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  • Author Author: ninjatrent
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Tracking the Total Solar Eclipse on 8-21-2017

ninjatrent

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      The solar corona at the March 2015 total eclipse over Svalbard. Photo: Judy Anderson. Processing: Alson Wong.

 

 

Warning! Even if 99% of the sun is covered by the moon, the remaining 1% crescent is dangerous to view with the naked eye and can cause serious eye damage or blindness. For information on safely veiwing and photographing an eclipse, please refer to the following links.

 

     https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/eclipsePhoto.html

 

     How to Photograph a Solar Eclipse from Nikon

 

     How to Photograph Total Solar Eclipse 2017 - How to Take Pictures of the Sun

 

     https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/Photographing%20the%20Eclipse%20with%20your%20Smartphone.pdf

 

How can I photograph a total solar eclipse?

 

You will need to purchase a solar filter that will reduce the brightness of the sun so that the light intensity does not  destroy your camera. If you ONLY take a photo at the moment of totality, you will not need this filter, and will be rewarded by being able to photograph the faint corona, which will not be visible if you have the filter in place. Most digital cameras with telephoto lenses of 100 mm or larger will show a disk for the eclipse that will show some detail. As a trial, photograph the full moon at night. It will be the same diameter as the total eclipse, so you can practice on the moon first to get the right telephoto lens combination. There are many places on the internet where you can get detailed information such as Mr. Eclipse http://www.mreclipse.com/SEphoto/SEphoto.html

 

 

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The following links contain information with regards to the Solar Eclipse of 2017. There are many resources such as high resolution maps, Tracking Software Apps for Smartphones, 2D/3D Printable Pinhole Projectors, veiwing safety tips and much more available from  https://www.nasa.gov/ .

 

https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2017Aug21Tgoogle.html

 

https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-maps

 

https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/apps

 

https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/downloadables

 

https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-live-stream

 

https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/event-locations

 

https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-misconceptions

 

https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/2d3d-printable-pinhole-projectors

 

https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-art-projects

 

https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-viewing

 

https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/noaa%E2%80%99s-resources

 

https://eyes.jpl.nasa.gov/eyes-on-eclipse-web-detail.html

 

https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/interactive_map/index.html

 

https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4518#

 

My Photos of the 2017 Solar Eclipse

 

These images were photographed with binoculars, solar filter film removed from disposable solar eclipse viewing glasses, and an android smartphone.

I originally constructed an adapter with the solar filter for the Raspberry Pi Camera but it failed a few hours beforehand. I did use a Pi 3 with display to watch the live stream provided by NASA.  At one point the ISS passed in front of the Sun and was visible with binoculars for a brief moment. I was lucky enough to witness this but unfortunately was unable to capture an image of this rare occurrence. I apologize for the quality of the images, my equipment was improvised.

 

 

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This was one of the best of many images. Afterwards I lost the proper alignment between the binoculars and camera lense.

 

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Thanks for viewing this post.

  • in reply to ninjatrent

    As a US resident, I would suggest anyone coming to the US to view the total eclipse should pick a site west of the Mississippi River.

     

    As Horus Greely said "Go west young man!"

     

    All sites east of the Mississippi will have high humidity and a high potential for clouds.  Just my experience living here and visiting those states at various times of the year.

     

    As the travel agent has already warned you, there are no guarantee that your site will be clear, but from personal experience, I would say best bets are Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska and Iowa.  From Missouri south, you are more likely to have marginal viewing conditions.

     

    If you just want a good view without going to a totality site, then I would again recommend the more western states.  They are more likely to provide good low humidity viewing sites.

     

    DAB

  • in reply to balearicdynamics

    Thank you for your interest in this post. All of this information was made available by NASA. There is much more detailed information that can be downloaded for free from the links I have shared. Documents such as high resolution maps, interactive software, literature, and there will even be live video streams on social media. This is a great opportunity for anyone who is unable to witness it in person. This is why I am not too upset with not being able to attend in person. Technology has made wonderful things like this possible for everyone to enjoy.

     

    It will be a challenge to capture quality images and video of this rare event. The weather across North America has not been so great in the past few months. The area where I live does not have favorable conditions. Too much light pollution and frequent adverse weather conditions. All summer long there were many powerful lightening storms. This area is plagued with terrible weather.

  • Thank you for this incredible quantity of information!

     

    Enrico

  • in reply to Dudley

    I live in the UK. And I'm going!

    Why? from what I saw on my visit you guys are used to not seeing the sun image

     

    Hopefully you'll take DAB's advise and head up into the hills to avoid the clouds.

     

    Mark