To ask Mumsnetters across the pond what they make of the SM hype around the solar eclipse,

There’s a solar eclipse happening?

Yes I remember huge levels of excitement from the medianaround this, and then it was pretty underwhelming

I'm not on social media much, so can't speak to that. It's been on the news, mainly focused on what not to do for eye safety reasons. Local schools have announced that it will be an excused absence if any parents want to keep their children home or pick them up early.

I have a friend who has travelled to the states to see it. Very excited! Just because you don't feel it doesn't mean everyone feels the same.

I'm in Canada. I haven't really heard anything about it. No one around me is talking about it, not seen anything on social media. I had an email from one of my kids' schools to say kids will go out for regular recess but will be inside during eclipse time. I don't think we're getting a good 'view' of it where I am.

Solar eclipses need to be 100% to be worth seeing. Everything else is meh.

But a cloudless 100% is one of natures greatest spectacles. You get the darkness. The incredible blackness of the moon. The photosphere around the sun, solar prominences. Stars plus a number of other effects like the diamond ring and baileys beads.

Photos simply don't do it justice. It is an incredibly difficult event to capture.

The one coming up is also at a relative high point in solar activity so there should be plenty of interesting stuff to see around the sun.

I would definitely recommend seeing a total solar eclipse once in your life. They are fantastic. A partial ? They happen in the UK every 5-10 years or so and are bang average.

I have seen two total eclipses, the European on in 1999 (I went to France because I knew Cornwall would be crowded and quite possibly overclouded) and the last great one in the US in Idaho, which was 2016 or 2017 - can't remember which - and will probably try to see the one in northern portugal or the straight of gibralter one that are both coming up in the next few years.

I hadn't heard anything about the eclipse until today; I saw a BBC news article mention it in my Google feed thing this morning.

I've read from a few sources including the BBC that the 1999 eclipse was only visible at 100% from Cornwall. That's not right because it was also 100% in Devon. I was in Paignton (Devon) and although the weather was cloudy, it still went night for about 2 minutes.

I saw a full eclipse once in France back in 1999. We were lucky to get a small pitch for our tent. It was a good collective shared experience. We had the radio on and could hear the excitement in the UK. The birds reacted and then a shadow came across the Channel.

It was a good experience.

A little underwhelming where I lived as we had full cloud cover and only a partial eclipse anyway. But still very cool.

Edit: but whatever the situation, Russell Grant can only make it worse.

This was the last one. https://www.abc.net.au/news/search?query=exmouth%20eclipse It was a long way to go for just about everyone.

It was pretty cool, no?

I live in Pennsylvania and I think different places are bring in police and national guard due to crazy people in the effected area just stopping on the highway to watch. A few schools are closed or early dismissal but due to the crazy people who will cause traffic delays. No aliens here in the US. Think about it, what intelligence would want to come here?

I'm American and live in California. It's only about supposed to cover about 30% here, which is a shame since we typically have very clear skies. It's a fun natural phenomenon. It's nice to have something to think about that isn't war, privation, crime and all those worries.

This cropped up on my feed earlier this week.

In 1999, we were walking past a hospital on our way to watch it, when two nurses came out and peered at the eclipse through a patient’s x-rays!

Sadly the clouds completely obscured totality. It was interesting to see the wildlife react though - I remember the seagulls flew out to sea, screaming.

Im going to see 99.8% apparently, havent seen any social media posting apart from one thing that was posting a web site where you could put in your zip code and see what percentage you would see (which is why I know). My dc’s school are doing a special event and I will probably go outside for a bit, but I havent seen any fuss beyond some advice that the traffic will be dreadful right after it. I do actually need to go and find some protective glasses tomorrow.

I’m in Northern Alberta. I believe we only get to see about 25% here and if it’s snowing we won’t see much at all.

I know our local school boards are keeping Grade K-6 inside for lunch. 7-12 will be allowed outside but lunch is early at my son’s school so they won’t see it anyway, unless their class teacher lets them out.

I have ordered some glasses just in case. I’m keeping a pair home, so I can hopefully see it.

No foil hat stuff here that I’m aware of.

I love a total solar eclipse. I was lucky enough to see one in 2010. It was a fairly cloudy day, but the clouds parted just before totality, which was great.

The light effect is strange. Someone once described it as like the Earth being lit up by another star. Seeing the corona is also amazing.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch another partial solar eclipse, though. They aren’t half as impressive.

I hadn't even heard about it. Didn't know it was happening.

Other than OH mentioning it today, I've not seen/heard much about it (in UK).

I saw the last one in South Devon but don't remember the hoo-ha as DS was only a couple of months old so I had other things keeping me occupied!

I’m almost in the eclipse path and I haven’t seen any of the alien or rapture stories.

There are articles wondering how the area near me that typically has almost no one in it will cope with 20,000 visitors at once. I’m wondering the same thing.

There is only one freeway in and out, and almost no roads, so I’d expect traffic will be a problem on the day.

Everyone at work today was talking about their plans to watch it, and quite a few people are traveling somewhere to see it, including me.

All very similar to my experience of the 1999 eclipse in the UK.

I’m a Brit living in the US and haven’t seen anything like that at all. You’re getting weird conspiracy stuff shown to you because you’ve interacted with or watched it before and the algorithm wants to give you more of what it thinks you want.

There is a fair amount of excitement for the eclipse itself though.