Are you a non-American, in the military, or off discovering yourself in Asia? This map is for you:
What exactly is an annular eclipse, why are we being cheated out of a total eclipse?
Because we have pleased the gods satisfactorily, the sun will not completely disappear and turn day into pitch black night. The moon's orbit around Earth is elliptical, meaning it isn't always the same distance from us at any given time. A week ago during the "supermoon," the moon happened to be at perigee at the same time that it was full. A week from now we'll have a new moon, which is the only phase which can align to produce a solar eclipse, but because the moon will also be at apogee it will be too far away to block the entire diameter of the sun as it appears from Earth. Instead, a narrow ring of the sun's surface will still be visible around the moon as it crosses our view of the sun.
It will look pretty freaking sweet.
I've been planning a vacation out to the Grand Canyon for a while as a family friend is letting us borrow their motorhome (for free!
) and I only discovered this eclipse would be happening as I looked at the Park Service website for information about camping fees and such. Now I've pretty much forgotten about the rest of the vacation because this eclipse is going to be awesome.The National Park Service is really promoting this.
National Park Service website wrote:Grand Canyon National Park lies in the path of a rare annular eclipse of the sun, late in the afternoon of May 20, 2012.
The western 2/3 of the country will see at least a partial eclipse prior to sunset, but here at Grand Canyon we will see the moon pass fully between us and the sun, leaving only a ring of sun visible around it. (Unfortunately, at this point in its elliptical orbit the moon will be too far away to entirely block our view of the sun, so this will not be a total eclipse.)
Approximate Timing of the eclipse:
o 5:28 p.m.-partial eclipse begins
o 6:34 p.m. - annular eclipse begins
o 6:39 p.m. - annular eclipse ends
o 7:32 p.m. - sun sets while still partially eclipsed
Additional South Rim Activities
Before the eclipse, at 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., (South Rim only): NASA scientists will offer a free program about eclipses and the latest NASA research relating to the sun and moon. Seating is limited: free tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 8:00 a.m. on May 20 at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center.
o 8:45 p.m. until at least 11 p.m. or later: Public Star Party - free telescope viewing of the night sky - behind the Grand Canyon Visitor Center (Village shuttle buses run until 10 p.m.)
To view the eclipse with National Park Service rangers:
Check posted signs upon arrival in the park for location of assisted viewing activities.
On the South Rim, amateur astronomers and NASA scientists will share their telescopes with the public both during the eclipse and again after dark for a one-night "Star Party.
On both rims, at posted locations rangers will use pinhole cameras and/or "solar projection" to show additional images of the eclipsed sun, and will have a limited number of eclipse glasses to share.
I cannot think of a better place to view this than the Grand Canyon... but the Arches in Utah, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks, Redwoods in California, the Anasazi ruins at Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, or Canyon de Chelly... Lake Powell or Lake Tahoe with the reflection in the water.... these are all going to be amazing.
If you want to see the sun fully eclipsed as it settles below the horizon, head to Lubbock.
some website wrote:Is This Annular Eclipse Worth Seeing ?
Amateur Astronomers give this rule of thumb for solar eclipse viewing:
A total eclipse is worth flying anywhere to see;
An annular eclipse such as this is worth driving to or perhaps a short flight;
A partial eclipse is worth looking at.
Even the partial eclipse that most of the country will see should be spectacular. I haven't ever seen as much as one of those personally. Don't forget to check your weather conditions frequently because you won't see anything if it's cloudy, and NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN WITH NAKED EYE OR THROUGH SUNGLASSES, CAMERA VIEWFINDER, OR ANY FORM OF UNFILTERED MAGNIFICATION! or you won't see anything ever again.
Edit, additional vital information:
How to view a solar eclipse safely:
Viewing the partly eclipsed Sun without protective equipment will result in a retinal burn.
Depending on how long the retina is exposed to the Sun, this injury may cause permanent damage to vision.
There is no pain when the retina is being burned, and the resulting visual symptoms do not occur until at least several hours after the injury has occurred - by which time it is far too late.
http://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse/how.html
1) Find or make a long box or tube.
2) Cut a hole in the center of one end of the box.
3) Tape a piece of foil over the hole.
4) Poke a small hole in the foil with a pin.
5) Cut a viewing hole in the side of the box.
6) Put a piece of white paper inside the end of the box near the viewing portal.
Point the end of the box with the pinhole at the sun so that you see a round image on the paper at the other end. If you are having trouble pointing, look at the shadow of the box on the ground. Move the box so that the shadow looks like the end of the box (so the sides of the box are not casting a shadow). The round spot of light you see on the paper is a pinhole image of the sun. Do not look through the pinhole at the sun! Look only at the image on the paper.
If you want, you can use only two pieces of cardboard--one piece colored white to project on to, and the other with a pinhole. Hold up the pinhole as far from the screen as you can. Remember, the farther you are from the screen, the bigger your image.
Getting even more basic, you can use your own hands. Just hold up both hands with your fingers overlapping at right angles. The holes between your fingers make pinholes.
If you have some shade trees in your location, try looking at the images of the sun coming through the holes formed by the leaves. A piece of white posterboard is all you may need to have a great viewing session!
Buy some viewing glasses: http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=solar+eclipse+glasses&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=14504006850&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1108867734788681974&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&ref=pd_sl_8kacokgeza_b
Some designated viewing locations may also be loaning the glasses out for free.
DO NOT USE REGULAR SUNGLASSES.
