People from worldwide are converging on Southern Illinois on Monday to witness a total eclipse of the sun. I will be among that crowd.
We booked our hotel late, as in a couple months ago. The closest, in fact, the only room we could find was at a Best Western in Paducah, Kentucky, for nearly $400 a night.
Every hotel in Southern Illinois was booked solid. Carbondale, Illinois, home of Southern Illinois University is one of the big beneficiaries.
The Wall Street Journal reports Carbondale Plans to Make Hay While Sun Doesn’t Shine.
This roughly 25,000-person college town in southern Illinois will become shrouded in total darkness for as long as two minutes and 40 seconds during Monday’s solar eclipse, longer than almost any other location in the country.
But for Carbondale city administrators who have been preparing for the phenomenon since last summer, the eclipse is as much an opportunity to boost the city’s faltering university-based economy as it is a chance to view a cosmic light show.
Carbondale’s population is expected to double Monday as astronomers, NASA scientists, curiosity-seekers, students of all ages and international media trek here for an event that could generate $8 million in local economic activity, according to city estimates. Carbondale businesses generate about $600 million annually in economic activity, according to the city.
The town’s moment in the blocked-out sun couldn’t come at a better time.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale, the city’s largest employer, has seen funding delays in recent years as a result of a record-breaking state budget stalemate in Springfield.
Carbondale normally relies on each student to generate $10,000 annually in local economic activity, said Mayor John “Mike” Henry, but dwindling student enrollment has cost the city about $50 million a year. Drugs and crime in pockets of the community have stretched local police and social services.
“Right at the beginning, we said, ‘We cannot fail at this,’” Mr. Henry said. “We’re going to overplan. We’re going to overspend. We’re going to do everything possible so that every single person has the best experience that they can have.”
Mr. Henry expedited the first phase of an expansive downtown-revitalization effort, spending about $1.75 million to tear up sidewalks, unify the streetscape, update public parking and improve street lighting.
Best Experience
In an effort to produce the “best experience” for everyone I can tell you the police were out en masse. I have never seen so many Illinois state troopers in my entire life.
In one 20 mile stretch on I-24 between the I-57/I-24 junction and Paducah, we saw seven unmarked cars with drivers pulled over. How many cars still in hiding is unknown.
This is big business for sure. Police and hotels shared the wealth. What effect this has on future Illinois tourism remains to be seen. But like world fairs and Olympics, I expect the benefits to be muted, if not negative, in relation to the amount of money spent in preparation.
Mish Setup
That is an EOS 5D Mark IV with a Canon 100-400mm L lens. Here is my Equipment List.
I grabbed the shot of part of my eclipse setup moments ago. The above image is not color corrected or sharpened in my typical fashion. I decided at the last-minute to do this article.
I have two cameras, two tripods, and computer-controlled software to fire my camera at the right time (hopefully), based on GPS positioning or longitude, latitude, and altitude at a site I selected on Sunday at Fern Cliffe State Park in Goreville, Illinois.
Note the black tape on the focusing ring. A few nights ago I focused on the full moon and taped the focusing ring in place. I am using mirror lockup to damp camera vibrations and will be bracketing like mad.
I have two cables from my camera to a computer via a USB to Com port setup to trigger shots at specified ISOs and shutter speeds, all programmed in advance, based on research of likely exposures needed. One cable fires the shutter, the other controls ISO and exposure.
I spent at least 60 hours testing my script and getting everything to run.
Minor League vs Major League
If that seems like a massive amount of work, I would agree. But I will also tell you it is minor league.
The NASA article 2 Minutes, 6 Hands, 1 Chance explains what major league looks like.
Here is an image clip.
I believe that attached to their massive telescope setup is the same lens and camera I am using. As in attached, I mean physically attached. When the telescope moves so does the Canon camera.
They have six hands to make last second adjustments. They also have tracking mounts that automatically move at the speed the sun is moving in the sky.
People come from all over the world thinking they will get good images. Realistically, they do not have a chance.
I hope to get one reasonable image. I may devote one camera to video. I still have not decided. If I do, the video will be wide angle because the sun is so high in the sky for this eclipse.
This entire exercise may be for naught, for everyone. Clouds can ruin everything. Even if it is sunny there are a thousand other things that can easily go wrong.
However, I found what I think is the perfect spot. I will be there at 7:00 AM or so to claim it.
Wish me luck. I will post results – what went right – and wrong within a few days or so. NASA will be much faster, I am sure.
For more of my photography. please visit Mish Moments.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
An extra 8 million on top of 600 million? Hardly Big business…Here in S.Arizona, a lot of people have driven 1000 miles up to Wyoming or Idaho….
