Annular Eclipse from the Philippines
The annular solar eclipse, partially seen at sunrise on May 21, 2012, from coastal township of Gumaca, Quezon province, 187 km (116 mi) southeast of Manila, Philippines.
Annular Eclipse from Albuquerque
The moon passes between the sun and the earth behind a windmill near Albuquerque, New Mexico, on May 20, 2012.
omg I swear I’m going to stop reblogging eclipse photos (eventually) but this and the upcoming ones are AMAZING
Dude. No wonder ancient civilizations saw things like this and thought the apocalypse was coming.
Solar Eclipse Casts Shadow on Earth
Looking at Earth during the Annular Solar Eclipse of May 20, 2012, photographed by Don Pettit from the International Space Station at 23:36 GMT.
O this is COOL
Solar eclipse projected through the ‘pinholes’, made by oak leaves, on my shed door.
The tiny gaps between each leaf act as individual pinhole cameras, morphing the shadows of the tree with projections of the obscured sun. Next eclipse, you can witness this yourself, or even replicate it by crossing your fingers over on another in a waffle patter.
Ok. Maybe this one is my favorite.
I missed it, in spite of all my posts on it. :( But at least it was for a good cause!
And with the wonders of technology, I am now able to enjoy it vicariously, hours later, from the comfort of my bed. ^_^
dellpafalla asked you:
Hey! I’m right in the path of the annular solar eclipse on sunday, and I was wondering if you had any tips for the amateur photographer! I’d really like to be able to take pictures of it, and I was wondering if there were any solar filters that you’d be able to recommend, or even some diy sort of things to do/use for viewing in general. It’s something I’d like to try to experience by myself instead of relying on the experts, and mass media coverage and whatnot, haha. I love your blog! Thanks! :D
Witnessing a solar eclipse is a truly remarkable experience. It’s powerful. Powerful enough that our ancestors thought it meant that perhaps the great fiery sun god was putting his hand over his face, ashamed of his subjects, and most likely damning the crops should they not provide a human sacrifice.
Want to know where and when you can see the eclipse? Check out this map from Eclipse Maps.
Here’s some tips on viewing the annular solar eclipse. This is called a “ring of fire” eclipse, because unlike during the “Supermoon” a couple weeks ago, the moon is now at its furthest point from Earth (apogee) in its elliptical orbit. This makes it appear slightly smaller, not quite blocking out the sun, and leading to images like this:
Sorry, I mean like this:
First of all, DO NOT LOOK AT THE SUN with the naked eye, or through an unfiltered telescope or binoculars. Your eyes will essentially act like little magnifying glasses, but instead of an ant catching on fire it will be your retina. Only view an eclipse through a certified solar filter or via a secondary viewing technique.
Photographing an eclipse is much harder than simply observing it. You need a special filter for your camera like this, and lots of practice. I would recommend finding some local experienced solar and astronomy photographers to make sure you do it safely.
But t you can also construct some pretty simple DIY viewing setups. Here’s some based on a pinhole camera design. Here’s another, involving a couple of boxes.
Lastly, if you don’t live in the narrow window of Earth that will be able to see it directly, don’t despair! You can watch it online via the SLOOH Space Camera!!
Let me know if you see something cool, and tweet me or message me with pictures, everyone! And, don’t forget your sacrifice.
I’m very curious how a solar filter and a neutral density filter differ, but unfortunately, I forgot about this event (even though I gave myself a calendar reminder LAST WEEK) and so I will be unable to experiment boo hoo. Will have to make do with the ND filter!
Solar eclipse over the USA
On Sunday, May 20th, the sun is going to turn into a ring of fire. It’s an annular solar eclipse—the first one in the USA in almost 18 years.
An annular eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly in front of the sun, but the lunar disk is not quite wide enough to cover the entire star. At maximum, the Moon forms a “black hole” in the center of the sun.
The “path of annularity” is a strip about 300 km wide and thousands of km long. It stretches from China and Japan, across the Pacific Ocean, to the middle of North America. In the United States, the afternoon sun will become a luminous ring in places such as Medford, Oregon; Chico, California; Reno, Nevada; St. George, Utah; Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Lubbock, Texas.
Outside of this relatively narrow zone, the eclipse will be partial. Observers almost everywhere west of the Mississippi will see a crescent-shaped sun as the Moon passes by off-center.
One of the unique things about this eclipse for watchers in the USA is that the Sun will still be in deep partial eclipse at sunset, making for some great photographic opportunities. In western Texas around Lubbock, the sun actually sets during the annular phase.
Just a reminder! :) Next reblog will have notes for photography and links to an eclipse map.
I’m sure quite a few of our ancestors were freaked out by images like these in the night sky! It’s so incredible that we’re able to enjoy sights like these now instead of living in superstitious dread of them. :D
December 2011 Total Lunar Eclipse
The Earth passed between the moon and the sun this morning, treating early risers to a cosmic, rusty-red lunar light spectacular. This was the last chance to see the natural wonder of a total lunar eclipse in 2011.
It was a rare chance to see an ‘impossible’ eclipse, with the moon red and the rising sun in the sky simultaneously. Those in western North America had the best views well before dawn at 4.45am PST, and viewers could still catch the eclipse until as late as 6.05am PST. Unfortunately, sunrise and moonset stopped those in the eastern U.S. from watching the eclipse.
More of the lunar eclipse of Dec. 10, 2011, as seen from Fountain Valley, CA by skywatcher Thomas Warloe.
(via Space.com, photo © Thomas Warloe)
Reblog all the pretty pictures!
(via jtotheizzoe)
