US Solar Eclipse August 21, 2017

[Kyle]

We're a little under 4 months away from the first total solar eclipse visible over the continuous United States since February 1979. Anyone going to take a trip for this? If so, what gear are you bringing with you? Hoping to set up somewhere in Georgia with my DSLR + 300mm lens, as well as a good pair of binoculars (all with proper protection of course!)

 

[Donamy]

The Sun seems a bit large in Orbiter .

 

[MaverickSawyer]

I... actually might have a shot at seeing this! I'd have to take a day off from school, but hey, what are make-up days for, amiright?

 

[Artlav]

Stupid american visa requirements...

 

[n122vu]

Hopkinsville, KY is going to be the location of maximum eclipse at 2m42s. That's only ~80nm Southwest of me. I was thinking of flying the 150 down and landing at HVC for a few hours, watching the event, then flying home. I found out via the Cessna 150-152 club forum that HVC is now taking reservations for plane parking. There are only 30 or so spots left, and they want $150 just to park for the sub-three-minute event.

A fellow club member is working with one of the eclipse sites to show airports on their map along the path of totality that are offering free parking for the event. Once that is set up I'll share here for anyone who is interested.

I'll be flying down to Princeton-Caldwell County airport (2M0) instead.

https://skyvector.com/?ll=37.065149...t=301&zoom=3&fpl=N0090A045 KHNB undefined 2M0

 

[zerofay32]

I'm going to be flying to Hopkinsville, KY which is about 10 miles away from the point of greatest eclipse. I will also be taking the old camera (Nikon D700 with a 300mm lens, a 2x teleconverter) It's only about a 2.5 hour flight from where I live in Ohio.

I'm thinking about making a side trip to Mammoth Cave National Park since I haven't been there since I was a kid, and my wife has never been there.

 

[n122vu]

I'm going to be flying to Hopkinsville, KY which is about 10 miles away from the point of greatest eclipse.

Correct. I'm told the actual point is in the middle of a farm field northwest of the city.

 

[zerofay32]

Yup, and if you want to shell out another $150, can get a spot on the farm property... I won't be doing that. :lol: Paying for parking is one thing, since the difference it total eclipse time is fractions of a second, I'm ok with the location I have scoped out.

I was thinking about Princeton-Caldwell County as well, but having reserved parking (even if I have to pay) makes me less nervous. Nothing would be worse then to get to the airport you would like to stop at only to not have a place to shutdown. And I think the free parking airports will be very crowded.

Although, I would be kinda cool to be flying during the eclipse. That would be a very special 0.05 hr night flying. :thumbup:

 

[Ravenous]

Although, I would be kinda cool to be flying during the eclipse. That would be a very special 0.05 hr night flying. :thumbup:

Hmmm, open top aircraft? :thumbup:

 

[Kyle]

FWIW, if you're doing any photography during the eclipse you really should have the event scripted out so that you're not fumbling around with your DSLR during the totality. I'm going to be using Solar Eclipse Maestro for Mac OS X. Really great program and it's free.

 

[boogabooga]

For the people shelling out huge sums of money, keep in mind that the chances of cloud cover is really high in the summer. Cincinnati was 10/10 overcast for the entire 2012 Venus transit, for example.

I wonder if there is such a thing as eclipse insurance...:hmm:

 

[n122vu]

For the people shelling out huge sums of money, keep in mind that the chances of cloud cover is really high in the summer. Cincinnati was 10/10 overcast for the entire 2012 Venus transit, for example.

I wonder if there is such a thing as eclipse insurance...:hmm:

Exactly why I'm not fond of shelling out $150 this far in advance to park my plane. If it's not CAVU or CAVOK in the area, I will likely stay put or just go get a $100 hamburger somewhere unless it's IFR.

 

[MaverickSawyer]

I'm looking at central Oregon, myself. Yeah, it's nowhere near peak totality, but still... even less than a minute will be mindblowing.

 

[n122vu]

As far as what I'm bringing with me, I'm thinking of just getting a decent pair of binoculars. Not much into photography, so I'll just enjoy the experience.

I've never directly viewed an eclipse myself - any suggestions as far as protection to use with binocs?

 

[Notebook]

In all seriousness, my advice is never look in the direction of the sun with binoculars or a telescope. You risk serious eye damage.

The media is full of that during eclipses here, would guess its the same in most countries?
N.

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Yeah, don't use a direct optical aid like a telescope or binoculars. You could use a pinhole projector, or use arc welding face shield glass to directly observe for short bursts.

 

[boogabooga]

I have a friend with a hydrogen alpha filter for his telescope. That actually works very well for direct sun viewing.

 

[Donamy]

how about your phones camera ? If you dont actually look at the sun.

 

[Andy44]

how about your phones camera ? If you dont actually look at the sun.

Sure, if your phone can handle the glare without overexposing.

One thing I did once with my dad was we took a backyard telescope out to look at a partial eclipse. Of course, we didn't look through the scope!

What we did was we brought a piece of cardboard with us. Pointing the telescope roughly in the direction of the sun, we held the cardboard behind the scope and adjusted the scope until the shadow on the board was aligned.

Then we held the cardboard in front of the eyepiece, adjusting the focus and pointing until we got a sharp image of the sun on the cardboard. We had a filter on the eyepiece to cut down some of the brightness. Then we tried to take photos of the projection. We did this all with our backs to the sun, looking only at the cardboard.

This is similar to using a pinhole projection, except we used glass lenses instead of a pinhole. Depending on how your scope is made, though, it may damage the scope, so beware the risk.

 

[Kyle]

I have a friend with a hydrogen alpha filter for his telescope. That actually works very well for direct sun viewing.

Bad choice for totality as it'll block out the maximum eclipse. Great for viewing the partial phases though.

For visual observations of the eclipse, I'd recommend a short focal length refractor, a stable tripod, and a low-power eyepiece (and obviously a solar filter). Also useful is some sort of audio cue to remove/place back on your solar filter.