WongBo
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May 16th, 2012 at 5:09:47 PM permalink
for those of you in the west (AK, HI, OR, CA, NV, UT, AZ, NM, CO, TX) and interested in such things,
this is taking place on sunday evening beginning at 6:30 PM MDT and will be visible in the western US.
SOLAR ECLIPSE: 20 MAY 2012 - wikipedia
Solar Eclipse over the USA - NASA Science




In a bet, there is a fool and a thief. - Proverb.
Ayecarumba
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May 16th, 2012 at 6:10:30 PM permalink
Thanks for the reminder WongBo. Note that this is an annular eclipse, so observation methods that protect your eyes must be used throughout the event.
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Wizard
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May 16th, 2012 at 8:46:23 PM permalink
I'm planning to make a day out of it, doing a hike in Zion and then watching the eclipse on the way back in Saint George. I'm using welder's glass for eye protection.

This will not compare to the total eclipse through parts of the USA on August 21, 2017. I'm planning to watch from near Idaho Falls.
"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow." -- Ecclesiastes 1:18 (NIV)
avargov
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May 16th, 2012 at 8:57:35 PM permalink
I plan to be in Ely, NV on Sunday to see this. I am super excited!!!
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WongBo
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May 16th, 2012 at 9:08:58 PM permalink
i was trying to get out to santa fe this weekend,
but regrettably, am going to miss this one.
i look forward to all eclipses, but i too prefer the total to the annular.
the one i am really waiting for is TOTAL ECLIPSE: 2024 APRIL 08.
i will be in Montreal for that one.

Here is a great site for the study of eclipses,
including the astronomical charts for eclipses
NASA - Solar Eclipses of History
FIVE MILLENNIUM CANON OF SOLAR ECLIPSES: -1999 TO +3000
In a bet, there is a fool and a thief. - Proverb.
Mooseton
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May 16th, 2012 at 9:18:01 PM permalink
I noticed Las Vegas is not in the direct path of one of your maps. Will you be able to watch it from here or not? TIA
$1700, 18, 19, 1920, 40, 60,... :/ Thx 'Do it again'. I'll try
Wizard
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May 16th, 2012 at 9:20:13 PM permalink
I won't miss the 2024 eclipse either. The closes spot for me will be Texas.

Quote: Mooseton

I noticed Las Vegas is not in the direct path of one of your maps. Will you be able to watch it from here or not? TIA



It will be partial in Vegas. The sun should be covered about 90% at the pinnacle.
"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow." -- Ecclesiastes 1:18 (NIV)
WongBo
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May 16th, 2012 at 9:26:20 PM permalink
vegas will experience partial obstruction, a crescent shaped sun.
but not the annular effect of the sun with the center blocked completely by the moon...
In a bet, there is a fool and a thief. - Proverb.
EvenBob
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May 16th, 2012 at 9:44:43 PM permalink
Quote: Wizard



This will not compare to the total eclipse



Seen one, seen em all. Seriously.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
WongBo
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May 16th, 2012 at 9:50:45 PM permalink
Quote: EvenBob

Seen one, seen em all. Seriously.


which one did you see? live, not on TV.
In a bet, there is a fool and a thief. - Proverb.
WongBo
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May 16th, 2012 at 9:55:13 PM permalink
Quote: Wizard

This will not compare to the total eclipse through parts of the USA on August 21, 2017.
I'm planning to watch from near Idaho Falls.



i will be near Charleston, SC for that one. Can't wait.

i am considering going to the
2012 NOVEMBER 13 TSE near Cairns, Austrlaia
and also either the
2019 JULY 2 TSE near Coquimbo, Chile
or the
2020 DEC 14 TSE near Valdivia, Chile,

december in valdivia is like summer in seattle.
so there is a pretty good chance it will be raining that day...
the probability of a rainy day in December is 42%
what do you think, Wiz..is it a good bet?

incidentally, the path of this eclipse will be passing almost directly over Las Vegas, Chile.
In a bet, there is a fool and a thief. - Proverb.
EvenBob
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May 16th, 2012 at 10:16:33 PM permalink
There was one in 1970, watched with a pinhole projector when
I was in college. Crossed it off my list.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
WongBo
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May 16th, 2012 at 10:18:13 PM permalink
Quote: EvenBob

There was one in 1970, watched with a pinhole projector when
I was in college. Crossed it off my list.


i was four, so i missed that one.
my dad wouldn't let me use the car.
In a bet, there is a fool and a thief. - Proverb.
ewjones080
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May 16th, 2012 at 10:23:22 PM permalink
Iowa must be a pretty bad place for astronomical events, I've never seen an eclipse and don't know if I've ever had the opportunity. The only thing I have experienced was a comet in grade school, and that's just cause it was around for several days. I think it was Haley Bop. This would've been mid 90's in the spring I think. It was pretty cool while it was round, dusk was the best time to see it.
EvenBob
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May 16th, 2012 at 10:27:28 PM permalink
Quote: WongBo

i was four, so i missed that one.
my dad wouldn't let me use the car.



