Open-source interactive map for the Aug 12 total solar eclipse

143 pointsposted 13 hours ago
by MarcoDewey
(eclipsefan.org)

32 Comments

glimshe

12 hours ago

Very cool! Just remember the one truth about solar eclipses: total or nothing.

While I don't want to dismiss partial eclipses entirely, please don't think that partial eclipses are "almost the same" as total eclipses. One is a curiosity, the other is a memorable life event.

otherme123

an hour ago

This one passes nearby me. I have a 2 hour car drive planned for the day. Trying to convince people, specially with kids, to go to the totallity path, has proven useless: the websites say "eclipse will be at 99.9 something% here", and they are fully convinced it will be close enough.

teraflop

11 hours ago

Agreed, but I'll just add that annular eclipses occupy an intermediate point on that scale.

With a partial eclipse, shadows look odd and the sunlight "feels" noticeably dimmer and more muted, but if you're not paying attention you might not notice much out of the ordinary.

An annular eclipse is much more dramatic and unmistakable. It's not as striking as totality, and of course you can't directly observe it without eye protection, but the "ring of fire" is beautiful in its own way.

monster_truck

10 hours ago

If you've ever needed an excuse to rent a sports car and drive for 4-8 hours, this is the one.

spenrose

9 hours ago

Got caught in a day-long traffic jam leaving a rural area in North America after the 2017 total eclipse.

tverbeure

4 hours ago

It’s the one time I remember when the French highway toll booths said F that, let’s just open them up and let everyone pass. The August 11, 1999 solar eclipse.

The whole of Northern Europa driving back up, me included.

To bad it was cloudy, not sun to be see. I saw the 2017 one in Oregon though, it was scorching hot but no cloud to be seen.

dom96

35 minutes ago

Really? Well that's sad. I'll be going to see my first partial eclipse this week.

echelon

5 hours ago

Partial and annular solar eclipses are interesting.

Total solar eclipses are magical.

The sun turns into a gleaming jewel and all of nature around you enters another dimension. The animals freak out, the temperature of the air around you drops dramatically, your shadows morph and multiply into weird shapes, it feels like midnight with an ethereal glow.

You see the atmosphere of the sun glow in all chromatic glory.

You'll never witness anything else like it.

folkrav

4 hours ago

The drop in temperature was the most striking part for me. It wasn't just dark, it was night in the middle of the day for a couple of minutes.

alkyon

10 hours ago

In Spain it's a trio of consecutive eclipses from 2026 to 2028 (the last one annular). To view the second one I don't even need travel anywhere.

Will be in Saragossa on Wednesday and gonna use Canon binos with image stabilization, the partial phase with filter and then some precious seconds without (a scary moment, I'll rely on an alarm to prevent my eyes to get damaged when the totality is over). Some people generally advised to skip any instruments and just enjoy it with your own eyes for the first time, but I'm too curious about corona details to let this opportunity pass.

Zardoz84

an hour ago

it's called Zaragoza

usrnm

37 minutes ago

Can we please stop with this nonsense? No matter where you live and which language you speak you never call the majority of places on Earth right. Can we just accept it and move on?

clbrmbr

9 hours ago

Whoah, so cool how the map shows the shadow of mountains at that late time in the day. Geneva and the Jura look awesome.

sneak

10 hours ago

I’ll be in Iceland this week to photograph it. Any other HNers going to be around?

I’m @sneak.07 on Signal, let’s meet up.

torgoguys

6 hours ago

I'll be there! Hoping the forecast changes!

gbear605

9 hours ago

Best of luck with the weather!

tamimio

10 hours ago

I saw the one in Canada back in 2024, I don’t think I have ever witnessed such an amazing phenomenon like that before, a white glowing ring in the sky!! I will see if I can catch the 2027.

ProllyInfamous

4 hours ago

I brought binoculars to the 2024 event and made sure to keep my eyes closed during the preceding partial solar eclipse (eye acclimation).

After the total eclipse was over, I watched a single honeybee re-orient itself, having temporarily lost its heliocentric bearings (bees "see" the sun's polarity, which helps keep them oriented).

Having also witnessed the 2017 total eclipse, certainly these are memorable events worth traveling into their totalities (could not say the same for partial eclipses).

mr1337

8 hours ago

I was able to catch the last solar eclipse in the US, and it was amazing. I'm a little sad I won't be able to catch this one, especially in Mallorca. Seeing the eclipse low in the sky, an hour before sunset. That has got to be a phenomenal view.

I think this tool is super neat. I love the shadow simulation for the terrain. Very well done!

dizzant

5 hours ago

A real treat for all the pilgrims on the Camino this year

a1o

12 hours ago

Awesome, people in Spain are lucky to see this!

embedding-shape

10 hours ago

The sea is hitting record high temperatures, we're overrun by tourists and our country is on fire but at least we get like three eclipses in a row, so that's pretty cool :) Jokes aside, life's overall pretty great, and the eclipses are exciting!

ajmurmann

12 hours ago

People in Iceland as well!

MrDresden

10 hours ago

Heavy rain forcast on Wednesday, with sun the day before and after.

Hoping the weather forecast will shift (as often happens here)!

nekusar

11 hours ago

In Hofn right now, taking the ring road.

We have a hotel in þingeyri on eclipse day. We're at 1min50s at our hotel.

tom1337890

11 hours ago

Incredible page. Taking into account terrain and sunlight path. Wow

orsenthil

12 hours ago

Such a sophisticated website with great details. Good luck on watching. I think, rest of folks in other parts of the word will be tuning in virtually.