You might need to pick some weather protection gear on the way to the park if you don’t already have some.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
339 PM CDT Sun Aug 20 2017
ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087-
100-107>112-114-210900-
JEFFERSON-WAYNE IL-EDWARDS-WABASH-PERRY IL-FRANKLIN-HAMILTON-
WHITE-JACKSON-WILLIAMSON-SALINE-GALLATIN-UNION-JOHNSON-POPE-
HARDIN-ALEXANDER-PULASKI-MASSAC-GIBSON-PIKE-POSEY-VANDERBURGH-
WARRICK-SPENCER-FULTON-HICKMAN-CARLISLE-BALLARD-MCCRACKEN-GRAVES-
LIVINGSTON-MARSHALL-CALLOWAY-CRITTENDEN-LYON-TRIGG-CALDWELL-
UNION KY-WEBSTER-HOPKINS-CHRISTIAN-HENDERSON-DAVIESS-MCLEAN-
MUHLENBERG-TODD-PERRY MO-BOLLINGER-CAPE GIRARDEAU-WAYNE MO-CARTER-
RIPLEY-BUTLER-STODDARD-SCOTT-MISSISSIPPI-NEW MADRID-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF MOUNT VERNON, FAIRFIELD, ALBION,
MOUNT CARMEL, PINCKNEYVILLE, WEST FRANKFORT, MCLEANSBORO, CARMI,
CARBONDALE, MURPHYSBORO, HERRIN, HARRISBURG, SHAWNEETOWN,
JONESBORO, VIENNA, GOLCONDA, ELIZABETHTOWN, CAIRO, MOUND CITY,
METROPOLIS, FORT BRANCH, PETERSBURG, POSEYVILLE, EVANSVILLE,
BOONVILLE, ROCKPORT, HICKMAN, CLINTON, BARDWELL, WICKLIFFE,
PADUCAH, MAYFIELD, SMITHLAND, BENTON, MURRAY, MARION, EDDYVILLE,
CADIZ, PRINCETON, MORGANFIELD, DIXON, MADISONVILLE, HOPKINSVILLE,
HENDERSON, OWENSBORO, CALHOUN, GREENVILLE, ELKTON, PERRYVILLE,
MARBLE HILL, CAPE GIRARDEAU, JACKSON, PIEDMONT, VAN BUREN,
DONIPHAN, POPLAR BLUFF, BLOOMFIELD, SIKESTON, CHARLESTON,
AND NEW MADRID
339 PM CDT Sun Aug 20 2017
…Afternoon Heat Index Values 100 to 105 Degrees Monday…
The heat and humidity will continue across the region Monday.
Although the eclipse itself will provide some temporary relief
from the heat, heat index values will still reach at least the
upper 90s throughout the region after it ends. The worst
conditions will be over southeast Missouri, southern Illinois and
the Purchase Area of Kentucky where readings will range from 100
to 105 degrees. Isolated thunderstorms will be possible over
portions of southeast Missouri and southern Illinois in the
afternoon, so a few locations may receive some more significant
relief from the heat.
If you are planning to view the solar eclipse or participate in
other outdoor activities, then please bring along plenty of water
to keep hydrated. If you have any opportunity to do so, take
breaks in the shade or in an air conditioned building.
A cold front will bring storms through the region on Tuesday and
cooler temperatures for the remainder of the week.
$$
DRS
Hazardous Weather Outlook
Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Paducah KY
428 PM CDT Sun Aug 20 2017
ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087-
100-107>112-114-211000-
Jefferson-Wayne IL-Edwards-Wabash-Perry IL-Franklin-Hamilton-
White-Jackson-Williamson-Saline-Gallatin-Union-Johnson-Pope-
Hardin-Alexander-Pulaski-Massac-Gibson-Pike-Posey-Vanderburgh-
Warrick-Spencer-Fulton-Hickman-Carlisle-Ballard-McCracken-Graves-
Livingston-Marshall-Calloway-Crittenden-Lyon-Trigg-Caldwell-
Union KY-Webster-Hopkins-Christian-Henderson-Daviess-McLean-
Muhlenberg-Todd-Perry MO-Bollinger-Cape Girardeau-Wayne MO-Carter-
Ripley-Butler-Stoddard-Scott-Mississippi-New Madrid-
428 PM CDT Sun Aug 20 2017
This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of southern
Illinois, southwest Indiana, western Kentucky, and southeast
Missouri.
