Total Solar Eclipse - August 21, 2017

I had been looking forward to the 2017 total solar eclipse since high school but back then, I didn't even think I'd be alive in 2017. But the years flew by and it was 2015 before I knew it. Yes, that's how early I started planning. Knowing that the path of totality would be congested, I made plans to travel to Idaho for the eclipse where we could share the event with family in a comfortable, familiar environment. I even scheduled the time off work two years before the event!

Here are some photos and a short video. They do not in any way capture the magic of the event but I hope a little of that does manage to carry through. I am already looking forward to 2024 because having seen one total solar eclipse, I'm now hooked. It's like Guinan said in the movie Star Trek - Generation - "Once you've been to the Nexus, you'll do anything - anything - to get back again."

This was my personal Nexus.

The path of totality went right through Craters of the Moon National Monument, and astronomy… More
It was a beautiful location for a total solar eclipse - out with family on five acres of… More
As luck would have it, the power connector for the Celestron Advanced VX mount broke the day… More

In a previous slide, I wrote about the electrical problem I had with my mount. Here, my Uncle… More
When photographing the eclipse through the 72mm refractor, I automated the entire series using… More
One of the coolest things we observed were all the little moon-shaped eclipses scattered over… More

Prior to the eclipse, my uncle gruffed, "It's just an eclipse, I'll just watch it on tv." But… More
Excitement was building as the moon blocked out more and more of the sun. Every total solar… More
By this point, the sunlight on the ground was taking on a more golden hue. It was still very… More

My wife, Linda, got this shot of the last limb of the sun before the moon snuffed it out… More
Totality! You know, you can never do too much planning. The day before, I had battled problems… More
My wife was shooting, too, and she got this photo of totality. There is a bit of ghosting on the… More

Initially, my hopes were to get photos of Bailey's Beads and the Diamond Ring effect. The … More
As totality ended, I got a few "Diamond Ring" shots. This one here is my favorite!