Half a billion people. That is the number of people in the US, Canada and Mexico that will have the opportunity to witness the partial solar eclipse on August 21st.  The actual number is impossible to pinpoint, being subject to a number of variables, not the least of which is the weather at any given […]

When viewing the solar eclipse, you are doing so with the best imaging system out there – the mammalian optical system.  Our optical system (eye, retina, optic nerve and brain) is the model by which digital cameras and lenses / telescopes form images and outperforms even the most expensive and fancy of equipment.  We can adjust […]

  The moon’s shadow will take approximately 90 minutes to travel from the Pacific (Lincoln Beach, OR) to the Atlantic (Awendaw, SC).  As it traces its path the shadow crosses four time zones and August 21st the day continues along its merry way.  In terms of local time, the 2 hours and 32 minutes of eclipse in Lincoln […]

As we inch toward the August 21st eclipse, the magnitude of the event is starting to become apparent.  Tens of millions of folks, if not close to a couple hundred million, from around the country and around the globe will be descending on the path of totality as it moves across the USA.  To handle the influx, […]

How rare is a total solar eclipse?  That is not an easy question to answer, especially when pinpointing the next total solar eclipse in a particular place.  When one looks at a map of a series of solar eclipses over any 100 year period, they appear to be a completely random event.  Some are partial […]

In our last post we took a look at methods to project an image of the sun and observing it indirectly.  These options are the safest for viewing the sun and lend themselves well to group observation.  The majority of eclipse chasers, however, will use films and glasses specifically designed for safe direct solar observation. Direct […]