Mark your calendar! This sort of thing doesn't happen every day!
http://www.eclipse2017.org/2017/maps.htm
http://www.eclipse2017.org/2017/maps.htm
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Solar eclipse in continental USA August 21, 2017
- Thread starter Rich Z
- Start date
Copied from another thread since this kind of drifted off topic there...
Speaking of the eclipse, Connie called me from South Carolina this morning and she said there are signs all over route 95 warning of heavy traffic congestion in the area on Monday. Apparently this eclipse is now a huge media circus. I'm sure there will be vendors all along the path selling T-shirts showing the eclipse, which, of course, CAN'T be of THIS eclipse.
Connie is feeling pretty bad, but just wants to be back home. Just as well that we didn't make any reservations to be at Daytona or somewhere along the path of the eclipse as she said it was highly unlikely that she was even going to get out of bed the entire weekend. Way back when I first heard about the eclipse, I had figured staying in Santee, SC would have been perfect. The abandoned bridge across the lake there would have been a perfect spot to set up the camera. Of course, probably a zillion people had the same idea, so I'm sure it would have been so crowded there that we wouldn't be able to even move without bumping into three other people. Ah well, I'll just watch the eclipse on YouTube. Not sure how much we will be able to see of it from north Florida, but maybe a sliver of the moon will cross the sun. The is unless the clouds obscure the sun here at that time.
Addendum....
It's supposed to be mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms here on Monday. So probably not much chance I'm going to see it. :shrugs:
Speaking of the eclipse, Connie called me from South Carolina this morning and she said there are signs all over route 95 warning of heavy traffic congestion in the area on Monday. Apparently this eclipse is now a huge media circus. I'm sure there will be vendors all along the path selling T-shirts showing the eclipse, which, of course, CAN'T be of THIS eclipse.
Connie is feeling pretty bad, but just wants to be back home. Just as well that we didn't make any reservations to be at Daytona or somewhere along the path of the eclipse as she said it was highly unlikely that she was even going to get out of bed the entire weekend. Way back when I first heard about the eclipse, I had figured staying in Santee, SC would have been perfect. The abandoned bridge across the lake there would have been a perfect spot to set up the camera. Of course, probably a zillion people had the same idea, so I'm sure it would have been so crowded there that we wouldn't be able to even move without bumping into three other people. Ah well, I'll just watch the eclipse on YouTube. Not sure how much we will be able to see of it from north Florida, but maybe a sliver of the moon will cross the sun. The is unless the clouds obscure the sun here at that time.
Addendum....
It's supposed to be mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms here on Monday. So probably not much chance I'm going to see it. :shrugs:
DollysMom
It never gets old!
We are going to Nashville to see it. The weather forecast is promising right now, but the time we will spend with family is most the most important thing. We've been planning this trip since last Christmas. The media hype is driving me crazy, too. Hope Connie gets through the day without too much difficulty.
Connie got home last night safe and sound. If not a bit worn out from the trip and the bug she has been fighting with. She said she is REAL glad we hadn't committed to going to Expo this weekend. She seemed to get a good night's sleep last night, and is trying to relax today. She does sound better than she did the last couple of days when I talked to her on the phone. With any luck she isn't still contagious.
The weather forecast for this area has dropped to only a 30 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms, mostly after 2pm. Maybe I should go outside and do a practice run of videoing the sun through those dark filters I have to make sure I have the manual focus down pat. I'm not going to get a second chance at this. Of course, I have no idea if when the sun is mostly obscured by the moon how this will affect the exposure during the video. It might then be TOO dark.
The weather forecast for this area has dropped to only a 30 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms, mostly after 2pm. Maybe I should go outside and do a practice run of videoing the sun through those dark filters I have to make sure I have the manual focus down pat. I'm not going to get a second chance at this. Of course, I have no idea if when the sun is mostly obscured by the moon how this will affect the exposure during the video. It might then be TOO dark.
