🐢𓆉 Alex Heeb 𓆉 🐢

I do not just endure, I take the darkness handed to me, and shape it into light

[🐢𓆉 Alex Heeb 𓆉 🐢 @AlexBHeeb]

It was life changing

[Tim Urban @waitbutwhy]

In 2017, I did something dumb. There was a total solar eclipse passing through the US, but I was in NY, far from the path. Was I really gonna get on a plane to see a cool thing for two minutes? Nah. I had shit to do.

The day came. I put my stupid glasses on and saw the sun become a little less big and then back to being full size again. It was mildly interesting.

Then the reports started coming in from the people who had seen it from the totality zone. People were like "it was an indescribably profound, perspective-shifting, life-altering experience." They were like "I'm a different person now, someone who can only be understood by other people who saw the total solar eclipse." It was massively fomo-y and upsetting.

Solar eclipses happen when the moon passes directly through the invisible line connecting the sun and Earth, something that doesn't happen very often because space is big and the invisible line is skinny. Earthlings are very lucky, eclipse-wise. Most planets don't have a big enough moon to create a total solar eclipse. Not only is our moon big enough, it's about exactly the size of the sun in our night sky because, by sheer coincidence, the sun is about 400 times farther from us than the moon and also about 400 times bigger than the moon in diameter—making our eclipses especially breathtaking.

There are about 70 total solar eclipses every century, each resulting in a thin path of total sun blockage. For most of history, there was no way to know when or where they would happen. Only the very lucky few who happened to be in the right place, at the right time, with the right weather, got to experience a total solar eclipse. Today you can ensure that you see one—and I had passed up the opportunity. I would not make the mistake again.

I went online and learned that there would be another total solar eclipse passing through the US in 2024, and then that would be it until 2045. It went on my calendar that day.

As fortune would have it, the 2024 eclipse's path of magical totality would be passing right over my new hometown of Austin, Texas. It was perfect.

Then came the weather reports. Austin was going to be cloudy on eclipse day.

Nope. Not okay. It wasn't an option to not see this eclipse. My friend @Liv_Boeree was equally psychotic about this, so we decided on Sunday night that Monday morning we'd get on a flight to somewhere in the eclipse's path that was forecast to have clear skies. We settled on Arkansas.

Early the next morning we flew to Little Rock, got in a car, and drove northwest to get to the dead center of the totality path, where the total eclipse would last for more than three minutes. We ended up in a big open rural field that may or may not have been part of someone's farm. It was us and some cows. The sky was perfectly clear.

30 minutes until totality. I looked through my glasses at a crescent sun. It seemed a little dimmer out than usual, but only a little.

20 minutes. Thinner crescent, a tad dim, maybe a tad cooler than it was before?

10 minutes. Razor thin crescent now, definitely weird lighting. Because all of the light is coming from one small area, shadows are very sharp. You can see the shadow of individual hairs on your head.

1 minute. It's very dim, like early evening, but still feels like daytime generally. Waves of light and dark ripple across the ground, like the way light moves at the bottom of a swimming pool.

5 seconds. Diamond ring! I take off my glasses and the diamond ring looks strikingly beautiful and strange (google "eclipse diamond ring" to see what I'm talking about).

4 seconds to 1 second. The Earth's dimmer switch suddenly goes downnnnn as dim daylight drops into night. Totality.

Imagine a world where there was always cloud cover, and one day every few years, in certain places, the sky cleared at night, and you could see stars for the first time in your life. It would be a totally surreal experience, something that reminded you that you don't live in a big world but on the edge of a tiny rock in vast outer space. It would show you the truth about reality.

We see stars all the time, so we're well-acquainted with our reality living in outer space (even if it's easy to forget during the day). But when I looked up at the sky during the total eclipse, it was the first time I had experienced another, totally different way to see with my eyes that I lived in outer space. I saw one sphere positioned in front of another sphere, with two other spheres—Venus and Jupiter—floating nearby. More than ever before, it felt obvious that I was standing on the edge of a fifth sphere. For the first time in my life, I was looking at the Solar System.

I looked around. There was a dim 360° sunset along the entire horizon—another first. It was dark. At 2pm. By a minute in, there was a chorus of chirping crickets that hadn't been there before. Birds were flying around overhead that hadn't been there before. The cows continued being cows but I assume they were super confused.

I looked back up at the Solar System and noticed a little imperfection on the edge of the black moon circle, which I realized must be a solar flare. A solar flare I could see with my naked eye.

