Wish You Had Seen Totality? Afraid You Won't Get Another Chance At A Total Solar Eclipse? Here Is A List Of Future Total USA Eclipses

Wish You Had Seen Totality? Afraid You Won't Get Another Chance At A Total Solar Eclipse? Here Is A List Of Future Total USA Eclipses.

April 8, 2024
August 23, 2044
August 12, 2045
March 30, 2052
May 1, 2079
September 14 ,2099

Get an eclipse shirt to show you saw or loved the eclipse!

Here is a super cool map showing the paths of future US total eclipses. The next one is 7 years from now!

Eclipse Safety - Cool Things You Can Safely See During The Eclipse: And Making An Eclipse Pinhole Camera/Viewer

Afraid of damaging your eyes during the eclipse? Not sure if your glasses will give you the protection you need? Make a pinhole camera (more at the bottom of the article about this).

Get your eclipse tshirt!

There are also quite a few other things you can do that don't involve looking at the sun!

1. Shadow Snakes - It is rare to see these during a total eclipse, but it will be worth checking. As it nears totality, check the ground for dancing snake-like line shadows. Scientists aren't exactly sure what causes them, though they speculate it could be caused by light from the eclipse being focused and refocused through cells of air in the atmosphere. The best way to see them is on a light background. Some people lay white paper or posterboard on the ground. A cement sidewalk or sand would also be a good place to look for them.


2) Watch the moon's shadow race across an open field. If you are in an open area, and the skies are clear, you will be able to see the shadow of the moon racing across the ground toward you as it begins to cover the sun. Sort of like a huge cloud.



3) Sun Cresents under trees with leaves. This is a good way to see the stages of the eclipse without looking at the sun and risk of harming your eyes. If you find a tree and watch the shadows, the leaves will create hundreds of little cresents covering the ground, mimicking where the moon is covering the sun. This is because the gaps between the leaves are acting as a pinhole camera, projecting the image of the sun on the ground.

4) Day Stars. That's right, as the moon eclipses the sun, you will be able to see the stars during the day. If you are near the path of total eclipse, you may even see Jupiter and Venus!

5) 360-degree sunset.  When the sun is completely covered by the moon (totality), you can see what looks like a sunset in every direction on the horizon!

As you can see, there are plenty of things to do if you forgot your glasses or are concerned about your eyes. Stay safe during the eclipse guys! But don't let fear keep you from enjoying it.


Don't forget an eclipse tshirt! Let people know you saw the eclipse, or just that you're a fan of the eclipse and are in the know!


It may be safer to make a pinhole camera, since you don't actually look at the sun with one of those. You look at a projected image of it. Some good instructions for making your own pinhole camera can be found here. Remember! This device is used by standing with the sun behind you and viewing the projected image on the card stock you place on the ground or in front of you. NEVER look through your pinhole directly at the sun.















References:
Pinhole Camera - JPS NASA
Things That Will Happen During The Eclipse - Cnet

No Eclipse Glasses? Make an eclipse pinhole viewer/camera - Solar Eclipse Safety

Did you forget to purchase your eclipse glasses and discover them sold out everywhere? Don't worry! You can make a simple solar eclipse viewer with two thin, stiff pieces of white cardboard.

Punch a small pinhole in one piece of cardboard and let the sunlight fall through that hole onto the second piece of cardboard. With your BACK to the sun, let the sunlight pass over your shoulder through the pinhole and an inverted image of the sun will form on the second piece of cardboard like a "screen". To make the image brighter, move the screen closer to the pinhole. Rember, it should be a PINHOLE, not a wider hold. If you make the hole too large, you will get a sunbeam on your second piece of cardboard rather than an inverted image of the sun. Do not look through the pinhole at the sun. And never look directly at the eclipse!

And don't forget an eclipse shirt to show your enthusiasm!

Here's another good place to learn how to make an eclipse pinhole camera, projector, viewer. :)



References:
National Geographic :Build a Solar Eclipse Viewer

Solar Eclipse Safety - Make Sure Your Eclipse Glasses Are Real

Don't forget your ISO Certified Eclipse Glasses! You can buy them online or even at local hardware stores. MAKE SURE they are legit.

If you put them on, everything should look PITCH BLACK. Then if you turn and look DIRECTLY at the sun or a bright, uncoated light bulb you should see a comfortable amount of light. The genuine certified glasses also block dangerous UV and IR radiation too. Here is a breakdown if you want to look into it more.






Here is a list of Reputable Vendors of Solar Filters & Viewers


Even if you won't get a shirt on time to wear it to the eclipse, you can still get one to show your enthusiasm and that you attended! 

Music Festivals Set Up All Across Line Of Totality for The August 21st Solar Eclipse

Music festivals are setting up for a week long event in the path of the Total Solar Eclipse. If you're interested in that kind of thing, you might want to check them out. USA Today Elaborates Here

If you're looking for a more quiet experience, you might want to look them up to try to avoid those partcular hot spots. ;)

If you put them on, everything should look PITCH BLACK. Then if you turn and look DIRECTLY at the sun or a bright, uncoated light bulb you should see a comfortable amount of light. The genuine certified glasses also block dangerous UV and IR radiation too. Here is a breakdown if you want to look into it more.

Here is a list of Reputable Vendors of Solar Filters & Viewers

Even if you won't get a shirt on time to wear it to the eclipse, you can still get one to show your enthusiasm and that you attended! 

The Perseid Meteor Shower Will Be the Brightest Meteor Shower In History - Once in A Lifetime! - August 11-13th

The Perseid Meteor shower happens every year, but it will be brighter this year than usual. In fact, it won't be this bright again for 100 years, meaning you won't get a chance to see it like this again - unless you are 1-3 years old, then maybe, just maybe ;).

This year it falls between August 11th (tonight folks!) and August 13th, wih the best veiwing being on the 12th. You don't need your august solar eclipse goggles for this one, but if you're interested in our night sky, you might want to plan to step outside and watch the Perseid Meteor Shower in the next three days.

Best Seen from the Northern Hemisphere.

Did You Know You Will See Mercury and Venus During The Total Solar Eclipse?

Did you know during the total solar eclipse you will see Mercury and Venus shining near the sun? You usually can't see Mercury, because it's too close to the sun. But during totality, you will see two bright spots shining beside the sun. The sky will go dark in the middle of the day and you will have a rare glimpse of the day stars!

Also, if you look at the ground near a tree with leaves as the moon starts to cover the sun, you will see hundreds of little cresents covering the ground, mimicing where the moon is covering the sun. This is because the gaps between the leaves are acting as a pinhole camera, projecting the image of the sun on the ground.

If you are in a large area where the land around you is flat, you will see the moon's shadow rushing across the ground towards you!

Don't look at the eclipse unless it is COMPLETELY covered - totality - AS SOON as the moon begins to pass over the sun again, put your eclipse glasses on or look away. Please don't damage your eyes! If you want to see the stages of the eclipse and you don't have ISO certified glasses, find a tree and look at the leaves shadows, it's a good way to see all the stages. ;)