Monday morning, August 21, 2017, dawned at my CATE site (near Mitchell, Oregon) clear and sparkling.
We finalized the setup of our CATE equipment as well as set up two telescope mounts for personal digital color photography.
We then gathered a small crowd of about 25+ people for a short talk about why a solar eclipse and what to look for, listen for, and feel during the partial and total phases of this eclipse.
We distributed solar eclipse glasses to everyone and trained them on their use, and when and when not to use binoculars.
Then it was on to the serious work of final scope alignment and gathering of essential data for the CATE experiment. Meanwhile the crescents in the shadows due to the crescent Sun/Moon was interesting...
Poking holes in cardboard and then letting the sunlight fall on white paper was fun!
As the partial phases progressed my wife was taking temperature reading for the GLOBE project, to help track the temperature changes, as well as taking some video and still shots.
As totality neared trouble appeared in the sky... smoke from a forest fire to the south-west of our location (about 30+ miles away). This was disheartening as we wanted the pristine skies we had experienced since the had arrived on the Wednesday prior.
As the partial portion of the eclipse progressed, we felt a slight breeze and a definite cooling down, mostly due to the loss of the Sun's heat. But regardless of the conditions we were going to have a totality
event all the same. Here are some images of the progress of the Moon over the Sun.
I was able to image the sunspot group AR2671, which by then had crossed the center line of the Sun's surface. Here you will see the Moon cover up the sunspots over a period of about 15 minutes (I think)
As totality neared I had to give 100% of my attention to the CATE project and do my best to center the Moon/Sun given the little sliver of light that remained.
The first big event just before totality is called the "Diamond Ring" effect, as just a very small sliver of sunlight stubbornly holds out. Awesome!
Then so quickly came the "Bailey's Beads" effect, where the Sun's light is broken up by the mountain peaks on the Moon. Sweet ! One is stunned by the swiftness of the brief time between the "diamond ring" and "Bailey's Beads" effects... only a second or so!
Then, there it was...TOTALITY !
The Moon had completely covered the Sun and the Sun's corona began to shine in all of its glory! This next image is a quick HDR result of the CATE project's software...
Here a prominence in normal light and then negative:
UPDATE: A brief video of our experience at totality is ready for viewing!
And just so quickly the Sun re-emerges from the Moon's blockage! (The red flare is an artifact of the camera lens, not what was actually visible)
My Super Totality Wonder Woman!
On the road home via Mitchell, Oregon...
We finalized the setup of our CATE equipment as well as set up two telescope mounts for personal digital color photography.
We then gathered a small crowd of about 25+ people for a short talk about why a solar eclipse and what to look for, listen for, and feel during the partial and total phases of this eclipse.
We distributed solar eclipse glasses to everyone and trained them on their use, and when and when not to use binoculars.
Then it was on to the serious work of final scope alignment and gathering of essential data for the CATE experiment. Meanwhile the crescents in the shadows due to the crescent Sun/Moon was interesting...
Poking holes in cardboard and then letting the sunlight fall on white paper was fun!
As the partial phases progressed my wife was taking temperature reading for the GLOBE project, to help track the temperature changes, as well as taking some video and still shots.
As totality neared trouble appeared in the sky... smoke from a forest fire to the south-west of our location (about 30+ miles away). This was disheartening as we wanted the pristine skies we had experienced since the had arrived on the Wednesday prior.
As the partial portion of the eclipse progressed, we felt a slight breeze and a definite cooling down, mostly due to the loss of the Sun's heat. But regardless of the conditions we were going to have a totality
event all the same. Here are some images of the progress of the Moon over the Sun.
I was able to image the sunspot group AR2671, which by then had crossed the center line of the Sun's surface. Here you will see the Moon cover up the sunspots over a period of about 15 minutes (I think)
As totality neared I had to give 100% of my attention to the CATE project and do my best to center the Moon/Sun given the little sliver of light that remained.
The first big event just before totality is called the "Diamond Ring" effect, as just a very small sliver of sunlight stubbornly holds out. Awesome!
Then so quickly came the "Bailey's Beads" effect, where the Sun's light is broken up by the mountain peaks on the Moon. Sweet ! One is stunned by the swiftness of the brief time between the "diamond ring" and "Bailey's Beads" effects... only a second or so!
Then, there it was...TOTALITY !
The Moon had completely covered the Sun and the Sun's corona began to shine in all of its glory! This next image is a quick HDR result of the CATE project's software...
In post processing some detail can be drawn out...
Here are some close-ups (in black and white) of a few of the prominences around the Sun
And just as there was the "Baily's Beads" and the "Diamond Ring" event on the frontside of totality, so there is the same on the backside
And just so quickly the Sun re-emerges from the Moon's blockage! (The red flare is an artifact of the camera lens, not what was actually visible)
This was my wife and mine's second total solar eclipse since we got married in 1977. We feel like this time we were well prepared and enjoyed it so much more!
My Super Totality Wonder Woman!
To our surprise, the predicted crowds did not show up en mass and the result was that we were able to head home to La Pine later on Monday. So we packed up and hit the road. We want to thank our hosts, Pat and Myrna for letting us stay the past 5 days !
We are still in awe of God's unique creations, both above the Earth and on it as we headed home...
On the road home via Mitchell, Oregon...
We made it through Prineville at normal speed (we encountered long delays on our way to Mitchell). But our enthusiasm was dimmed by the spread of the forest fire's smoke that blocked much of the light of the Sun (a second solar eclipse in one day?).
And the closer we got to Bend, Oregon the thicker the clouds became, turning the Sun into some kind of weird Jupiter!
But in the end we made it home and were happy to sleep in our own bed, no mosquitos and no flies!
Now, whose up for Round 3 in April, 2024 ?
It will be round 2 for me, but I will be there in 2024! It sounds like you had a great experience; thanks for sharing! (Kelly -CATE 52)
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