Solar Eclipse 2024

 I've been back from chasing the eclipse for a few days now and after taking a look at the photos I brought back I thought I'd post a few. I'm going to arrange them chronologically, pre to post totality. I've enlarged a couple of photos to show more detail of some interesting finds.

The beginning of the eclipse event was about 12:45 local time in our southern Illinois location. We were about 30-40 miles southeast of Effingham, IL. The exact location was a wayside south of Newton, IL.

This is the "first bite" as the moon began to cross the sun.

A close up of the photo shows 3 small sunspots on the surface of the sun. An active sunspot period can have many more spots.

 The above series of shots shows the progression of the moon over the sun. The last photo I turned the camera slightly. The reddish haze is, I believe, caused by some high thin clouds that were passing overhead.

Totality, the 4 minute experience we drove 1200 miles round trip for. It was totally worth it.

Enlarging the photo revealed 3 flairs on the surface of the sun that could only be seen during this stage of the eclipse. Look at bottom of moon and on the right above the "diamond".

The beginning of the end. It was at this point most people jumped in their cars to beat traffic out of the area. We stayed a bit longer to watch the sun uncover.

I always marvel at how quickly the whole thing goes. By the time the slightest sliver of sun is visible again it feels like everything is back to normal. The entire transit takes about 2.5 hours but the change in temp and the return of the animal activity seemed like someone threw a switch.

The next eclipse that I would consider chasing is in 2044 and I'd have to got to North Dakota. I'd also be 87 years old so we'll see.