The CRAZY experience of a Total Eclipse - with totality time lapse!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

How did YOU enjoy the eclipse?? And of course there are easier ways to make that pinhole camera thing, such as with your hands, etc. and you can project it on any flat surface :) My Patreon: www.patreon.com/cuivlazygeek Dwarf 2 Smart Telescope: bit.ly/3SyChXua Seestar S50: tinyurl.com/3n62hpzx Amazon affiliate: amzn.to/3hTB5Ne Agena affiliate: bit.ly/3Om0hNG High Point Scientific affiliate: bit.ly/3lReu8R All-Star Telescope affiliate: bit.ly/3SCgVbV Astroshop.eu Affiliate: tinyurl.com/2vafkax8

[@jgilchristmusic]

I was in Mountain View, AR for it and captured it with the Seestar! It did a beautiful job! Most of all I was able to enjoy it with my own eyes as I did.

[@tyrantworm7392]

I don't think I need to ask, but you have seen Tony Bender's flight during the 1999 eclipse haven't you dude? Remember watching this first in 2004 ish, was what turned me onto Paragliding.

[@RetiredMillennial]

walking half of Manhattan to pay for my rent lol...actually took a few pics through my reg polarized glasses and can see the in hole effect on it for whatever reason.

[@erewhon42]

I'm glad you were able to get somewhere clear. I live down in Houston and I ended up in Houlton Maine. It was great! I got some good footage with my Seestar and my main video camera. I love how you were hand holding that one camera during totality. That was great!

[@cdz9400]

It was my first total eclipse ever. I drove for 6 hours from 300 miles away to Pittsburg New Hampshire to see it. It was one of the greatest days of my life

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Woohoo! 🎉 Yeah it is a transcendental experience

[@miguelmorales9667]

New Hampshire. My most favorite place in the world. The mountains are beautiful to hike up into.

[@petooskey]

It was my first total eclipse as well. I drove to Meadville, PA to see it. 100% the craziest thing I've ever seen, and probably will ever see

[@trollshark6260]

Amazing! I was also in Arkansas, but I was in Big Fork. I got chased away from Texas by the clouds and forecast. I was driving to a rest stop to meet up with some friends and came across this BEAUTIFUL open field with RVs and campers parked in it, and I just had to go and see if I could car camp there for the night and set up for the eclipse. Apparently you needed reservations and they were full, but one guy told me I could park in his spot with him. I COULDN'T BELIEVE his generosity, and I took him up on his offer and parked next to his car. My friends met me at the spot and we all watched the eclipse together. We experienced the most beautifully clear skies for the eclipse and I couldn't be more grateful to the man who let me set up next to him. He even shared his binoculars so we could see the solar prominence! Such a special sight, special day, and special people. I wouldn't have wanted to spend it any other way, and I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to be surrounded by to share such a special moment.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

That's amazing! Glad to see such generosity! I was also super happy to get the owner's permission to use their pasture for the eclipse, it was great!

[@TheAnhydrite]

I started in Austin Texas and also ended up in Arkansas. Glad you made it to clear skies.

[@sharonm7039]

​@@CuivTheLazyGeekI wondered how you found a field without getting shot!

[@sharonm7039]

How awesome for that man to offer you the spot and share binoculars! Wow!

[@markhelton8032]

This is number two for me, and I am already thinking of going to Spain in 2026! I was in Bloomington, Indiana at a friends house. We were less than a half mile from the center line. Incredible 4 minutes of totality! The coolest thing for me, this time, was watching the shadow of the Moon, moving away from us, right after totality! Very happy you got to witness this most wonderful natural phenomena! Clear Skies! Mark

[@huf67]

I was at the Tulip Trestle near Bloomington... Small world

[@TexasEngineerScotty]

I live in a northern suburb of Dallas, my backyard was 2.5 minutes of totality. I set up my esprit 120 ED with my ASI2600MC and ran a sharpcap script and for back up I had my William Optics GT71 with a ASI533MC also running a sharpcap script. Was luck enough to have a clear view during C2 and C3 but not maximum occlusion. Still got some shots with the wedding band, beads, and some really cool views of the prominences. Since my scripts where on auto I pretty much just had to take my filters off and on and got to enjoy the spectacle of totality with my wife and son! Glad your trip was a success looks like your eclipse partner was a lot of fun!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Glad you could enjoy the eclipse on autopilot, despite some clouds!

[@proximaone1350]

I saw a Totality in Western Australia a year ago. Folk come from around the world to view this amazing spectacle in Exmouth. It was very special.❤

[@WilliFromEarth]

Incredible experience from Mazatlán in Mexico. ~4’40” of totality. We took an 80mm refractor on an AM3 and some binoculars, both equiped with easily removable home-made 3D-printed Baader Solarfilters. In the end we “only” looked at the eclipse visually through the eclipse filters, the scope and binos rather than fiddling around with the equipment. Such a great and unforgettable experience :-).