Only half of my brain was focused on the eclipse because the other half was frantically trying to figure out how to best use the precious three minutes. I told myself I wouldn't spend more than 30 seconds of the three minutes doing stuff with my camera, but I was not gonna not take pics. I got things all focused and snapped this gem:
Just kidding that's @AJamesMcCarthy's photo. But mine was pretty good too.
Okay fine that one was taken by @NASA. Here's mine.
Whatever. Anyway, eventually it ended. The glorious diamond ring reappeared, followed by me being blinded before remembering to not look at the sun anymore. Earth's dimmer switch swooped back up, as night turned to day in a few surreal seconds. It was over.

Thoughts were processed. Emotions were felt.
It was very very VERY worth the last second trip. For any of you who pulled a 2017 Tim and decided not to see this one, I hope I've sufficiently fomo'd you into making sure you see this for yourself, sometime soon, in some part of the world. 🌻

[🐢𓆉 Alex Heeb 𓆉 🐢 @AlexBHeeb]

@ThomasEWoods @EricLDaugh We call those Neo-Boomers

[Sawyer Loves Movies 🎥 @sawyeurism]

I am a herpetologist. My research focus is lizards. Heartbreaking doesn't even cut it, but I'm hardly surprised.

This man is the reason qualified scientists cannot even get jobs in their fields. There are no jobs. There is no science. Just Christo-Fascist destruction.

[Al Carbo @carbo_al]

I'm so tired of Boomer entitlement

They're more concerned about keeping neighborhood kids out of "their" lake then selling their house to actual foreigners

The irony is no one was like this when Boomers were kids, we still had close nit communities, an old men would see the boys on the lake & be like "oh you're the McGinty kids? Enjoy!"

[Pope Respecter @poperespecter1]

Whatever you do to a person with Down Syndrome, you do to Christ. Remember that we will all face judgement day.

[🐢𓆉 Alex Heeb 𓆉 🐢 @AlexBHeeb]

@OrianneSociety Love the photo

[Nashville Zoo @NashvilleZoo]

Stand with us to protect the future of Nashville Zoo.

A proposed 69,000-square-foot data center is planned next to the Zoo, but no environmental impact studies have been conducted. Sign our petition to help protect the animals in our care ➡️ https://t.co/q2ISQnxLBK

[Elaine de Valle @newschica]

This is making me cry uncontrollably this morning. What tf is wrong with people? Why do we have to ruin everything? I just can't. #Florida

[The Orianne Society @OrianneSociety]

Happy #WorldTurtleDay!

There are endless reasons to love and protect turtles, and instead of listing them for you, we thought we’d let the turtles show you themselves. Turn your volume up, and take a minute with the turtles as they remind us to slow down every once in a while.

[Pope Respecter @poperespecter1]

Boomers after using their last vote before dying to hand our entire government over to Israel.

[Laiken Jordahl @LaikenJordahl]

Border walls in Big Bend will cut wildlife off from the Rio Grande—often their only reliable source of water.

Many of Texas' famed game species will pay the price, just like we've seen elsewhere across the border. And for what? Virtually nobody is crossing the border here.

[🦎Viscerasuchus🪶 (croc enjoyer🐊) @Visceral9000]

People like this are the reason birds like the ivory-billed woodpecker are extinct…

[🐢𓆉 Alex Heeb 𓆉 🐢 @AlexBHeeb]

@BelsPegs @camhenry11 @DavidLimbaugh Did you even see how much money they spent on the election?

[FactPost @factpostnews]

The Trump administration has removed all federal protections for a rare dancing prairie bird, allowing oil and gas drilling in their natural habitat.

[Tom Woods @ThomasEWoods]

My daughter was distraught over Massie today. I told her: your age group went for him nearly 80-20. I also told her: Boomers are the most selfish and ignorant voting bloc in the history of the U.S.

[𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐍𝐄𝐒 @Antunes1]

Boomers have sold America out to Israel.

Worst generation in history.

[Pope Respecter @poperespecter1]

This foreign government is gloating about buying an election in Kentucky.

[FactPost @factpostnews]

Trump's new Bureau of Land Management director is oil millionaire Steve Pearce, who:

— Does not believe National Parks should exist
— Led rallies against protections for endangered species
— Illegally cut down trees in federal forests
— Made millions in donations from oil lobbyists
— Said Trump should be president "forever" just three days after the insurrection

[🐢𓆉 Alex Heeb 𓆉 🐢 @AlexBHeeb]

@MasonicEROCK @AdamGajda12 @ThomasEWoods Oh, let me guess, if we just ate less avocado toast we’d be able to afford houses? Shut up goy boomer.

[🐢𓆉 Alex Heeb 𓆉 🐢 @AlexBHeeb]

@MasonicEROCK @AdamGajda12 @ThomasEWoods What’s amazing about you boomers is how proud you are of the destruction you’ve done to younger generations. You pissed all over us and told us it was raining.