Sunday solar eclipse visible from national parks

mlurp · #1 (**permalink**) 05-16-2012, 11:05 AM

Plenty of info at the site including a map of the path and more.

Quote:

.Sunday solar eclipse visible from national parks

By Nola Taylor Redd, OurAmazingPlanet Contributor | LiveScience.com – 19 hrs ago. 16 May 2012

When the sun vanishes behind the moon for the first time over the United States in this century, what better place to enjoy the view than from one of the 154 national parks that stand in its path?

Astronomy lovers in the United States will be treated to a partial disappearance of the sun behind the moon this Sunday (May 20). Only the Eastern Seaboard will be totally exempt. The eclipse will occur in the late afternoon or early evening of May 20 throughout North America, and May 21 for observers in Asia.

Over the course of the solar eclipse, the sun won't vanish completely, but will remain as a ring around the moon for what is known as an annular eclipse. When the eclipse occurs, the moon will be near its most distant point from Earth, making it appear smaller in the sky and thus unable to block the entire sun. But it will still be a stunning sight.

Thirty-three national parks will see the full effect of the moon's interference. Many western parks will be offering an array of events for their guests, ranging from placing telescopes out for viewing up to a full-scale astronomy festival.

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Sunday solar eclipse visible from national parks - Yahoo! News

506 comments

mlurp · #2 (**permalink**) 05-17-2012, 12:47 PM

To go with the above solar eclipse. Just above this at the site is a drawing and instructions to make and use these safe guards.

Quote:

The sun is our nearest star and a warm light in the cold depths of space. It can also be a tantalizing target for skywatchers during solar eclipses and rare planetary transits across its surface, when viewed from Earth. But the sun is, first and foremost, a bright star and observers must take care during observing sessions.

Warning: NEVER look directly at the sun through binoculars, a telescope or with your unaided eye. Serious eye damage and even blindness can result. Scientists and experienced skywatchers use special filters and glasses to safely observe the sun. Some methods are described in the SPACE.com Infographic above.

One of the easiest ways to observe the sun is with a pinhole projector. To make one, you will need two cards. One card should have a small hole punched in it, while the other card remains blank. The light through the card with the hole can then be projected onto the blank card, allowing a solar eclipse or large sunspots to be seen.

A pair of binoculars can also stand in for the pinhole, with the light from the sun being projected onto the blank card through the eyepiece.

Special eclipse glasses and welder's goggles rated at 14 or higher are also acceptable for solar viewing.

NEVER use regular sunglasses to observe the sun as they do not provide adequate protection.

Safe Sun Observing Tips (Infographic) | Solar Eclipses | Space.com

mlurp · #3 (**permalink**) 05-20-2012, 12:43 PM

Well for some it is happening. But million are not in the right place to see this solar wonder. But if you have a PC you can see it.

This piece is for you.

Quote:

How to see the eclipse anywhere

If the weather cooperates, millions of people can witness Sunday's rare "Ring of Fire" solar eclipse — but what if you're one of the billions who can't? You can still watch the event online.

That's what Alan MacRobert, a senior editor at Sky & Telescope magazine, is planning to do. He's based in the Boston area, where not a bit of the annular solar eclipse will be visible. So MacRobert will be cruising the Internet, looking for a webcast with a stable video stream.

He should have plenty of webcasts to choose from. "There are more popping up as we get closer to the event," he told me.

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Warning!

If you're in the eclipse zone, do not gaze at the sun without taking proper precautions. Such precautions can range from eclipse-viewing glasses, to specially designed solar filters, to pinhole projectors. Check out this NASA Web page or this video for the details. Here's a detailed video about eye safety from Eyes on the Sky. (Thanks, @AstronomyDave!)

The above are links at the site.

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Web locations to see this eclipse.

Slooh Space Camera: The Slooh website has organized a series of webcasts from Japan, California, Arizona and New Mexico, accompanied by commentary from Astronomy Magazine columnist Bob Berman and Lucie Green, a BBC commentator and solar researcher at University College London's Mullard Space Science Laboratory. The show gets started at 5:30 p.m. ET Sunday, when the eclipse will be just getting good in Japan. Prime time for the webcasts from the American West will kick in around 8 p.m. ET. For more, check out Slooh's news release.

Eclipse Live from Fujiyama: Panasonic is planning a solar-powered webcast from high atop Japan's Mount Fuji, which is inside the track of annularity. The team will charge up batteries from an array of electricity-generating solar cells at a base camp, then carry the batteries up to the camera site. Video coverage via Ustream is due to start up at 5 p.m. ET. This YouTube video previews the event. For updates, check out the project's Facebook page and Twitter stream.

Hong Kong Observatory: The webcast from Hong Kong is due to begin at 5:41 p.m. ET.

Live-Eclipse: Japanese eclipse-chasers plan to be webcasting via Ustream at 6 p.m. ET.

More from YokosoNews: This page from the Japanese news site lists lots of webcasts, generally beginning at 5 p.m. ET or later.

More from Ustream: Do a search on "eclipse" and you'll find all sorts of Ustream goodies, from 5 p.m. ET onward. One user is promising a video stream from the northern tip of Taiwan starting at 4:50 p.m. ET.

AstroBob's viewing guide: Duluth photographer Bob King provides a vivid guide to the phases of an annular eclipse and also links to AstronomyLive.com as a potential source of webcasts.

University of North Dakota: UND's SEMS (Sun Earth Moon Systems) team is organizing an eclipse webcast from Shasta College in Redding, Calif. The streaming is due to begin at 8 p.m. ET, and there's a chat window that lets you compare notes with other eclipse fans. The UND team has been doing eclipse webcasts since 2004, so they've built up a loyal following over the years.

Scotty's Sky: Skywatcher Scotty Degenhardt is promising an unconventional webcast of the annular eclipse via his iPhone from Area 51's "Black Mailbox," a popular gathering place for UFO fans in the Nevada desert. The show is set to start at 8:10 p.m. ET. Check out Degenhardt's website for the details.

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Update for 12:10 p.m. ET May 18: To find out whether any part of the eclipse will be visible from your locale, consult this clickable map from NASA. The times are listed in UTC. Subtract four hours to convert to ET, five hours for CT, six hours for MT, seven hours for PT.

Correction for 4:50 a.m. ET May 20: I mistakenly placed Shasta College in Whittier, Calif., rather than Redding. That reference has been fixed ... sorry about that.

More about the eclipse: LINKS at the site:

•Get set to chase an annular eclipse
•Where and how to see the eclipse
•See the solar eclipse at a national park
•How to photograph the eclipse safely
•Interactive: What causes a solar eclipse?

Cosmic Log - How to see the eclipse anywhere

To see a video about this JPL has a CBS Video. It covers a lot. http://www.space.com/15525-2012-sola...iew-video.html

cnredd · #4 (**permalink**) 05-21-2012, 01:28 PM

And here's how it went down...

Annular Solar Eclipse May 20 2012 - YouTube

saltwn · #5 (**permalink**) 05-21-2012, 06:28 PM

A guy showed us a picture he took of it. Beautiful.

mlurp · #6 (**permalink**) 05-22-2012, 12:44 PM

I'm betting You Tube has plenty more videos on the eclipse if anyone is interested.

And

redd for the video you posted.

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