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Eclipses - BS, unless you know a song!
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Subject: Eclipses - BS, unless you know a song! From: Penny S. Date: 28 Jul 99 - 12:47 PM Our government is now telling us we must not look at the eclipse in a fortnight time, even in totality, we must stay indoors and watch on TV. They say that eclipse viewers (mylar or polymer) are not safe. I hate being nannied. Has anyone out there any experience of major eclipses, and know how effective these things are. (OK, I know I could ask a bunch of astronomers, but I know what they would say. They're already opposing the govt and saying they're going to spoil it for everyone.) But here we have a group of people not selected for being eclipse watchers, so possibly random with regard to to them. Any one any thoughts? And are there any songs suitable for singing while it is going on? (I am going to be disruptive!) Penny |
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Subject: RE: Eclipses - BS, unless you know a song! From: annamill Date: 28 Jul 99 - 01:08 PM Penny, Can you tell me exactly when and in what area it will be seen in? I'm going to be disruptive too, if I can. I'll use smoked glass, unless someone has a better method. annap |
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Subject: RE: Eclipses - BS, unless you know a song! From: Bert Date: 28 Jul 99 - 01:17 PM a couple of dark (#12) welding glasses sandwiched together. Then there's the old box with a pinhole trick. Bert. |
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Subject: RE: Eclipses - BS, unless you know a song! From: Llanfair Date: 28 Jul 99 - 02:55 PM The eclipse will be seen best in Cornwall and from the channel. It would appear that there will be millions of small craft in the channel for this event, a bit like Dunkirk. EXCEPT.......the major shipping lanes will be open, a recipe for disaster if ever there was one. It's in two weeks or so, not sure of the date. We should see most of it from mid-Wales. Bron. |
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Subject: RE: Eclipses - BS, unless you know a song! From: Vixen Date: 28 Jul 99 - 03:11 PM As far as I know, the *ONLY* safe way to view it is INDIRECTLY, i.e. the pinhole in the box method. You poke a pinhole in a box, put a white sheet of paper on the inside of the side opposite the hole, and look at the image projected there. Anything else risks damaging your retina and/or optic nerve(s). I've used the pinhole trick for every eclipse I've seen, and it's amazing how much detail you get through a pinhole--you can see the clouds moving by, and the corona is impressive. My dad, when he was teaching, displayed an eclipse in his classroom by cutting a .5" hole in a window shade, aligning a reflecting mirror with the hole and the sun, and projecting the result on the projector screen at the front of the classroom, essentially turning the whole classroom into the box, with the students sitting between the pinhole and the paper. It was actually spectacular. WHATEVER YOU DO, PLEASE *DON'T* try to observe the sun directly. It really is bad for your eyes. Vixen, ex ophthalmic assistant tho' not exophtalmic. |
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Subject: RE: Eclipses - BS, unless you know a song! From: Peter T. Date: 28 Jul 99 - 03:15 PM "Total Eclipse of the Heart" -- Bonnie Tyler!!! on a more somber note (C#), eclipses are very dangerous because the surrounding is now dark, opening up your iris. It is worse than seeing the sun briefly in full daylight, because you stare, and don't automatically blink, even through sunglasses. You can get permanent retinal burn, and that will give you big versions of those little spots one can see occasionally, if your had any minimal sun damage in the past (as I did). The spoilsports are right in this case, IMHO. yours, Peter T. |
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Subject: RE: Eclipses - BS, unless you know a song! From: rich r Date: 28 Jul 99 - 06:33 PM A variation on the pinhole trick, put a small telescope of binoculars on a tripod. Pint it in the general direction of the sun and move it around until you project the image on the ground, a wall, a piece of paper etc. Under no circumstances should you look through the device. I think the projected image is a little sharper than the primitive pinhole and with binoculars you get two of them. rich r |
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Subject: RE: Eclipses - BS, unless you know a song! From: Penny S. Date: 28 Jul 99 - 07:25 PM Thanks for the advice. Smoked glass is definitely not OK, nor exposed film, I know that. I got advice from Greenwich, to make sure that viewers weren't damaged, and not to stare, but look and then glance away. I've got tubes set up to project through a pinhole, but i also have mylar viewers. One side of the argument, using the example of a man who looked at a partial eclipse with the naked eye, is totally opposed to any viewing at all, and the astronomers are saying that there have been no cases of damage from using mylar over many years. I'm afraid that Americans won't have a chance with this one, unless over here or somewhere else on the track for a visit. See the second clicky thing for map. There are other sources on the web, but I just picked a few. An eclipse site Another eclipse site HREF=http://www.kidseclipse.com/kidseclipse/index.htm>Still another eclipse site Penny |
