I wouldn’t say five seconds before totality is boring; you can look up and see the tiny sliver of Sun as it winks out of existence, and see shadowy ripples on the ground from differences in air density. But that’s still nothing compared to totality.
There were “shadow bands” that looked like wavy ripples starting around then too, and for a few seconds afterward too.
But OP’s point about non-totally is pretty accurate. It’s a little chilly, a bit like overcast, and you can’t look at it without eye protection until totality.
When we were at the 2017 eclipse it was warmer and we watch the bugs come out and birds roost/land on the nearby lake.
Relevant xkcd: https://xkcd.com/2914
I wouldn’t say five seconds before totality is boring; you can look up and see the tiny sliver of Sun as it winks out of existence, and see shadowy ripples on the ground from differences in air density. But that’s still nothing compared to totality.
There were “shadow bands” that looked like wavy ripples starting around then too, and for a few seconds afterward too.
But OP’s point about non-totally is pretty accurate. It’s a little chilly, a bit like overcast, and you can’t look at it without eye protection until totality.
When we were at the 2017 eclipse it was warmer and we watch the bugs come out and birds roost/land on the nearby lake.