08/21/17 Total eclipse -- Time to get serious.

Quote: GWAE

That brings me to another question or 2.

How do you know the glasses will actuslly protect you? I see some cheapy ones, hopefully they aren't fake glasses.

Can you film this with a regular lense? Not sure if it would actuslly hurt equipment?

If you are in a position where you can try them out, do so. The coating should be so dark that the only thing you can actually see through them is the sun. In the public interest, here is a section on Sun Safety from the Kitt Peak Solar Observatory page:

Quote: Kitt Peak Solar Observatory Eclipse Website

Sun safety
Please remember that eye protection is the most important thing on eclipse day. There are a few simple ways to ensure your eye safety during an eclipse.

Eclipse glasses are special-purpose solar filters that can be worn on the eyes. They block out almost all light, so you can't see anything through them, except for the Sun. You can purchase them, or order them in bulk from a number of places, including www.rainbowsymphony.com and www.eclipseglasses.com. There are many different places who are sponsoring eclipse glasses for the 2017 eclipse (including NSO!) so you may not even need to purchase them. Remember, sunglasses are NOT eclipse glasses and will not protect your eyes!
If you do not have eclipse glasses, you can safely watch the eclipse using a pinhole viewer out of a cereal or show box, some aluminum foil and some tape.
A pinhole projector SAFELY using binoculors can also be useful for viewing the eclipse wiht a large group. This is a way of enhancing what you might see through a pinhole viewer. You can read more about it here.


No matter what method you choose, make sure to set up or put on your eye protection before looking at the sun. i.e. look at the ground, put on eclipse glasses and only when your eyes are covered, then look at the Sun.

If you are not on the path of totality, eclipse glasses or other protections should be worn the entire time. If you are lucky enough to be on the path of totality, remove your solar filter only when the Moon has completely covered the Sun. You will know it is time when you can no longer see anything through the glasses. In order to see the corona during totality, you must remove the glasses. Be prepared to put them back on once the Moon has moved past totality and the Sun begins to reappear.

For more information on sun safety during the eclipse, you can visit:

https://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse/how-to-view-eclipse
http://www.eclipse2017.org/eclipse2017_eye%20safety.htm
http://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/safety
http://www.nasa.gov/content/eye-safety-during-a-total-solar-eclipse

One thing to remember is that the event is going to appear to be the size of a full moon (well, because that is exactly what it is), so magnification via binoculars, telescopes or long lenses will be attractive options to bring the details closer.

Check out the solar flare!

However, looking at the partial phase of the eclipse directly through an unfiltered magnifying lens has the real potential to damage your eyes as the concentrated beam of light , burns through the mylar glasses like the laser in James Bond's "Goldfinger". When the sun is completely covered, it is only as bright as a full moon, so take all the pictures you like. However, put the camera down as soon as the first ray of light peeks through on the other side as unfiltered sunlight will ruin the meter, mirrors and sensors in your camera.

I'll be staying in a friend's beach house in Lincoln City on the Oregon coast, about fifteen or so minutes north of the point of totality.

Best of all, after driving down the coast highway and parking at an overlook area to check out the eclipse I'll motor back into Lincoln City and gamble locally in my favorite casino, Chinook Winds.

I freakin' love that town; should be a madhouse that day.

Thanks for posting this image!

I am astonished to see the variation in especially the *size* of the shadow on different events! Nor was I expecting the variant paths for that matter ... my god look at those arctic ones! I would have expected some to be arctic etc., but not the difference in the paths the shadow takes even when going across North America.

Moon's Apogee, Perigee differences causing the size diff.

PS: should be easier on room prices in 2045

Quote: Wizard

I did not know about the eclipse until I read Wizard's post in the WOVCON thread. So, thanks for mentioning it, Wiz! I don't think we can make it out to Idaho. Instead, we're planing to go see it in NC with some family.

I checked back in February, and I could get a comped room at Harrah's Cherokee for 8/21-23, but not on the 20th. I checked back yesterday, and Harrah's Cherokee was sold out for the 21st. Both Harrah's Cherokee and Cherokee Valley River casino locations are within the totality path.

Quote: GWAE

How do you know the glasses will actually protect you? I see some cheapy ones, hopefully they aren't fake glasses.