.DAY ONE…Tonight
Isolated thunderstorms will be possible near the Wabash Valley
through sunset. Locally heavy rainfall and lightning will be the
primary concerns.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN…Monday through Saturday
Isolated thunderstorms will be possible mainly over southeast
Missouri and southern Illinois Monday afternoon. Locally heavy
rainfall and lightning will be the primary concerns.
Heat index values will range from 95 to 105 degrees Monday
afternoon. Please refer to the Special Weather Statement for
details.
A good chance of thunderstorms is forecast ahead of a cold front
late Monday night through Tuesday night. A few strong to severe
thunderstorms with large hail and damaging winds will be possible
Tuesday afternoon and evening. Otherwise, locally heavy rainfall
and lightning will be the primary concerns.
.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT…
Spotter activation may be needed Tuesday afternoon and evening.
Bugger the money. There’s nothing like it. I was near Cairns in 2012. Even though clouds blocked it for half the time, the full view of it you’ll always remember. My photos were OK. If you are well placed you can see the shadow approach. That’s a bonus.
Sydney gets its chance in 2028. Melbourne’s was in 1976 and Brisbane’s in 2037, I think.
It should be on everyone’s bucket list.
I always advise people against making bucket lists. Only sets you up for frustration. For almost 30 years, failing at #1 – have sex with Elle McPherson, continues to resonate negatively on my psyche like a festering wound of my own inadequacies.
THE GREAT AMERICAN ECLIPSE
It will be the biggest and best total Solar Eclipse in American History
Visible only in the USA
Since the Country’s Independence in 1776
Great and all but what do people expect to capture on their cameras outside of a big circle covering another big circle… in my experience in space oriented museums looking at the sun has been pretty boring… the eclipse itself is interesting for obvious reasons, granted….
Boy $400 a Best Western night for the privilege of running through a State Trooper set-up and shake down . ( 7 unmarked cars ripping off the citizenry…). And people wonder why everyone is fleeing Illinois. I don’t wonder. I just split.
It takes all sorts. Myself, I’ve seen darkness before.
best of luck today
Good luck Mish!
Good luck! I hope all the hard preparation gives you the desired results!
Here are some helpful tips for the best eclipse viewing experience that I got from the internet (which means they must certainly be true):
If you stare into the void, and it blinks first, you win. But the prize is insanity.
The people of Tennessee may have the best view, but will also be the first to be sacrificed.
Animals may behave strangely. If your dog speaks like a man, heed its dire warnings.
Don’t trust the squirrels with a child’s face. It speaks only lies.
When your double arrives, resist the inclination to fight it. It may be stronger than you. Chances are, it will disappear after the eclipse. Be careful it doesn’t switch places with you; it will be a few decades before you get the chance to come back.
Werewolves are not only impossible to kill during the eclipse, they become SUPER werewolves.
Apophis, the Moon Serpent may try to eat you. Let him.
If once upon a time you were falling in love, but now you’re only falling apart, there’s nothing you can do – this is a different kind of eclipse.
Reblogged this on World4Justice : NOW! Lobby Forum..
Aren’t there already lots of photos of eclipses? You can just Google “eclipse” in Google Images to see them.
Here’s what a major league eclipse photo looks like:
https://www.tnvacation.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Nashville%20Sounds%20Eclipse%20Logo.png
How can so many people afford to lose a day of work, travel hundreds or even thousands of miles and pay huge hotel/motel bills for this?
I live fairly close to Owensboro, KY. I think the eclipse is at 90% or better here. We’re sticking close to home and just see it as it is. Besides, I’ve always been a bit skittish of the apex where all the rivers meet and the New Madrid faultline. Couple that with all the weirdness that come with superstitious people converging on once in a lifetime events, and I am not going to be anywhere near there.
For what it’s worth, last month, we were in the KY-Barkley Lake area for a summer vacation. When I saw all the info about this, my dad and I discussed making the trip down to see it in full eclipse, but the desk clerk informed us (overhearing us) that it’s been booked for months, and so is every other resort down in the lakes region. If a person hadn’t booked last year, they weren’t going to get a room.
http://static.cinemagia.ro/img/db/movie/00/06/17/spies-like-us-785807l.jpg
Is that a Tin Foil Hat guy?
I would go to Illinois but I’m afraid they’d remember that I failed to pay the Eclipse Tax from the last solar eclipse and they may expect payment with interest.
Chevy Chase from “Spies like us”
Didn’t that become the No Eclipse Tax, charged whenever there isn’t an eclipse?
I made this item and it works quite well.
https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/binoculars-telescope-projector.html
Can’t wait to see the photos when you post them. Hope the weather is better down there in Egypt than the northern part of the state.
