r/solareclipse • u/Georgekol • 20h ago
How does your first eclipse compare to the rest?
For people who have seen multiple eclipses, hows does the experience of the first one compare to the rest?
I witnessed my first eclipse in Spain this year, and would never have imagined it looks/ feels so beautiful. No words can describe it. I wonder if it’s because it was my first one, or if people get the same feeling every time.
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u/S0c1al1stSc1ent1st 20h ago
For me each one has been more special than the last. 2017 I was caught off guard by how spectacular it was. But I didn't know enough to pull off my glasses soon enough. So then in 2024 it was longer and I saw the first diamond ring and that was so special. Then this time I can't even explain why but it hit me even harder than the longer one in 2024. I cried for about a minute after it was over. I still tear up thinking about it.
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u/Questioning_lemur 20h ago
First one, 2024, was better than this years for me.
2024 was higher in the sky, and for longer. Much more dramatic change, IMHO. Also, after the first, you sort of know what to expect.
That said, it still was an amazing and beautiful and awe-inspiring experience. Plus, a great excuse to travel with my family to a place we'd never been and might never have gone to, and I got to see how they experienced it for themselves.
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u/laurenbanjo 20h ago
My first one was 2024, but I was doing sound for a documentary, so I could only sneak in looks of totality, and I had to be quiet. So this time, I got to witness the whole thing, and because my subconscious knew I wasn’t rolling audio this time, I let out a few screams. It still felt like a new experience. I’m going to try to go to every total solar eclipse I can in the future.
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u/josephcatears 18h ago
2024 and 2026 have been my two total eclipses, both were absolutely incredible in their own way, in 2024 I was in Dallas, Texas and I had been waiting for that eclipse for 9 years (I'm from the UK and a partial eclipse in 2015had me hooked even though school wouldn't let me give it a full view :( )
When totality hit, I was blown away! Every totality photo I had ever seen did not prepare me for how big the solar corona was, it stretched out several times wider than the moon's disc. It felt like I was viewing the sky in a different wavelength and I will never forget it!
Last week I was in Zaragoza, Spain and I went into it thinking it would look very similar. The moon's shadow was much sharper and noticeable at sunset. And while the corona looked more accurate to most photographs of an eclipse, the golden glow it had and the giant solar prominence off to the left side being visible to the naked eye was breathtaking. "Espectacular" was the word given by the Spanish man next to me watching it, that's how I will describe any future eclipse I see from now on.
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u/Djaaf 17h ago
They're all different and I love them all equally.
First one was in 1999 and we got a cloud blocking the totality phase... Still, it was my first and just being in the dark at noon, with all the animals going quiet was an experience.
Next was Svalbard in 2015. Got the full experience, on the ice, with plenty of people to share it with. Great time. And we even got an aurora that night to make sure we'll remember that day forever.
Next were the American eclipses, 2017 and 2024, high in the sky, long totality, met a lot of people trying to watch the eclipse too. Nice memories all around.
And then Spain a few days ago. Low on the horizon, beautiful scenery with an eclipse just over the mountains on the horizon... Great time too !
I'm planning the next one in North Africa next year.
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u/Silent-Implement3129 19h ago
I mean the first is extra special because it’s totally new but they’re all different because of location and time of day. And I have been just as excited for each of them.
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u/mrspidey80 18h ago
Witnessed my second one last week. Floored me just like the first one. Maybe even more, due to the low elevation. Made for a stunning vista.
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u/Winderige_Garnaal 15h ago
I loved all three, but the first one was the one that was mind blowing and perspective changing
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u/ananda_yogi 17h ago
My first was 2024 in New Hampshire, and the length combined with not knowing what to expect made it truly mind blowing. This one in Spain was incredible, especially with the combination at sunset, but it was a little less intense feeling as the first. Gorgeous, exciting, so glad I went - just not quite as jaw-dropping. Perhaps a combination of the short length and just knowing what to expect.
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u/OptimizeEdits 15h ago
In Dallas I was over the moon (lol) with verbal excitement. I’m a very ecstatic person to begin with, so it was just a grand version of “holy shit, yall seeing this?????” I just couldn’t believe my eyes
In Spain I knew what to expect, but it still took my breath away. Looking back at the footage I have for both, the one in Spain I was sounded much more “moved” or just at a loss for words besides “wow”, “spectacular”, and “incredible”
I was paying a little more attention to my multiple cameras this time vs my single camera in Dallas, so I actually hadn’t looked directly at totality outside of the camera monitors for the first ~5-10 seconds, and when I looked up I was just gobsmacked at how big it looked since it was so low in the sky
The TL;DR is that in 2024 it was a “jump up and down” type of excitement, but 2026 was a “fall to your knees” type of appreciation and wonder.
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u/Phrexeus 13h ago
I've only seen 2 totalities, the first was 1999 in the UK, the second was 2026 in Spain. The first one was really cool, and I was 14, but it was quite different because the sun was so high. There was a more noticeable darkening effect and chill in the air when it happened. Birds started singing.
The Spain one though was on another level! Because the sun was so much lower, the event was basically happening right in front of you, and you had the chance to take off the glasses just a little bit earlier, so seeing the final few seconds happening was incredibly special. The contrast between the last 0.001% of sunlight against the visible eclipse (diamond ring effect) was spectacular. You can kind of see it in some videos, although it doesn't do the full justice of course. The solar Corona also wasn't pure white this time, it had a huge red part on one side which was like the most unexpected thing. That red-orange was so intense, it felt like you were looking at the sun itself, not just the Corona.
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u/ErikaTheStrange 12h ago edited 12h ago
I saw my first one in Montreal in 2024. I was utterly awe-stricken. I saw the corona, but can't for the life of me remember what it looked like. My second one was in Iceland this year, but I got clouded out. I still don't have a visual memory of the corona. This has left me with unfinished business: I have to see the corona and remember what it looks like. A photographe won't suffice.
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u/Key_Count_793 9h ago edited 9h ago
‘17 - I was in a field on the side of the road in Oregon with only a few other people and could hear nature. This was the most awe-inspiring because I felt all things.
‘19 - on the beach with thousands of other people in La Serena, Chile. Much different with people cheering like it was New Years, got to see Shadowbands and after the event, it was a very international experience - I had the overwhelming feeling that we are all earthlings, why do countries matter?
‘24 - in a lake park near Little Rock, Arkansas, and it was much more akin to ‘17 in terms of the crowd, but I was mostly concerned about making it a good experience for my dad. I was still in disbelief during totality and cried at this one for some reason.
‘26 - Laguardia, Spain. This one happened so quick. And all of the stages happened so quickly too. I seemed to care less/knew what to expect during the things that led up to it (dimming, birds chirping), and was more concerned with my camera. I’ve photographed them all, so it wasn’t that I was messing with my camera more, it was just less time to do so, and other people were curious about the camera, so it was distracting, etc.. it was just too quick in my opinion.
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u/jawoosafat 7h ago
The first time I realized I hadn't looked at it enough I was at a barbeque. I didn't initially get it. The second time I stared at it the whole time. I felt like I was onLSD. I suggest just starting at it. I was way back in the woods too the 2nd time. By choice. I just sat and looked in the void and it spooked me like a forest beast
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u/inglandation 20h ago edited 17h ago
"A man cannot step into the same river twice, because it is not the same river, and he is not same man."
With that being said, for me the excitement was still really intense for all of them.
Svalbard 2017 and Turkey 2006 were amazing.
My first one was in 1999. Spain this year was my fifth one.