The Solar Eclipse

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by dennis in se pa

Am I the only one who could care less? I guess being old and wrinkled has blunted my enthusiasm for some things. There was a serious, if not total eclipse when I was young, and I did not get what all the fuss was about back then. I wonder what havoc it will cause.

You cared enough to bring back an almost month old thread, just to remind us of how cool you were by not caring...

To answer your question, yes, you are the ONLY one who does not care. Do not let the eclipsed sunlight strike your skin, for you will be cursed with demons afterwards. Any children near you, make sure they stay locked in an interior room for the entire duration, because the rays will give them Lupus. Pregnant women? Put them in the basement, for the sun's horrible light will cause their unborn child to mutate into a vampire.

No, really! Stay inside and watch Matlock.

[Rickysa]

I'm trying to learn all there is about astrophotography in about one day...trying to get the telescope set up to track the sun using some app (and I don't know how a smart phone works!) and attach the camera.

Stoked!!

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by Rickysa

I'm trying to learn all there is about astrophotography in about one day...trying to get the telescope set up to track the sun using some app (and I don't know how a smart phone works!) and attach the camera.

Stoked!!

Is it an equatorial mount or an alt/az mount?

Equatorial mount, you can fake it to get plenty close enough. Rough align it to North, have the angle set to your latitude, then just grab and move the telescope tube around until the shadow it creates on the ground is the smallest, you will be pointed very close to the sun then. You can't really try to find it in the eyepiece, since it will be dead black everywhere until you get it on target (you have a big filter, right??)

Alt az, is a bit trickier...

[Rickysa]

Is it an equatorial mount or an alt/az mount?

You can set it up either way (if I remember correctly)...since I can't find Polaris due to trees, I haven't tried to set up the motor tracking function [I've had this 'scope for years (Meade EX-125)].

It's great for the moon, and I just got my sun filter yesterday, but it has been too cloudy to try it out. It has a neat computer program with a bunch of "pre-loaded" sights that the motor will take you to, but again, I've not been able to make use of it because I can't zero in on Polaris. Hopefully one of these apps (SKeye) will help.

[scottmandue]

Any reports on hotel rooms? I hear Portland OR. is booked and was asking $400 (normally stay there for under $100).

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by Rickysa

You can set it up either way (if I remember correctly)...since I can't find Polaris due to trees, I haven't tried to set up the motor tracking function [I've had this 'scope for years (Meade EX-125)].

Don't bother with that. Set it for equatorial, set the declination to 90 degrees, tilt it until you're at your latitude (within maybe a 5 degree range), then point it to North based on a compass.
PLENTY close enough for what you're doing.
Are you going to South Carolina? Actually, one way or the other, set it so that it's 35 degrees tilt. That means slightly more tilted than 45 degrees, since the pole is below 45 degrees for you.

Put on sun filter, use the hand controls to move it around until the shadow of the tube is a circle, and you're set. You'll need to adjust it every now and then over the 2 hours, but that's it.

Edit:
Also, that's A HUGE telescope for the Sun, remember that it will appear as big as the Moon when you look at it. You won't be able to see any corona, since the Sun will mostly fill the eyepiece. If you put a camera on it, it'll act like a 1900mm lens, and the Sun will mostly fill the picture.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

Any reports on hotel rooms? I hear Portland OR. is booked and was asking $400 (normally stay there for under $100).

I haven't checked, but my GF's friend is coming that weekend and there are no rental cars available, so she's driving.

We plan to ride our bikes the 35 miles to Mt Angel to watch. It will be interesting to see what the roads look like! Hoping we can just scoot around the cars in the Worlds Largest Parking Lot!®

[Rickysa]

Are you going to South Carolina?

yep...middle of nowhere

Here is a guide I found re: focal length

[IMG][/IMG]


I left this error message up, as photobucket now wants $400/yr to post images....anyway around this (clueless computer guy, I am)?

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by IROC

So, the wife and were talking last night about taking the kids a little bit south of where we live to get in the path of totality, and so we pulled up the NASA map of the path to figure out where to go. Come to find out, my house is in the path. We should get about 1 minute, 30 seconds or so of total eclipse in my front yard.

Come on over!

Too close to the ex!

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Rickysa

yep...middle of nowhere

....

Where about? Was thinking about heading down to Columbia, then heading east on I26. Usually that stretch would be fairly desolate with lots of rural areas....but for some reason I think it might be a parking lot next Monday

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by Rickysa

I left this error message up, as photobucket now wants $400/yr to post images....anyway around this (clueless computer guy, I am)?

Right click on the image and click on 'save image as' and upload the picture to your computers picture folder then upload it to any website you want from there.

[Rickysa]

Where about?

Hell Hole road. yes really, Hell Hole.

I followed along the red line and found a spot down-east in the middle of an alligator swamp at a crossroads...google maps showed a small clearing at an intersection. Sun should still be pretty high at 2:45pm, but if we need to move around a little we will.

Taking my pick-up, some chairs, a tarp and a cooler...should be fun.

Traffic is going to an issue as I've been told I-95 may be packed, but back roads shouldn't be an issue. Mapquest says three hours, so we'll plan for more and just take it easy.

[Rickysa]

Are you going to South Carolina?

yep...middle of nowhere

Here is a guide I found re: focal length

[abisel]

I haven't seen it posted so here is an interactive link to the eclipse. Enjoy.

USA - 2017 August 21 Total Solar Eclipse - Interactive Google Map - Xavier Jubier

[widebody911]

[sammyg2]

I've seen eclipses before.
I've tried to get excited about this one. I really have. I've tried to convince myself it was important, that it was somehow a big deal.

So far no joy.

[Por_sha911]

Originally Posted by id10t

Actually, that is according to Native American Indians that believe that the earth sits on the top of a turtle.
The Flat Earth Society would say this is more accurate:

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

I've seen eclipses before.
I've tried to get excited about this one. I really have. I've tried to convince myself it was important, that it was somehow a big deal.

So far no joy.

I would bet that you've never seen a total eclipse.
If I had a dollar for every person who has said to me in the past 6 months "I've already seen one, it wasn't that special, why bother with this one", I'd have enough to pay off my trip.

Were you in Montana in 1979? Baja Mexico in 1991? Atlantic coastal city in 1970? Far Northern Canada in in 1963 or 1972? Venezuela in 1998? Central Europe in 1999?

If not, you haven't seen a total eclipse, which is why you don't think it's a big deal.

If you were not in one of these stripes, on that data, at that time, you have not seen a total solar eclipse, and you might not think it's a big deal.

[Rickysa]

1970 Mar 7 for me.

Not a total as we were a bit west, but I still remember making the pin-hole shoebox viewer.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

Any reports on hotel rooms? I hear Portland OR. is booked and was asking $400 (normally stay there for under $100).

Portland is north of ground zero. Only a partial there. And yes, local (Portland) TV here is all abuzz about traffic jams, all room prices being gouged, etc.

A link to Portland's CBS affiliate:

http://koin.com/tag/oregon-solar-eclipse/