Solar Eclipses
Historically, Eclipses predicted death & destruction by angry Gods
The word eclipse comes from ekleipsis, the ancient Greek word for being abandoned.
Eclipse Myths & Superstitions
• Vietnam: Giant Frog Devours Sun
• Ancient China: celestial dragon eats Sun – Chinese word for an eclipse, chih or shih,
means to eat.
Eclipse Myths & Superstitions
• Vikings: Wolves of Midgard chase and devour the sun
Wolves of Midgard pursue Sol and Mani in Norse mythology
Eclipse Myths & Superstitions
• Ancient Hindu mythology, Rahu – Demon Rahu beheaded by Vishnu for capturing and
drinking Amrita, the gods' nectar. Rahu's immortal head flies off into the sky, but he had not yet swallowed so his body dies. In anger, he chases and occasionally swallows the Sun causing an eclipse, but it falls through and reappears.
In Bangkok, Thailand
Rahu eating sun at temple in Nakhon Chaisi, 65 km from Bangkok
Eclipse Myths & Superstitions
• Traditionally, people in many cultures get together to bang pots, pans, and drums, and make loud noises during a solar eclipse.
It is thought that making a noise scares away the demon causing the eclipse.
It is always successful!
Native Peoples
Native Peoples
• Tewa tribe from New Mexico: a solar eclipse signaled an angry Sun who had left the skies to go to his house in the underworld.
• Navajo: Cosmic order and balance. Stay inside with their family, singing special songs, and refraining from eating, drinking, or sleeping. Do not look, as this disrupts one’s balance with universe.
• Inuit: Sun goddess Malina walked away after a fight with Moon god Anningan. A solar eclipse happened when Anningan managed to catch up with his sister.
• Batammaliba, from Benin and Togo in West Africa: eclipse of the Sun meant that the Sun and Moon were fighting. Only way to stop them from hurting each other was for people on Earth to resolve all conflicts with one another.
Modern Day Superstitions
Modern Day Superstitions
• Fear of solar eclipses still exists today. Many people around the world still see eclipses as evil omens that bring death, destruction, and disasters.
• A popular misconception is that solar eclipses can be a danger to pregnant women and their unborn children. In many cultures, young children and pregnant women are asked to stay indoors during a solar eclipse.
• In many parts of India, people fast during a solar eclipse due to the belief that any food cooked while an eclipse happens will be poisonous and unpure.
• Not all superstitions surrounding solar eclipses are about doom. In Italy, for example, it is believed that flowers planted during a solar eclipse are brighter and more colorful than flowers planted any other time of the year.
Historical Solar Eclipses of Note
Historical information credit: “The 8 Most Famous Solar Eclipses in History”, By Tia Ghose, Senior Writer, Live Science | February 13, 2017
Great American Solar Eclipse 2017
Credit: Total Solar Eclipse 2016 – NASA TV
• 1st Total Eclipse visible in US in nearly 4 decades • August 21, 2017 • 70-mile wide shadow of moon from Oregon to South Carolina
Oldest Recorded Eclipse, 2134 BCE
• Babylonians & Ancient Chinese could predict eclipses as early as 2500 BCE.
• China: Eclipses associated with health & success of emperor. Prediction required to avoid danger.
Legend: 2 Astrologers, Hsi & Ho, were executed for failing to predict a solar eclipse, believed to be the one that occurred on Oct. 22, 2134 BCE.
Babylonian Substitute Kings Earliest Babylonian record: May 3, 1375 BCE
Early Chinese Eclipse, 1302 B.C.
Credit: Ed Lemery/Shutterstock.com
• Blocked out sun for 6 min 25 sec on June 5, 1302 B.C. • Sun was the symbol of the emperor, so an eclipse was seen as a warning to the leader
• After an eclipse, an emperor would eat vegetarian meals and perform rituals to rescue the sun.
• Inscription on ancient turtle shell fragments that discussed the eclipse also stated, “Three flames ate the Sun and big stars were seen”.
An annular solar eclipse seen from Xiamen, China, on May 20, 2012
Peacemaker Eclipse, 585 BCE
• According to the Greek historian Herodotus, a solar eclipse in 585 BCE stopped the war between the Lydians and the Medes, who saw the dark skies as a sign to make peace with each other.
• Note that Greek Astronomer Hipparchus used a solar eclipse in 189 BCE to determine distance to Moon within 11%.
Hipparchus in his observatory in Alexandria
The Crucifixion of Jesus, 29-33 CE
Credit: Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience
• Christian gospels say that the sky was darkened for hours after the crucifixion of Jesus.
• A Variety of interpretations at the time viewed the darkening as either a miracle, or a portent of dark times to come.
• Two total solar eclipses of interest: • 1m 59s in 29 CE • 4m 6s in 33 CE
Birth of Mohammed
* Mecca
The Koran mentions an eclipse that preceded the birth of Mohammed. Historians tied this to a total eclipse that lasted 3m17s in 569 CE. Annular eclipse on Jan. 27, 632, coincided with death of Mohammed’s son, Ibrahim.
