I had the amazing experience to go to the path of totality in McMinnville, Oregon and watch the solar eclipse.  I was in the path of totality and it was truly amazing.  The change of temperature. The sight itself, a spectacle that I hope to see again in my lifetime.

Solar Eclipse 2017The path of totality. Solar Eclipse 2017The path of totality. Solar Eclipse 2017The path of totality. Solar Eclipse 2017The path of totality.

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Certain phenomena can only be seen during a total solar eclipse, then phenomena repeat in reverse order:

1. Shadow bands: About 1 minute before totality, moving wavy lines of alternating light and dark can be seen on the ground and along walls. These shadow bands are the result of Earth’s turbulent atmosphere refracting the last rays of sunlight.
2. Diamond ring: Seen about 10 to 15 seconds before and after totality, the solar corona (the outer atmosphere of the sun) becomes visible; seen together with a single jewel of light from the sun, this creates a diamond ring effect.
3. The Sun's corona: As the diamond ring fades, the Sun's corona becomes more prominent and is visible as a faint ring of rays surrounding the silhouetted Moon. The corona is the outermost layer of the Sun’s atmosphere, and it is around 200–300 times hotter than the Sun’s surface. The corona’s temperature can reach over 1 million °C (1.8 million °F).
4. Baily's beads: About 5 seconds before totality, Baily's beads appear. They are little bead-like blobs of light at the edge of the Moon. They are created because gaps in the mountains and valleys on the Moon's surface allow sunlight to pass through in some places but not others.
5. The Sun's chromosphere: A lower layer of the Sun’s atmosphere, the chromosphere, gives out a reddish glow which can only be seen for a few seconds after totality sets in.
6. Baily's beads: The beads grow and merge into a crescent as the Moon continues to move away.
7. Diamond ring and corona: As the diamond ring grows brighter, the corona fades.
8. Shadow bands: The moving wavy lines reappear on the ground shortly before the crescent Sun becomes visible again and nature recovers.