I had these same thoughts. I just got some on Amazon for about $2 apiece. I haven't tried them out, but they are CE certified; so that is some comfort. I can't imagine there is any value in counterfeiting these things.

BTW, I picked the last option in the poll because I saw what you did there, Wiz!

For those who are able to see the eclipse, don't for get to look down as well as up.

25 years ago or so I found that tree's make an interesting filter during an eclipse, as shown in this image, (and there are lots more online):

Quote: Joeman

BTW, I picked the last option in the poll because I saw what you did there, Wiz!

Thanks! I was hoping somebody would get the reference.

Quote: Hullabaloo

For those who are able to see the eclipse, don't for get to look down as well as up.

25 years ago or so I found that tree's make an interesting filter during an eclipse, as shown in this image, (and there are lots more online):

I saw the 5/12/2012 annular eclipse in Saint George UT, which was in the annular path, if that is the right term. Through the leaves, the eclipse made ring shapes on the ground. Here is a picture of it. That is my son walking.



Click on the image for a larger version.

Are Mrs. Wizard, and the little Wizards not making the trip in August?

Back in 2009, when I first read about the Wizard's tentative plan of viewing the 8/21/17 eclipse near Idaho Falls, I started thinking about doing likewise. I figured I could immediately follow that with visits to Yellowstone and Grand Teton, provided I survived for those next 8 years. I have survived thus far, but I didn't start detailed planning early enough, and I was shocked to find that last-minute, only-six-months-in-advance reservations at the parks were outside my budget constraints. My thinking then evolved toward a backup plan of watching the eclipse near Idaho Falls then touring northern Nevada to collect chips from casinos I am unlikely to ever visit unless something like an eclipse draws my wife and me to the area.

Then yesterday, Mike posted info about eastern Idaho lodging being basically sold out and about his having found an AirB&B house that he might share with others for the night. Then later in the day, he changed his mind and decided to book a spot in Boise. At that point, I decided it would be best not to try to coordinate plans. I did find a motel room in eastern Idaho for less than $200, so there is some residual possibility that I might still pursue that backup plan with the chip-collecting excursion.

However, I decided that I really should have a backup plan for the backup plan. Another WoV member had suggested to me that we might get together at the Harrah's in Cherokee, NC for some entertainment combined with an eclipse viewing. Being from NC, I am not very confident of clear weather at the critical time, but that option would involve significantly lower travel costs. Both Joeman and GWAE have also posted about possibly viewing the eclipse in NC.

This morning, I took a few steps to lock in some options for the backup-for-the-backup. I booked a motel room for 8/20 in Cherokee -- not at Harrah's but at a pretty nice motel I have stayed in before -- getting a King Suite for $90 plus tax. The total eclipse will last 1 minute 22.7 seconds in Cherokee but I want a little more time than that. There is a dinky little motel my wife and I stayed in when we visited the Harrah's Cherokee Valley River Casino. That motel is located in Andrews, NC, and that town is right in the center of the path of totality for the eclipse. There, the total eclipse will last 91.5% longer than in Cherokee for a total of 2 minutes 38.4 seconds. Those extra 75 seconds might give me time to look around a little more and get some photos I might miss if I stayed in Cherokee. So, (if I wind up following this 2nd tier backup plan) I will drive the 43 miles down to Andrews for the big event and afterward probably visit the smaller casino again. I booked a room at the dinky motel for the night of 8/21 at the same $90 plus tax. Both of those reservations can be cancelled w/o penalty if I eventually decide to pursue a different option.

At least now I have locked in an affordable (disregarding the results at the casinos) option to be right on the path of the total eclipse, even though there is no way to know how hard I will feel like kicking myself if/when it is raining in NC that day and there are completely clear skies in Idaho Falls.

Just out of curiosity, how many other folks might be interested in having some August fun at one or both of the Cherokee casinos and watching an eclipse in Andrews, NC?

I wouldnt be able to join because we will have our kids with us and I am not sure that we will even stay in the area. We might literally just drive through it and stop somewhere at the right time.

Quote: Ayecarumba

Are Mrs. Wizard, and the little Wizards not making the trip in August?

Nope. The school year starts early here in Vegas.