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Thread: Solar eclipse

  1. #1
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    Solar eclipse

    News clip.... Be safe out there ....

    NASA says that the American Astronomical Society has verified manufacturers of eclipse glasses and handheld solar viewers that meet ISO standards: American Paper Optics, Baader Planetarium (AstroSolar Silver/Gold film only), Rainbow Symphony, Thousand Oaks Optical and TSE 17.

  2. #2
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    When there was a previous eclipse, I looked.

    This time, I will see it on the news telecasts.

  3. #3
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    Got glasses last night that were stamped as ISO- something. I hope they are OK because that's what we're using. I am hoping to see a good show and will be bummed out if its cloudy.

  4. #4
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    I remember the last several eclipses when we just used a pinhole in a sheet of paper to view it. This year everyone seems to be going crazy over solar glasses. My wife waited until Monday this week to ask for a pair. They were easy to find a month ago for $1-2 each. On Monday, I watched a few auctions on EBay. $62 for 2 pairs. $80 for 4 pairs. The auction prices were crazy. I found her a "buy it now" pair for $6 including shipping that guaranteed delivery before Monday.

    Steve

  5. #5
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    Even if it's cloudy there will be a show of sorts. It will get eerily dark in the middle of the day for a short time. Critters may be confused. Observing them may be fun if you can. I'll be watching the birds to see how they react, if at all.

    Regarding the glasses, our local library still has ones they are giving out for free. Not to be excessively cautionary but, counterfeit glasses can have any kind of insignia or number they want to print on them .. they're counterfeit. The recommendation is to get them from a reliable source. ..And be careful not to even peek or take fleeting glances without eye protection. They can add up and you won't know if any damage has been done until later. Now that I've spoiled your fun, enjoy a spectacle that happens only a few times in one's lifetime.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Yonak Hawkins View Post
    Even if it's cloudy there will be a show of sorts. It will get eerily dark in the middle of the day for a short time. Critters may be confused. Observing them may be fun if you can. I'll be watching the birds to see how they react, if at all.
    All accurate if you're in the total eclipse shadow path. If you're in the zone where it will be partial like most of us, you probably won't even notice because our eyes adjust involuntarily for the change. At least that was my experience in 1991 in Nevada where the eclipse was partial. Those in the total shadow path are fortunate.

  7. #7
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    I hate to be a downer, but there are reports of counterfeit goggles being sold, some apparently with fake certification numbers, that DO NOT filter the light adequately. For more info, google astronomy blogs and check them out. Most of them have current threads on the topic.

  8. #8
    My wife ordered some from a source owned by friends of local TV weather guy. After they got here we got a letter saying they were suspect and that they would send more.

  9. #9
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    Thanks, got a few good ones.

    I'll be taking my 8" telescope with a pro solar filter to a friend's place smack on the centerline. The 8" filter is made of glass, multicoated with thin layers of metal - it looks like a mirror until you look through it.

    I took this telescope to schools during two previous solar eclipses, long time ago. Kids would come out by class group and line up for a look. What was even better: I put a 4" scope with a right-angle eyepiece on a tripod where the image of the sun would be projected into a cardboard box with a piece of white paper taped inside. This made a beautiful image and lots of kids could see it at one time.

    Even more interesting - during a partial eclipse I was walking on a sidewalk lined with small trees. The overlapping leaves made zillions of pinhole lenses and each projected an image of the eclipse on the sidewalk. It was so surreal - hundreds of thousands of little eclipse crescents, each moving slightly with the breeze on the trees!

    JKJ

  10. #10
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    We're in the path of totality here in KC. Lot of schools are closing for the day, partly because they don't want liability of kids getting hurt whether supervised or not. On the advice of insurers.

  11. #11
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    I am waiting for the 2024 eclipse. My house is almost on the centerline. Of course it will be April so there is a 10% chance of clear skies, but still...

    I was very excited about the 1970 partial eclipse and it was really nothing at all. So I am bothering to even look at this one. I had planned on traveling to see it in totality, but the idea of having bad weather was just too much.

    Good luck to those on the path.

  12. #12
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    I am going fishing during the eclipse. Wish me luck.

  13. #13
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    People are going crazy. Reports of hotel rooms in Idaho and Oregon going for 3-5 times the normal rate. This morning an Idaho farmer woke up to tire tracks in his just planted field of mustard. He followed them and found a camper, pickup truck and a bunch of polite Canadians camping out in the middle of his field. He politely insisted they get the heck off his property.

    I thought about going up to Wyoming from the Salt Lake area, but UDOT is predicting massive delays along the interstate. They said it could be as long as a 20 hour drive to return from Eastern ID (normally a 3 hour drive). I will be staying home and working.
    I am in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection, but with Montana it is love.... It seems to me that Montana is a great splash of grandeur....the mountains are the kind I would create if mountains were ever put on my agenda. Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans. Montana has a spell on me. It is grandeur and warmth. Of all the states it is my favorite and my love.

    John Steinbeck


  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Blatter View Post
    People are going crazy.
    I wonder how crazy it will get in TN. There have been hundreds of people in line waiting when new shipments of glasses were arriving, chaos inside some stores. The news is predicting a massive influx of people. I have a friend driving down from Maryland for the event.

    I don't remember anything like this the last two eclipses.

    JKJ

  15. #15
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    Our local Kaiser clinic was giving out free glasses. My wife wanted to go, but after she heard about all the others going she decided we are staying home.

    Traffic is already tied up in parts of Oregon. Some friends from California are driving to some friends in Oregon. After things settle down they plan to drive up to see us. I expect them sometime on Wednesday or Thursday even though in theory it is only about a six hour drive. My friend said the population of Oregon is expected to more than double for the event.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

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