Got the tripod getup ready and mounted the camera on it. I've got two different filters, so I tried both of them. I took video with both, so maybe I will slice and dice them and show the difference. In short, one allows more light in than the other. The actual solar filter reduces the light enough where features like sunspots are plainly visible, whereas the other filter whites out entirely the entire sun. I'm really not sure which one is going to be best for the eclipse (clouds permitting). Have to think on it a bit. But one good thing I did this is that I noticed that the battery charge dropped pretty rapidly, so I'm going to have to use the AC adapter. I wouldn't want to have the battery go dead right in the middle of the eclipse. Actually I still have to worry about the camera going into thermal shut down, because this August sun is pretty darn hot, and the camera sitting out in direct sunlight before the eclipse reduces the light and head is going to get quite hot.
Nope, not going to try that. I've already got some problems with my eyes that I need to get checked out. Don't want to make matters worse by getting burns by staring at the sun. I can just look at it through the viewfinder, and then watch whatever video I can get. I've been looking at the test videos I took, and I can see I'm still going to have some problems with focus. Even trying to focus on something 93 million miles away, the depth of field is still pretty narrow, surprisingly. Can't just run it out to the "infinity" setting, as evidently Nikon believes that infinity is even further away than the sun.
I'll upload the test video to YouTube shortly. Using the real solar filter, I can see sunspots pretty clearly. When I am focused properly, anyway. But there are some BIG ones pointing right at us right now. Hope we don't get a huge CME to knock us all out.
I'll upload the test video to YouTube shortly. Using the real solar filter, I can see sunspots pretty clearly. When I am focused properly, anyway. But there are some BIG ones pointing right at us right now. Hope we don't get a huge CME to knock us all out.
Using my Nikon P900 on the Skywatcher Allview motorized head and tripod. I've got two dark filters I wanted to experiment with to see which one I want to try for the solar eclipse on 08-21-2017. Weather permitting, of course. This time of year, afternoon thunderstorms and showers are a pretty common event here in north Florida. So deep cloud cover will pretty much kill this idea of even seeing the eclipse.
This setup is pretty stable when I only have to move the camera's position via the Allview platform. Movement if very smooth and controllable, even at high magnifications. However, touching the camera itself to adjust focus or zoom is another matter entirely. Unfortunately Nikon doesn't offer, as far as I know, and remote that can do these functions.
Anyway, note the prominent sunspots pointing right in our direction. That's all we would need is to have a humongous CME to knock us back into the stone age.
Still can't make up my mind which of the two filters I should use. And I will only have time and opportunity to use only one of the two.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTQjm1SjnOw
This setup is pretty stable when I only have to move the camera's position via the Allview platform. Movement if very smooth and controllable, even at high magnifications. However, touching the camera itself to adjust focus or zoom is another matter entirely. Unfortunately Nikon doesn't offer, as far as I know, and remote that can do these functions.
Anyway, note the prominent sunspots pointing right in our direction. That's all we would need is to have a humongous CME to knock us back into the stone age.
Still can't make up my mind which of the two filters I should use. And I will only have time and opportunity to use only one of the two.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTQjm1SjnOw
Yeah, I agree, generally nicer color and detail. But what happens when the moon obscures close to 90 percent of the Sun? Will there be enough light for the video to continue?
I'm also wondering if the depth of field will be enough for both the edge of the moon and the sun to both be in focus. I don't get enough practice in taking video of solar eclipses, I guess.... :laugh:
DollysMom
It never gets old!
I hear you. This is the only rehearsal you get. 5 years ago I saw an annular (ring of fire) eclipse in Nevada north of Reno with an astronomer. Sadly I'm no longer in touch with her to ask. Those are the people who could tell you. I'm pretty sure she used something like your Seymour Solar. I know I could see sunspots. If I recall we had about 90% coverage.
Well, there is another wrinkle. Evidently SLR style cameras with video capability are limited to 30 minutes of continuous video. Don't ask me why. I don't know why manufacturers do silly crap like this. :face_palm_02:
Anyway, the eclipse here is supposed to start at 1:09pm and end at 4:07pm. So IF the camera can sit out in the sun for that long without overheating, I will still have to babysit it the entire time and I guess reset the video every 29 minutes or so. I think the 64gb card in the camera will hold 3 hours worth of 1080p video.
So I'm going to have to be manually adjusting the Allview to try to keep the Sun and Moon in the frame and also keep track of the runtime so I can reset the video at 29 minutes. For 3 hours.....
