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Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Positively Eclipsed - Times 3!

 by Mauverneen

Yes, I watched the eclipse yesterday. It was amazing! 

I tried to get a couple of photos, but I hadn't planned it out beforehand, so - I didn't get much. But I tried, so here it is anyway. The second one is the reflection of the eclipse on a white sheet, through a pinhole in a piece of cardboard. I still had my glasses from the last time.... the last time?

I have seen three eclipses of the sun! Odds are I won't see the next one. So below these two pics is a repeat of the 2017 blog about that eclipse.

You can just see it barely beginning


Viewed on a white sheet.

Monday, August 21, 2017, is the big eclipse. I have my glasses.
      I tried them out just this morning and everything was black - save for that little shining circle in the sky.
      I'm kind of excited. I remember the solar eclipse of 1963 when I viewed the eclipse with my head in a box. Really. Those of you who remember that eclipse probably did the same. I hear everyone is selling out of the glasses. You might want to get yourself a big box.
      You put a pinhole in one end of the box, off center so your head isn't in front of the hole. You can use a nail. On the opposite side of the box, line the inside with white paper or posterboard. Voila! Test it out, making sure you see a circle of light on the inside of the box in front of you.
I also found this video from NASA on how to make a viewer out of a cereal box. Same principle.
      https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/video/nasa-video-explains-how-to-make-a-diy-solar-eclipse-viewer/vp-AApSRR4
      In either case what you are viewing is a reflection of the eclipse. Very safe. Do NOT stare at the sun! You really can go blind.
      In case you are interested in some eclipse trivia did you know in 1935 there were FIVE eclipses? A partial solar eclipse occurred on February 3 and covered much of North America.  The other, partial eclipses, occurred on January 5th, June 30th, July 30th, and an annular eclipse occurred on December 25, 1935.
      And just for fun, here is a  comparison of two presidential couples viewing an eclipse. Calvin Coolidge was the 30th President of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. 
Donald Trump, sans glasses and standing beside first lady Melania Trump, looks up at a solar eclipse from a White House balcony on Aug. 21, 2017. (presidential photos from public archives)

As always, words and photos are my own, and require permission to reprint.
                                       However, feel free to share the blog in it's entirety. In fact, I encourage it!
  Interested in photo prints? Contact me! maureenblevins@yahoo.com

and visit my website: http://mauverneen.com