Monday, August 21, 2017

Viewing the eclipse indirectly

Where we are located, the eclipse covered somewhere around 92% of the sun.  It was noticeably dark inside the house.  Outside, it seemed like an eerie haze.  Since I did not have eclipse glasses, I watched the eclipse indirectly so as not to damage my eyes.  Someone on the local news channel showed a colander just like the one I have, so I set that on a couple of stools above a white piece of paper on the sidewalk and looked at the points of light that came through the holes.
 
 
 
 
I was actually more impressed with the light shining through the tree leaves and the little crescents made that way.  The shadow of sycamore leaves on the sidewalk, the maple leaves on the car, and especially the shadow of the crepe myrtle leaves against the grill cover showed little crescents where the sunlight was being eclipsed by the moon.

 
 

The outlines seem to show best where there are only small points of light coming through (though I really don't understand that exactly).  I formed a small opening between my thumb and forefinger, and you can see a crescent shape there as well.
What fascinated me even more than that was just the shadow of my outstretched hand.  When I turned it a certain way, I could see a little shadow at the base of space between each finger. 
I like to think I held the experience in my hand.
 
Hope you had a good experience today or at least get to enjoy some of the awesome pictures that will be available on TV and internet.


 

 
 

1 comment:

  1. Neat idea. Being further north and East, we could tell little difference I took several pictures thru a big cloud, but the camera reacted so slow the sun had moved into a lighter part of the cloud thus light wash for a picture. There was little excitement here. One neighbor had eclipse glasses I noticed and sat outside staring at the sun.
    I guess I could order the glasses now at a discount for next time. LOL Had I been home I would have used my welder's helmet. I am not sure, but I think it would work... Neat entry here.

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