I guess I had better put a lawn chair and some drinks out there.
Well, maybe it will rain and all the above won't matter. The weather people raised the ante by now saying there is a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms on Monday. They will probably change that forecast at least three more times.
Anyway, the eclipse here is supposed to start at 1:09pm and end at 4:07pm. So IF the camera can sit out in the sun for that long without overheating, I will still have to babysit it the entire time and I guess reset the video every 29 minutes or so. I think the 64gb card in the camera will hold 3 hours worth of 1080p video.
So I'm going to have to be manually adjusting the Allview to try to keep the Sun and Moon in the frame and also keep track of the runtime so I can reset the video at 29 minutes. For 3 hours.....
I guess I had better put a lawn chair and some drinks out there.Well, maybe it will rain and all the above won't matter. The weather people raised the ante by now saying there is a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms on Monday. They will probably change that forecast at least three more times.
DollysMom
It never gets old!
I wish you good weather. It's supposed to be mostly sunny with a few clouds in Gallatin TN where I'll be.
It is crazy and crowded for the eclipse here in Nashville, but we did get to see the Johnny Cash Museum this morning and are going to the Grand Ole Opry tonight.
I long ago decided to not try to take photos of it. Sounds challenging. I hope your video turns out great.
It is crazy and crowded for the eclipse here in Nashville, but we did get to see the Johnny Cash Museum this morning and are going to the Grand Ole Opry tonight.
I long ago decided to not try to take photos of it. Sounds challenging. I hope your video turns out great.
Karl_Mcknight
Common Sense Holder
I have been experimenting with sheets of Mylar and took several photos of the sun the other day just practicing. 2 sheets rubber banded to my lens worked well for the low early morning sun, and I'm thinking I may have to add a 3rd sheet as the sun will be high overhead and bright when it starts here. I'm also setting up a solar projector to project the image onto the ground so other people can gather around and watch it. I'm not going to try to video, rather I think I'll just snap a pic here and there to capture the different phases. Once it enters "Totality" I'll have about 2 minutes (in my area) where I can rip off the mylar sheets and take actual unprotected images of the corona. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for no clouds.
DollysMom
It never gets old!
Rich and Karl I don't know about you, but I'm finding myself a bit more into excited than I expected. The campus here at Volunteer State in Gallatin, TN is a beautiful setting. It's a family crowd who are interested in the science and educational events that are planned. We are in the auditorium waiting for the talks to start. Then we will go outside for viewing. It will be partly cloudy, and I'm still glad we made the effort to come here.
I hope you guys have fun and get great pictures! If you don't get pictures I still hope you have fun.
I hope you guys have fun and get great pictures! If you don't get pictures I still hope you have fun.
Well, the weather MIGHT be OK. We had a thunderstorm pass through in the early AM hours, so maybe that was the morning rain they were talking about in one of their forecasts. Here is the forecast now for today:
But hot it will be..... But a hazy sky might not be too bad. Might play hell with me trying to get the sun focused properly, however.
I'm going to try to figure out some sort of sun block shield for the camera body. As hot as it is going to be, and with the sun shining directly on the camera body for a good three hours, the camera might go into thermal shutdown on me.
Of course, with ME sitting out in the sun for three hours having to manually adjust the position of the camera to track the sun, I just might go into thermal shutdown myself.
Well, guess I had better get cracking if I am going to figure out that camera body sun block thingy.
Here goes nothing...
But hot it will be..... But a hazy sky might not be too bad. Might play hell with me trying to get the sun focused properly, however.
I'm going to try to figure out some sort of sun block shield for the camera body. As hot as it is going to be, and with the sun shining directly on the camera body for a good three hours, the camera might go into thermal shutdown on me.
Of course, with ME sitting out in the sun for three hours having to manually adjust the position of the camera to track the sun, I just might go into thermal shutdown myself.
Well, guess I had better get cracking if I am going to figure out that camera body sun block thingy.
Here goes nothing...
