For those still planning, here are some things to consider.
- Many of the coolest effects (e.g. “Bailey’s Beads”, seeing the Sun in between the mountains on the Moon) come not because the Moon is in front of the Sun but because the two are very nearly tangent. If you watch from the centerline, you get the longest totality, but very fleeting moments of tangency (at the beginning and end).
- The South Pole on the Moon is more mountainous than the North. Because of #1 and #2, I will be viewing from near the Southern edge of the path.
- For the hour before and after, during the partial eclipse, anything that gives you dappled sun – a tree, a straw hat, a colander – will give you an array of crescents. It’s way cooler than it sounds, and doesn’t require looking at the Sun.
