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Eclipse Post-Mortem
Apr. 9th, 2024 09:44 amI am back from sunny Paris (Illinois, that is) where I saw the total eclipse. It is well worth the trip!
Until I got all the way through town to the Wal-Mart Supercenter, there was zero indication that anything unusual was going on. The ten or so cars camped out in the lot were the first sign that something was up. BTW, a Wal-Mart parking lot makes a great place to watch an eclipse - snacks and bathrooms!
The eclipse itself was impressive. The wind changed direction (coming from the shadow) about 30 minutes prior to totality and it got noticeably cooler. At totality, it was as dark as you would experience at sunset. Very awe-inspiring and if you didn't know what was going on it would scare the bejeezus out of you.
I managed to avoid most of the traffic coming back to Chicago by a combination of a later departure (after dinner) and taking back roads. During the drive, I reflected on why the crowds were not at Paris. Most people found out about the eclipse in the last few weeks leading up to the event when it became a focus of the news. Since part of that news focus was on large viewing parties, they said, "well, let's go to Location X because that's where the event will be." For places like Paris which did zero point zero marketing, the people who showed up there were those who'd done research and found out where to go. In short, it was a smaller crowd, self-selected to be more independent.
Finally, I saw Baily's beads!
Until I got all the way through town to the Wal-Mart Supercenter, there was zero indication that anything unusual was going on. The ten or so cars camped out in the lot were the first sign that something was up. BTW, a Wal-Mart parking lot makes a great place to watch an eclipse - snacks and bathrooms!
The eclipse itself was impressive. The wind changed direction (coming from the shadow) about 30 minutes prior to totality and it got noticeably cooler. At totality, it was as dark as you would experience at sunset. Very awe-inspiring and if you didn't know what was going on it would scare the bejeezus out of you.
I managed to avoid most of the traffic coming back to Chicago by a combination of a later departure (after dinner) and taking back roads. During the drive, I reflected on why the crowds were not at Paris. Most people found out about the eclipse in the last few weeks leading up to the event when it became a focus of the news. Since part of that news focus was on large viewing parties, they said, "well, let's go to Location X because that's where the event will be." For places like Paris which did zero point zero marketing, the people who showed up there were those who'd done research and found out where to go. In short, it was a smaller crowd, self-selected to be more independent.
Finally, I saw Baily's beads!