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Subject: RE: Eclipses - BS, unless you know a song! From: Penny S. Date: 28 Jul 99 - 07:27 PM Sorry, that's Penny |
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Subject: RE: Eclipses - BS, unless you know a song! From: Penny S. Date: 28 Jul 99 - 07:32 PM Perhaps these will be correct:
An eclipse site Where did all those L's go? Penny |
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Subject: RE: Eclipses - BS, unless you know a song! From: Penny S. Date: 28 Jul 99 - 07:34 PM Someday I'll get it right. Joe's not about at the moment, is he? Penny |
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Subject: RE: Eclipses - BS, unless you know a song! From: Duane D. Date: 28 Jul 99 - 11:42 PM Another alternative to the *pinhole* is to wrap your thumb around your folded in index finger forming a small circle. Point the *circle* toward the sun and watch the eclipse on the ground at your feet. It works even better if you're standing on a cement sidewalk. |
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Subject: RE: Eclipses - BS, unless you know a song! From: MudGuard Date: 29 Jul 99 - 02:54 AM The eclipse on August the 11th will also be visible in the southern part of Germany (Stuttgart -> Munich). Do not use smoked glass!!! A cousin of mine has lost 70% of his sight on the left eye because he did at the last partial eclipse 2 or 3 years ago! Use one of the suggested projection methods (pinhole or telescope)!!! |
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Subject: RE: Eclipses - BS, unless you know a song! From: Craig williams AKA Long John Skivee Date: 29 Jul 99 - 12:19 PM I have photographed several eclipses over the past decades. A Total Solar eclipse is one of the most beautiful events in nature... however proper caution must be used. Mudguard is correct about the smoked glass being dangerous. Welders goggles may be used IF IF IF the glass has a neutral density of at least 4.6 and is a UV and IR filter... if you don't know what that means , don't use them. There is nothing dangerous about using professionally made Mylar viewing filters according to directions. Don't make your own out of potato chip bags. You won't know anything about the safety of that particular plastic. Pinhole projectors may be very easily constructed from cardboard mailing tubes. Punch a small (2mm ish/ 1/10th inch ish) hole in the top end cap. Cut a viewing port at the bottom end large enough to see the inside of the bottom end cap. this should be right at the bottom end. I usually cut a sort of cathedral arch that opens along the side of the tube. Tape some white paper on the inside of the end cap to give you a brighter image of the partial phases. snap the end back in and there's your safe viewer. Don't look through the pinhole at the sun. view the projected image of the sun on the endcap inside the tube. There is no danger in directly viewing the Total phase of the eclipse, as the danger comes from the Infra-red and Ultraviolet light given off from the solar disc (which is now blocked by the moon. As Soon as you see the flash of light from the re-emergance of the solar disc, it's time to stop looking...NOW! Keep staring and you Will be in trouble, but a second's reaction to look away won't expose you to danger. The thing to keep in mind here, is the use of REASONABLE CAUTION. Aware adults can view the eclipse safely and allow themselves to see one of the most beautiful sights in nature. Just be prudent. I've tried to keep this short... no luck Anyone who would like to contact me about this subject can EM me directly at: Skivee@pyrates.com |
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Subject: RE: Eclipses - BS, unless you know a song! From: Bert Date: 30 Jul 99 - 10:15 AM take a look at this http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=000289242712046&rtmo=kJCAC33p&atmo=YYYYYYbp&pg=/et/99/7/30/necl30.html Bert. |
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Subject: RE: Eclipses - BS, unless you know a song! From: Penny S. Date: 30 Jul 99 - 10:32 AM Thanks for the link, Bert. That goes over a lot of what Radio 4 had put out. Except for repeated reports of astronomers saying there had not been a case of damage using mylar. Which has to be balanced with the places eclipses have been, and who has been using the viewers. This eclipse will be covering the greatest area of land, and the most densely populated areas of any this century (or thereabouts). Penny |
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Subject: RE: Eclipses - BS, unless you know a song! From: Penny S. Date: 30 Jul 99 - 10:34 AM Sorry, did my ususal forgetting half of what I was going to say - having gone over the R4 stuff, it extended it, and is more reassuring, though the way that the group I will be with may be planning to view in a way which is not wholly conducive to not staring. ie, sitting in chairs as at a cinema. Penny |
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