King Henry's Eclipse, A.D. 1133
Credit: Neil Thompson, Flickr
Reading Abbey, where King Henry I was interred
• When King Henry I of England, the son of William the Conqueror, died in A.D. 1133, the event coincided with a total solar eclipse that lasted 4 min 38 sec.
AD 1257
total solar
eclipse path
AD 1259
total solar
eclipse path
Migrations out of
Mesa Verde Region
AD 1260-1285
* Santa Clara
Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde
* Mesa Verde
Mesa Verde Eclipses 1257 & 1259
Chaco Canyon Petroglyph “Piedra del Sol”
Discovery of Helium, 1868
August 18th, 1868 by French astronomer Jules Janssen
Einstein's Eclipse, 1919
During 1919's epic eclipse, in which the sun vanished for 6 minutes and 51 seconds, scientists measured the bending of light from the stars as they passed near the sun. The findings confirmed Einstein's theory of general relativity, which describes gravity as a warping of space-time.
While the ancients viewed eclipses as signs of great acts of God, physicists viewed the 1919 solar eclipse as a triumph of science.
One of Edington’s photographs of the 1919 eclipse from his 1920 publication.
Confirmation of General Relativity from bending of starlight during a total solar eclipse
First shown in May 1919 by Arthur Eddington. Subsequent verification in 1922 by Astronomers from Lick Observatory, and later by many others.
Sun Cross-section
The Sun In Visible & far-UV light
Solar Prominence
Between two and five solar eclipses occur every year. On average, there are about 240 solar eclipses each century.
Moon’s orbit inclined to Earth’s by 5 degrees
If moon is above or below line between Sun and Earth, then no eclipse
From space a solar eclipse looks like a circle of darkened sunlight moving across the earth
Eclipse Shadow of Io on Jupiter
Relative sizes of Sun and Moon affect whether a solar eclipse is total or annular
Perigee Perihelion Apehelion Apogee
Distance (km) 356,930 147,096,200 152,003,400 406,500
Because the Moon’s orbit is inclined 5.10 to the plane of the ecliptic, during most of the times of new- and full-Moon the Moon is above or below the plane and no eclipse can occur
Annular Eclipse
Photo by Fraser Goff, NM, 2012
Sunspots before eclipse
2012 Transit of Venus, by Fraser Goff Venus
Sunspots
Partial Solar Eclipse
Total Solar Eclipse
Diamond Ring effect, showing flares & Prominences
Photo by Rick Wallace, 1991
Bailey’s Beads are parts of the photosphere that are visible through lunar valleys.
Total Solar Eclipse
Photo by Luc Viatour, 1999
Corona
Total eclipse sequence
Eclipse Sequence – Fraser & Kathy Goff
Fred Espenak – Total Solar Eclipse
(16’)
Eclipse Path 2017 GIF
Snapshot of eclipse 2017 shadow
Tracing 2017 Total Eclipse Shadow
Next Total Eclipse in USA: 2017
Interactive Google Map of 2017 Eclipse http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/TSE_2017_GoogleMapFull.html
Los Alamos: about 80% partial
2017 Eclipse from Santa Fe, NM
https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/usa/santa-fe
Maximum Eclipse 2017/08/21 at 11:45:44 am local (MST) time
Solar Filter or eclipse glasses required for entire eclipse in NM!
Partial Solar Eclipse
Solar Filter or eclipse glasses required for entire eclipse in NM!
Phases of Total Solar Eclipse
Wyoming August 2017 Eclipse
Path of Totality
About 2:15 duration, depending on distance from center line.
Eclipse Glasses
Enjoying the Eclipse Solar Filter or eclipse glasses required for entire eclipse in NM!
Use eye protection for all partial phases!
Replace grey welders glass with much darker #14 glass
Remove clear glass inserts to prevent internal reflections of sun.
Binoculars are great, especially if they have image stabilization
Canon stabilized binoculars
Solar filter – slip on preferred over screw-on types, so filter can be quickly removed for totality.
Number 14 welders glass in cardboard mount for binoculars without protruding objective lens tubes.
Projections and pinholes
You can project a telescope image onto a white card, or use a pinhole to create the eclipse shadow. Try using leaves of trees, colanders, or other objects, as well as cardboard with small hole punched in it, to view the Sun’s shadow.
Sol-Searcher uses this technique to point camera or telescope at the Sun
Eclipse Photography
Option 1: no photos
• The eclipse only lasts 2 minutes
• It is spectacular!
• Consider just enjoying it, perhaps with binoculars
Chick Keller – 1980 Eclipse
• 1980 Eclipse during flight over Somalia
• Heavily post processed with numerical radial filter
• Corona visible to 10 Solar radii
• Note large solar Coronal Mass Ejection (CME)
Chick Keller, 1980 solar eclipse off Somalia
Fraser and Kathy Goff
Eclipse photos and techniques
Cell Phone Photography
You will need a photo app that allows you to manually focus and set the exposure
Try to find interesting foreground
Dennis DiCicco, Sky & Telescope
Photographing Eclipse – Basics • Do NOT use flash! • Stock up on memory
cards and extra batteries!
