May 20 annular eclipse

bobskiing · Joined: 08 Dec 2004 Posts: 2793 Location: Bay Area

So, 2 months from today, Sunday May 20, maximum eclipse at about 6:30 PM PDT (later mountain time), the sun gets eclipsed by the moon.

Within the blue lines on the interactive NASA map below, we'll get a solar ring around the moon (no, not a solar corona, you need a total eclipse for that); outside the blue lines you'll get a crescent sun (the whole western half of the US will get a significant partial eclipse). Around northern CA and northern NV, the sight-line will be about 10 to 15 degrees north of west, 15 to 20 degrees above horizontal (near sunset). More towards Utah and New Mexico, the sun/moon will be nearly setting at the time of maximum eclipse.

Bring some aluminized mylar (light filtered by actual metal content); looking through at least two layers of that is considered somewhat safe. General weird atmospheric lighting is, to me, the real treat of solar eclipses. Camera gear and all that is optional; just go and enjoy it.

Links:
NASA map
intro video
Brit eclipse site
one more

For locations, I'm thinking about:
- Andesite Peak: a short hike from the Castle Peak exit near Donner Summit. Good sight-line, probably won't be so crowded as to max out parking, but it may be a good idea to pick up a Sno-Park permit in advance as a lot of places don't sell them into May.
- Peavine Peak, north of Reno: This is my alternate if the Sierra has too much cloud cover. Unfortunately, this may turn out to be a popular spot; parking capacity along that dirt road probably won't be up to the job. I'm thinking about less obvious Nevada locations with decent westward sight lines.

Tele Till You're Smelly · Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 8:15 pm Post subject:

thanks for the heads-up- gonna order some viewing glasses (looks like you can get them cheap, a pack of 5 for $6)

So (and I'm just learning this myself now)- an annular eclipse is basically a total eclipse when the moon's apparent size is slightly smaller than the sun's so a ring of the sun is still visible. But more rare than a partial exclipse, and is a pretty big deal for those of us in the path of it, from northern CA/SW OR to north Texas!
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bobskiing · Joined: 08 Dec 2004 Posts: 2793 Location: Bay Area

Dave n' Nancy · Joined: 08 May 2007 Posts: 105

So it looks to me as though it will start about 5:15 here in Nor Cal, is that right ? PST = (UT - Cool

+ 1 for Daylight Savings Time. 00:15 -8 would be 24 - 8 = 16 +1 + 17:15. (-12 = 5:15 PM)

bobskiing · Joined: 08 Dec 2004 Posts: 2793 Location: Bay Area

Yes, PDT is UT minus 7 hours, so in CA the partial phase begins at 5:15 PDT, getting to maximum at about 6:30. The Brit link in the first post has times and stuff for various US cities if you scroll way down the list.

gdaut · Joined: 01 Mar 2005 Posts: 2074 Location: Utah

Baaahb · Joined: 07 Jan 2005 Posts: 15750 Location: Ponderosa

Off highway 341 to Virginia City and Monitor Pass are two other possibilities east of the main Sierra range if cloud cover is an issue. Also might be a good time for a trip to central NV.
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bobskiing · Joined: 08 Dec 2004 Posts: 2793 Location: Bay Area

Considering the cloud cover factor, I'm now thinking more about a lower-foothills plateau east of Red Bluff, around where a chunk of FS land sticks out westward. (And I suppose the low-hanging fruit for central valley locations with a decent westward view would be Oroville Dam, but personally I'd rather drive a bit farther to be, like, anywhere but Oroville.)

One of the eastside spots I was looking at is the peaklet a mile or so due east of the 395/70 junction; a dirt road appears to go to within a 20-minute scramble to the top. Good sight-line, far enough east of the Sierra, and there'd be no one there. Probably a good sight-line (through Sierra Valley) from a couple miles south of that peaklet without even having to go up a hill.

polemonium · Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 7:14 pm Post subject:

IME a good way to view partial eclipses is to project them with a pinhole. Take a long cardboard tube or box, put foil pinhole at one end, put a sheet of paper at the other, and cut out a viewing slot near that end so you can look in at the paper screen. Like this: http://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse/how.html

aqua_toque · Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 9:58 pm Post subject:

Tele Till You're Smelly · Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 2:26 pm Post subject:

Sierra Fred · Joined: 07 Dec 2004 Posts: 289 Location: in the moment

Hey Bob, What happened to the Lassen idea?

Roads not plowed to get the good west view?
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polemonium · Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 6:50 pm Post subject:

bobskiing · Joined: 08 Dec 2004 Posts: 2793 Location: Bay Area

bobskiing · Joined: 08 Dec 2004 Posts: 2793 Location: Bay Area

Bump. Get out there and check it out, 6:30ish pacific time, check your local listings. I fixed some wrong info in my OP; not as low on the horizon as I'd originally said in CA/NV. It's looking reasonably clear in most places, coastal fog belt notwithstanding. Enjoy.