Where is best place within Totality Path?
Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2017 3:50 pm
Hello - I’m excited to see the upcoming eclipse next week with my kids. I am trying to decide where in the path of totality is the best place to go. Some websites that I’ve seen argue that going to the middle of the path (where totality is longest) is best. Others argue that the edges is the best.
I’ve always thought that the sky becomes completely black during a total eclipse. However looking at a few Youtube videos it seems that this is not always the case. In particular a video from Indonesia 2016 suggests that light is visible from the horizon. However in another video that I saw (Libya 2006), the horizon looks almost completely black.
Indonesia 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAuVs9_o9RY
Libya 2006 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffBYVQ7j8MI
I have a feeling that this was because the two videos were shot in different locations within the path of totality.
So the question is this: Assuming clear skies, does it matter where in the path of totality to view the eclipse? To see total darkness, is it better to go towards the middle of the path? What would you folks recommend for a first time viewer?
Thanks
I’ve always thought that the sky becomes completely black during a total eclipse. However looking at a few Youtube videos it seems that this is not always the case. In particular a video from Indonesia 2016 suggests that light is visible from the horizon. However in another video that I saw (Libya 2006), the horizon looks almost completely black.
Indonesia 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAuVs9_o9RY
Libya 2006 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffBYVQ7j8MI
I have a feeling that this was because the two videos were shot in different locations within the path of totality.
So the question is this: Assuming clear skies, does it matter where in the path of totality to view the eclipse? To see total darkness, is it better to go towards the middle of the path? What would you folks recommend for a first time viewer?
Thanks