Today we had a partial solar eclipse from 5:20-6:15. I like neat science things like this, so I did a wee bit of online research to find the proper viewing methods. I remember from elementary school that you can't look at the eclipse directly. The fanciest do-it-yourself method involved a pair of binoculars and some cardboard. Check and check. Our new friend Capt. Richard just loaned us a nice pair of binoculars, how handy. And, in an effort to clean out our cupboards, we had accumulated a good deal of Costco sized cereal boxes.
I did a little xtactoknifing and scotch taping, and whalla! Here's my eclipse viewing device.
The first two pictures are the viewing paper. Since this was a one-girl operation, I figured I should secure the paper.
And the second 2 pictures are the image capturing device (binoculars with cardboard). In case you didnt read the link, the binoculars have to be pointed at the sun and the viewing paper is position in the shadow of the binocular's cardboard. If you're lucky, the eclipse will show up.
So I set up camp in the parking lot and tried to capture the sun in the binocular lens. At first, I had the viewing paper strapped to my leg, but then the sun angle changed too much. What to do... Strap it to my bike rack. So here I was in the middle of the parking lot, with cardboard strapped to my bike, balancing binoculars with cardboard on a step stool. Obviously all of the parents were telling their kids "Don't talk to the weird girl in the parking lot." I coerced a few kids over to see the eclipse. This is what they saw.
Yup, that's the sun with the moon crowding its space. I offered to show a few adults, but they declined. The don't know what the were missing.
2 comments:
You know, us here in the states are going to get to see a total solar eclipse. Yep, you heard it right. Mon Aug 21, 2017. It's in my calendar.
Whoa! I should make a trip to the mainland (if I'm still here in HI).
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