Total Solar Eclipse – August 21, 2017

TSE 08212017 – The moment before totality

I traveled to Hopkinsville, KY to view the Great American Total Solar Eclipse which occurred on August 21, 2017.  Original plans were made to view from Hiawatha, KS but the weather was not as favorable and as eclipse day approached the cloud prediction data for Kansas was just not looking good. Tennessee became the new target. Once staged in Jackson, TN, the closest place to the path of totality to obtain a hotel and not pay out the nose for it, plans were finalized to travel to Hopkinsville, KY which was a three hour drive from Jackson.

Map showing the path of totality through parts of Kentucky and Tennessee.

I arrived in Hopkinsville the evening before the eclipse. The drive from Jackson to Hopkinsville was a pleasant one with no real traffic issues. Here’s a slideshow of images taken of the partial and total phases of the eclipse. I used a Canon EOS Rebel XT with a 300mm lens to capture these images. The individual images for the slideshow seen here can be viewed at the bottom of this page.

Animated images of the total solar eclipse on 8/21/2017

Below you can watch the HD video I shot of the total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017 from Hopkinsville, KY using a Canon HV20 digital camcorder.  The action gets good around 10 minutes into the video. Note the approaching shadow in the distance, how quickly it gets dark and how dark it actually is during totailty.  The cloud in the distance is a good reference point. Watch as the colors change on that cloud. Also take notice of the sunset effect seen along the horizon during totality.  You’ll hear the hoots and hollers from the gathered crowd, even the cicadas are noticeably louder during totality! The blinking light in the trees is a drone we had deployed to shoot 4K video before, during and after totality. Thanks to Douglas for downloading the content and posting on his YouTube channel.

The gathered masses for this eclipse were a fantastic bunch!  We had fun in the shadow!  Here’s pictures of the telescopes and people in the general area around me. The solar funnel on the 5″ Meade telescope was a huge hit. People were fascinated by being able to see the eclipse projected on the cone and were coming back again and again to take a look. Click on any picture to go to the gallery.

The images below were shot with a Canon EOS Rebel XT and a solar filter. Click any image to go to the gallery.

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