Well, this actually worked out. When I went out to set up the camera gear on the garage apron around 12:45, things didn't look so hot. Clouds had rolled in, and the way it looked, I thought that was going to be the story for the entire day. The first hint of the eclipse was supposed to be visible at 1:09, and at 1:10 the cloud bank stretched from one horizon to the other. I was almost going to just pack up the gear and call it a day, but decided that there really was no harm in just sitting in the lawn chair I had out with me and just wait a while. Sure enough, the skies cleared up and I rushed to get the sun centered on the camera, focused (I hope!), and video running. There were a few patches of clouds that did obscure the sun here and there. And right at 2:30 it actually started to rain. The weird thing was that the rain was coming out of nowhere. Wasn't really any clouds at all around me, so I really don't know where the raid was coming from. Probably just Murphy messing with me. But it wasn't hard and didn't last more than 10 minutes or so. I just sat it out and kept the video running.
Then around 3:30 or so, my camera died. I thought the sunlight had killed it, but fortunately it was just the battery. Apparently the Nikon P900 doesn't actually run off of the AC adapter. The adapter just applies a charge to the battery, and evidently taking video depletes the battery faster than the charger can keep a charge in the battery. I didn't remember to take out a spare battery with me, so I lost time running to the house to get a spare and load it up in the camera.
Honestly, someone walking outside around here when the moon had obscured the sun as much as it was going to would likely have never even noticed the eclipse. The sunlight did get reduced in intensity quite a bit, but no more than a high cloud might do.
BTW, when I got finished and came back into the house, I checked the weather radar and it appears that luck was really with me concerning the weather. Heavy clouds and rain to the east and west of me. And DARN lucky we didn't decide to run up to Santee, SC to try to catch the total eclipse. From what I can see of the weather radar up there, it looked like it would have been a complete waste of our time going there.
Anyway, hopefully I'll process the video real soon. I won't be able to do any timelapse, since I had to manually adjust the position of the camera with the camera mount, and timelapse would just have the sun/moon swinging all over the video. Probably enough to make people actually ill to watch it. It wasn't until the eclipse was mostly over with that I discovered what seemed to be the best way to use that Allview mount to track the sun. Oh well. Maybe in my next life I'll remember this. I don't think there are any more solar eclipses in store for me in this life.
Oh I did a screen capture of the weather radar to show how fortunate I actually turned out being today for this eclipse.
Then around 3:30 or so, my camera died. I thought the sunlight had killed it, but fortunately it was just the battery. Apparently the Nikon P900 doesn't actually run off of the AC adapter. The adapter just applies a charge to the battery, and evidently taking video depletes the battery faster than the charger can keep a charge in the battery. I didn't remember to take out a spare battery with me, so I lost time running to the house to get a spare and load it up in the camera.
Honestly, someone walking outside around here when the moon had obscured the sun as much as it was going to would likely have never even noticed the eclipse. The sunlight did get reduced in intensity quite a bit, but no more than a high cloud might do.
BTW, when I got finished and came back into the house, I checked the weather radar and it appears that luck was really with me concerning the weather. Heavy clouds and rain to the east and west of me. And DARN lucky we didn't decide to run up to Santee, SC to try to catch the total eclipse. From what I can see of the weather radar up there, it looked like it would have been a complete waste of our time going there.
Anyway, hopefully I'll process the video real soon. I won't be able to do any timelapse, since I had to manually adjust the position of the camera with the camera mount, and timelapse would just have the sun/moon swinging all over the video. Probably enough to make people actually ill to watch it. It wasn't until the eclipse was mostly over with that I discovered what seemed to be the best way to use that Allview mount to track the sun. Oh well. Maybe in my next life I'll remember this. I don't think there are any more solar eclipses in store for me in this life.
Oh I did a screen capture of the weather radar to show how fortunate I actually turned out being today for this eclipse.
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DollysMom
It never gets old!
I'm so glad you got your video!
Basing my expectations on the weather forecast and the building clouds I was thinking we wouldn't see it. Then the clouds that were there dissipated. We had a clear view the entire time. We saw the corona, Jupiter and Venus and the crickets started to chirp as if at night. I hope Karl had the same view because it was amazing.
Basing my expectations on the weather forecast and the building clouds I was thinking we wouldn't see it. Then the clouds that were there dissipated. We had a clear view the entire time. We saw the corona, Jupiter and Venus and the crickets started to chirp as if at night. I hope Karl had the same view because it was amazing.