You didn't need a car, it was visible
everywhere in N America.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
WongBo
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May 16th, 2012 at 10:29:56 PM permalink
Quote: ewjones080

Iowa must be a pretty bad place for astronomical events, I've never seen an eclipse...


yes Hale Bopp was amazing.
if you are interested...
2017 AUGUST 17 TSE
will be passing over Nebraska and Missouri
In a bet, there is a fool and a thief. - Proverb.
EvenBob
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May 16th, 2012 at 10:34:41 PM permalink
They hyped the crap out of the 1970 eclipse. For
months beforehand, like it was the 2nd coming.
Compared to the build up, it was a yawner. We
had men walking on the moon in 1970. An eclipse?
Really?
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
WongBo
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May 16th, 2012 at 10:41:24 PM permalink
Quote: EvenBob

They hyped the crap out of the 1970 eclipse. For
months beforehand, like it was the 2nd coming.
Compared to the build up, it was a yawner. We
had men walking on the moon in 1970. An eclipse?
Really?



i do have one very early eclipse memory of crescent shaped lights
dappled through the trees in our backyard in philadelphia.
i wonder if that was the [link =http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/TSE_1970_GoogleMapFull.html]1970 MARCH 7 TSE
the path of totality was less than 100 miles away.
i would have been age 4 years, 6.5 months
so i think it is possible.
In a bet, there is a fool and a thief. - Proverb.
Doc
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May 16th, 2012 at 10:50:25 PM permalink
I don't remember the 1970 eclipse. I was living in New Mexico at the time, and there may not have been much coverage that far west. I did photograph the annular eclipse in May 1984 as it passed through Atlanta. My photo shows Baily's beads quite clearly. I will be quite interested in seeing/photographing a true total eclipse if I live long enough to see one in this country.
EvenBob
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May 16th, 2012 at 11:02:09 PM permalink
I remember it got amazingly dark for the middle
of the day. Street lights came on. But I vowed
never to go farther than the window to see
another one.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
WongBo
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May 16th, 2012 at 11:03:18 PM permalink
Quote: Doc

I will be quite interested in seeing/photographing a true total eclipse if I live long enough to see one in this country.


i hope you will make both the 2017 and 2024 events.
the next TSE in the USA after 2024 will be
2045 AUGUST 12
a few days before my 80th birthday.
i will be in florida for that one,
or on a boat nearby if florida is underwater by then...
In a bet, there is a fool and a thief. - Proverb.
Wizard
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May 21st, 2012 at 12:22:09 PM permalink
Please see my blog entry for my eclipse report.
"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow." -- Ecclesiastes 1:18 (NIV)
Ayecarumba
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May 21st, 2012 at 1:55:38 PM permalink
Anyone (besides the Wizard (check out his blog)) with pictures to post from yesterday?
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication - Leonardo da Vinci
Keyser
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May 21st, 2012 at 1:57:31 PM permalink
Evenbob,

Why are you so negative? If you're not into the eclipse, then why did you bother trolling the thread?

These are some great photo opportunities and a chance to experience some cool science first hand.
buzzpaff
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May 21st, 2012 at 4:10:20 PM permalink
Wong Bo 9 posts Even Bob 5 posts

I do not consider an unpopular opinion to be trolling. I also did not care about the eclipse. BORING !!
Doc
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May 21st, 2012 at 4:49:36 PM permalink
Quote: Ayecarumba

Anyone (besides the Wizard (check out his blog)) with pictures to post from yesterday?


No, unfortunately I was in the wrong geographic area to get a view of it. Not to let such a trivial thing stand in my way, I'll post another photo I have. I'm posting this because the Wizard's blog mostly showed the images/shadows on the ground during the eclipse with only a partial-eclipse direct view of the sun and moon.

On May 30, 1984, I had the opportunity to photograph a solar eclipse as the event passed through the Atlanta area. The local media had promoted it as a "total eclipse", and I did not learn what an annular eclipse is until reading the Wizard's report of the eclipse he viewed in China in 2009. I was using color negative film for my photographs in 1984, and after 28 years and an interstate move, I can no longer locate my negatives from that day. I have only one print, and I scanned that into my computer. The white specks are not stars -- they are either dust on the print or more likely scanner defects.

