Nice captures, @starkat!

It's really great reading about your eclipse experiences. I am very happy for your family that you made it, fantasia! What a family memory to put in the books.

Our little village was 'only' 99.81% in totality, but five minutes south on the country road, we were in the path, albeit on the edge, so totality for us was just over one minute. I wanted this spectacular sight to go on and on!

We were on a little gravel siding with a few other people (one carload had driven a few hours, determined to be in the path. Having purchased a pack of ISO-certified eclipse glasses, I was able to pass some out to those who were without. The sky was completely clear until near totality, when high cirrus clouds invaded. Still, these hardly diminished that celestial wonder, and Venus was very clear throughout, even a fair bit following totality. I could not spot Jupiter, and presume it was hiding in the wispy clouds.

As totality began, we noticed the local farm roosters began quite a chorus of crowing; the moos of the herd of cows grazing nearby increased. Also, the temperature dropped. I loved watching the strange wonderful lighting fall on the area, just as much as seeing totality. It felt surreal, utterly beautiful, and very mysterious.

At one point, after totality, we we were packing up, a pick-up truck drove on to the gravel lane and I heard him say to the occupants of the first car, "What's going on? I live in that house on the corner and I come home to find strangers parked here staring at the sky". He was serious; he had no idea what it was all about. Then, when the other gentleman mentioned the reason to him, he commented that oh yes, he'd heard about that somewhere. After which he drove home, without a look upwards at all. Ah well, each to his own!

Posted by: @stargazer

After totality everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to me, which was quite touching.

How special and fun that must have been!

I'm glad none of you had major traffic issues, as far as I am aware. We didn't, either, but then, we are rather remote compared to more urban areas. Qwertykate's dad drove to Maine to view the eclipse, and upon leaving the small town, he encountered 53 miles of 2-lane car-to-car traffic on the highway out of Jackman!

Posted by: @stargazer

So…2044 and 2045. I’ll be truly ancient by then…

Uh, yeah, ditto that here! You'll just be a spring chick in comparison, @fantasia.  

I had the traffic I expected. It was raining in Houston and moving north. I hit a stretch with some mild rain and lightning, but thankfully everyone was driving responsibly and calmly. It stretched my drive from a total of about 5.5 to 8 hours. The route from Dallas to Houston clogs every weekend about the same spot in the same way from people coming back after going north for the weekend. I'm just thankful it wasn't insane. 

As for the actual experience... I chose to sit in a friend's driveway. She was in the path of totality and we had about 4 minutes. She had to work and came out for totality. I had a new camping chair, so I set up and tried to get my camera set up with a tripod, but I never could master the actual process of aiming. I did it without the tripod in the end obviously. It was like the whole world held it's breath. My thought process when the sun started to reemerge was that it was like Jesus emerging from the tomb and bringing back hope to the world on the third day. A breath of hope and a fresh wind. 

I stopped off in Ennis on my way to the main freeway home at a park and there were still some photographers there as well as a source of Bluebonnets. The photographer I talked to (was from south of me by an hour) had rented a lens and took over 200 photos. I just took a mere 37. I found it interesting, but I also wouldn't trade the small amount I took and the ability to actually see the eclipse with my own eyes for getting a large amount of photos. 

If you still have your eclipse glasses handy, use them to check out the sun over the next day or two.  There is a huge (about 200,000km across) sunspot that is visible to the unaided eye.

It is an active group and has emitted several large flares that may arrive at earth early on May 11, possibly causing auroras.

Keep an eye on www.spaceweather.com for images of the sun, this sunspot, and reports of possible auroras and other solar storm effects.

@stargazer speaking of auroras... Apparently tonight there is a slim possibility of the Aurora borealis making it all the way down here to Texas! 

There were Northern Lights in Southern Ontario last night which was pretty incredible!  Did anybody else see any wherever you might be?

We had a great display (especially as I am viewing from a large metro area) here in south central Minnesota, and I hope to write a more detailed report later.  Auroras were reported as far south as Puerto Rico (latitude 18N), which is almost unheard of.

Tonight's storm is less intense but some lights may still be seen.  I was just outside and we have some haze and thin cirrus clouds but I'll be keeping an eye on the sky.

Good luck to all!

Re the Auroras, the forecast was for a very cloudy night, so I slept. To my great disappointment (but happiness for those who saw them), our area had a couple of hours in the middle of the night when the sky unexpectedly cleared. I wish I had set my alarm ... just in case! Can't turn back the clock now. We have seen some fabulous photos of the Northern Lights from our area, as well as many other points in North America.

This is the time of year (four weeks away from the longest day) when it is tricky for me to regularly view the night sky, as the sun rises fairly early and goes to bed later, so I don't get a whole lot of star-gazing in this time of year. I really miss this, and count the days until August when things change again, as the days start to become obviously shorter.  

Sorry you missed the auroras, Jo. I noticed a comment on Spaceweather that the same big sunspot group that caused them is about to reappear on our side of the sun, and has just emitted another large CME, so more Northern Lights may be forthcoming soon.

My friends on social media are asking about a big upcoming event, a "planet parade" on the morning of June 3, when Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune will all be visible about 20 minutes before sunrise.

Sounds spectacular, but it's not quite the case. Technically, those planets will all be in the sky then, but:

-Uranus and Neptune require optical aid and a precise knowledge of where to look.
-Mars and Saturn are rather unremarkable appearing to the unaided eye right now, and the sky is bright enough so close to sunrise that they may be hard or impossible to pick out.