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Well done!!

[@robertwiley3062]

So glad you fulfilled your eclipse journey. We had a wonderful experience here in East Texas. Lots of clouds up to the beginning of the totality and suddenly we had great skies! Since we were in the path of totality (4 minutes and 3 seconds worth) we didn't have to travel. We did drive about 5 minutes to a friends house to join my buddy and his wife. We both have Seestars and were very pleased with the timelapse videos. You were probably within 20 miles from my home while you traveled on I-30. We are near Mineola, TX, southwest of Sulphur Springs. I thoroughly enjoy your videos, sir!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

So happy you read this, the clouds parting for totality is chef's kiss :)

[@amp2amp800]

Great to see the enthusiasm! A couple of things that amazed me in 1999, to look out for next time. The shadows of branches started to project dozens of little crescents on the ground as totality approached (some kind of weird diffraction phenomenon I think). We chose a high spot on a hill to observe from and the most awe inspiring thing was watching the moon shadow race across the landscape from the horizon towards us in the last seconds. You suddenly know, feel and understand the immense scales involved in the spectacle. Wow. stays with you for life!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Exactly, it's absolutely incredible!

[@astrotherapist]

Geek; you are the coolest guy I ever seen! Thanks for this video. It was so cool to see so much joy on your face and with the enthusiasm of a child. I subscribed to your channel today for the first time. I love your videos!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you so much!

[@glennpmoss]

Such an amazing experience, I love experiencing your excitement Cuiv.

[@dandadrumman]

I lost a ton of money canceling my dallas trip and booking a trip to Indiana. But after missing 2017 due to clouds I couldn't stand to miss another. I got a bit misty eyed seeing it. It is seriously like nothing else. Thanks for sharing this.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

So glad you were able to experience it well this time!

[@LIJ]

Awesome! What an experience! I must say I wish I would have gone to go see it! So glad you had a great place to watch it. Thanks for sharing :)

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Oh Nate, it's really an incredible experience!! Next ones are like in Spain, Egypt, Australia, so there's some more coming up :-)

[@larrychristianson2244]

A total eclipse is an amazing event. I'm very glad you got to see it. I viewed it from IL near the center line; nothing else compares, truly awesome.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Completely agree!

[@leonardorser3455]

I’m so glad your trip turned out great for you.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

It was! Thank you!

[@Bukkitcast]

nothing can prepare you for how amazing this spectacle is. I had the privllege to see totality with only an hour drive away, here in southern Ontario. what an amazing experience. there really is no words for it. a total surreal and out of body experience. i will be forever great full to have experienced this with the love of my life. I highly highly recommend to everyone to chase totality at least once in your life! you will not regret it and will live in a special place inside you for the rest of your life!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

You've described it so, so, SO well!

[@jimmay8627]

I did the same thing - an hour before totality it didn't look like the clearing was going to make it to St. Catharines, so we got in the car and booked it through farmlands towards the nearest clear area we could see. Ended up in Caistorville, which shortened totality by a minute or so, but it was spectacular.

[@astrostufftomtrubridge7915]

We so enjoyed your video, it was emotional and good to see you so happy, just amazing, A spiritual moment in time, and a sight to behold.. thank you Cuiv for sharing. Atb Tom & Julie..

[@KingLoopie1]

I'm glad your trip was a success! The only total eclipse I saw was in North Dakota in the late 70's. This one I spent in my backyard collecting exposures with my seestar fitted with its filter and Luke's dew shield and some afocal pics through a celestron c130 and baader zoom. The pics turned out well even though we only got about 65%of the eclipse here in the Denver area. Still was nice to be outside in the sun! Later that night we still had mostly clear skies so I got a few minutes of m42 Orion nebula and m101 pinwheel galaxy with the seestar. That little thing impresses me for its cost and what it does. Big bang for the buck! All in all, even without totality and having having a couple of me with my old asgt mount which was holding the c130, it was a great day! /Dave

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

That was a very productive day, well done!!

[@salomon1639]

Awesome. Enjoyed the video very much. Glad you had an amazing time.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@naveenmalik8531]

I was also in Arkansas, north of Little Rock. I drove from NC to see it and brought my 8" dob for enjoying up to totality with others around me (which was much appreciated). I had 2 cameras setup with aspirations of capturing eclipse images but it was secondary to visual. Which is good! Because the moment I removed my eclipse glasses at totality all thoughts of cameras and removing solar filters was gone. I was in awe and just enjoyed the view visually. Naked eye I saw the large prominence on the bottom of the sun but also saw 2 more with a pair of binoculars. 3.5 minutes goes really fast!! But I was able to keep a bit of my plan and tried to see comet 12P/Pons-Brooks but wasn't able to with the binoculars. I "saw" the 2017 eclipse but realize now the cloud cover was enough that I didn't experience all that an eclipse has to offer. My only regret is not dragging my family to see the event. I'll just have to plan some trips over-seas!

