The partial solar eclipse of Thursday 2014 OCT 23 will be visible throughout almost all of North America, weather permitting. If you choose to view this event, be sure to have strong protection for your eyes. Ordinary sunglasses will be insufficient and would likely result in blindness. A pinhole projection would be preferable to other methods. Joe “Chicago Astronomer” Guzman and Chicago’s Adler Planetarium will host a free public observing party there beginning at 16:00 CDT. As viewed from the planetarium, the Moon will first appear to touch the right edge of the Sun at 16:36 CDT. At 17:43 the eclipse will achieve its greatest magnitude from that location of 55%, i.e. slightly more than half of the Sun’s diameter will appear covered by the Moon. From the planetarium the Sun will soon set at 17:57 while still eclipsed. I've created a preview graphic to demonstrate how the Sun and Moon will appear at maximum eclipse to viewers at the Adler Planetarium. Actually only a bite would appear taken from the Sun, but I rendered all of the dark side of the Moon to make the situation clear. The view and timings will be rather similar throughout Chicagoland. Elsewhere they can differ significantly. My partial solar eclipse preview graphic can be found at www.CurtRenz.com/moon Photos and descriptions of the eclipse would be welcome additions to this thread.
I have a question. Is there something about an eclipse that makes the sun brighter? Or is it just folks staring at it for a long period that causes said blindness? I've always heard that, but I didn't think folks regularly went blind from glancing up at the sun.
Same question here: what is that during an Eclipse that makes the Sun that much more dangerous to view ?
The Sun is no brighter during an eclipse. Actually less light comes through due to the Moon partially covering the Sun. But eclipses are highly publicized in advance, and some folks stare rather than glance during an eclipse. That often leads to problems that we learn about in the news the day after an eclipse. Hence the need for reminders to be careful.
That and the apparent brightness goes down and thus it is easier to stare at the sun. But the UV and other light energy hitting the cornea is sufficient to cause blindness. So easier to look at but still damaging to the eye. The first paragraph on Wikipedia spells it out a little bit better than I did.
Found this: Here's How To Look At Tomorrow's Partial Solar Eclipse Without Burning Your Eyes: DCist This is from Nikon (not Canon:smile: but I guess it will do): How to Photograph a Lunar Eclipse from Nikon
Thanks for the first link. The second one is not regarding a solar eclipse like there will be today, but instead a lunar eclipse like the one that occurred earlier this month. The next lunar eclipse will occur on 2015 APR 04 and it will be borderline partial/total while at maximum.
Was very cool to see the eclipse, thanks for the heads-up Curt! For us it was right at sundown so easy to take a peek or two without blinding ourselves; looked like someone had taken a bite out of the right hand side of the sun.