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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
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annular solar eclipse next week
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/05/12/solar-eclipse-may-...
Just two weeks after the huge "supermoon" wowed skywatchers around the world, the heavens will offer up another observing treat — a solar eclipse on
May 20 that should be visible from much of western North America.
The May 20 event is what's known as an annular solar eclipse, in which the moon blocks out most of the sun but leaves a ring of light visible around
its circumference.
It should be quite a spectacular sight for favorably placed — and appropriately careful —skywatchers throughout Asia, the Pacific region and parts of
North America.
Annular solar eclipses: The basics
As the moon revolves around Earth, it passes between our planet and the sun once every 29.5 days. Most of the time,the moon zips either above or below
the sun, and no eclipse occurs. [Video: How to View the May 20 Solar Eclipse]
But if the moon is close to one of its orbital nodes— the points where the orbits of Earth and the moon cross — the moon will pass directly in front
of the sun and block its light. If the moon is also close to apogee,the point that marks its farthest distance from the Earth, it will not completely
cover the sun, and we get an annular eclipse.
"Annular" comes from the Latin word annulus (ring) and refers to the fact that a ring of sun shines all around the moon.
On May 5, we had a so-called"supermoon,"the largest and brightest full moon of 2012. The full moon was nearly at perigee — as close to Earth as it can
get — and it looked huge in the sky as a result.
Two weeks later, on May 19, the moon will have traversed half its orbit and arrived at apogee. When the eclipse occurs a few hours later, the moon
will be too small in the sky to cover the sun totally, resulting in an annular eclipse, or "ring of fire."
Annular eclipses are sometimes said to be less interesting than total solar eclipses, in which the moon completely covers the sun, because we don’t
get to see the sun’s prominences and corona. But they are still beautiful and awe-inspiring events, and well worth trying to observe. [Must-See
Skywatching Events in May 2012]
The May 20 annular eclipse: How to watch
Like most solar eclipses, this one will be best observed from the narrow band on Earth’s surface where the shadow of the moon falls.
This path begins at dawn in southern China. It then sweeps across the Pacific Ocean, passing south of Alaska, and makes landfall on the Pacific coast
near the California-Oregon border. It ends near Lubbock, Texas, at sunset. Partial phases of this eclipse will be visible over most of western North
America.
First contact is when the edge of the moon first touches the edge of the sun. Second contact is when the disk of the moon is entirely in front of the
sun and moving inward. Third contact is when the moon touches the edge of the sun as it begins to pass off the solar disk. Fourth contact is when the
moon is completely off the sun. Locations in red will experience a true annular eclipse, a ring of fire; the other areas will see only a partial
eclipse.
In North America, the eclipse will occur late in the day, so it’s important to observe from a site with a good western horizon.
The biggest wild card in observing is the weather. In case of inclement weather, you should be prepared to travel; the Clear Sky Chart offers a useful
guide of where to go. Start with the clear sky area closest to your chosen location. If it shows poor weather prospects, check the clocks farther
away, within a radius or 60 or 120 miles (100 or 200 kilometers). If you can see a clear patch, hop in your car and drive!
Because the eclipse will occur just a month ahead of the summer solstice, the sun will be setting quite far north of due east. Check the sun’s setting
point a day or two beforehand to verify that trees or buildings do not block your view.
Safety first
Warning: Never look directly at the sun, either with the naked eye or through telescopes or binoculars without the proper filters. Doing so could
result in permanent and serious eye damage, including blindness.
To safely observe the annular eclipse, you can buy special solar filters to fit over your equipment, or No. 14 welder's glass to wear over your eyes.
No. 14 is denser than the standard No. 12 available in hardware stores and can be purchased only at specialized welders' supply stores.
You can also buy "solar shades," special glasses widely available from telescope stores before eclipses. Do NOT use standard sunglasses or any kind of
homemade sun-shading contraption.
The safest and simplest technique is perhaps to watch the eclipse indirectly with the solar projection method. Use your telescope, or one side of your
binoculars, to project a magnified image of the sun’s disk onto a shaded white piece of cardboard.
The image on the cardboard will be safe to view and photograph. But make sure to cover the telescope's finder scope or the unused half of the
binoculars, and don't let anybody look through them.
If you do get the proper filter, you can take some impressive photos of the eclipse with almost any camera through your telescope or binoculars
because the sun’s image through the filter is still quite bright. A camera adapter will ensure a firm connection between camera and telescope.
What to Look For
It will be interesting to compare your own times of the four contacts with the predicted times above. First contact is usually observed a little late,
because you can’t actually see the moon on the sun’s disk until the exact time of first contact is past. Fourth contact occurs when the disk of the
moon finally leaves the sun.
