Total Solar Eclipse of 21 August 2017
We travelled to Portland, Oregon to see the eclipse. Next time, book at least a year in advance. We had to get up early and leave the hotel in Portland at 6 in the morning. What looked like less than an hour drive on Google turned into 90 minutes when combined with Portland rush-hour traffic. The trip back to the hotel later in the day was 3 and a half hours - eclipse is over folks, time to go home!
My wife had the great idea of going to a small airport in Salem - should be flat with no trees to block the view. And we get an unofficial airshow. This was nowhere near as crowded as I was expecting. Got set up just as things were starting. Wife and daughter are front and centre, waiting for something to happen.
My wife had the great idea of going to a small airport in Salem - should be flat with no trees to block the view. And we get an unofficial airshow. This was nowhere near as crowded as I was expecting. Got set up just as things were starting. Wife and daughter are front and centre, waiting for something to happen.
There were about 200 people. One other fellow had a telescope set up. He was using an 8" newtonian on a german mount - he ground the mirro, built the telescope and the mount several eclipses ago when he was a kid. Looks just like the things in the Edmund Optics books from the 50s and 60s. Eyepiece projection onto a portable film screen. Nice bright image. Great idea.
Or you can be your own pinhole camera. Just make a small hole by curling up your index finger. The further you are from the ground, the larger the image of the sun.
I used an Meade ETX-90 - a small Maksutov Cassegrain, on top of a german equatorial mount from Celestron/Vixen. No motors, completely manual. We did not know how crowded things would be, or how close to the car we would be able to set up, so I chose to go with no computers, no batteries - guaranteed to work. Not every picture is centered, but I nevered worried about the system working.
My daughter and I set things up a couple days earlier to make sure we had all the parts we needed - camera adapters, filters, etc. And nothing extra - didn't know how far we would be walking so I didn't want to carry it if I didn't have to. The short telescope tube was extremely handy because it fit in the car (rather than a long refractor) and was not getting bumped by everyone who walked by.
Or you can be your own pinhole camera. Just make a small hole by curling up your index finger. The further you are from the ground, the larger the image of the sun.
I used an Meade ETX-90 - a small Maksutov Cassegrain, on top of a german equatorial mount from Celestron/Vixen. No motors, completely manual. We did not know how crowded things would be, or how close to the car we would be able to set up, so I chose to go with no computers, no batteries - guaranteed to work. Not every picture is centered, but I nevered worried about the system working.
My daughter and I set things up a couple days earlier to make sure we had all the parts we needed - camera adapters, filters, etc. And nothing extra - didn't know how far we would be walking so I didn't want to carry it if I didn't have to. The short telescope tube was extremely handy because it fit in the car (rather than a long refractor) and was not getting bumped by everyone who walked by.
The solar filter was made using Astro-Solar Film from Baader Planetarium. The instructions are on their website. The telescope I was using has a built-in flip mirror, so I can switch between an eyepiece and a camera. The solar filter goes over the front of the telescope and blocks most of the light - reduces it by a factor of 100,000. I added a Kodak/Wratten #21 orange filter to the eyepiece so it looks a bit more normal. I added a UV/IR cut filter to the camera to make sure I wasn't over-exposing the pictures due to IR leaking through the system.
I used a Nikon D70 for the photos through the telescope. My wife took pictures using a Nikon D80 and 18-200 lens, no filters - don't look at the sun when doing this. And the kids took several pictures using their iPad Mini. I also took some pictures through the eyepiece using my iPod Touch, which is really handy for this kind of thing. A few of our neighbours walked over and did the same thing with thier cell-phones. Here's before, after, and my son shading the eyepiece so the glare doesn't affect the exposure.
I used a Nikon D70 for the photos through the telescope. My wife took pictures using a Nikon D80 and 18-200 lens, no filters - don't look at the sun when doing this. And the kids took several pictures using their iPad Mini. I also took some pictures through the eyepiece using my iPod Touch, which is really handy for this kind of thing. A few of our neighbours walked over and did the same thing with thier cell-phones. Here's before, after, and my son shading the eyepiece so the glare doesn't affect the exposure.
Almost there. Just getting focussed - use the sharp points where the Moon meets the Sun. Remember the neighbours taking pictures with their cell-phones? They gave me an Eclipse Cupcake.
The solar glasses we're using came from Canadian Telescopes and from University of Toronto Astronomy Department. At the airport, the little restaurant was open and we got more solar glasses with breakfast - these ones were from Rainbow Symphony. My daughter took a picture holding the glasses in front of the camera on her iPad. And another picture without the filter during the total phase of the eclipse.
For the first 30 minutes, the sky was slowly getting darker - almost not noticeable. In the last 5 or 10 minutes before totality, the sky got quite dark and the temperature dropped at least 5 degrees C. Then the sky goes deep blue, like morning twighlight, the Sun finally disappears behind the Moon, and everyone goes nuts.
For the first 30 minutes, the sky was slowly getting darker - almost not noticeable. In the last 5 or 10 minutes before totality, the sky got quite dark and the temperature dropped at least 5 degrees C. Then the sky goes deep blue, like morning twighlight, the Sun finally disappears behind the Moon, and everyone goes nuts.
Here's a few photos leading up to totality. The colour changes when I've taken off the filter just as the last bits of the Sun are disappearing.There's a few sunpost to look at while we're waiting for the big show.
And now a couple of shots of totality. The first is exposed to show the red prominences around the edge of the sun. The second is a longer exposure showing more of the solar corona. The third is just for fun.
The picture on the left is using a 200mm telephoto lens. On the right is a picture taken by my daughter with her iPad mini.
This page has pictures from 4 different cameras. There were 4 people using those cameras. For your first eclipse, I recommend no more than one camera per person, maybe less than one. Totality is short. Look away from the camera and put your eyes on the sky (safely). It's impressive to see the change from daytime to almost night. And discover 2 planets and 2 stars.
This page has pictures from 4 different cameras. There were 4 people using those cameras. For your first eclipse, I recommend no more than one camera per person, maybe less than one. Totality is short. Look away from the camera and put your eyes on the sky (safely). It's impressive to see the change from daytime to almost night. And discover 2 planets and 2 stars.
People went nuts again when the Sun came back. And then everyone realized it was over. In about 10 minutes, most people had packed up and gone home. Totality in Salem lasted just under 2 minutes, and it felt like about 30 seconds. It's easy to see how people get hooked and chase eclipses all over the planet.
I've seen a handful of partial solar eclipses. This is the first total solar eclipse I have seen. The partial eclipses are pretty cool, and they are fun to see and I would never discourage anyone from going out and looking at the sky (with the correct solar safety glasses). A total eclipse is another thing entirely. I highly recommend seeing one if you can. I agree with Randall Munroe's opinion at XKCD .
Here's two more pictures to last until 2024.
I've seen a handful of partial solar eclipses. This is the first total solar eclipse I have seen. The partial eclipses are pretty cool, and they are fun to see and I would never discourage anyone from going out and looking at the sky (with the correct solar safety glasses). A total eclipse is another thing entirely. I highly recommend seeing one if you can. I agree with Randall Munroe's opinion at XKCD .
Here's two more pictures to last until 2024.