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Do people have a notion where on the path of totality there will be the least likelihood of cloud cover during the eclipse?
I was triply lucky that the 2017 eclipse passed
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near where I lived
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through a desert
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in August
but the next one might be trickier
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Before the 2017 eclipse I was able to find a map of statistical sunshine by-date. I think I used Weather.gov. I matched this up with areas of greatest duration of totality and also picked out some alternate sites in case the weather changed. Ended up having perfect weather in DeSoto, MO. Next year I’ll be camping out in Killeen, TX.
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… so just to be clear, you have verified Texas is the best place to see the next eclipse?
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For me, yes. The duration is greater the further south and west you go. The eclipse is at 1:30pm-ish in Killeen and statistically has a low probability of being overcast on that date at that location. Spring storms are usually late-afternoon affairs there.
Plus my sister lives there so I can have a well-cooked steak at the same time.
The eclipse will cross southern Illinois too but statistically there is a greater chance of being overcast, cold and crappy.
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From past experience not anywhere near me.
Nice eclipse you’ve got there. Want me to stay on another continent?
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I was in Germany in 1999 for the eclipse. I had been looking forward to it since I was 8 years old. 100% overcast.
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Yup. Bought another tripod and a telelens and filters so I could set up two cameras. Drove to a Black Forest mountaintop so I would be right in the middle of the shadow’s path. Stayed in the car to sit out torrential rain while the light outside dimmed and then came back. Managed to take one photo just before it was all over.
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Yeah for me the clouds parted enough to see after the moon had passed enough to show a fingernail of the sun. Got one crappy picture on a disposable 35mm camera because I had already packed up my decent gear
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ETA
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More information about Starship going boom.
Ironically, the rocket not blowing up when they told it to was one of the major safety issues that just came to light:
40 seconds is an eternity. If the rocket had been closer to the ground when they lost control it could have gone somewhere very bad.
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The First Crewed Mission to Mars Should Be All Female. Here’s Why.
“Women are on average smaller than males: women use less oxygen, consume less consumables, produce less carbon dioxide. They have lower mass and take up less volume. The argument for an all-female crew is simple: such a crew would require considerably less support… and allow for a smaller spacecraft. This would produce a considerable savings in cost,” he wrote.
“Statistics show that all-woman groups are far more likely to choose non-confrontational approaches to solve interpersonal problems, and most definitely are more likely to deal with a situation without resorting to violence, which could be a big problem on a Mars journey, where the crew must live in close quarters for 2-3 years,” Landis wrote. “Numerous sociological studies have shown that women, in general, are more cooperative, and less given to hierarchical social structures.”
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