Total Solar Eclipse 2017 Time Lapse as seen in Nashville, TN V22939

One of the most spectacular "bucket-list" events in nature, a total eclipse of the sun, occurred in a narrow band across the entire United States on August 21st, 2017. The path of totality (where the sun is completely covered by the moon) was about 40 miles wide and lasted for around 2 and a half minutes at best. If one was lucky enough to be in this path AND the sky was clear of clouds, the event was one that few people get to experience in their lifetime.
The eclipse starts slowly and unless one has the proper viewing equipment, it isn't obvious to the casual observer. However, as the eclipse approached 80% around 1pm, sunlight levels were noticeably subdued. At 90% - 98% sunlight levels were much like dusk, although the sky was still radiating the full bright blue of mid-day. As the last 2% of the sun was slowly covered, sunlight became more orange and dim while the sky still radiated its normal (although somewhat reduced) blue light. The planet Venus became bright and clear to the west, and other planets were probably visible as well although I was too busy to look for them at the time.
During the very short period of total eclipse ( starts at 1:18 ), I yanked the filter off of the camera while the intervalometer kept clicking away, and tried to take in as much of the event as possible. Solar prominences (the large, red "flares" seen on the right side of the sun were clearly visible to the naked eye and especially noticeable under magnification. While the insects are particularly noisy during the day in Tennessee, the chorus changed noticeably - crickets began singing and other nightly noises slowly increased, too. The lighting was particularly strange - like dusk but with a weird orange and blue tint. It's one of those things you just have to experience to see the full effect.
Just prior to the start of the event, I strapped a GoPro Hero5 Black to a tree on the hill and let film a time lapse ( starts at 4:11 ) at 5-second intervals of the whole event. Unfortunately, the GoPro kept adjusting its settings to maintain a consistent exposure level, so the gradual darkening and lightening of the sky and earth is not so apparent. However, the short duration of totality does show up well, as does the passing of the moon's shadow across the sky and clouds ( seen at 4:35 ), giving this sequence an interesting perspective.
Finally, as the eclipse waned, I spent a few minutes marveling at the crescent-shaped shadows all over the ground. One interesting effect of a non-circular light source is that any object which casts a shadow with a hole in it acts like a pin-hole camera, and projects an image in the shape of the light source (eclipsed Sun). A few of these images can be seen at 5:10 .
These scenes were filmed with a Canon 5D Mk2 (equipped with Baader Planetarium Solar Film filter), GoPro Hero5 Black, and Canon HS300 Digital Elph.
The soundtrack is "Neptune Orbit (Alien City Mix)" from the "Mission Control" CD by Technician (yours truly), MP3 album and single track available on iTunes at: itunes.apple.c... full artist discography and CDs available at HTTP://technician.jcmd...
Contains JCMDI Catalog#: V22706,V22707, and various still images
Note: The audio and video material contained herein is copyright 2017 JCM Digital Imaging, however, you may download this footage directly from UA-cam and use it free of charge in your own non-profit/non-commercial UA-cam videos, school projects, etc. The full free usage policy and UA-cam copyright notice/ad info can be found here (please read before using JCMDI material): jcmdi.com/stock... jcmdi.com/stock...

Absolutely superb. Thank you for this generous sharing. Nature always offers us magnificent shows.
I wish you a beautiful day. _François_

[@jcmegabyte]

Thanks so much =) I hope you have a great week!

[@Afrikitty]

Spectacular video, JC. We were able to see it from our own front garden that day.
It was crazy how the sun shone through the leaves showing up hundreds of half moon shapes on the ground.
The actual eclipse was a spectacular sight.
Loved this video and the music.
Take care now.
Kind regards.
Liz.

[@jcmegabyte]

You were fortunate to see this from home =) I had to travel half-way across the country, but it was well worth it for this once in a lifetime (more-or-less) event! Thanks for the view and kind words!

[@luvperu1]

Good to hear from you JC....Great filming of the eclipse..I viewed the
eclipse inland from Cambria..A partial eclipse but still wonderful to see...
Happy new day to you !!

[@cwileybutler9698]

Magnificent!!!! Thank you.

[@jcmegabyte]

I'm happy you enjoyed this one - thanks so much for stopping by! :-)

[@ScaryFear]

Wonderful. I'm glad you got to see this. It was nice to see what the surroundings looked like during this too. I find that fascinating. I love those cute crescent shadows. I got to see this too in Lexington SC. My video is up about it and I had a wonderful time. Definitely a bucket list item crossed off.

[@jcmegabyte]

I definitely had to see at least one of these - indeed an important item crossed-off the list =) Aurora, Antarctica and a few other remain though. I'll go check out your vid...

[@ScaryFear]

Thanks. Sounds good. Yeah I still have a few bucket list items myself I hope to do one day like Galapagos, Kauai and such.

[@willamestrada1121]

Witnessed it in Murfreesboro,TN along with my family. So stunning and beautiful. Thank you.

[@jcmegabyte]

I'm happy you enjoyed the recap =) Thanks so much for visiting!

[@willwithers8171]

Turn around bright eyed

[@sniffmuse1]

Thank you great video

[@jcmegabyte]

Thanks so much for visiting =) Cheers!

[@carlosreid51]

Nice full video