You can also use welder's glasses (Shade 14 or higher) if you can find them.
Guy from another message board wrote:I'd like to chime in an point out that even if its a partial solar eclipse you should NOT under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES look directly at it. I am proof of that.
During a partial eclipse I was staying at a cabin on Keats Island. We canoed over to Gibsons for a beer run (I was already half buzzed) and the cashier mentioned there was a partial solar eclipse going on. So I went outside, covered my right eye and focussed on the sun. I only focussed for around 5 seconds which was long enough to filter out the glare and see the partial eclipse, but by then it was too late. I had a bright spot in my left eye which then turned into a dark spot the next day. I now have a blind spot in my left eye making it difficult to make out fine print. The blind spot is of course right smack dab in the middle, making it the worst possible place to get a blind spot.
Give me alcohol during a camping trip and I become a cautionary tale, one of many reasons why I tend to not drink much while camping.....
In the time it takes your eyes to focus enough to figure out what the heck is going on with the sun, you'll have stared at it for too long without eye protection. Just because you may have looked at the sun before without any damaging effects does not mean it's okay to do so during this eclipse. Don't stare at the sun, idiot!
How to photograph a solar eclipse:
http://www.mreclipse.com/SEphoto/SEphoto.html
Photographing an eclipse of the Sun is fun and easy. However, you will need to use a special Solar Filter to protect your eyes and your camera.
Solar eclipses can be captured easily with both film and digital cameras. The simpler Point and Shoot cameras have a non-interchangable lens with a single focal length. Better models are equipt with a 3x or larger zoom lens. The most versatile (and expensive) cameras are the 35mm SLR (single lens reflex) and its digital counterpart the DSLR (digital single lens reflex). These cameras allow you to replace the kit lens with any number of other lenses from wide angle to super telephoto. You can even connect an SLR or DSLR directly to a telescope so that the Sun fills the entire frame. No matter what kind of camera you own, one or more of the following techniques can be used be used to shoot a solar eclipse.
A solar filter must be used on the lens throughout the partial phases for both photography and safe viewing. Such filters are most easily obtained through manufacturers and dealers listed in Sky & Telescope and Astronomy magazines. These filters typically attenuate the Sun’s visible and infrared energy by a factor of 100,000. The actual filter factor and choice of ISO speed, however, will play critical roles in determining the correct photographic exposure. Almost any ISO can be used because the Sun gives off abundant light. The easiest method for determining the correct exposure is accomplished by running a calibration test on the uneclipsed Sun. Shoot a roll of film of the mid-day Sun at a fixed aperture (f/8 to f/16) using every shutter speed from 1/1000s to 1/4s. After the film is developed, note the best exposures and use them to photograph all the partial phases. With a digital camera, the process is even easier. Just shoot a range of different exposures and use the camera's histogram display to evaluate the best exposure. The Sun’s surface brightness remains constant throughout the eclipse, so no exposure compensation is needed except for the narrow crescent phases, which require two more stops due to solar limb darkening. Bracketing by several stops is also necessary if haze or clouds interfere on eclipse day.
More information about lens sizes and such is found at the above link. Since this is not a total eclipse, the portion about photographing partial eclipses is relevant to everybody, even within the fully annular zone, though the crescent phase portion will apply to the annular phase as well.
Finding out when the eclipse will occur at your location:
http://www.eclipse-chasers.com/tseCalculator.php
Here's an example for Dallas, Texas:
1st contact: 7:31:58.1 PM 9.6
2nd contact: 8:34:17.9 PM -1.1
Mid eclipse: 8:34:46.3 PM -1.2
3rd contact: 8:35:14.8 PM -1.3
4th contact: 9:31:48 PM -
Annular duration was calculated as 1 minutes and 3.7 seconds. When corrected for the lunar limb profile the duration changed to 56.9 seconds. Lunar limb calculated corrections subtracted 6.8 seconds of duration using the Kaguya/Herald lunar limb data set. The Sun will be about -1.2 degrees above the astronomical horizon for totality.
At your elevation, the apparent horizon is 0.7 degrees below the astronomical horizon making totality appear about -0.5 above the visual horizon.
In this case, negative degrees above the horizon means that the sun will have set before the peak of the eclipse arrives here, but the sun will begin eclipsing while still 9.6 degrees above the horizon. This calculator doesn't seem to account for Daylight Savings Time, so if you're in Central Daylight Time select Eastern Standard Time instead, etc for other time zones.
Here is another calculator: (with responses to location-specific questions in the thread)
http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/SolarEclipseCalc_Diagram.html
Remember that enormous global eclipse map near the top of this page, and the white map below the Albuquerque GIF with the red, green, and blue lines? Those blue lines running parallel to the annularity zone are marked with magnitudes. If you're within the line marked 0.8 for example, you'll see 80% of the sun's surface occluded by the partial eclipse. So from what I'm gathering, places like Dallas, San Francisco, Oklahoma City and Seattle all get the sun as a pretty narrow crescent and should have impressive shows even without the spectacle of a full annular ring. Something like this:
In Tennessee, Houston, etc it won't begin until shortly before sunset, so there won't be much time for the moon to move in and occlude the sun before it goes down. You might see something like this at sunset, especially the further west or north you go:
One more eclipse picture because I love eclipse pictures:
nice post
does someone mind telling me when our area would be able to view this happening? I am very excited for my kids to see this! Thank you in advance for any help or advice!!