How To: Safely observe a Solar Eclipse

NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN, ESPECIALLY THROUGH A TELESCOPE, BINOCULARS OR A CAMERA WITHOUT PROTECTION. 
THIS CAN RESULT IN INSTANT BLINDNESS.

On Friday, March the 20th, 2015, there will be a solar eclipse visible in Ireland. More than 90% of the sun will be obscured by the moon making it is easily the best eclipse visible in Ireland since 1999, and the next decent one wont be until 2080! So this is a very exciting, and pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime, event! 

The eclipse will begin at 08.20, maximum will be at 09.24, and it will end at 10.32,* which makes it ideal for school groups wishing to observe this event. It might be nice to make pinhole projectors together in class on the Thursday, talk about what happens during an eclipse and make sure the students understand the safety aspects, then take the class outside together to view the eclipse on the Friday.

*Note: the above times are for Cork - you can check times for your location here. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are a number of ways to view this eclipse safely:

1) Projection

This is the easiest way to view a solar eclipse, and is an ideal way for school groups to all watch together.

The simplest projection that you can do is to poke a pinhole in a piece of card using a thumb tack or sewing needle, making sure the hole is as round and smooth as possible. Then hold it at arms length in front of a piece of paper. It will project a tiny image of the sun, which you can use to view the eclipse. The further away you hold the pinhole, the larger the image will be.

Pinhole projection of the sun.

You can also cut out a square in your card and tape a piece of tin foil to it, then poke a hole in that.

Tin foil taped to a piece of card, with a pinhole through which the sun is projected.

Another variation is to get a large cardboard box, put a pin hole in one end, and a piece of white paper on the inside. This is then held over your head, with the pinhole facing the sun in order to project an image onto the paper.

Eclipse projection box.

2) Eclipse Glasses

If you absolutely must look at the sun, the safest option is to get yourself a pair of eclipse viewing glasses. They are available online in many places, including First Light Optics, eclipseglasses.co.uk, and amazon.co.uk. These will unfortunately probably sell out quickly.

Through a pair of eclipse glasses, the sun is visible as an orange disc.

The current issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine also comes with a free pair of eclipse glasses, and is available at all good newsagents. They are the glasses that I will be using.

BBC Sky at Night Magazine eclipse glasses.

3) Filters

Anyone wishing to view the eclipse through a telescope or binoculars, or wanting to photograph it, will need to either buy or make a solar filter. First Light Optics have filters and filter paper for sale here.

Buying a ready made filter can be pricey though, so this year I've decided to make a filter for my camera using a Thousand Oaks solar filter sheet. I will hopefully be posting a tutorial for making a filter later in the week.

Thousand Oaks solar filter sheet - soon to be a solar filter for my camera.

I have a filter for my telescope that I made using Baader AstroSolar safety film, and I've taken some nice shots with that (check them out here and here), but unfortunately I wont be able to drag my telescope out to my eclipse viewing spot, so some binos and the camera will have to do the job.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The most important thing with this eclipse however, is to get out and enjoy it!

We live in a time when the angular size of the moon is the same as that of the sun, despite the distance between them, and this is what makes total solar eclipses possible. However, at present the moon is pulling away from the earth at a rate of about 3cm a year, and there will come a time in the future when total solar eclipses are an impossibility, so enjoy it while you can!

A solar eclipse is something that many people never get to see, and to have one on our home turf is very exciting!

Now if you could all cross your fingers for clear skies, that would be great!!

I met at astronaut!

Last Saturday, I awoke at 5.30am, hopped on a train to Cork city, then a 3 hour bus to Dublin for a small adventure.

Commander Chris Hadfield was doing a book signing in Easons on O'Connell Street and I was determined to see him. He was incredible during his time on the ISS, sharing details of life in space with everyone via twitter and youtube. I am a huge fan, and so to Dublin I went.

For some reason, I was not expecting there to be many people at the signing. I figured maybe 50 or 100 people would show up to see an astronaut signing his book. This is Ireland after all, and I didn't think there was a particularly huge space fan-base here. 

Boy, was I wrong. 

I arrived in Easons at 11.10, and saw what looked like a fairly short queue so I had a little wander around the shop for a few minutes. I figured I should pick up a copy of the book, but I couldn't find one. I asked an assistant, who seemed awfully stressed and she told me that they were selling so fast, they had moved all the remaining copies behind the counter. I headed up and bought one, and the lady behind the counter told me they could no longer guarantee a signed copy to anyone not already queuing. So I went to the back of the queue where I was met by a security guard who directed me out the door to the actual back of the queue, which stretched several hundred people down the street! 

I was amazed to see so many people there. And such a mix of people. I was speaking to an elderly man for a bit, and there was a family with a little girl in the queue in front of me, and a family with two teenage boys behind me. And absolutely everyone was in such good form. Despite the pouring rain and freezing cold, and the fact that we were queuing outside for 2 hours, everyone was visibly happy and excited. It was brilliant to see. 

So 2 and a half hours after I arrived in Easons, I got to meet Commander Hadfield. He was super nice, very humble and gracious. I had to shake his hand, cos you know, when am I going to get to touch an astronaut again?! He said 'Thanks for waiting' and I said 'Thanks for coming to Ireland!' 

A super nice security guard took this photo for me. I think my excitement is visible. Also my damp coat.

All in all, it lasted about 30 seconds, but it was completely worth it. A great day! 

PS. His book is a great read. Highly recommended.

Happy 15th ISS!

We get so much interesting science, not to mention enjoyment, from the International Space Station, it seems only fair to wish it a Happy Birthday!

(Source)

The first International Space Station component, the Russian Zarya module, was launched in November 1998. In the 15 years since, NASA and its global partners have built a world class orbiting laboratory, establishing a continuous human presence in space since 2000 and paving the way for future exploration beyond. 

Gravity! *Potential Spoilers*

I've now seen Gravity in the cinema twice, in both 2D and in 3D. It is awesome. Stunningly beautiful to watch, and pretty much non-stop action from start to finish.

Obviously, a certain amount of artistic licence is taken, and the film is not 100% realistic. I was so caught up in the story that most of the inaccuracies went over my head, but the one I noticed was, during the crying scene, when Sandra Bullocks tears did a sort of sweet, gently floating off her face thing.

I remembered a video Commander Chris Hadfield did showing how crying in space really works...

...And it was nowhere near as sexy as Sandra made it look! 

#WaveAtSaturn Part 2

Back in July, I posted about #WaveAtSaturn. On that day, we were given advance warning, for the first time ever, that a spacecraft would be photographing the Earth at a certain time. All over the globe, many people went outside to wave towards Saturn, where the Cassini spacecraft would be. The image from that day is now viewable online, and it's a beauty!

(source, hi-res)

A collage was made with the many photos submitted using the wave at Saturn hashtag too. It's pretty nifty!

(source, hi-res)

Very cool to see so many people getting involved!

#WaveAtSaturn

Wave At Saturn is currently happening! Quick, run outside and look up! You are being photographed from 900 million miles away! 

When We Left Earth

This is a very cool documentary series, consisting of 6 parts, looking at American human spaceflight. Well worth checking out...

You can find the other parts here: two, three, four, five, six.

That's my Saturday sorted!

Fireworks

During yesterdays Independence Day festivites in San Diego, a computer error caused 20 minutes worth of fireworks to go off in less than 20 seconds.

(Source)

This video is pretty crazy too.

Probably an expensive mistake, but it looked very cool!