I've already planned on taking that day off

Saw 2017 in Idaho, and it was amazing.

Y'all sound like a bunch of pagans.

Also, my brother who produces Utopiafest is going to be putting on a music festival / campout for both eclipses.

https://eclipseutopia.com/

Indeed! My friend wrote this book on upcoming Texas eclipses. Looking forward to the Annular Solar Eclipse of '23 as well!

Texas Solar Eclipses: The upcoming celestial spectacle coming to Texas https://www.amazon.com/dp/1954373163/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_V9P5EVM3DQQ8FG3PR2MN?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

So living in the Austin area during the eclipse will be good for viewing?

Look at the map posted above. Austin is in the zone of totality, but the closer you are to the center of the path, the longer the eclipse will be for you. Also the chances of cloud over will be lower to the southwest.

There was a solar eclipse that just recently happened, but this one was on Mars!

"NASA is reporting new footage of a solar eclipse on Mars. On April 2nd, Phobos passed in front of the sun over Jezero Crater, where the Perseverance rover is studying signs of ancient flooding. The rover's Mastcam-Z camera tilted up and recorded this video:"



"This isn't the first time a Mars rover has recorded a Martian eclipse. Spirit and Opportunity made the first observations back in 2004; Curiosity in 2019 was the first to record video. But this is the best video yet.

Mastcam-Z has a solar filter that acts like sunglasses to reduce light intensity. "You can see details in the shape of Phobos' shadow, like ridges and bumps on the moon's landscape," says Mark Lemmon of the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado. "You can also see sunspots. And it's cool that you can see this eclipse exactly as the rover saw it from Mars."

interestingly enough, both are days before my birthday and my wife's birthday.

definitely will be heading the land out in near Bandera for both events!

Can you talk a little bit about your photo process? I'm working on my set up, and I'm looking for simplicity so I can enjoy the "event" and not have to fiddle too much with gear.

I know it's not simple, but I'm considering a tracker so I can be a little hands off. What I'm concerned about is exposure settings.

Do you just set up a bracketing protocol and go for it? I'm struggling thinking about the wide range of exposure as totality approaches.

Any advice (filters, exposure, tracker (yes/no)), or redirect to another thread/resource would be appreciated.

This is my 360 video from 2017 in Wyoming


Not good enough resolution to see the eclipse itself but does show the effects on the sky and surrounding area pretty well.

barnacle bob said:

---

Can you talk a little bit about your photo process? I'm working on my set up, and I'm looking for simplicity so I can enjoy the "event" and not have to fiddle too much with gear.

I know it's not simple, but I'm considering a tracker so I can be a little hands off. What I'm concerned about is exposure settings.

Do you just set up a bracketing protocol and go for it? I'm struggling thinking about the wide range of exposure as totality approaches.

Any advice (filters, exposure, tracker (yes/no)), or redirect to another thread/resource would be appreciated.

---

Also interested in this

barnacle bob said:

---

Can you talk a little bit about your photo process? I'm working on my set up, and I'm looking for simplicity so I can enjoy the "event" and not have to fiddle too much with gear.

I know it's not simple, but I'm considering a tracker so I can be a little hands off. What I'm concerned about is exposure settings.

Do you just set up a bracketing protocol and go for it? I'm struggling thinking about the wide range of exposure as totality approaches.

Any advice (filters, exposure, tracker (yes/no)), or redirect to another thread/resource would be appreciated.

---

Indeed, just enjoy the event, especially if you are observing your first TSE.

That being said, if you are tech savvy and good with your camera, you might pull it off… with a great deal of practice. This is a rabbit hole… "welcome to the party pal."

I would recommend a tracking device. I typically use a Sky Watcher Star Adventurer (3.5lbs supports 11lb payload) for travel, but 2024 is a home game! Loading up the big trackers this time and rolling west.

I do not use bracketing, however that is a standard way to capture these events and many utilize this method with success. I use an exposure sequencer that runs off of a script. It depends on what camera you use as to what sequencer you can run (and type of computer). There are sequencers out there for PC/Mac. Each has its own list of great features… and each has a longer, painful list of drawbacks (more on sequencers below).

On bracketing: One enthusiast uses bracketing and created a phone app that tells you when to adjust your settings… pretty cool if you are bracketing corona AND want to catch prominences, chromosphere, and contact(s). Guy knows his stuff wrt bracketing approach.

You see, you must change your exposure settings in and out of your corona bracket set if you wish to capture these phenomena at around 20sec before and after C2 and C3 (to 1/2000 of a second or faster!). His app reminds you when to make the switch… also tells you when to take your filters off / on.

If you are not worried this time about capturing phenomena and just want a corona bracket to stack, then just fire up your coronal bracket set and let it go during totality (1/500sec to 1sec range depending on your camera / tracking capabilities… tighter bracket might be 1/250 to 1/4sec). Anything over 1/4sec will blur without tracking at 480mm (check max for your focal length via link below). You can set fstop and iso to get brighter data on shorter exposure lengths! Use a Full Moon to test your bracket as they are generally the same brightness. Need to practice with no Moon? Point it at a dim light bulb in your house… focus doesn't matter much when testing iterations of controlling your bracket (focus does matter greatly when you get going into real tests on the Moon and on the day of the event!).