For you furriners, southern Illinois used to be called “Egypt” because of the remains of Hopewell and Aztec burial mounds or “pyramids” etc.
The secular “pilgrims” treat the solar eclipse like a “divine” manifestation. It’s an atheist’s Fatima.
““We’re going to overplan. We’re going to overspend. ”
This should replace “Land Of Lincoln” on the license plates.
Good luck Mish! It was cool seeing the light dim in SoCal. Took some amateur photos as well.
I’m watching the eclipse as it develops across the entire nation on the NASA website.
No travel. No jacked-up hotel bills. No fighting the crowds or rude people. No bumper to bumper traffic to exit the areas.
The right to say “I was there” just isn’t that important to me.
I’m still waiting for the second coming of Jesus. If they announce it in advance I may show up as long as it doesn’t fall on Saturday during college football season.
Not sure what to make of this cartoon, made me smile like a cartoon should, so I hope no one finds it offensive – I think it is in good nature and if you cannot smile at life occasionally, then I don’t know…the amount of disclaimer you have to put out nowadays just to say anything :
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2017/08/21/matt-gallery-21082017_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJwfSVWeZ_vEN7c6bHu2jJnT8.png
“No travel. No jacked-up hotel bills. No fighting the crowds or rude people. No bumper to bumper traffic to exit the areas.”
I did none of that here in Wisconsin, besides the skies were severely overcast. I bought a Powerball Quick Pick and made sure the retailer spit out my ticket with whatever randomized numbers were generated at exactly 1:18pm CST.
Not that I put any faith into 100 yr old eclipses or anything like that. LOL!
Watching an eclipse is like watching paint dry. You won’t believe me until you watched one.
You can make your own eclipse by choosing a nice oak tree and go under its shade during 5 minutes during a sunny day.
Best comment of the day. Next mass attraction: the sunset at 8:20PM today.
Mish I hope you’ll put this up since there are a lot of responsible people who sincerely believe the eclipse and September 23 are tied together based on their interpretation of bible, and that something really big is going to happen next month on this date. Normally when something like this happens, people making predictions always end up looking like total idiots, and this time will probably be no different. However if you can keep an open mind and try to be objective, on this date there are a lot of strange things, especially in the alignment of stars and mysterious periods of numbers-I can’t find the guy I forced myself to listen to for about 15 minutes who explained all this. He says at least something may happen to Israel and that there are way too many coincidences here for nothing to happen. Since so many people believe all this stuff I think it effects the economy, since you know that’s when the short term t-bill rate starts to move up in anticipation of possible problems with an agreement to increase the debt ceiling especially with so much contentiousness in Washington right now.
Big Ben is not to chime for 4 years.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E9wWBjnaEck
I hope they are vigilant… Otherwise, in 4 years Big Ben will get Hijacked by the muslims, and Big Ben will only do a call to prayer 5 times a day through some cheesy Burger king quality speaker system.
The thought of it even…I’ve watched how some local town hall meetings in other parts of UK have had “a certain religion” added to proceedings, truly cringeworthy, especially how the native staff fuss over and present the event. Writing this makes me realise there is no way to discuss this without being able to be labelled racist or sectist.
On a more subtle note though, the chimes of Big Ben are part of the spirit of London, England also. It is hard to explain, but they are a hundred and fifty years of tradition, one of the oldest calls to the people still going, the most regular and familiar, and have rarely stopped, and never been stopped for long
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Ben
That they purposefully stop them for 4 yrs completely during renovation (that that was only just discovered by chance by a lord/mp in some small print after approving the plan) so that the sound does not damage workers hearing , is more than it seems.
I went with the “old posters from work” pinhole method. The parking lot hit about 90% coverage so I got a nice little crescent Sun. It got a little dark and almost a chill in the air.
Certainly not worth braving the traffic jams on I-25 this morning.
I post this from Greenville, S.C. I booked my motel room in April, as well a ordering my glasses then. I watched, off and on, as the moon slowly covered the sun; not quite like paint drying, sorry. To see a witches sun, instead of witches moon, I may never see again, nor the solar corona with my own eyes. Yes, I had to deal with traffic, but I live in NYC, so I deal with traffic all the time. Yes, you can look at photos, but tell me; is a photo of the Grand Canyon, or Canyonlands, or Half Dome in Yosemite truly the same as having been there? If you say yes, then I can only feel sorry for you.
Fortunately, the weather was perfect here. Sorry, no photos.
I’m surprised Illinois didn’t find a way to tax us for looking at it…
You better re-book for 2024. Oddly enough, the paths of the 2017 and 2024 eclipses intersect at….Carbondale! Being east of Dallas I’ll be good at home for 2024.