[@CriticalThinker-42]

I'm glad it worked out for you! I drove to Paducah, KY and there was a thin wisp of cloud layer over the sun/moon which didn't obstruct the view of Baileys Beads, Diamond ring or Corona. A few people were set up to image it, we all had a Good Time. Of course I had to wear my Pink Floyd Dark Side Of The Moon Cap, and Order of the Lazy Geeks T-Shirt. The next day the rain set in so we lucked out.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Haha good choice of both cap and tshirt :D

[@xox1011]

I ended up in Newport Center, VT about 6 hours from home. Staying mobile really paid off. It was absouletly the most amazing experience I had ever seen.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Excellent to hear! Being mobile was as you say the key!

[@scorpianspirit5124]

Two thumbs up ! I'm very glad you got to have the experience Cuiv ! It was a once in a lifetime thing to do. Cheers from Utah.

[@edjones3390]

So glad you caught the eclipse, thanks for sharing!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks for watching!

[@robglassey4517]

What a great experience! We were lucky at Texas Star Party, Latham Springs, TX. We had a bit of cloud in the partial phase, but totality was much like yours. I had the Seestar with a Baader filter, and it worked much better than I expected. The exposure was perfect for the prominences and diamond ring. I was very impressed! And it pretty much did it without intervention, leaving me to enjoy the view in binoculars and naked eye. This was my fourth total eclipse and it is still incredible. Every eclipse seems better than the last. I'm so glad you got a good eclipse. You will become an eclipse chaser :)

[@sharonm7039]

Loved your video! Your exhuberance, your optimism for others, your satisfaction with the pics you got because they were 'your's. I get that. Mine is overexposed and looks like a giant eyeball but it's mine. I was thrilled to see prominences with the naked eye. We're from Pennsylvania. We scraped plans for Texas and drove to Maine instead. Like you, friends didn't understand. Also like you, so glad we did it!

[@mdnt_]

So cool to think we both ended up in that area of Arkansas where the sky was clear. It was my first time in totality and it absolutely changed my life.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

It's really incredible for sure!

[@richardshagam8608]

I had planned going to Del Rio, TX from Albuquerque. With the negative forecast, and a deadline for hotel cancellations looming, I asked my wife to check with her cousin in Mena, Arkansas--so off we went! Right choice! Four minutes and 13 seconds of pure joy! Even got some good shots with my rig run by Set'n'C.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Excellent, and good choice!

[@ronlundgren4391]

Great video! I didn’t travel to totality but took the day off and watched from beginning to end from home. We had 89% coverage in clear blue skies. Enough to perceive a change in the light. Got some good close ups with my C8.

[@GRILL332]

Life changing memory. Saw in Muncie Indiana. Got to look at prominences with 8” scope during totality filters off. Just mind bending.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Oh wow! I wish I had had a large telescope like that for totality! Must have been mind blowing!

[@droneselect744]

Hi Cuiv, you inspired me to see the eclipse. I saw the same hole in the clouds and drove to Hot Springs Arkansas. It was awesome experience and I shared it with thousands of others. Just got home to the UK tonight. Thanks for the video!!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

So glad you got to see the eclipse, and welcome back to the UK! I just arrived in Japan and traveling home now, I'm exhausted haha

[@WolfHowlz]

No eclips in the Netherlands, your video brings me closer to it! Thank you

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

My pleasure!

[@marsman735]

I had both the Seestar and Dwarf up and running in Dallas. Right at totality, I think, the Seestar lost track and moved off the sun. Since there was some light transparent cloud cover right before totality, I removed the sun filters from both scopes. When checking the images, I couldn't see the eclipse thru the SeeStar, but the Dwarf tracked perfectly. I took about 20 seconds of totality to trouble shoot, but decided it was more important to watch the beauty of the event. I sent Dwarflabs the sequence and they posted them on Facebook ( I don't use Facebook) . I think the Dwarf 2 did a great job imaging. @Cuiv, Glad you were able to enjoy and capture this amazing event. Safe travels back to Japan! Cheers everyone!

[@geomark8851]

I had the SeeStar up and running in Dallas near White Rock Lake and it worked perfectly. A little shaking when I removed the solar filter but it quickly settled down and continued to track. The extra magnification allowed me to image the solar prominences both with the filter and without.

[@shadowOrgon]

I noticed with my seestar in the 20-30mins before totality that it was doing some funny up and down motions tracking the sun, but turned off that 2nd higher precision tracking option and it tracked much better. Took a video before, and all the way through totality. Have the video on my channel, but you can see when scrolling through the video, the sun/moon was slowly moving off center of frame so it still wasnt tracking perfectly, but still super happy with the result!

