Things to try while watching the solar eclipse

[Tom.G]

Hi. Maybe its the wro g thread.

I have to go to work when the eclipse happens. I live in LA. Is it safe to be outside?

In LA traffic? You've got to be kidding! The rubber-neckers wil be concentrating on blinding themselves, not bothering with traffic.

(I used to live there )

Just leave early with your sight saver (Eclipse Viewer) and watch it from the parking lot.

p.s. Some Southern Calif. cities are handing out free viewers at their libraries.

 

[pinball1970]

It would be good to be there. I am interested in animal behaviour leading up and during.

1999 Hungary, lake Balaton, I had the glasses but only did a few glances.
I remember animals freaking out then going silent. Very eerie and I felt weird after it. It was very hot though.
Nice memories I hope the day goes well over there for everyone.
EDIT: There is a video (not us, people came from all over, it was a nice spot) the glasses look a little, flimsy? I remember lots of publicity about eye protection so we were all careful.
Shame the video has music I would have preferred to have heard the people and animals.

 

[jedishrfu]

In Texas, we are expecting 80% cloud cover to protect us from the deadly rays of the sun and those bozos who may choose to look directly at it.

It's like that song sung by Gene Autry:



with a new lyric: The skies are blue, but not for you, deep in the heart of Texas...

 

[collinsmark]

SmarterEveryDay outlines 9 different activities you can do and things to observe during the eclipse.



(0) Get a solar eclipse timer on your cell phone (or tablet).
Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/solar-eclipse-timer/id1203105865?platform=iphone
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.foxwoodastronomy.solareclipsetimer&pli=1

(1) Temperature monitoring.

(2) Pinhole projection of the crescents (grab a colander or cheese grater).

(3) ISO 12312-2 certified glasses (hopefully you already have a set of these by now).

(4) Sharp and fuzzy shadows at the same time, depending on angle.

(5) Eclipse breeze.

(6) Convective clouds. Be aware of these and don't panic if they show up in the partial phases; they should dissipate before totality. On the other hand, if you have big clouds and/or overcast skies before the partial phases, then it's OK to panic.

(7) Insect/animal behavior.

(8) Purkinje effect. The color sensitivity of your eyes changes due to lower light intensity. Wear bright colored clothing to the event (and encourage others to do the same) to enhance this effect.

(9) Shadow bands (shadow snakes).

 

[Drakkith]

One thing to do while watching the eclipse if you're anywhere near my area is to measure the amount of rainfall that falls during it.

 

[Swamp Thing]

(8) Purkinje effect. The color sensitivity of your eyes changes due to lower light intensity. Wear bright colored clothing to the event (and encourage others to do the same) to enhance this effect.

Followed the Purkinje rabbit hole... he was a prolific and versatile scientist. Among many other things...

He also experimented with nutmeg that same year, when he "washed down three ground nutmegs with a glass of wine and experienced headaches, nausea, euphoria, and hallucinations that lasted several days", which remain a good description of today's average nutmeg binge.

... Which is one more thing to try after the eclipse, or instead of the eclipse if the weather is bad.

 

[DaveC426913]

Nutmeg?? TIL.

 

[DennisN]

It would be good to be there.

I agree.

I am interested in animal behaviour leading up and during.

Yes, it's interesting. Some animals display quite strange behavior.
Like putting things over their eyes and staring up at the sky.
Some animals display very weird behavior, like putting tubes on the ground and staring into them.



Edit:

1999 Hungary, lake Balaton, I had the glasses but only did a few glances.

In 1999 I was in Weil der Stadt (which is the birthplace of Johannes Kepler).

Strange animal behavior:

A bunch of animals with things over their eyes staring up at the sky. One animal seems to have built a wooden thing to the right of the statue (which is a statue of Johannes Kepler).

The things animals put over their eyes seem to be of different designs and colors.

Light level at 12:15.

Light level at 12:25.

Light level at 12:30.

As can be seen it was partly cloudy at that time, but we got some views of the partial eclipse through our glasses. It was a cool experience .

 

[jtbell]

One of the better tricks that I watched a person do during the last eclipse was to reverse a pair of binoculars (eyepieces towards the sun) and project the sun on some paper. It worked remarkably well.

I did that for the transit of Venus twelve years ago:

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/see-the-transit-of-venus-live-here.611663/#post-3944420

 

[jack action]

Just lived through the eclipse. Much much darker than I expected. I thought it would have been much more progressive too but it was like one minute a large cloud covers the sky, the next we're in total darkness for 3 minutes, then one minute later back to the cloudy weather, which becomes clearer and clearer real fast.

I cannot imagine what people from the past, without knowledge of astronomy, could think about during such a time. Apocalyptically terrifying.

 

[jedishrfu]

It wasn't a total bust, every so often the sun would peek through the cloud cover and we'd get a glimpse of it.

We missed totality but did see the ring effect briefly. It lasted about 3.5 mins at around 1:37pm Austin time.

We were able to get some videos of the sliver as the clouds acted as a nature light filter. Curiously, the videos seemed to come out better than the photos.

The colander effect:

Poor photo through the solar filter:

And a short video:

Oops can't upload it not supported here.

 

[jedishrfu]

The animals we witnessed were either busy collecting seeds (squirrels) or sitting in the trees. I did hear a bird call as the eclipse was ending. There were a few animals sipping a Cayman Jack beverage.

That's all I have to report.

 

[DaveC426913]

The clouds cleared just in time. It was SPECTACULAR!

 

[jedishrfu]

The clouds cleared just in time. It was SPECTACULAR!

Show-off!