Solar eclipse

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Starburst
Starburst Member Posts: 2,546
edited 20. Mar 2015, 16:15 in Community Chit-chat archive
Anyone interested in the solar eclipse tomorrow morning? I was fascinated and did some reading. I am normally quite calm about things that I read but I felt panic at "do not directly at the sun as it could damage your eyes" and "blind"! :shock:

Apart from the fear of blindness, it should be interesting. Next one won't be until 2090 apparently.

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  • applerose
    applerose Member Posts: 3,621
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    I'm looking forward to it. I'd like to look directly at it but I don't have any of the special glasses. I'm wondering if I could stand with my back to the sun and take a picture with the reverse camera on my phone. I think you should be ok outside. Just don't deliberately stare at the sun.
    Christine
  • Slosh
    Slosh Member Posts: 3,194
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    I heard on the radio that phones won't work for taking photos, you can use a pin hole in a piece of card and use that to shine the image onto some paper, not looking at the eclipse obviously. We've got 500 pairs of glasses and the plan is for the pupils to go out in shifts, we ordered 1000 pairs but one pallet was stolen. Going to miss it unfortunately as it's the same time as my orths review
    He did not say you will not be storm tossed, you will not be sore distressed, you will not be work weary. He said you will not be overcome.
    Julian of Norwich
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    Forget colanders, pin hole cameras and special spex (and no, the 3D ones will not fit the bill) just fill a bucket with water and watch it happen reflected in the surface. Then water the plants after.

    I know I should feel enthused but we have heavy cloud-cover here (flaming typical) so there'll be nowt to watch. We will lose around 85% of daylight so may be not enough to trigger another dawn chorus. Apparently during the last eclipse (2009 I think) thousands of people damaged their eyesight by staring directly at the sun despite all the warnings. There are some dimwits in this world. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,713
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    My husband is currently out in the garden trying to catch a glimpse, through total, thick cloud cover, of a sun which is being hidden by the moon :roll:
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    What a disappointing experience here in East Anglia. I daresay the brou-ha-ha elsewhere was deserved but here it looked as though it would rain heavily for a short while. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • barbara12
    barbara12 Member Posts: 21,281
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    I watched it through a welding mask..thanks to my neighbour..it was cloudy then the sun appeared brilliant.. :D
    Love
    Barbara
  • tkachev
    tkachev Member Posts: 8,332
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    It was a non-event here near London, due to cloud.
    Later in the day the sky was blue and the sun was shining.

    I remember the last one in August 1999 and luckily my Daughter's chose to video the occasion as it was probably the last time I was well as I was hit with RA a month later.

    Elizabeth
    Never be bullied into silence.
    Never allow yourself to be made a victim.
    Accept no ones definition of your life

    Define yourself........

    Harvey Fierstein
  • Starburst
    Starburst Member Posts: 2,546
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    Yep, nothing to see in cloudy Hertfordshire.
  • applerose
    applerose Member Posts: 3,621
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    Slosh, I heard this morning about not using phones because it could break them. Great idea DD. Must remember it for next time. It was very cloudy here. And I had my colander at the ready. Couldn't see the sun anyway on my way to work. There were lots of people on the High Street looking all over the sky. No-one seemed to know where the sun was and not one of them had any eye protection on. When I got to work, I just happened to look out of the window and there it was. The 'almost' full eclipse. Fortunately it was only for a second so I wasn't tempted to keep looking.
    Christine