[@marsman735]

@@geomark8851 I suspect my SeeStar error was an ID10T issue on my my part (lol). The start of the transit through totality was great as was the exit of the moon after I regained the sun. Glad you were successful.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks so much! Boarding for Japan in just an hour! It will be a nice 14 hour flight lol

[@confuseatronica]

I've noticed that with the seestar- it seems to rely on image tracking most of the time, when I think it should be using the internal math more. I've had it pulled off of planets by airplanes and then had it re-find the planet and pop up the "is the object centered on the screen?" dialog again. I wish there was some kind of setting to tell it that if it loses the object because of a cloud or something, just relax and be a clock drive until it finds it again

[@astroguy5364]

I went to Mountain View, Arkansas and I'm so glad I did. It was 100% worth the trip, I got some of my craziest astro-photos to date!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Awesome! Arkansas truly was popular for this eclipse!

[@tornadoknut]

Great to see you speachless 🌞. I clearly remember the eclipse in 1999 in Germany. What an experiance! Priceless 🌝

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Ah the 1999 eclipse, which I missed and was so sad to miss at the time!!

[@alineradventureswithsimons79]

Thank you Cuiv. I never did remove the filter on my dwarf because I wanted to experience totality for the second time. It was more awesome than the first. I could see the emotion you were trying to express as things dimmed and then got dark. It is so hard to describe with words. Thank you for sharing.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Completely understand! I think this eclipse was more impactful than the 2017 one, although I'm not sure why!

[@miguelmorales9667]

I didn't get to see the eclipse, as it didn't pass anywhere close to my location. But I am very happy for you. It couldn't have happened to a better person. A memory for a lifetime for sure.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks so much Miguel!

[@christianvontotth6002]

Thank you for the narrative about the eclipse. Great story, for those of us who couldn't make it there.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@billbrowning3021]

In Arkansas too....Mena. Perfect weather there and the eclipse was glorious. 4 minutes 47 seconds of totality.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Excellent!

[@RobBrannon88]

I made a 2 hr trip north to St. Mary's Lake in Ohio and watched from a wildlife refuge to experience it in totality and holy cannoli it was amazing. Couldn't have asked for better weather, 75 and sunny.. Prior to the eclipse I watched and photographed Bald Eagles and Red Tailed Hawks flying around the refuge! Easily one of the most exhilarating experiences I've ever had 🤘🏼

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Wow, you really had fun, well done!

[@jaimenegrete1253]

Thanks a lots Cuiv, for share your eclipse experience. Brings to my memories the 2019 and 2020 total solar eclipses here in Chile. I hope you have a pleasant trip back to Japan. You will keep these moments for ever. I think everybody should make the effort to see a total solar eclipse at least, once in their life. Greetings from BelloCielo - Chile. See you in Spain in 2026 for another total solar eclipse.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Just arrived in Japan - phew, the 14 hours flight was tiring :-) Hahaha I don't know if I'll be in Spain in 2026 but noted :-)

[@jonssdafergtwve2606]

I don't typically order peoples merch but you have helped ALOT with the fire hose of information that is the astrophotography hobby so its the least I can do to say thanks :D

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you so much!

[@gradybeachum1804]

Very Nice shots, glad you were able to get to see it. My wife and I travelled to a little town just west of Sulphur Springs, Texas. Sky was overcast prior to first contact and didn't capture it, but the sun played hide-and-seek with the clouds and we got some shots. The sky began to clear up prior to second contact and we were able to get some clear shots of the partial eclipse. Some thin high clouds moved in and made for some interesting shots of the diamond ring. Pictures of totality were pretty good. Sky almost completely cleared after third contact and got some nice pictures to finish up a sequence. We noticed the temperature change as the eclipse progressed, but we took no measurements. It was interesting to see and hear the dogs/squirrels/chickens/cows behave oddly before totality and how it got silent during totality. We did notice colors becoming muted and saw what appeared to be shadow bands on the ground a short time before and after totality. Everything quickly went back to normal as fourth contact approached. We stayed in a tiny house that we had reserved only 5 days before the totality, and attended some of the "Celebrate at the Centerline" festival in Sulphur Springs. Met some nice people, and my wife and I had an excellent time. We could have stayed home and shot from the backyard, but in my opinion, the experience was enhanced by the new friends we made and all the little things that go with doing something on the spur of the moment and getting out of your comfort zone.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

That sounds like an amazing experience as well! Well done!

[@EricTheCat]

I am very happy that you got to experience the eclipse! I watched it from a park in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. It was a great experience. The skies were clear and I met some really nice people. I captured many images! The cheers from the crowd were infectious. This was my 2nd total solar eclipse experience. My first was from Casper, Wyoming in 2017. Both were unforgettable!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

We were thinking about going to Poplar Bluff for a while, but the forecast being good where we already were convinced us not to drive :)

[@EricTheCat]

You picked a beautiful spot to set up! Though I did love the cheers of the crowd where I was. :)

[@MikeTettenborn]

Also in the Osarks. A little north of you in southern Missouri. Incredible time. I love your 360 degree sunrise pan.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

A lot of us went for that blue hole, so happy it worked out!

