Total Solar Eclipse

[mn90403]

I've seen a total solar eclipse in Wyoming, and it is worth seeing again since it will only be about 3 days away in Texas.  I've made plans to stay in Carlsbad, NM after I go to Deming.  They have a great museum there.  I hope it is open.

When we leave Carlsbad then I'll go to Eastland, TX for a couple of nights and see the eclipse somewhere between Gatesville and Hillsboro.  We may take in the Dinosaur State Park depending on the traffic.  Getting back to California may be a chore but we'll see what people are doing.  I don't have to be anywhere too soon after that because I've taken my son out of school for this and another trip to follow.

Where will any of you watch?  You have any pointers for me?

Mitchel

[geof_junk]

Be aware.

When watching a partial or annular solar eclipse directly with your eyes, you must look through safe solar viewing glasses (“eclipse glasses”) or a safe handheld solar viewer at all times. Eclipse glasses are NOT regular sunglasses; regular sunglasses, no matter how dark, are not safe for viewing the Sun.

Instead, there are special solar viewers or filters needed to protect your eyes while looking at a solar eclipse. Look for glasses that are certified ISO 12312-2 and verify the glasses are not expired or damaged.

[GotAU?]

Buy your glasses soon- they sell out fast and unfortunately the price gouging has already started.

I was in Idaho for the 2017 eclipse and it was wonderful.  Better in person than on television for sure, everyone should see at least one in their lifetime!  So this one will be number three for us including the annular eclipse that passed through Utah a couple years ago. We are going to be west of Waco on a friend’s ranch for it- and have the week off for spring break to take our time coming home. Will be traveling through New Mexico and AZ and hopefully will have some time to use the detectors along the way home too.

I used a Baader solar filter on my lens for the three bright solar images I took leading up to totality, if you zoom close, you can see sun spots on the sun.   No filter was necessary on my camera nor to look at it directly during totality on the last photo to the left.

 

[Valens Legacy]

I don't know if it's the right way to do it, but I have used a welding helmet several times to watch a eclipse.

[mn90403]

5 hours ago, geof_junk said:

special solar viewers

I've got glasses and extras.

[mn90403]

4 hours ago, GotAU? said:

Buy your glasses soon- they sell out fast and unfortunately the price gouging has already started.

I was in Idaho for the 2017 eclipse and it was wonderful.  Better in person than on television for sure, everyone should see at least one in their lifetime!  So this one will be number three for us including the annular eclipse that passed through Utah a couple years ago. We are going to be west of Waco on a friend’s ranch for it- and have the week off for spring break to take our time coming home. Will be traveling through New Mexico and AZ and hopefully will have some time to use the detectors along the way home too.

I used a Baader solar filter on my lens for the three bright solar images I took leading up to totality, if you zoom close, you can see sun spots on the sun.   No filter was necessary on my camera nor to look at it directly during totality on the last photo to the left.

 

Those are great.  I didn't get very good shots with my big camera.

Where can I get a quick lesson online?

[Badger-NH]

The eclipse will be passing right over NH so it will be near total where I am. I have no interest in watching the sun and moon. For me, the spectacle is how the twilight's unique shadows affect how everything looks. The landscape and scenery where you will be observing it make a big difference.

[rvpopeye]

Badger

Here ? Awesome !  Good idea looking at what nobody else thinks of during an eclipse too !

The floaters that I have now are probably indicative of seeing enough of the eclipses I've been under so far anyway ..... 🙄   

Nice pics GotAU?  ! 

[GotAU?]

4 hours ago, mn90403 said:

Those are great.  I didn't get very good shots with my big camera.

Where can I get a quick lesson online?

Where to go online to get lessons on shooting eclipses? Why you need to go to Mr. Eclipse- seriously! It’s a silly name for a website, but the guy’s got it nailed down:

https://www.mreclipse.com/SEphoto/SEphoto.html

The main thing I learned is you have to use exposure bracketing to get the best shot, but he takes it further and uses them to process into an HDR image. I only used one of my best exposures for the shots above.

[GotAU?]

27 minutes ago, rvpopeye said:

Badger

Here ? Awesome !  Good idea looking at what nobody else thinks of during an eclipse too !

The floaters that I have now are probably indicative of seeing enough of the eclipses I've been under so far anyway ..... 🙄   

Nice pics GotAU?  ! 

Thank you for the compliment, it was pretty exciting to get decent photos of it. But to be honest, I only I shot just a few photos then had to stop and just look around as well because it was really cool seeing the edges of daylight around us in the horizon while we were in a dark shadow, and you really can see stars during them while the sun looks like a black hole in the sky.  I can see why people panicked and even sacrificed their young when they didn’t know what was happening during an eclipse, they could be seen as rather scary if you didn’t understand it!