As the moon moves across the face of the sun, it may pass close to sunspots or other surface features on the sun, creating interesting photo
opportunities. The view of the sun through a telescope with a hydrogen alpha filter, such as the Coronado PST, will be very dramatic, and contact
times may differ significantly from times obtained with normal white light filters because we’re looking at a different layer in the sun’s atmosphere.
One of the nicest things about annular eclipses is that they take a long time to happen, so there’s plenty of opportunity for "sidewalk
astronomy"—sharing the view through your telescope with the public. It might be worth setting your telescope up in a public place, such as a park or a
mall parking lot, and inviting passers-by to have a look.
Who knows?You may spark the interest of a new amateur astronomer.
[Edited on 5-13-2012 by woody with a view]
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astrobaja
Senior Nomad
Posts: 952
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Location: near San Pedro Martir Park
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Mood: beam me up
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A good place to go might be Oceanside Photo and Telescope they may have some specialized solar telescopes setup in front of the store. I'm getting
some filters for my large binoculars.
http://www.optcorp.com/
\"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear
and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.There is another theory which states that this has already happened\"
Douglas Adams
our website: http://bajadarkskies.com |
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Ateo
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Thanks woody. Anything space related is always up my alley. I'll be watching from the beaches of Puerto Vallarta. Astrobaja, yeah that store in
Oside is amazing. Mission avenue....haven't been in there recently but drove by it this morning!
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David K
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It is just one block west of I-5, Mission Ave. exit... on the right.
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astrobaja
Senior Nomad
Posts: 952
Registered: 5-22-2006
Location: near San Pedro Martir Park
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Mood: beam me up
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Theres also a public outreach planned by the San Diego Astronomy club at 2 locations. Read about their events here:
http://www.sdaa.org/
Really as cool as the eclipse is by far the bigger event is the transit of Venus across the face of the sun on the 5th of June!! This will be the only
time this will be see in our lifetime!!
[Edited on 5-13-2012 by astrobaja]
\"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear
and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.There is another theory which states that this has already happened\"
Douglas Adams
our website: http://bajadarkskies.com |
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Ateo
Elite Nomad
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Venus across the face of the Sun? Sounds cool......I'm marking my calendar!
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thebajarunner
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3718
Registered: 9-8-2003
Location: Arizona....."Free at last from crumbling Cali
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Mood: muy amable
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Welding glass
You can achieve #13 or #14 by putting together a couple of #7, or other combos equaling your number required- I think 13 is safe.
The total coverage (will be only about 88% and the ring will be deadly to the naked eye) achieved only north of I-80 here in NorCal.
Nothing like the great 7 minutes in 1991>>>> that was a lifetime event!
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Packoderm
Super Nomad
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I'll be at the LunarBurn Festival near Susanville, CA. It is pretty close to the red line in the photo below.
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/246982
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BCSTech
Senior Nomad
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Location: Todos Santos, BCS / Placerville, CA.
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We'll be just North of Reno with our Eclipse glasses. Buy them on EBay for cheap
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15939
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Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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check out this site for free software to view the heavens.
http://www.stellarium.org/
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
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Location: Punta Banda
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Did I miss it, or what? Maybe these events can't get through the June Gloom.
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
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Location: Redding, Northern CA
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REPORT FROM REDDING, CA
It has already begun right now. The moon has come in from the lower right, and now covers the sun about 1/8th.
I found that even my arc welding helmet is not dark enough, but with my high altitude climbing glasses, plus the welding helmet it is perfect.
Cool stuff, for sure.
Barry
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
Registered: 9-16-2003
Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
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Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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Live Feed
From KCRA-TV in Sacramento
http://www.kcra.com/video/31089865/detail.html
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Hook
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9010
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Location: Sonora
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Those Mayans weren't lyin' ..............
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15939
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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Mood: Everchangin'
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can't see it thru the haze in sandy eggo.
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
Registered: 9-16-2003
Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
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Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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| Quote: | Originally posted by woody with a view
can't see it thru the haze in sandy eggo. |
Click on the above link, Woody....it's showing about a half right now
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Gypsy Jan
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4275
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Mood: Depends on which way the wind is blowing
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Nada, Nothing but Overcast
Sad face. I would love to see this "Ring of Fire" live - maybe Johnny Cash, too.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
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Location: Redding, Northern CA
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It's sooooooo cool, but it IS gettin dark up here.
If you don't hear from us in the northland, you will know that we were vaporized!!!
Barry
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rts551
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6699
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lookin through my welding helmet (changed to 14 lens) right now... cool
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
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Location: Redding, Northern CA
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I am using my arc welding helmet PLUS my high altitude climbing glasses-------that is about right.
Almost a complete eclispe (sp?) now.
Barry
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