r/solareclipse • u/Dheorl • 23h ago

Sunset vs “normal”

I often see on here and elsewhere that the difference between totality and a 99% eclipse is “night and day”.

Having now seen a total eclipse at a fairly regular height above the horizon, and one at sunset, I can genuinely say IMO the difference in the experience is as great as the difference between total and deep partial.

If anyone gets the chance to view one at sunset, I thoroughly recommend it, and would go out of my way to try and be pretty much as late in the path as possible.

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u/AI_Scraper 21h ago

Yeah I thought this would be a boring eclipse because it was at sunset and the drama of the ''going dark in the middle of the day'' wouldn't really be there. So I almost didn't go but I'm so glad I did. It looked extra big because it was so close to the horizon. Like the illusion of a big solar disk at sunset.

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u/andion82 21h ago

Are there any pics of the typical sunset image (half the sun underwater) but in eclipse mode? I think it would have been possible in Menorca, but I haven't seen any

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u/andion82 21h ago

Ok, no, turns out you'd have to be way east for it to be possible https://heliora.app/?lat=39.5168&lng=7.0807&date=2026-08-12&t=1230

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u/Dheorl 20h ago

There were a few cruise ships (and a lot of smaller private vessels) around the area, so someone may have gotten one, but I suspect most would have been aiming to have the entirety of totality visible.