A lot of people may have experienced the eclipse today. The zone of totality skimmed across the western edge of Europe taking in Iceland and Spain, but it only got to about 90% where I am in the UK. The last time we got that close was in 1999 and I remember everyone at work going outside to see it. This time it was around 7pm, but due to train issues I did not have a lot of time to prepare when I got home.
I have done this before so I knew pretty much what I needed. I have had this little telescope for many years. Of course you should not stare at the sun at all and looking through a telescope without special filters can blind you, but it is safe to project an image. The card blocks some light to make the image clearer. You can line it up by the shadow of the telescope. I saw some articles saying that the telescope can get really hot, but it seemed to be okay even though it was not really made for this.
I had to keep adjusting as the sun went down. If I get the focus right then it is fairly clear. I thought I could see sun spots at times.
This was about as far as it went. The light definitely changes even though it is still light. My neighbour had a welding mask to watch it. The sun does look fairly small through that.
I checked my solar panels and energy production went right down as you would expect. The energy companies were prepared for this as they get a lot of their power from solar these days. My supplier Octopus asked people to use less appliances for a couple of hours. If you did cut your consumption you can get a free hour at the weekend.
I also have an account with Axle who will pay me a nice amount for exporting from my battery in the same period. I allow them to control the system so I do not have to do anything.
Tomorrow we are expecting highs of 35C and we have no A/C at home. It is only due to stay hot for a couple of days, so it is not too bad really. I know other places have it much worse. We may actually get some rain next week and we could really do with it.
Stay well and take care of your eyes!
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Well done Steve that's a great setup and you got great images.
I had my dslr on a tripod ready to go but unfortunately I didn't have a solar filter plus by the time it happened the sun was obscured by trees just like @meesterboom
I've got a great video from the 1999 eclipse.
I might upload it on ecency...when I find it.
I don't have any filters, but it worked out okay. I know a lot of people were trying to get the glasses at the last minute and found they were all gone. It's not like this has not been forecast for a long time.
I thought I had a solar filter but it turned out to be a uv filter. There's another eclipse in Egypt next year?
It was a bummer it happening in the evening, if it had been half an hour earlier I would have been able to see it!
I quite enjoyed it despite it being mostly behind a bank of trees from my garden!
I got to say it was a little bit exciting just getting setup for it. Even though I didn't get the shot it still a fun experience.
Yeah, I was excited out in the garden as it happened. Tried to get the kids gee'd up for it but they were like, meh. Lol
My son got some great photos out in Bedfordshire.
He's sitting in his garden waiting for the perseids tonight. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. 😂👍
Ooo, that is good.
I love a meteor or two!
As long as they are tiny and nowhere near colliding with earth lol
Aye definitely!
I had a clear view from the garden. I've seen a few like this now and it's always something special. I would like to see a full one some day, but will have to travel for that.
Did you see the last one, I think it was '99, I even made my own viewer for that. It was awesome
Yes I did. I took some pocket binoculars to work so I could project it. I'm taking no chances with my eyes.
Exactly, there was a partial one a few years ago and someone in my work kept staring at it. I was like- dude behave!!
Nice work, wish I'd had a telescope sitting around, looks like it was a grand job!
Cloud cover in NI in the east was shocking so lot's of people didn't get to see too much apart from the light dimming through the clouds, I did have a friend that somehow managed to grab a shot between the clouds, looks kindy spooky, like something out of a Halloween story book lolz!
Note:
Warned them attempting to grab a pic this way might risk damaging the sensors in their mobly camera but went ahead anyway. TBF you can always get another mobly, but you can't get another eclipse!
I saw someone online saying you could use your phone, but others said the sensor might suffer so I didn't risk it. Really you need the proper gear, but it's not like this happens too often and my setup lets me see it anyway. We had clear skies so it worked out well.
So that's what the projection looks like! Cool!
I was well prepared and got some glasses a few weeks ago. It was really amazing, especially when I put them on the first time and saw the sun so clearly. The maximum eclipse didn't go as dark as I thought it would, even though we had about 93% coverage, but it was still an extraordinary experience
You probably had it a little better than us, but I was not going to travel this time. I hope it makes people appreciate science more.
Great pictures - I've used this method to see sunspots. Yesterday, I watched Iceland's total eclipse on TV.
It's going to be 30º here today - the 'coolest' part being the western tip of the peninsula.
I think I could see sunspots. Need to get the shading right to get a clearer image, but it was fun.
That is pretty awesome. I am glad you got to "see" it!
I couldn't resist trying even though it ended up being a bit of a rush. I find astronomy fascinating, but never found time to get deeply into it.
I'm the same way with astronomy!
Really interesting to watch this natural phenomenas happening. It’s incredible how these things happen in such a "planned" way, as if they had been coded.
It all just happens thanks to physics etc. It's a coincidence that the Moon just covers the Sun.
@steevc Youve got the good view there . Nice set up and telescope.
Have to make the most of these opportunities.
You prepared well. We could see it here, too, but unfortunately, I didn't manage to do it.
!BEER
Me encantaría haberlo visto ..🥹🇻🇪
I forgot about it today, lol. I'm not sure if it was visible from my country. I heard that some planets will be aligned around sunrise on August 13.
Certain events are rare, so you need to be in the right place/time. I got lucky this time.