These aren’t precisely eclipse secrets. However, they are not all in one place, so I collected important advice here and included links to the original data.
Eclipse Safety
- Never look at the sun during an eclipse.
- But you can look where the sun was for the few minutes of a total solar eclipse.
- Some cameras with the correct filters can point at the sun without damage.
- Are the Eclipse glasses you used in 2017 or 2023 scratched or damaged? Are they ISO-12312 certified? I just bought 12 on sale for $10.
Here is more information from NASA on safely viewing a Total Solar eclipse. https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/safety/
Viewing
So, where are you going to view the eclipse from? How will you get there? And when do you need to be at your viewing site?
NASA has answers for that, too. NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio has created maps to help you plan. I clipped out a map piece and added highways to get my bearings. I drew the interstate highways in blue and the Texas state highways in red. The pink blob is where I plan to view the eclipse. The dark band is the total eclipse path.
NASA has listed 1:35 PM as the start time of the total solar eclipse for the circled area between San Antonio and Austin. The white lines indicate how long it will be dark. My pink mark is on the edge of 2 minutes and 3 minutes of darkness.
During the darkness, you can look for the planets and stars that NASA has marked on the maps. San Antonio, Austin, Killeen, and Temple have bright and exciting configurations in the sky that we can usually only see at night.
Be Prepared
- Know what natural hazards to be aware of – snakes, scorpions, heat
- Pack water
- Wear appropriate protective clothing
- Do you want chairs?
- Traffic will be heavy, so leave plenty of time to settle in your selected viewing location.
- Watch out for children – many schools are closed for the day.
Eclipse Photography
I looked at several articles on photography for this eclipse, but the most fun one was again at NASA: “Five Tips from NASA.” Another great article is “How to photograph a solar eclipse with a smartphone 2024 — 8 tips from an expert” at Space.com.
I said earlier that I bought a pack of 12 solar glasses. Did you know that these same glasses can be used on your phone’s camera? Just tape them in place with painter’s tape before and after the total eclipse. If you cut the glasses in half at the nose, they look much like the filters sold for phone cameras.
Practice ahead of time:
- Using the settings on your phone/camera
- Turn off flash
- Burst settings for darkness
- slow motion options
- low light settings
- Using a tripod
- Adding people and scenery to your photos
- Taping and un-taping the glasses or filter
- Using a remote shutter—I was unaware my Apple watch has a remote for my iPhone camera! A remote protects you from jiggling your camera or knocking over your tripod.
On to Another Adventure
We saw the Northern Lights in Norway earlier this year, and the solar eclipse will be here in Texas in April. I am finally learning some astronomy.
