crosses the largest physical Ten Commandments in the world (can't argue with the Guinness Book of World Records) and it will be dark at 2:33 p.m. I'm sure there's some metaphorical comparison that scholars and theologians can muster, but I think it's just cool.
We arrived early at 7:00 a.m. to beat the traffic. We lucked up; we were the first, so were were assured our prime stop. At 10:30 a.m., the next vehicle arrived. We concluded we could have slept until noon.
We met Shena Loftis in the gift shop shortly before noon. She and her husband Greg, from Thornfield, Missouri, traveled toward totality. They started planning a month out and lucked up on a cabin rental in Blue Ridge, Georgia. "My husband planned everything. He has really been excited about this." As dairy farmers, she and Greg understand that the cows dictate their schedule. This, however, was too good to pass up.
I think we talked to just about everyone who settled at Fields. All the noise about the crowds had caused us to uncover the one spot where there were no crowds. Again, we lucked up.
Fields of the Wood is located in Murphy, North Carolina, on over 200 acres and is part of the Church of God of Prophecy. On site manager Cliff Anderson and his staff welcome everyone to the park, free of charge. According to the website, the first temporary marker was erected in 1940 while permanent markers began being placed in 1943. At the top of the Ten Commandment mountain (Burger Mountain), you'll discover the All Nations Cross (representing the church's active ministry in 140 nations worldwide), a gift from Georgia in 1944. Climb the 326 stairs to the top where on a clear day, you'll see North Carolina, eastern Tennessee and northern Georgia. For more information, please visit their website.
An Amateur Passion
Then, there was Greg and Laura Chism from Lincoln, Alabama. Originally they were headed to Clayton in North Georgia but discovered the cloud cover was too heavy. They were looking for a good, open area that was less traveled. They drove around and found Fields of the Wood, and it was perfect.
By day, Greg is a corporate safety manager; by night, he's an amateur astronomer who goes out and does "crazy things at night."
For about three years, the neighbors have thought him strange, pointing big cameras at unseen things. "I'm building an observatory. It's basically a 10 x 12 shed just like you would normally build but the roof will roll off and I have a permanent peer mounted inside the area. This (lower left) is an equatorial mount that counteracts the rotation of the earth, so as the earth is rotating one way, it's actually rotating the other way so that it tracks movement."
Once he set up the telescope that morning, it began tracking the sun's movement. This type is specially only for the sun. He has another at home for nighttime discovery.
Why is this event so special and why is he here? "I've never been to one. The last one was so overcast and cloudy that I couldn't see anything. This one was so close that I had to come." He doesn't think this is a once-in-a-lifetime event for him, but as the years pass by, he acknowledges that the chances for seeing one are getting fewer.
There will be another eclipse in 2024, he says, but confirms that he will have to travel further. "It comes up through Mexico, through New Mexico and exits in the Northeast."
Astronomy work at night is much different that day time work. "A single exposure at night can be anywhere from several seconds to several minutes, and that's why its so critical that the scope tracks, so it doesn't blur."
Although his constant love affair with the heavens began three years, it was something that evolved from childhood. As a kid, someone gave him a telescope, and "the first time I found Saturn, I was hooked."
This becomes important for children because it allows them to "respect nature and its beauty. It's just like any other natural event. These are just rarer than other things."
When you walked by Greg and his massive scope, it was something you couldn't pass without stopping and asking questions. As he invited people to take a look, the "wows" rolled over lips. "It's a pleasure to set the scope up for the kids and allow them to see. When you like doing something, it's more fun to talk about it to people. This will probably be the only time some will look through a telescope."
Getting the Shot
As photographers, we had planned this for months. The right equipment, the right exposure, the right protection, the right position. All variables that would determine whether you would get lucky or not. And even then, we had no clue.
About an hour prior to the beginning of the eclipse (around noon), tripods went up and cameras were bracketed. Using the many solar apps, we knew exactly the location of the sun and exactly where we had to be in order to capture the images. Once positions were set and we were satisfied that this would be as good as it gets, it became a waiting game.
1:06 p.m. - 2:36 p.m. - Partial to Totality
"It's starting." Those words floating among the small crowd became the signal rather than the watch. A succession of low whispers of the beginning of the eclipse signaled glasses on and heads crooked.
We honestly had no idea what to expect other than darkness would take over. I don't think anyone - other than those who had witnessed a solar eclipse before - had an inking of the process. The drop in temperature was gradual but apparent. Natural light took on almost an artificial, eerie quality. And, when the crickets began chirping as darkness fell, the unusual became phenomenal. As we reached totality, gasps came from every corner, as watchers realized they were experiencing something without equal. Applause echoed from some; my stomach turned flips. I think the physical reaction surprised me most.
"To be in the right place at the right time was something that, not so long ago, was next to impossible," says Len. "To look up and see that spectacle, to witness it and be able to photograph it, makes me feel in awe of the universe. I was very humble yet proud at the same time. Things I dreamed of a kid or saw pictures of in National Geographic and wondered what it would be like to do it or see it in person, I got to experience."
And there was not a cloud in the sky.
"Sometimes, we just luck out."
First Contact: The eclipse begins at the moment the moon first "touches" the edge of the solar disk, approaching it from the right as seen from the Northern Hemisphere
Partial Eclipse.
Totality: The sun is now completely hidden, revealing the solar corona. This is the only time people on earth can see the corona, the sun's upper atmosphere. Usually, the corona's delicate light is outshone by the bright photosphere.
Totality ends: The sun reemerges in a burst of light, creating a diamond ring. The corona fades from view. Notice the stars to the left.
