back to article Solar eclipse darkened skies, dampened internet traffic

Cloudflare has measured the state of the internet during the solar eclipse that was visible on Monday across a swathe of North America, and found a measurable decrease in traffic. The eclipse's path of totality – the area in which the Moon completely blocks the view of the Sun, was first visible on land in Mexico and passed …

  1. Neil Barnes Silver badge
    Alien

    Everything under the sun is in tune

    but the sun is eclipsed by the moon...

  2. Pascal Monett Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    "Plenty of whom went offline to gawk at the celestial dance"

    Of course they did. I was in Luxembourg City last time there was an eclipse there. I saw daylight turn into darkness, went outside and experience the sudden drop in temperature and the silence. Even the birds were hushed.

    It was an awesome experience and I readily understand that Humanity was terrified by it.

    1. A Non e-mouse Silver badge

      Re: "Plenty of whom went offline to gawk at the celestial dance"

      I saw a partial eclipse in the UK and experienced the same.

    2. Steve Button Silver badge

      Re: "Plenty of whom went offline to gawk at the celestial dance"

      I was living in Brussels or what must have been the very same one in the late 90s. Took the day off work and drove the Winnebago out to the path of totality.

      Was pretty awesome, albeit a bit cloudy.

      Afterwards sat and had some lunch in the back and watched thousands of cars stuck in the biggest traffic jam and trying to rush back home.

    3. MrBanana

      Re: "Plenty of whom went offline to gawk at the celestial dance"

      I experienced the 1999 eclipse, it was very eerie. The darkness, the cold, the silence. But I had just walked out of a customer meeting that was going much the same way.

      1. The Oncoming Scorn Silver badge
        Pint

        Re: "Plenty of whom went offline to gawk at the celestial dance"

        We had about 98% totality in Devon in 1999, I was working for a place in a rural area industrial unit it was cloudy but the "shadow" could be seen without glasses, I'd forgotten the temperature drop but do remember the very eerie silence & strange near dark at the peak & just after it the sudden perception of light returning the birds started singing almost as a chorus.

        There wasn't much to see here in Alberta. A friend in Kentucky had about 90 seconds of totality as they were right on the edge of the path.

        1. Korev Silver badge

          Re: "Plenty of whom went offline to gawk at the celestial dance"

          Down in Cornwall we got totality, the seagulls started circling like they do at dusk. It was actually cloudy, so it was almost like someone turned the lights down with a dimmer switch.

      2. Potty Professor
        Angel

        Re: "Plenty of whom went offline to gawk at the celestial dance"

        My family and I experienced the 99 eclipse from an Autoroute aire (similar to a rest area) near Nancy in France. We had timed our journey from Rugby to the Black Forest to coincide with the event.

        About a quarter of an hour before First Contact, the french authorities shut down the Autoroute and all private cars had to be in an aire before totality, with the trucks lined up on the hard shoulder.

        Unfortunately it was raining, so we thought that we were going to be disappointed, but just before Totality, a small hole appeared in the clouds, and we were treated to a stunning view of the corona.

        Soon afterwards, we were allowed back onto the Autoroute to continue our journey, along with several hundred other vehicles.

  3. jmch Silver badge

    Good!!

    Happy to see that most people went out to experience it for themselves!

  4. Dr Paul Taylor

    Space station video

    would have been better if (a) the view had been zoomed out and (b) the American woman had shut up.

    1. Whiskers

      Re: Space station video

      No sound here. Very disappointed that the video looked like a thumb obscuring the lens; I was hoping to see the round shadow racing across a continent.

      1. John Robson Silver badge

        Re: Space station video

        You need a significantly higher viewpoint than the ISS then...

        1. Whiskers

          Re: Space station video

          ... add to wishlist

          1. John Robson Silver badge

            Re: Space station video

            Then look at a weather sat - geostationary and with a good view:

            e.g. https://dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/V6JEJGVAORHKFG5X5OMYFEK6JQ.gif

            (Article at https://www.dallasnews.com/news/weather/2024/04/08/after-the-total-solar-eclipse-these-satellite-images-from-space-show-path-of-totality/)

            1. heyrick Silver badge

              Re: Space station video

              Dallas News - member exclusive content...

              Alternative (video): https://weather.com/science/space/video/total-solar-eclipse-seen-from-space

              1. John Robson Silver badge

                Re: Space station video

                member exclusive?

                Found through google, didn't see a paywall at any point.

                I did strip off some of the URL though - go through the article to see the gif... stupid.

                To better penalise those who do this, find a different weather sat

  5. monty75

    And then, internet usage must have shot up again judging by the number of eclipse photos and videos I saw on social media.

  6. tommy_qwerty

    I live in the path of totality. It was cloudy and the sun and moon peaked through the clouds briefly only a few times, so I did take my phone out a couple times to use Sky Map. Still an interesting experience.

    1. RM Myers

      I was luckier, there were just a few wispy clouds that didn't block the view. I live just inside the path of totality, so it only lasted about a minute, but it was still very interesting.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        > but it was still very interesting

        Glad to see that the art of understatement is still alive in the colonies, we were worried it might have been forgotten after the voyage.

      2. that one in the corner Silver badge

        > it only lasted about a minute, but it was still very interesting.

        The 1968 total eclipse had, at its longest, a Totality duration of 40s - and the Chinese expedition spent 3 days on a train then 7 days by car to get to an observing site!

        Travel is a lot easier now and many people would happily travel across the globe for a minute of Totality![1]

        Just stepping outside and only having a few wispy clouds - what great fortune.

        [1] of course, having travelled so far, they'd try for a location with the maximum Totality possible, conditions permitting, but still, a minute of Totality is nothing to be sneezed at.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    ''Net traffic dropped?

    What?

    You mean it *didn't* get totally flooded out with livestreams from absolutely everybody standing with their back to the event so that they can get the right selfie viewpoint their audience craves?

    Only interrupted by all the flash photography at Totality, of course*

    Respect to the all the Yanks who just watched (hopefully in awe and cheering along with the people nearby).

    * in Libya for an eclipse and not only did we get the inevitable flashes but a bunch of idiots were driving their cars back and forth, flashing the headlights and hitting the horn during Totality!**

    ** still annoyed and bitter about that? Me? No, no, totality over it, never give it a thought anymore - seriously, what was the point in keeping one eye shut to keep it dark adapted when that is going to happen? You go to the middle of a desert (not the natural habitat of an Englishman, despite what the song implies) and expect awe and wonderment, nope, may as well have been in the local Showcase car park! Going for a lie down now.

    1. ravenviz Silver badge

      Re: ''Net traffic dropped?

      The NASA YouTube feed was swamped and very laggy!

  8. Strong as Taishan Mountains

    Bit, not byte.

    Gosh, do the Reg writers have anything at all to do with IT anymore?

    Since it went full 'Murica it seems to be shovelware from the MBA floor now.

    1. Scoured Frisbee

      Cloudflare reports it as bytes, and it's their data, so...

      https://blog.cloudflare.com/total-eclipse-internet-traffic-impacts-mexico-us-canada

      Check the byline, I'm pretty sure this particular author would not make such a mistake.

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