Going visual: types of clouds

When it's the day of the eclipse, it's time to go visual and look at the sky itself. Of course, you can still be checking the satellite photos and loops, and even take a look at the forecast models in the morning, but now your primary focus should be the sky.

I've mentioned the different types of clouds in my other posts ("Looking at Forecasts" and "Using Satellite photos and loops") 

Here are some links to show you what the different types of clouds will look like in the sky:

https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/clouds/ten-basic-clouds

https://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/clouds/cloud-types  

https://scijinks.gov/clouds/

Remember, if clouds will be present, small "popcorn" cumulus and very thin cirrus are your friends: the small cumulus have a decent chance of dissipating partially or completely; thin cirrus will allow good views of the eclipse through them

Everything else? Just hope for a gap or travel to get out from under them (if you safely can)- but be sure to stay in the totality path!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Total Solar Eclipse Checklist: What to look for!

The topic of this post is a checklist of what to look for if you are experiencing the eclipse. It’s primarily aimed at those who are in the path of totality, but some of this information can be used by people who will be experiencing a partial eclipse. I refer you to my earlier descriptive post on what happens during a total solar eclipse:  https://eclipse482024.blogspot.com/2022/04/an-incredible-experience-is-coming.html Also, of course, this assumes you know the eye safety rules. Before the eclipse begins, or during ANY part of the partial, you have to protect your eyes using proper methods and materials. But totality is COMPLETELY SAFE TO LOOK AT WITHOUT PROTECTION.   Realize that these changes don't even really begin until a large portion of the sun is covered, and that they are subtle at first. Then, they are noticeable but not dramatic. It's only shortly before totality that things become really dramatic. That's one of the many incredible things about totality- it tak
Read more

Choosing a specific observing location

Today, I'll be covering the topic of choosing an observing location within the path of totality. You don't necessarily have to plan well in advance which exact location from which you'll watch the eclipse, but it might be a good idea to consider which factors are most important to you. Here are some things that you may want to think about:   Most Important   1.   (obviously!)   The observing location must be within the zone of totality. If you're outside the main shadow path (even by a short distance!) you won't see the sun completely blocked, and you'll wonder what the excitement was about. See my previous blog posts about this! As a reminder, the totality path is in between the red lines on this map, courtesy of Xavier Jubier:  http://xjubier.free.fr/tse2024map   2. (obviously!)  Make sure the location that you pick does not have something (hills, trees, tall buildings) that may block the Sun at eclipse time.  The Sun will be about 60-70 degrees up to the Sou
Read more

Blog posts classified by category

Since we are just a few days away from the eclipse, I thought I would post this to help find my blog posts a little bit easier, organized by category. Just in case you wanted to do some final “studying” this weekend! There is an archive on my blog page in the menu, or you can just browse through the whole blog. I’m also happy to do whatever I can to make things easier for you. Some of the topics I have not posted yet. I will put the topic in the category and when I make the post, I will edit this to include the link. Observing tips, Eye Safety, What to look for, Photography https://eclipse482024.blogspot.com/2024/02/solar-eclipse-eye-safety.html https://eclipse482024.blogspot.com/2024/03/the-total-solar-eclipse-checklist-what.html https://eclipse482024.blogspot.com/2024/03/what-time-does-eclipse-happen-also-some.html https://eclipse482024.blogspot.com/2024/03/what-to-bring-to-observing-site.html https://eclipse482024.blogspot.com/2024/01/totality-its-getting-dark.html https://eclipse48
Read more