• Charge Batteries • Practice! • Practice!
• Consider using motorized tracking mount with solar rate.
Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer iOptron Skytracker Pro
• Consider hanging water jug from tripod to enhance stability
Heavier tripod with Tracking Mount
Orion SkyView Pro • Very stable • Holds up to 20 lbs • GOTO accessory to find Sun, or
for other astronomy photography
• Camera Controller for time-lapse • GPS available
Example
If making time-lapse photos, you may want to secure your tripod legs to the ground.
Daytime align equatorial mount
• Can use Compass app, like Spyglass
• Can use planetarium app, like Sky Safari Pro
• Ensure you are aligning to True North (not Magnetic North)
• Place phone over polar axis and make sure it points to South Pole (thus, the screen is pointing to North pole)
Cameras
• Any camera or phone for eclipse progression, or scenic with Sun, or of your group – (better if use at least 4x telephoto)
• Close-up of sun/eclipse: – Long-zoom Compact Camera, with at
least 500mm tele (20x zoom)
– DSLR
Canon PowerShot G3 X
Sony RX 10 III with 600mm zoom
Canon PowerShot SX60 HS
iPhone 7 plus Vari-angle viewscreen important when sun is almost overhead!
DSLR Cameras with interchangeable lenses
Canon 7D II APS-C DSLR with 100-400mm tele (620mm equivalent)
• Need 500-1000mm telephoto • Crop-frame, such as APS-C, or 1” can use
less-expensive lenses • Vari-angle viewscreen critical • Can use 1.4x converter to magnify image
Canon EOS 80D DSLR with 400mm tele and 1.4x converter (900mm equivalent)
Angle finder
Size of image in various telephotos
(Full-frame equivalent telephoto length)
Eclipse Photography Equipment - 1
Equipment
• Hat
• Long-sleeve shirt
• Flashlights
• Camera w/ flip viewscreen, Or WiFi remote
• Lens 800-1000mm
• Motorized tracking mount – Portable battery
– GPS is helpful
– Astronomy or compass app for polar alignment
Cam Ranger Interface (Your camera may have built-in WiFi)
Live View
Exposure Settings
Magnify for focus
HDR-Timer-Bracketing
Eclipse Photography Equipment - 2
Note: • Slip on Solar Filter • Sol-Searcher sun finder • 600-1000mm lens • Tape for focus and zoom rings
Accessories
• HoodLoupe for screen
• BBQ Grill cover
• Bicycle lock
• Remote Control
• Battery Grip
• Tape
Eclipse Photo Procedure
1. Polar align mount with compass app
2. Connect camera to WiFi or remote
3. Place solar filter on lens
4. Find Sun with GOTO or Sol-Searcher
5. Focus using magnified view, then tape focus and zoom rings
6. Set White Balance to Daylight
7. Begin exposures
Consider “Solar Eclipse Timer” App
Detects your GPS location, local time, and then automatically sets itself for the eclipse times • 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th contact • Countdown to totality • When to take off & put on
filters/glasses • Countdown to when eclipse will
end. • Practice mode • Demo of actual eclipse recording
Example Eclipse Exposures • Use RAW image setting if you can; otherwise, LARGE FINE jpeg • Partial phases – FILTER ON
– Manual exposure: ISO 200 and f/5.6 with Solar Filter – Set Interval timer for HDR at 9 shots, @ 1/3-stop increment, starting at
1/200 sec. – Timer: As many sets as needed.
• Diamond Ring – HDR 3 shots @ 1-stop increment, starting at 1/250 sec
• Baily’s Beads – 1/8000 sec
• Note that without a Solar tracking mount, the Sun will move about 1 diameter in 2 minutes. Progression: with 35mm lens, interval ~5 min?
• Totality – FILTER OFF – HDR 9 shots @ 1-stop increment, starting at 1/30 sec (i.e., 8 sec – 1/8000
sec). – Movie mode for remaining eclipse – USE BINOCULARS – LOOK AT ECLIPSE WITH EYES!
Without tracking mount, limit longest exposure to 500/(lens length), or sun’s motion will blur image.
Exposure Suggestions – B&H Photo
See also: http://www.mreclipse.com/SEphoto/SEphoto.html
Remove all filters for Totality!
Plan on post-processing photos to get the most detail
1991 Solar eclipse, by Fred Espenak • 14 individual photos at different exposures • Aligned, stacked and combined in
Photoshop
Individual exposures of 1991 eclipse Dynamic range of eye: 1,000,000:1; camera: 1000:1
Total Solar Eclipse 21 August 11:15 am, Riverton, WY
Don’t worry about weather
Ancients often considered an eclipse to be a bad omen
Astronomers consider an eclipse to be a wonderful opportunity to study the universe and see it in action!
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