Solar Eclipses

I've been fortunate to see two total eclipses of the sun and several partial eclipses.

I've also seen eclipses of the moon but my photos are pre-digital and I need to scan them.

Click on thumbnails for larger versions, and then on those for the actual photos (which are still not full resolution). The EXIF data gives the Pacific Standard Time and date.

11 August 1999

I traveled to Munich to see this. The day before I reconnoitered to find a decent location in open country but the day itself was cloudy. I drove around to try to find a clear spot but as the eclipse moved toward totality, the temperature dropped and the clouds disappeared.

My photos were taken with a 35mm film camera and a 400mm lens on a tripod. Afterward, I concluded I had spent too much time on photos and not enough simply experiencing the wonder.

Partial Eclipse 10 June 2002

I've seen several partial eclipses. If even a sliver of the sun shows, then it is too bright to look directly at it: you need solar glasses or telescope projection. Looking away from the sun, deep partial eclipses are like someone turned down a dimmer switch and are quite impressive.

Gaps between tree leaves act like pinhole lenses and you can sometimes see projections of the eclipsed sun. These were outside the building where I work in California.

24 August 2017

Learning from my trip in 1999, I decided to "just experience" this eclipse. I observed it from a rural location near Boise, ID and the experience was good, though marred by idiots setting off fireworks, and I was not in a sufficiently elevated location to see the moon's shadow advancing.

I couldn't resist a few photos, but I just used my point-and-shoot camera handheld. The emergence of the corona (first picture) is a true wonder. What's cool about the sunset effect (second picture) is that it encompasses the entire horizon.

Created with igal-wt plus some hacks by me