With this long of an eclipse, you do have time to do it all, but you are jacking with your camera and missing the freaking eclipse… unless you practice practice practice and you can make the changes on the fly without really even looking.

Here is Gordon Telepun's Solar Eclipse Timer:
https://www.solareclipsetimer.com
He also has vids on YouTube just search Solar Eclipse Timer

Xavier Jubier is a legend and has a fantastic site that shows you best exposure settings for your camera setup INCLUDING FILTRATION. He says time is the enemy!
http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/SolarEclipseExposure.html

He also has a great Google interactive map tool that shows you exact times for your location:
http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/TSE_2024_GoogleMapFull.html

I started imaging TSEs in '19 with a mini PC stick and a program called "Eclipse Orchestrator." It worked great with my Canon 5D Mark iv, but the product support is non-existent and you are kinda on your own. Now, it won't work with my new R5 the way it did before. So, I moved over to using my MacBook as the trigger brain and tried 3 different apps.

Mac:
Capture Eclipse
Eclipse Maestro

PC:
SETnC - this is the one I used for 4/20/23 (emulated on my Mac using "Parallels")
Eclipse Orchestrator Pro

Glad to add more about these sequencers!
You will need 3-6 months with these to guarantee proficiency. You have to know them by instinct! It's not the known unknowns that get you, it's the unknown unknowns that strike when it matters most… during the event!

If this happens, drop it all and look up and around…. someone else will get images. Don't let ego get in the way of you enjoying such a glorious celestial event.

Bump! Can't wait for the event! Very little time to make your plan. I've started a podcast with my eclipse buddy and mentor (veteran of 20 total solar eclipses). She is from Dallas and we have a Texas-centric bias. However, we have international eclipse all-stars as guests and they are brilliant and insightful.

Link to our podcast page (you can search Totality Talks using your favorite podcast source):

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2232224

As always, Clear Skies!

So where's the best spot in northern DFW that won't be totally chaotic next month? It seems like heading east on 380 is the best viewing area but that also sounds like a complete traffic nightmare.

For those who have been around one of these before, is it truly gonna get crazy on the path of totatlity? I live in a rural suburb east of Dallas and it passes directly over us. Should we expect to actually get crazy with traffic and people? Just wondering if we should expect to just stay home and make sure we have what we need, just to avoid traffic and junk. Any insight?

Peter Klaven said:

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So where's the best spot in northern DFW that won't be totally chaotic next month? It seems like heading east on 380 is the best viewing area but that also sounds like a complete traffic nightmare.

---

I live right north of 380 in NE McKinney/Melissa. I probably gonna watch it in my backyard. Traffic sounds like its gonna be a nightmare heading east

Leticia works at the same company that I do and gave a presentation about eclipses a few days ago. Very cool stuff and I had no idea about her eclipse chasing hobby.

Just in case anyone is looking for a place to view the eclipse within the path of totality, my old roommate at A&M and his wife (Both class of '13) are selling parking spots on some of their land just outside of Waco. They'll have food trucks and live music by another Aggie there as well!

www.solareclipsewaco.com

Here is a story the KWTX did about them a couple weeks ago.

https://www.kwtx.com/2024/02/13/mclennan-county-farm-welcome-hundreds-solar-eclipse-watch-party/?outputType=amp

Peter Klaven said:

---

So where's the best spot in northern DFW that won't be totally chaotic next month? It seems like heading east on 380 is the best viewing area but that also sounds like a complete traffic nightmare.

---

The traffic will be a wild card. With over 1 million expected to travel to Texas, it could be chaotic! Leave early stay late! Find the easiest way to head east a bit. Any totality is worth the effort!

dtkprowler said:

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For those who have been around one of these before, is it truly gonna get crazy on the path of totatlity? I live in a rural suburb east of Dallas and it passes directly over us. Should we expect to actually get crazy with traffic and people? Just wondering if we should expect to just stay home and make sure we have what we need, just to avoid traffic and junk. Any insight?

---

if you are rural and east of DFW, you could just stock up and stay put! You might see some folks setting up day camps on the roads but I think the DPS is frowning upon that. How they police it… I have no idea!

Roll the Bones said:

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Leticia works at the same company that I do and gave a presentation about eclipses a few days ago. Very cool stuff and I had no idea about her eclipse chasing hobby.

---

Wow! She is my adopted eclipse mentor having seen 20 totals! Learned a great deal from her. She will be in Hillsboro (Eclipseboro).

Looks like Ennis Buc-ee's is the place to be.

I bet Buccee's is going to look like a Nascar event. That place will be covered up and PACKED!

Yea, I'll be staying with the in-laws in Ft. Worth. Just a mile from the edge of totality. Will only get 1 minute of darkness but that ain't bad.

Big field near our home in Richardson that should be great for viewing. We plan on taking our kids out of school early that day.

Really looking forward to it. I think I'll set my phone on a tripod and record us viewing it. All we need now are clear skies!

THE eclipse climate / weather guru's site (Jay Anderson):
https://eclipsophile.com/

Great article in USA Today! Eclipse all-stars:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2024/03/19/longest-solar-eclipse-april-8-mexico/72900282007/

Excited!!