[@dingdong1009]

After witnessing last years total eclipse at Exmouth in Australia the best thing was listening to others trying to describe the event afterwards. I just love the way you (and others) are looking for words to describe it... You really have to see it with your own eyes to truely understand... Thanks for sharing

[@JethroXP]

I travelled to Dallas with three cameras and telescopes/lens. We rented a house to have a fixed location for setup the night before, and the morning of the Eclipse it was not looking good but just before Totality the clouds the miraculously cleared and we had a great Eclipse experience and I got some amazing photos.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

So glad the clouds cleared for totality!

[@dp2656]

I was in Idabel, Oklahoma. We had a lot of clouds, but it became clear enough for the middle 1 hour and 10 minutes. Beautiful totality! I enjoy your content, thank you for sharing your experience. Will be buying an S50 or Dwarf II soon!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Very nice, and glad the clouds cleared!!

[@kevinrosero9723]

Really enjoyed this video and your welcoming enthusiasm. Thank you! We saw a cloudier eclipse on the New York-Canada border and I uploaded a few videos. Clouds obscured the view but made it dramatic in its own way. Thanks again!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Dramatic cloud eclipse sounds great as well!

[@lukomatico]

Loved this video mate, so glad it all worked out for you in the end!! 😀Thank you for sharing this with us!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks so much Luke, glad you enjoyed it!!

[@nbw555]

Beautiful mate well done, so pleased for you

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you so much 😀

[@terida81]

I traveled about 6 hours to Marshall, Arkansas. I ended up at a scenic overlook right off the highway, with about 200 other people. I set up my Seestar for timelapse, and my hydrogen alpha solar scope for sharing with others. I had a LOT of people excited to look at the sun through my HA scope. It was a lot of fun!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Haha good on you for doing outreach!

[@tainast2]

It was an unexpected experience because it was a cloudy day in Niagara, Ontario. Even so the ring of fire was visible through the clouds including red solar protuberances. Thank you for your videos.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I'm so glad the clouds didn't manage to spoil the event!

[@VictorRoblesPhotography]

Hello there, I enjoy your channel very very much. My wife and I we went to the San Antonio area in Texas. We could’ve moved too far away, but we did drive hour and a half north because San Antonio was going to be covered. We couldn’t run away from the clouds completely, but it was better than down in San Antonio We were able to see it between the clouds and also I was able to capture it and video the prominence and all that I couldn’t get the corona except what you can see through the clouds, but it was beautiful because it was cloudy it was already dark and totality got so dark that it was like night anyway we didn’t enjoy it a lot. It was a great adventure, but I could only check on my bucket list. I still need to see a complete with the guys and the stars and all that. I with a canon camera 300 mm lens on a star tracker.

[@adarajennifer]

I also witnessed the total eclipse in Arkansas! Absolutely MAGNIFICENT!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yes it was!

[@cadenseward2054]

We flew into Chicago from Idaho and then drove to the Indy Speedway. It was amazing! Got some photos and also enjoyed it visually. The drive back to Chicago was 200 miles but took 7.5 hours on the interstate. It was supposed to be 3 hours.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yeah even the interstate back to OK was crazy, we used normal highways

[@leonardoalmeida77]

Very nice video. Thanks for sharing your experience like it has been made. Could really imagine the feelings you described about sunset.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Zero_Point_Energy1]

Wow - I thought I travelled far - from California to Texas - but you win, Cuiv! It’s so important that folks like you share your experience of the eclipse because if you haven’t seen totality, trust me, you don’t know what to expect - I sure didn’t. It was 100x more intense of an experience than I thought it would be. I tried to take a video for family and friends back home, but at totality I just turned into a babbling fool, saying “oh my god!” over and over. Now I’ve been struggling to explain it to people. BTW - paragliding? Am I the only one who didn’t know you were into that? I think we need to see some video! Your channel is so great - thank you for this and for all you do. I’m starting to think you’re really not all that lazy, bro…😂

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Hahaha I know the feeling! And if you want some of my paragliding videos, I have full uncut flights here: www.youtube.com/@cuivienor :)

[@JPM621]

I experienced totality for the first time ever from St. Johnsbury, VT. It was absolutely incredible!!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yesss!!

[@markalot]

Glad you were able to come to the US to see it. We were NE of this in Indiana and also had clear skies. Amazing experience, especially right on the center line. Better than 2017 in my opinion, maybe because the shadow was larger. It's hard to describe to people that have not experienced it. Just wow.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I agree - I was wowed in 2017, but this one was even more incredible for some reason! I don't remember seeing prominences last time (but then solar cycle low as I recall), and my feeling is that the 360 degrees sunset was more intense this time!

