Please note this new thread in the Announcements forum regarding updated management of the site. Jeff Duda has agreed to assume ownership and lead management responsibilities during what is anticipated to be a 3-12-month interim period while we perform some updates to the site, including changing the hosting. The staff will do their best to provide timely and transparent updates throughout this transition period.
WHAT A DAY! Funny thing, I actually wasn't too far from you @JeffDuda. Made it to Cairo and then went west of town a few miles on Hwy 2 and then south a couple of miles off the highway. Had a group of my closest friends, some that came from SoDak that relied on me to find the perfect spot, and I did. As Jeff mentioned almost cloudless skies. I took tons of video and pics. Traffic was surprisingly fine all the way west on I-80 and I drove 75-80 almost the whole way. The way home was a whole other story. Started out fine, but as we got closer to Omaha, traffic was much thicker. Ran into a few accidents where my wife and I went out of the way on gravel roads to try and get around traffic as we had to get back to Omaha to pick up the little one.
I managed to miss the diamond ring both times. I was distracted by what was going on around me and wasn't sure glasses on or off for it. We had 1 minute and 48 sec. of totality, I think.
!!
First of all, Jeremy, that shot of the diamond ring phase is incredible! I cheated and kept my glasses off as C3 passed and witnessed the second happening of it before glancing away. It remains the single most memorable part of the eclipse itself for me.
Second of all, we were probably VERY close. Hell, for all I know we may have crossed paths. I was maybe 200-300 m north of the intersection of Airport Rd and Road 44 almost exactly 4.0 miles due southwest of the highway 2/11 intersection in the center of Cairo. But I took Airport road west from NE-11 on the way in and then Road 44 north to NE-2 on the way out. Were you one of the groups I saw? I was in a dented up blue Mazda:
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Not sure if anyone else has heard about this phenomenon, but we were able to see it and experience it ourselves. You can hear us talking about it right before totality. For reasons unknown to scientists, on usually white objects, you can see these "waves" of light going back and forth right before totality. We happened to have a white sheet on the ground that we were using for other "experiments", but could clearly see it. Very creepy and cool!
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--Jeff Duda