THE ANNULAR ECLIPSE OF

MAY 20TH 2012Cedar City, Utah

What is an annular eclipse?

The moon’s orbit is elliptical and its distance varies from 221,000 to 252,000 miles

What is an annular eclipse?

The moon’s orbit is elliptical and its distance varies from 221,000 to 252,000 milesAt its closest distance it cover’s the face of the Sun perfectly at total eclipse.

What is an annular eclipse?

The moon’s orbit is elliptical and its distance varies from 221,000 to 252,000 milesAt its furthest distance it does not quite cover the Sun creating the Ring of Fire.

The decision

Successful observation of specific astronomical events is risky at best

When stacked against the expense of a trip with no guarantees it becomes a hard decision

Plan first and wait until the last week before the eclipse to decide... seemed reasonable

Scouting out the best location

There were many factors at play Likelihood of good weather Being close to the centreline of the

eclipse path How much of the eclipse I could see

before the eclipse reached the horizon

Planning

Examine the eclipse path Google Streetview Contact locals Transporting the equipment safely

The eclipse path

Choices

Narrowed investigation to 3 Oregon – riskier weather prospects Utah – in the middle New Mexico – horizon line potentially not

as low

Each had their good and bad points but in the end I chose Cedar City, Utah

Destination Cedar City

The gear

Portable telescope Solar filter DSLR Camera Point and Shoot Camera Tripod Tablet computer Backpack to allow for carry-on of

equipment on plane

Impulse ticket purchase

I monitored the weather and flights for several weeks

1 week before the eclipse the weather was looking to be a sure thing in Cedar City

Available flights were getting scarcer and the price was going up

Buy now!

On the way there

It was a busy Friday morning doing last minute packing to meet a Sunday evening eclipse

So much planning and deliberation and now I was on the plane

It was an evening flight and half way through the trip I looked out to see the belt of Venus and Venus shining brightly above it

Unpacking and the big surprise

After waiting for a taxi at 11pm and arriving at my lodgings I could finally put up my feet and get some sleep

I thought I may as well check out the equipment to see if everything had survived

No casualties How about a few test shots ... Big surprise the camera can’t reach focus

Unpacking and the big surprise

Not an uncommon occurrence to forget an extension tube when you’re only 15 minutes from home

It didn’t take long to realize my only options for buying my way out of this dilemma were Home Depot and Walmart

Afocal photography to the rescue

The point and shoot camera in my pack would end up saving the day

The principle behind afocal photography is that you capture images from your telescope by setting the focus of your camera to infinity and placing the lens where your eye would go

Beautifully simple and effective

Afocal photography

Telescope focused for the eye

Camera set for infinity positioned where the eye is normally

Breakfast with the eclipse hunters

The next morning I had continental breakfast at the motel

I realized I wasn’t the only one here to see the eclipse

There were many eclipse hunters from Utah converging on Cedar City prized for its proximity to the centreline

Not far away was Kanarraville the “Sweet Spot”

The marketing

Public outreach at the Aquatic Centre

The second decision

Cedar City Middle School

Citizen science

Solar projection telescope

Old TascoSolar Eyepiece Filter

Checking out the site

The evening of the eclipse

I left the motel early to grab something to eat before trekking to the vantage point

The grassy knoll near the road seemed like an ideal spot, avoiding the sprinklers from the night before

I could see people with their blankets and their solar eclipse glasses gathering around

A couple that I had met at the Aquatic Centre asked if they could join me

Observation vs. photography

With afocal photography I was going to be able to both view and photograph

This situation also allowed me to share my experience with those around me

By some strange fate I actually got to view an eclipse as opposed to seeing it only through the viewfinder of a camera

The eclipse

The weather conditions were perfect The crowd was attentive as we

waited for that first bite out of the Sun

There were cheers as it started We watched as the bite got bigger

and bigger until we could see the fine tapered horns that precede the main attraction

At the central point I could hear the kids chanting “Ring of Fire, Ring of Fire”

The Ring of Fire

Credits

All astronomical images are ©David Lee with the exception of:

The Earth – NASA Visible Earth, The Blue Marble

Total Solar Eclipse – 1919 eclipse Sir Arthur Eddington

Eclipse path, Cedar City – Google Map Crowds gathering article, public outreach

image – Sheena McFarland The Salt Lake Tribune