[@Piimenta]

Cuiv, your totality timelapse made my day. :-)

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@nicholasseidel9533]

Went from central Oregon to Mazatlan. Brought the Dwarf II and had good conditions with some light high clouds. I have a seestar but I think the Dwarf is a better match for the eclipse. It performed well. I also brought a tablet and used that to display in real time for the locals. Wonderful experience 10/10. Thanks Cuiv and your viewers as well.

[@philleng480]

Drove12 hours and 700 miles from Starbase at Boca chica to Oklahoma, and was it worth it, YES. Overwhelming, brought a tear to my eye. Photos are good too, but being there with my family was the important bit.

[@philleng480]

.....and that was after travelling from the UK and paying for v expensive campsite ($360) in W Texas. Went to expensive hotel in OK instead. But worth every penny.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Well done!! And yeah I feel you on the travel! We were lucky to stumble upon such a great (and free) campsite during our search the day prior!

[@gordonkirkland8039]

I was with the group from Explore Scientific about 100 miles west of San Antonio, TX in the Texas hill country. Unfortunately we were mostly clouded out, only seeing about 20 seconds of the 4:25 of Totality. We did get some pics thru the cloud cover, so wasn't a total loss. Glad you had good skies!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Glad you still got to see and experience the totality!

[@jeremydumoit4487]

Awesome! I took a timelapse on my Seestar from Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, but it was so windy that it's pretty shaky. The pictures don't capture the feeling of seeing it firsthand. The moments before totality were extremely unsettling. Almost to the point of nausea. The whole frequency spectrum of light changed and some epigenetic response kicked in. Totality was beautiful and amazing.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

It really is an incredible experience!

[@drunk_astronomy]

I’m so glad that you were able to come over here and see it and your reaction made me happy. Now I’m looking forward to Spain for my third total eclipse. That one might not be a long one, but it’s right on the horizon and should look insane.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yep, on the horizon should be interesting!

[@drunk_astronomy]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Indeed!

[@keithhanssen7413]

Great job keeping up with the cloud forecast. Dallas was cloudier than your spot (I have many friends there). Very glad your trip worked out well. Very enjoyable to watch.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you!

[@billvinson7859]

This was my 3rd total solar eclipse. It never gets old. I used my C8 with my Canon EOS Ra and got a overc1500 photos capturing the start all the way to the end. We were just 12 miles west of Killeen, TX. We found a hole in the clouds and saw it all. ❤

[@richardkellar9259]

An amazing event for sure! My SeeStar performed flawlessly to provide me with a time lapse! Thanks for sharing your feelings!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Awesome, well done on the time lapse!

[@TScottT]

My husband and I flew to Dallas (from Chicago) and we lucked out! Skies were clear and the experience was phenomenal. We got some great pics with a Fuji 100-400mm zoom lens, too. We photographed the prominences, the corona, and atmospheric turbulence shadows just as totality ended.

[@glennashmore9143]

We were in the same clear hole 150 miles down the path. Perfect weather and I got a great diamond ring! Nightmare traffic getting home though.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Oh yeah we had to use small roads on the way back to OK!

[@datasoong1]

So fun to see you in the Ozarks. We were just south of Harrison, Arkansas about 20 miles which was about 90 seconds or so of totality, some great shots with my S 50.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I think a lot of people congregated in Arkansas due to the forecast!

[@dantheman7793]

We were fairly close to you, in Dardanelle, Arkansas. The skies cleared and we had a great view!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yes indeed!

[@anvikshiki]

Looked like great fun! You mentioned Carbondale, Illinois at the beginning. I was just south of there, in Makanda, for the eclipse. Seestar RAW video, despite the somewhat narrow FOV, worked great!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Great to hear it worked well!

[@Thomas_J_Giraffamann]

Good stuff. We traveled to Indianapolis. Outstanding!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@achernarpolis8842]

Great job…leading up to this event I couldn’t find any solid info on whether the ASIAIR would work for capture. Most folks recommend a DSLR method etc. Just for anyone wondering, it did work just fine as long as you set up the imaging plan in Autorun ahead of time (convert the exposure setting from the usual 1/8000 or 1/4000 to the equivalent 0.000125 second exposure setting with ramp up in exp by 1/3 or 2/3 stops etc). Hit run about 20 seconds before totality and bingo it worked fine. You compromise by not acquiring as many images as the dslr method, cause no bracketing, but it’s all I had. Also has slower image write times to the flash memory BUT it does work.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Well done, glad it worked!

[@bobbryant4410]

I was in Kerrville, TX and we had total over cast with some thinning of the clouds. I took 116 images and got 5 partial eclipse images between C1-C2 and ONE images during totality showing prominences. We did see the diamond ring at C2 for a brief moment through the clouds.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Too bad about the clouds, but glad you made the best of it anyway!

