2024 Solar Eclipse

This spring we were able to experience our first, but hopefully not last, total solar eclipse. Even having read lots about eclipse experiences, it greatly exceeded our expectations. 

We were lucky that my parents live in the path of totality, so we made early reservations to stay near them. After checking out the options and the eclipse coverage, we all decided that watching from their front yard was our best option. No traffic to deal with, plenty of access to food and drinks, cover if the weather turned on us. Plus we could have more comfortable chairs.

The weather forecast the days leading up to the eclipse weren't great with predictions of overcast skies ranging from 60-80% likely. But things started to turn for the better in the last few days. It was cloudy on the drive up and even a bit a rain as we arrived Sunday. However, Monday, the day of the big event, turned out to be a beautiful day. There were a few sparse clouds in the morning but they cleared by early afternoon and we had a gorgeous, sunny day. 

All the optics are ready and protected

The eclipse started around 2:00 pm so shortly after lunch we started to set up. I had my camera with a solar filter set up on one tripod. Sharon set up our birding scope on the other, also with a filter. We hadn't originally planned to use the scope but I didn't consider the size of the lens hood for my camera when I first bought a solar filter and just went off the screw-on filter size for the lens. That filter ended up being too small to fit, so I had to buy a bigger size. The first, smaller, one did fit the scope, so now we could watch up-close in real-time and get photographs. We also had glasses for everyone and laid a white sheet out on the ground. 

Some more friends joined us

At 1:53 the partial eclipse started with just the slightest sliver of the sun disappearing. As the next hour progressed we kept seeing more and more of the sun disappear behind the moon. For most of that time, the effects were hard to see if you weren't looking at the sun. 

Through the scope we could easily make out a couple of sunspots and use those to help track the progress of the moon. We also used a colander to project little sun shapes on the sidewalk. A great way to see the eclipse if you don't have your solar protection with you. 

Using a colander to project the partial eclipse

Somewhere around 90% coverage, we could start to notice changes in the quality of the light. It was detectably dimmer; kind of like at dusk but since the sun was still high above, it didn't quite seem like dusk. Sharon pointed out that it was dim but still a single point of light so we were casting sharp shadows. Not something you see at dusk or overcast days. Very quickly the light kept fading and we could see the automatic garage lights turning on around the neighborhood. 

In the final seconds before totality we could see the light quickly fading. On the sheet and the sidewalk we saw shadow waves as the dim light refracted through the atmosphere. We had read about this, hence the seemingly random sheet on the ground, but it was nothing like we imagined. Almost spooky in the dim light. 

We all removed our glasses as the last of the sun went behind the moon. Along the visible horizon we could see light, looking out beyond the extent of the moon's shadow to where it was still day. Seeing the shadow move over us and then being able to see the sun's corona was an amazing experience that is hard to put into words. 

Although totality lasted more than three minutes for us, it went by quickly. I tried firing off a lot of photographs but at first I had failed to remove the solar filter so all I got was blackness. Once I realized that, I did take several more but didn't do the bracketing that I had wanted to do. So the images turned out fine but I didn't get the range of corona that I was hoping for. 

Totality

In the video below, you can see the shadow approaching as things get dark, the lights turn on, and then hear us react to totality. It ends with the sunlight coming back up. Again, I didn't quite capture the images I was hoping for. This camera did automatic ISO adjustment. You can kind of see it getting noisier as it darken but not nearly the change in light that we actually experienced.

About 30-40 seconds before totality ends, we felt the winds pick up. You can hear that on the video too. It was a cool wind blowing in from the northeast, the direction the shadow was moving. During totality, we could feel the temperature drop. And as totality ended, we again saw the shadow bands. 

I also wanted to capture the changing temperature and light levels throughout the day. I built a simple data collector using an Arduino board, and digital temperature sensor and a photoresistor. I'll write more about how I built that in a companion post. Again, I didn't do a great job calibrating the photoresistor so it was maxed out for most of the time but you can definitely see the sudden drop in light levels and the accompanying temperature drop.

Temperature (red) and light level (normalized, blue) during eclipse

We stayed out and watched the sun slowly come back over the next hour. It was almost like the previous hour but in reverse. Except there was less anticipation as we had already experienced the amazing changes of totality.

In some birding circles it is common to celebrate seeing a new species of bird with a slice of pie. We built on that idea and had celebratory eclipse brownies that evening.

Eclipse Brownie

We are looking forward to finding a way to see another one. And if you haven't experienced one, it truly is on a different level than a partial eclipse.