May 20 eclipse details

[tim]

Here's a great map showing where to see the May 20 eclipse:
http://www.nature.nps.gov/features/ecli ... lletin.pdf

The full annular eclipse will be visible from the Tahoe Basin and the Northern Sierra.
Its the first annular or total eclipse in the US since 1994.

[TahoeJeff]

Thanks for the heads up on that, I will catch it for sure!

[maverick]

On a Sunday which is perfect. Thanks

[quentinc]

And on my birthday, which is perfect.
Where does one find solar viewing glasses?

[LMBSGV]

Thanks for posting this.

[bluefintu]

Hi All,

That day has been in my calender for months, all I know is I want to be somewhere high and clear. Top of Baldy,San Gorgonio or San Jacinto here in so cal, or Langley out of Lone Pine, I will play it by ear because of the smog or cloud coverage. Who else is going that weekend and where?

quentinc, I'm going to buy some arc welding lens from a welding shop, their about 2x5" black lens or a piece of safety glass (the replaceable ones) for arc welding.

Don

[tim]

Where does one find solar viewing glasses?

This is where I got mine from:
http://www.rainbowsymphonystore.com/eclipseshades.html
Cheap but there is a minimum order of 25 so hand them out to your friends! They also have filters for cameras and cheap telescopes.
It took about a week to get them by standard delivery (SoCal Is probably quicker) so don't leave it too late.

By the way the transit of Venus on the afternoon of June 5 will also be worth looking out for (though in that case you'll need a telescope). See it now or wait until 2117!

[tim]

Who else is going that weekend and where?

I'm going to Lassen. Now if they just get the road open maybe I can watch it from the top! But more realistically I think Hat Creek Rim is the best option.
I'm hoping to see some great photos from the desert southwest especially Bryce Canyon etc

[bluefintu]

Hey Tim,

Mt Lassen will be better than Bryce Canyon. It's supposed to better viewing further north. I would love to be in the Tahoe area. Hat Creek Rim, I don't know where that is.
Don

[tim]

Hat Creek Rim is just north of Lassen on the PCT. Its famous as the 25 mile stretch with no water, but more importantly you can drive up to the viewpoint on top of the ridge and then you have a completely open view to the west.

Tahoe would be good too, particularly on the NE side near Mt Rose

[LMBSGV]

Since we have commitments on both May 19 and May 21 and so can't get further away, we booked Sky Camp at Pt. Reyes. We're hoping the fog stays away.

Thanks for the link, Tim.

[SSSdave]

Although the eclipse will occur over the West, it is going to be at a rather low sun angle so one needs to be sure one's view is not blocked towards the west. Will peak at Eureka at 6:28pm PDT Sunday May 20 at 279 degrees azimuth that is 9 degrees north of due west at an altitude of 21 degrees with 0.936 occlusion. Thus not a total eclipse since the moon will not be close enough to Earth during this annular event. Moon starts blocking at 5:12pm PDT so it takes 70 minutes to reach peak. From Eureka it would be unblocked off over the Pacific. Over the Sacramento Valley, one will need to be north of the Sutter Buttes and Yuba City with it being most centered over the northern end of Lake Shasta reservoir. So at a minimum that is about a 3 hour 170 mile drive north from where I live meaning driving home late and then going to work the next morning.

A lot of people are going to be trying to photograph the eclipse and that takes some special gear and solar precautions. Just web search on "how photograph eclipse". Personally I'm not going to bother making any serious effort for pictures because that only becomes really interesting for a total solar eclipse. Otherwise contrast is too strong and ND4 plus filters are necessary. So will leave that to the expert enthusiasts with massive gear. If I do make the trip will build a simple pinhole camera box and probably photograph that haha.