[@darthdadious6142]

I watched it from my backyard near Indianapolis, IN. It was absolutely amazing. I tried to view with my 130mm telescope with a filter, but couldn't get a bead on the sun with the filter, so gave up and just broke out my Galaxy s21 and took some pictures and enjoyed the experience. It was awe inspiring!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Enjoying the experience was the right thing to do!

[@MbSchrum]

I travelled from North Carolina to Akron, Ohio. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

[@kidinlove1]

It was amazing. I'm from Toronto so originally planned to go to Niagara Falls but weather was really bad. Ended up driving 6 hours to Montreal and it was totally worth it. Definitely will be planning for the next one. Thanks for the great content, btw. Really enjoy watching your channel!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Good call on going to Montreal, glad you enjoyed it!

[@gr0uch02a]

Heh, I drove from Austin to Metropolis, IL to see it. Ended up on some US Forestry Svc land and it was GLORIOUS.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Woohoo! That was a looong drive but oh so worth it!

[@paulrapp613]

I was in Texas, just a bit north and west of Kerrville. We had 4 minutes 19 seconds of totality. Mostly higher clouds. A good view of the corona and the prominences. There was a very short time, maybe 15 seconds, when the view was obscured by a heavier cloud. Otherwise it was a most excellent eclipse. There and back from my home in New Mexico was a journey of about 1,300 miles. The trip was worth every minute of driving time. To anyone who has never stood in totality I can say only this; GO! At least once in your lifetime stand in the shadow of the moon as it completely covers the sun, puts you in twilight and shows you the blazing corona. It is an incredible experience that belongs on every bucket list.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Fully agree!!!

[@jasonjacovelli4227]

Hope Arkansas treated you well! That's where I live. We were on the Arkansas River near the centerline. Forecast had been looking bad for two weeks.... we got very lucky with weather!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yesss! The weather getting better was such a relief!

[@artyombeilis9075]

Of course that is the experience that 100% deserves a trip to US. I wish I could do it... but only observed online

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Better than nothing!

[@HydrogenAlpha]

I’ve been looking forward to this video 😊 Four of us travelled to Austin Texas from Ireland for this one. As the day approached, the forecast just kept getting worse and worse, but on the night before the eclipse, the predictions started to improve for the Dallas area… which is why rental cars are so useful for eclipses! We ended up getting an absolutely perfect view from Alvarado, after a nail-bitingly overcast partial phase. Like magic, it just cleared up as the convective clouds vanished in the approaching shadow of the moon. We ended up with no cloud at all, from 90% overcast 15 minutes previously. Your description of the light like going into Mordor is spot on. The corona was magnificent, and those naked eye prominences were incredible. My trusty D750 worked away with a 600mm zoom lens on top of a Vixen Polarie with an intervalometer cranking out the bracketed exposures so I could just enjoy the experience. Can I say that the Tamron 150-600 lens is incredibly sharp and just superb for this kind of stuff. What a fabulous experience. Next stop, Egypt 😉

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Woohoo, so glad it turned out well for you!!! And it seems like you had the perfect setup! Maybe I should have done the same!

[@onedollasnake]

same happened in waco a up to 80% cloud cover right before eclipse start to a mostly clear sky during and leading up to total

[@edwardgill1042]

It was awesome in McKinney TX at my son's house. Photographed the entire duration, some patchy clouds during totality but enough breaks. You were smart to stay mobile but we got incredibly lucky around Dallas.

[@MisadventuresInAstro]

Ended up driving over 900 miles to meet friends atop a mountain in Mena Arkansas. It was great and I was able to stream it on Twitch. We had so many people come up to ask questions about our scopes.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Ooh that's great! I thought about streaming, but not having network connectivity made it a no go :-)

[@denniskaiser7045]

Hey Cuiv , I was traveling from Germany to north east Texas , to Texarkana, where we have family , and from there we decided to go to Clarksville, it wasn’t 100% clear in the forecast, but in the end we had all seen the eclipse also during totality and as you said it was so incredible, it was my first eclipse ever and I was amazed I’m glad you found a good place to view and image the eclipse in Arkansas Greetings from Germany CS Dennis

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Glad you could see the eclipse, that was a looong way as well!

[@denniskaiser7045]

Yeah we had so many people on the plane coming , I hope all had a good experience, I also was waiting to see your video , and where you ended up being for the event 👍🏼

[@jefff8106]

In 2017 we only had to drive about 50 miles to Casper, Wy to see that one. This time we made a 3200 mile round trip to Ohio. Were in totality at my nieces house in Medina just south of Cleveland. Worth every mile of the trip.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Glad you made the trip!

[@RandallKayfes]

I too was in Arkansas USA and it was absolutely GOURGEOUS!

