Theguide to Eclipses

This page is takes a brief look at eclipses.

There are many excellent eclipse sites, some of which are shown on the links page. These are a first class source of all sorts of information about what to see, where to go, advanced photography techniques with exposure times, weather prospects, etc: For a good book about eclipses, try UK Solar Eclipses

1.What is an eclipse?

By an amazing coincidence, the sun and the moon both subtend roughly the same angle in the sky. When the sun, the moon and earth are directly in line, a total eclipse occurs. The area which experiences a total eclipse is called the 'Umbra' and the area that experience a partial eclipse is called the 'penumbra'.

2.What will I see?

There are a whole range of phenomena to look out for in an eclipse which can be divided into two categories:

Thing to see during the eclipse on and around the sun

Bailey's beads
Diamond ring
Corona
Chromosphere
Solar flares

Phenomena up to and including totality

Dramatic darkening of the sky
Planets and some stars become visible
Crescents under trees
Shadow bands
The approach of the earth's shadow
Strange 'silvery' lighting
Confused Birds singing
Drop in temperature
All round 'sunset' effect

3.How can I view the Sun?

The most important thing here is SAFETY.

NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN EVEN FOR A MOMENT.PERMANENT BLINDNESS MAY RESULT.

Eclipse viewers

The easiest way to view the eclipse is with. Eclipse 'Shades' which typically have a mylar covering for each eye. Mylar looks like 'Polo' wrapping paper and is actually metal coated plastic film. However if you can get them, then it is better to get shades where the covering looks more like a dark film. These give the sun a pleasing neutral orange glow unlike Mylar which makes the sun look blue and detracts somewhat from the visual spectacle.

They also don't suffer from reflections which can detract from the view with mylar 'shades'

Either way, your 'shades' MUST carry the CE mark.

This type can be obtained from 'Eclipse shades Ltd' Tel 01297 680400 or email them or check out their web site here

If you can get it, Welder's glass no 14 is a good alternative and also but gives a green tinge glow. Any old dark glass WILL NOT DO, you have to be sure it is the right material. If in any doubt, do not use it.

The danger of any material that appears to stop the visible light, is that the harmful Infra red radiation passes straight through without you knowing.

Projection methods

A very safe method of looking at the eclipse and one that allows other people in the vicinity to look at the view is to use a projection method. the simplest form of projection is to make a pinhole camera using an old cereal packet. To do this you simply make a pin hole in one side of the packet, and observe the projected sun on the opposite side of the hole:

Another method of projection is to use binoculars.(One side of the must be covered for safety reasons) The image of the sun is brought to a focus on a sheet of white card or something similar. This method gives a nice view of the sun, with the added advantage that one can see sunspots in the projected image. If the binoculars can be mounted onto a tripod, then this is to be preferred as it makes it easier to keep the image steady and to keep the view of the sun in the field of view as it moves across the sky. A more pleasing view will be obtained if the card is in an area of shadow, say in a box like the previous method, as this stops the image being 'washed out':

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