-Mercury and Jupiter will be close together that morning, and would make a very pretty sight in binoculars, but they will be only about one degree high then - so a perfect horizon will be needed, and any fog, mist, or foreground objects will likely hide them. This pairing is worth getting up to see, if you have the ideal conditions needed.

So it's a fun concept in theory but in practice I suspect there will be some disappointment for those expecting a long line of planets blazing across the sky.

I stepped outside this morning and (finally!) welcomed the Pleiades back for another season (this sighting has been delayed by weather and long twilight in these short summer nights).

For casual stargazers, this famous little cluster points the way to Mars, which at magnitude 1 is fairly nondescript at the moment. But the red color of Mars is already evident and will only become more obvious as it approaches opposition (best viewing) on January 15.

Mars also points the way to another, usually elusive planet: Uranus. But you'll need binoculars (unless you have a really dark sky and younger eyes than mine!). Mars passed less than one degree south of Uranus over the weekend and is still close. Even from my suburban skies I had little trouble picking out Uranus at 10x50. From mid-northern latitudes around 4 am local daylight time, Uranus is just above Mars and still less than one degree away. A line from the Pleiades to Mars to Uranus is roughly a right angle. It's a faint little dot but still fun to consider it's a far-away planet. Good luck!

Has anyone here used Burnham’s Celestial Handbook? It was written by Robert Burnham decades ago.  I still have my copy of the 1978 edition, which was reprinted from the expanded text of that book.  I always liked the way the information was organized by constellation in the book, and it was so clearly presented for amateurs to read.  No wonder the book has been in print since 1966.  Many people still find it very helpful.  🙂

I don't post much here in our summer months, because I am rarely awake when stars and planets are visible, sleeping usually from 9:30 or 10 pm until 5 am. But I always enjoy reading other posts here during this time.

However, the lighting is changing as our daytime is now 34 minutes shorter than it was at the June Solstice. While this gradual change is not very noticeable to most until August, I am keeping careful track, and am now able to get out under the twilit morning sky, into the dawn, so have seen stars and planets again for the first time in a couple of months. And this will only increase as the days shorten further, yay!

I spotted Jupiter and Mars partway up the eastern sky on my pleasantly cool walks over the weekend, but the Pleiades was too faint in the growing dawn to pinpoint. The one morning I did have my binoculars, I had trouble seeing Uranus ... I'm not sure why. Will try again!

Mars, Jupiter, and Aldebaran make a very pretty triangle in the early-morning sky.  It was roughly equilateral when I last saw it on July 31, but Mars is moving fairly quickly (by planetary standards), so it changes shape almost daily.  Mars will pass less than half a degree north of Jupiter August 14. It should be impressive!

The reliable Perseid meteor shower peaks the night of August 11-12.  The Moon should set early enough to not interfere with meteor viewing. Good luck!

Posted by: @stargazer

Mars, Jupiter, and Aldebaran make a very pretty triangle in the early-morning sky. 

I have been watching the triangle change over the past week. They are lovely together, aren't they? Because of the more rapidly changing daylight hours, these mornings, as long as they are cool enough, I am able to get outside for my walk under the night sky again, with the dawn only beginning to show on the eastern horizon. I love seeing my glittering old friends on high again!

This morning, for the first time, because it was very fresh out, and dark enough (5:25 am), I was able to spot the Pleiades, and had the excitement of seeing my favourite constellation, Orion, rising in the east. Wow, gorgeous! The great square of Pegasus was high above; Cygnus and the summer triangle, in the NW; Capella sparkling higher in the NE. I love the anticipation of looking forward to cooler months ahead, through the end of Summer, then Autumn, and Winter, and early Spring, of viewing the pre-dawn and nightime skies again.

I hope to view the Perseid meteor shower this Sunday. At this point, the weather is forecast to be clear, woohoo!

It’s interesting that the Summer Triangle of Deneb, Altair, and Vega is directly overhead in the early evenings of September.  And it is called the Summer Triangle, although it is higher in the sky during the late hours of June, July, and August. The constellation of Cygnus is one of the most interesting to explore in that area of the heavens. I used to see the Milky Way in that constellation with my binoculars even from the backyard of a small town. But that was many years ago when there was much less light pollution. If you live in a rural area you can probably still see it. Late summer and early fall are some of the best stargazing times. 🙂

@narnian78, I agree that the Summer Triangle Milky Way is truly spectacular when seen from a dark area. I grew up near a small town and spent many a summer or autumn evening admiring it.

Now I live in a metro area, and the faintest glimpse of the Milky Way in Cygnus is more likely. However, I've noticed that late at night (after 2 am), it's often easier to see. The city glow seems to be lessened as the night goes on.

And...Northern Lights! They were reported as far south as Texas overnight (August 11-12). I went out around 12:30 local daylight time this morning and the north half of the sky was filled with bright white arcs and spires. The display in May was brighter and covered more of the sky, but this was a pleasant surprise. I'd read, and soon confirmed, that cameras are more sensitive for these. Simply point your smartphone camera at the sky and it should adjust to the darkness. What was white to the unaided eye showed vivid green shades in the camera. Very pretty!

We also saw a few Perseids.

I went outside several times during the night; around 2:30 the auroras remained but were fainter and less active. By then Jupiter and Mars, getting every closer, were over the trees to the east.

By 5:15 twilight hid any Northern Lights, but Mars and Jupiter were high in the sky, and all of Orion (except Saiph, the southeast star in its main figure) was visible. So nice to see it again!