[@petesastrophotography]

Awesome stuff Cuiv, glad the weather held up for you. I had thought about making the trip over from Scotland but decided to wait for the 2027 eclipse in Spain.

[@mark2220]

I also traveled to that little bubble in Arkansas. But it was just a 4 hour drive for me not halfway around the world 😂. Left at midnight to give me time to polar align my astrophotography scope, amazing experience! Got some wonderful photos

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

So happy you got to the right spot and got great photos!

[@peteradshead6566]

Glad you got to see it Cuiv. I saw the August 1999 eclipse from a boat off the south coast of the UK. I remember the weird metallic light before totality and the awe the four of us experienced during totality. The disk of the Moon was the blackest black with prominences visible in the corona. Like you had there were some clouds to the west, they extinguished rapidly in sequence as the shadow rushed towards us, a fabulous experience and more than worth the sea sickness and tediously long boat trip.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

"weird metallic light" is such a great way to describe this!

[@astro.midnight]

Very cool! Loved the vlog🙌

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Glad you liked it!!

[@robvandenwijngaart988]

Hi Cuiv, last solar eclipse I've seen and photographed was in the north of France in august 1999. We went with 3 friends fron the Netherlands. With 2 analog cameras (one with a 1000mm lens) I took phptos

[@shadowOrgon]

Made a 550mile trip with my Fiancée up to Ohio to see the eclipse, was so happy the weather up there became so favorable for seeing it. Almost clear skies, just some wispy high alt clouds. Brought my seestar with me and a few mins before totality just set it to record a video and ignored it (besides the filter on and off) per your recommendation in a previous video. It was so amazing, was my first totality. Ended up with a 7min video that I have on my channel. Was such an amazing experience and trip. And the seestar performed amazing, love this scope.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I had a look, amazing video, well done!

[@krystlih]

I was in Mena Arkansas at the blue haze overlook and it was absolutely amazing. Words cannot describe it. Sky cleared up nicely for us, and I got some beautiful images, although I messed up because I forgot to bring some cables and my primary camera so I had to resort to my backup camera and I was out of practice with it so it wasn't well in focus, but I was still happy with what I got.

[@SKYST0RY]

I am glad you got to see it, Cuiv. So much of the USA and Canada were clouded over. Here in Maritime Canada, we had clouds up until an hour before, then the sky became crystal clear for a couple hours, just long enough to experience the beauty and wonder of the eclipse in the north woods.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

So glad the skies cleared for you!

[@archeebookingagent1909]

I took my Electric unicycle from Boston and rode up to Moosehead lake in Maine, it is about 270 miles each way and took me about 23h of no sleep, I took my seestar with me in my backpack and other equipment, such DJI osmo pocket, and Insta360 RS, the night prior to Eclipse was so cold and the upper Maine roads were rough. I decided to go there because 11% of cloud cover predicted was way better than my friends 26% in Burlington VT, it turned out to be completely sunny and no clouds where I was and my friends in Burlington had clouds.. They could see all just fine though.. I shot 2 seconds of entire thing, The seestar was a champ, it did move a bit so I'm now trying to lock on the sun footage but it's amazing.. I shaved off a bit of the Seestar solar filter so it is easier to remove and I did remove it.. I do regret one thing though.. I show all as one timelapse. I shoud have stopped the time lapse at first seconds of totality and change to Raw video and then after the 3 minutes put filter back on and shoot another one as time lapse.. I have one 19 GB file but wish totality would be with more photos.. Janblochphotography is my ig page if anyone is interested seeing the image I got..and comment I have more but need to process it.. I also did some nebula and comment then night before as the sky there is just absolutely amazing after dark

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Now that was a hardcore trip, well done!!

[@archeebookingagent1909]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek it was epic, I do few of these in the year but riding non stop without sleep, just stopping for charging with ipad and telescope it's kinda unique experience. I think I can say it, this was way better than in 99, I was in Czech Republic, it was cloudy and we had floppy disks to look through.. haha but you experience had to be very similar.. Camping, experience the cold and warm and having fun, even without all the tech stuff, it's just amazing to experience this.. then people see the photos and are like.. when is the next one?... not sure if there will be one as perfect as this one.

[@KingLoopie1]

Holy moly! 270 miles on a unicycle? Why didn't you just fly, superman?

[@Felldisulfide]

Nice, Cuiv! Great location to experience the eclipse from! I had planned to watch the eclipse from just west of Niagara Falls, but the forecast changed to rain. My daughter and I drove late into the night to get to a campsite where the skies were supposed to be clear. We ended up with some high cloud cover, but not enough to block out the Sun. I was able to image at 200mm with a DSLR and at 1000mm with a Celestron 6SE, along with some wider time-lapses as well. Seeing the ring of fire in person is almost impossible to describe. Cameras just don't do it justice. CS!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Glad it worked out for you! And yeah the photos simply don't do it justice!