The reason I like this photo so much is that it clearly shows what are known as Baily's Beads, named for astronomer Francis Baily who explained them in 1836. They are formed by light passing between mountains and other surface irregularities on the moon.

As with the small images in my Casino Chip of the Day thread, click on this small image if you want to see a larger one.



Hopefully, someone will come up with more and better photos of this week's eclipse.
Ayecarumba
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May 21st, 2012 at 5:18:41 PM permalink
Quote: Doc

No, unfortunately I was in the wrong geographic area to get a view of it. Not to let such a trivial thing stand in my way, I'll post another photo I have. I'm posting this because the Wizard's blog mostly showed the images/shadows on the ground during the eclipse with only a partial-eclipse direct view of the sun and moon.

On May 30, 1984, I had the opportunity to photograph a solar eclipse as the event passed through the Atlanta area. The local media had promoted it as a "total eclipse", and I did not learn what an annular eclipse is until reading the Wizard's report of the eclipse he viewed in China in 2009. I was using color negative film for my photographs in 1984, and after 28 years and an interstate move, I can no longer locate my negatives from that day. I have only one print, and I scanned that into my computer. The white specks are not stars -- they are either dust on the print or more likely scanner defects.

The reason I like this photo so much is that it clearly shows what are known as Baily's Beads, named for astronomer Francis Baily who explained them in 1836. They are formed by light passing between mountains and other surface irregularities on the moon.

As with the small images in my Casino Chip of the Day thread, click on this small image if you want to see a larger one.



Hopefully, someone will come up with more and better photos of this week's eclipse.



That is a great photo, Doc. Do you have any recollection regarding the filter(s) you used?
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Doc
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May 21st, 2012 at 5:34:40 PM permalink
Quote: Ayecarumba

That is a great photo, Doc. Do you have any recollection regarding the filter(s) you used?


Absolutely. I used no filters at all. And I either used the "automatic" exposure setting or made a wild guess. Negative film is extremely forgiving, provided you have enough light. You can see that the photo is in color, even though it's basically a B&W image.

I remember being quite unprepared -- I had the camera and tripod with me but nothing for direct viewing. I was on the job at a client's facility, and when everyone went out to have a look, I just set up the tripod and camera and did what I could.

I pointed the camera in the general direction of the sun, but I couldn't get into a position to look through the viewfinder because the tripod was in the way of my head with the camera pointing almost straight up. Because I couldn't look directly at the sun, I couldn't even tell just when to release the shutter. I just guessed based on the way things looked all around me -- I didn't notice the kind of shadows that the Wizard showed in his blog, but everything on the ground looked weird enough that I could tell something was going on. I just snapped a bunch of shots and printed the one I liked best.

Oh yes, in spite of all that guessing I was doing, I was confident of the proper focus setting to use.
Ayecarumba
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May 21st, 2012 at 5:43:03 PM permalink
Quote: Doc

Oh yes, in spite of all that guessing I was doing, I was confident of the proper focus setting to use.



93MM miles?
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Doc
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May 21st, 2012 at 5:56:30 PM permalink
Quote: Ayecarumba

93MM miles?


Oh, no! I focused instead on the lunar surface. My lenses have that setting marked, but they use this strange emblem for it that looks a bit like a Mobius strip. For practical purposes, it's very nearly the same focus ring position as the one you suggested.
Wizard
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September 29th, 2014 at 2:26:00 PM permalink
Just a reminder that there are only 1422 days until the total solar eclipse of August 21, 2017. There are already informal plans for an informal meetup in Idaho City, ID on the big day. Hope to see you there.
"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow." -- Ecclesiastes 1:18 (NIV)
FinsRule
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September 29th, 2014 at 2:30:56 PM permalink
Quote: Wizard

Just a reminder that there are only 1422 days until the total solar eclipse of August 21, 2017. There are already informal plans for an informal meetup in Idaho City, ID on the big day. Hope to see you there.



I can't wait. We are either going to the St. Louis area or the Myrtle Beach area.
DRich
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September 29th, 2014 at 2:33:20 PM permalink
Quote: Wizard

Just a reminder that there are only 1422 days until the total solar eclipse of August 21, 2017. There are already informal plans for an informal meetup in Idaho City, ID on the big day. Hope to see you there.



I hope you don't have too big a group show up. Idaho City is very small. Approximately an area of 0.67 square miles.
At my age, a "Life In Prison" sentence is not much of a deterrent.
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