Solar Eclipse 2017

[OldGuy59]

Just watching an astronomical phenomenon.

Because you can't watch it with your own eyes, I set up this viewing rig:

Not very clear, but this is a pair of binoculars on a camera tripod, with a cardboard shield taped over the front of the binoculars. I ended up covering one of the lenses, as it was distracting with two images. I saw this on the morning news just before the event started, and ran around the house gathering bits. Setting it all up was a pain. Initially, the info said to use a dark background, but I only had a binder, and it was not at all smooth. The Better Half knew we would need something big, with a two hour duration. The 11X17 piece of cardboard wasn't any where big enough.

And we started watching...

[OldGuy59]

More pictures...






Getting to max...


The maximum eclipse at Comox...


And the moon starts to pass by...

[flash]

Nice one Mike - at least you got to see it !

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

It's a Dark emoji with a smile!

[OldGuy59]

Clouds were partially obscuring the view in this one:


And the event is over:

[Marechallannes]

Interesting, Mike!

Thx for sharing.

[Jager]

Excellent rig, Mike. Far better than the 2 pieces of thin cardboard with a pin hole in one we used back in the 60s
Karl

[OldGuy59]

For being in a location with 87% coverage of the Sun, we didn't really get very dark, at all. It was like sunset, before the Sun went below the horizon.

It was cooler, and the inside of the house was darker. Crickets were chirping alot, like they would at sunset, and the birds started their morning chorus as the Sun began to brighten again.

Collage of the event:

[gully_raker]

That collage gave a great overview Mike!

[BobP]

Very nice Mike. Thanks for sharing your time and effort with us.

[OldGuy59]

Thought I'd repeat this, for those that don't see the other thread: Who's watching the eclipse?

All,
If you go to this site, you can plug in different locations and see a simulation of the eclipse. It's pretty cool.

www.timeanddate.com - Solar Eclipse - 21 August 2017

On the right side of the page, there is a place to type in a city/location. I tried a few places, like: Bend and Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; Victoria, BC; and Comox, BC. The simulation shows how dark the sky got in these different locations. Considering that Seattle was at 93%, the simulator appears to show only a twilight effect. Portland at 99% appears completely dark. Comox wasn't really dark at 87%, at least to me. The crickets and birds thought differently.

PS: Salem, Oregon 1.0% eclipse!

[Mike George]

In the path just north of Kansas City, MO nothing but rain and clouds, but it did get real dark for about 5min.

[Naharaht]

Well done, Mike!

[Flying Helmut]

Excellent collage!

I witnessed an almost total eclipse around 20 years ago, but completely failed to record it in any way.

I do remember it got really eerie when it became dark; all the birds stopped singing, and then started up again for the new 'dawn'.

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

Great shots Mike, nearly had a 'Bonnie Tyler' moment there.

[grumpybear]

Well done Mike

[Jager]

Here's someone's quickie idea:

Karl

[flash]

Now that was a neat idea - multiple eclipse !

[OldGuy59]

More playing with Photoshop...

[Dawn Patrol]

I just used the natural (aka lazy) method and used the natural pinholes of dense foliage.

[Stumptonian]

More playing with Photoshop...

Really effective, Mike.
SWMBO was impressed with your collage yesterday.
I will have to be sure to show her this one as well.

[brdavis]

We were lucky to have family who live in the path of totality, so we made the two hour drive. So glad we did. I saw a partial solar eclipse back in 2012, but that didn't prepare me for the total eclipse. On Monday I watched the partial eclipse through my eclipse glasses until totality was reached, and then I took my glasses off. I was totally unprepared for that moment and have no words for what I saw - it was the most absolutely jaw dropping scene I've ever witnessed. Then the minute passed and totality was gone. I sat for 2+ hours after in a state of utter shock.

I haven't seen any photo or video yet that looks like what I actually saw, but here are a couple of photos that my wife took during totality:

[gully_raker]

We were lucky to have family who live in the path of totality, so we made the two hour drive. So glad we did. I saw a partial solar eclipse back in 2012, but that didn't prepare me for the total eclipse. On Monday I watched the partial eclipse through my eclipse glasses until totality was reached, and then I took my glasses off. I was totally unprepared for that moment and have no words for what I saw - it was the most absolutely jaw dropping scene I've ever witnessed. Then the minute passed and totality was gone. I sat for 2+ hours after in a state of utter shock.

I haven't seen any photo or video yet that looks like what I actually saw, but here are a couple of photos that my wife took during totality:

Great photos & comments Brian.