Solar eclipse this morning!!

[TheDoctor]

As a public service, we've organised a solar eclipse for everyone to start the day with
Maximum eclipse is just after 8 am, and about 2/3 of the Sun will be covered up.

 

[rich p]

Thanks for organising Doc but we had total cloud cover at 8 am.

 

[beanzontoast]

... and here in Derby at 8.00am it was hard to tell whether it's dark due to the eclipse or just plain dark because it's winter!

I did get to project the last total eclipse we had though back in 1999 using a small telescope* and homemade rig to hold a projection screen. That was a beauty.

*Obviously everyone here knows, but worth restating - never look directly at the sun with naked eye, or through a telescope or binoculars.

 

[gavintc]

I was sure that we would miss it in Naples as we had cloud cover this morning. But lo, when I looked out the window about 30 mins ago, the sun had broken through. Unsurprisingly, it was very bright, but it was possible to see the eclipse; a significant chunk out of the top left of the sun. My first solar eclipse.

 

[yello]

Too cloudy to see anything here either. From bed anyway, it was gone 9 before I got up

 

[snorri]

Bright sunshine here today, but unfortunately I had no convenient device with which to observe the sun.

 

[XmisterIS]

When we had the total lunar eclipse a few weeks back ... it was cloudy.

Today at 8am ... it was cloudy!

Whenever there is a spectacular astronomical event ... it is usually cloudy.

The Gods, I tell you, are laughing!

 

[skudupnorth]

It was behind the snow clouds here !

 

[661-Pete]

So - what was the weather like for me this morning? guess!

In fact, XmisterIS, you are wrong. Just once in a while, the gods do smile upon us. They did, for the transit of Venus back in 2004. I had great fun, projecting an image through binoculars onto a screen set up in the car park and showing it to my workmates.

 

[TheDoctor]

I had a reasonable view about 9 am. The Sun had a big bite out of the side, like a flying PacMan.

 

[Hover Fly]

Eclipses, earthquakes, snow, freezing cold...



OH Gods! Why are you angry with us?

 

[XmisterIS]

So - what was the weather like for me this morning? guess!

In fact, XmisterIS, you are wrong. Just once in a while, the gods do smile upon us. They did, for the transit of Venus back in 2004. I had great fun, projecting an image through binoculars onto a screen set up in the car park and showing it to my workmates.

You're not familiar with my own, personal cloud then ...

 

[Arch]

Bright sunshine here today, but unfortunately I had no convenient device with which to observe the sun.

You only need a mirror and a white surface. Place the mirror to reflect the sun onto the white surface (a sheet of paper etc) and you'll the shape, complete with missing bit. I did this for the 1999 one, projecting it onto the white shirted back of our manager.

Today it was cloudy, although it really seemed darker than yesterday in similar conditions, so I think we 'felt it'. I remember for the 1999 one, although we were some way north of seeing proper totality, it went cold at the moment of maximum coverage, despite a clear blue sky and no visible change in the light from the sun in terms of normal vision.

 

[661-Pete]

Nearly all households have a pair of binoculars of some sort, and that's by far the easiest way. Even when there's no eclipse on schedule, you can always be on the lookout for sunspots.

ALREADY STATED ABOVE, BUT I'D BETTER REITERATE: NEVER LOOK THROUGH THE BINOCULARS AT THE SUN, NOR DIRECTLY AT THE SUN WITHOUT PROTECTION (ORDINARY SUNGLASSES, FILM NEGATIVES, ETC., ARE NO GOOD FOR THIS).
Anyway, back to the bins. Put a cap on one lens, you only need one half. Prop up a piece of white card or paper square-on to the binoculars and in their shadow a few feet away (keep your head well away from the binoculars' shadow)! Gently move the binoculars about until the sun's image (which may be blurred) pops through on to the card. Then, holding the bins as steady as you can with one hand, try to get a focus using the other hand. Once you've managed it and mastered the knack, you'll be amazed at the result.

This is not meant to be a 'professional' technique of course, but quite good enough for most people.

Oh and another thing. Use a pair of old, cheapo binoculars for this: certainly not ones with fancy electronics or image-stabilisation or anything like that - you'll wreck them!

 

[MontyVeda]

...I remember for the 1999 one, although we were some way north of seeing proper totality, it went cold at the moment of maximum coverage, despite a clear blue sky and no visible change in the light from the sun in terms of normal vision.

I was in northern france for that one (and in Turkey in 2006)... what amazes me is the temp drops at about 70-80% coverage and the light doesn't change until it's 90-95% covered... in the days when they couldn't predict them it must have been one freaky event!

not that they weren't freaky events in 99 and 06... we just knew what was coming.