August 22, 2017

  • Solar Eclipse -- August 21, 2017

    On Monday, August 21, 2017 there was a solar eclipse which, in some locations along a path across the US.  Where I live, the eclipse was at approximately 60.4%.  A neighbor across the street and I had talked about this a week or two ago, and decided we would repeat an experiment that we had done the last time there was a partial solar eclipse.

    Before I show any photographs, a word about the quality.  Our viewing screen was a sheet hung from the top of the garage door across the street from mine.  The projectors (we had two) were mirrors — one a compact-sized mirror, and the other about 12 inches in diameter.  The result of this arrangement was far from perfect, but gave a good idea of the crescent of the eclipsed sun.  The larger mirror didn’t work as well as the smaller one, perhaps because of a beveled edge.  The sheet was pretty tight as it hung, but there was a zephyr of breeze that also affected the photos.  And in editing the photos, the computer looks for something that could be sky and makes it sky-blue, then filling other colors as them make sense to the computer., thus a blue sky created from a white sheet!

    Our projectors were set up as the eclipse began.

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    And the system was checked out and the aim adjusted — we had to continue adjusting the mirrors as the sun moved through the sky.

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    The following are a selection of images projected onto the “screen” over the 2-1/2 hours of the eclipse — even the landscapers got into the spirit!

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    The seeming “double exposure” was probably generated by the thickness of the mirror — we noticed it in many of the photos.

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    We wondered whether the texture of the sheet made a difference to the quality of the pictures — the best way to tell was to hold up a piece of cardboard.

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    It didn’t seem to make much difference!

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    Along the way, we noticed that the light became dimmer than normal (as if there were clouds or a smoke cloud in front of the sun), it became much quieter, the birds stopped flying and chirping (and the crows stopped squawking!).  A few people walked by us with their dogs — two stopped to watch with us, and some simply walked along, glancing to see what we were doing.  It was an unusual, but most effective, way to watch the eclipse.  The next one with totality that will be visible from the US will be in 2024 — I hope I’ll be around to watch that one!

Comments (4)

  • This was interesting to read. I am glad your experiment worked and you and some others safely were able to observe and enjoy the eclipse. Personally, I was inside taking a nap. It was cloudy here anyhow, and I didn't think we would have had any decent visibility anyhow.

    • I'm sorry you didn't get to see the eclipse -- it was a fun morning here in SoCal! Hopefully this gave you an idea of what it was like!

  • That was a neat way to do it. We just took direct pictures and they weren't so great. :)

  • I didn't even take pictures, just enjoyed seeing it with my cell phone on selfie mode.

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