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Jeroen Frans
Second Life residents watch a virtual presentation about eclipses on Exploratorium Island, in an image by Jeroen Frans (a.k.a. Frans Charming) of VesuviusGroup.com. The Exploratorium is planning a Second Life teach-in during Sunday's annular solar eclipse.
If the weather cooperates, millions of people can witness Sunday's rare "Ring of Fire" solar eclipse — but what if you're one of the billions who can't? You can still watch the event online.
That's what Alan MacRobert, a senior editor at Sky & Telescope magazine, is planning to do. He's based in the Boston area, where not a bit of the annular solar eclipse will be visible. So MacRobert will be cruising the Internet, looking for a webcast with a stable video stream.
He should have plenty of webcasts to choose from. "There are more popping up as we get closer to the event," he told me.
Sunday's spectacle isn't your garden-variety solar eclipse: Because the moon is farther away from Earth than usual, the angular size of the lunar disk isn't quite wide enough to cover up the sun completely. Thus, at the peak of the eclipse, a thin ring of the sun's bright photosphere will remain exposed around the moon's dark circle.
NASA's ScienceCast explains the why, when, where and how of the May 20 annular solar eclipse.
That's what's known as an annular eclipse, which gets its name from the Latin word for "little ring": annulus. The little ring can be seen from a 200-mile-wide strip of territory, extending from southern China, through Japan, across the North Pacific and over to the U.S. West Coast. From the Oregon-California border, the strip goes across parts of Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
The "Ring of Fire" effect lasts just a few minutes. For about an hour before and after the big event, a partial solar eclipse will darken the sun and then retreat. The partial phase can also be seen to varying degrees from a much wider swath of eastern Asia, the Pacific and North America.
If you're in the eclipse zone, do not gaze at the sun without taking proper precautions. Such precautions can range from eclipse-viewing glasses, to specially designed solar filters, to pinhole projectors. Check out this NASA Web page or this video for the details. Here's a detailed video about eye safety from Eyes on the Sky. (Thanks, @AstronomyDave!)
If you're not in the eclipse zone, you're not alone: The U.S. East Coast, South America, Europe, Africa, Australia and Antarctica will be totally left out. And let's face it: Even if you are in the zone, the weather may not cooperate. That's especially the case for places like Hong Kong and Guangzhou, where millions might miss the annular eclipse due to cloudy skies. "This is monsoon season in south China, so they're going to need quite a bit of luck to have a chance of seeing this one," MacRobert said.
Watching the eclipse via a webcast isn't a sure thing, either. The skies might be clouded over at the camera location. There could be technical difficulties. And even if everything works, the webcast could freeze up if the video server becomes overwhelmed with traffic. That's why MacRobert is planning to play the field, and why you'd be best advised to do the same. Here are a few of the options for Sunday eclipse views over a computer screen or smartphone:
Slooh Space Camera: The Slooh website has organized a series of webcasts from Japan, California, Arizona and New Mexico, accompanied by commentary from Astronomy Magazine columnist Bob Berman and Lucie Green, a BBC commentator and solar researcher at University College London's Mullard Space Science Laboratory. The show gets started at 5:30 p.m. ET Sunday, when the eclipse will be just getting good in Japan. Prime time for the webcasts from the American West will kick in around 8 p.m. ET. For more, check out Slooh's news release.
Eclipse Live from Fujiyama: Panasonic is planning a solar-powered webcast from high atop Japan's Mount Fuji, which is inside the track of annularity. The team will charge up batteries from an array of electricity-generating solar cells at a base camp, then carry the batteries up to the camera site. Video coverage via Ustream is due to start up at 5 p.m. ET. This YouTube video previews the event. For updates, check out the project's Facebook page and Twitter stream.
Hong Kong Observatory: The webcast from Hong Kong is due to begin at 5:41 p.m. ET.
Live-Eclipse: Japanese eclipse-chasers plan to be webcasting via Ustream at 6 p.m. ET.
More from YokosoNews: This page from the Japanese news site lists lots of webcasts, generally beginning at 5 p.m. ET or later.
More from Ustream: Do a search on "eclipse" and you'll find all sorts of Ustream goodies, from 5 p.m. ET onward. One user is promising a video stream from the northern tip of Taiwan starting at 4:50 p.m. ET.
AstroBob's viewing guide: Duluth photographer Bob King provides a vivid guide to the phases of an annular eclipse and also links to AstronomyLive.com as a potential source of webcasts.
University of North Dakota: UND's SEMS (Sun Earth Moon Systems) team is organizing an eclipse webcast from Shasta College in Redding, Calif. The streaming is due to begin at 8 p.m. ET, and there's a chat window that lets you compare notes with other eclipse fans. The UND team has been doing eclipse webcasts since 2004, so they've built up a loyal following over the years.
Scotty's Sky: Skywatcher Scotty Degenhardt is promising an unconventional webcast of the annular eclipse via his iPhone from Area 51's "Black Mailbox," a popular gathering place for UFO fans in the Nevada desert. The show is set to start at 8:10 p.m. ET. Check out Degenhardt's website for the details.
Exploratorium in Second Life: Speaking of "unconventional" ... San Francisco's Exploratorium science center is planning to provide information about the eclipse in the Second Life virtual world. If you're a Second Life resident, set a course for Exploratorium Island.
If you're wowed by webcasts, stay tuned: There'll be another big event on June 5, when the planet Venus makes a must-see transit across the sun's disk; and again on Nov. 13, when a total solar eclipse takes place.
Are there any annular eclipse webcasts I'm missing? Pass 'em along in the comment section below.
Update for 12:10 p.m. ET May 18: To find out whether any part of the eclipse will be visible from your locale, consult this clickable map from NASA. The times are listed in UTC. Subtract four hours to convert to ET, five hours for CT, six hours for MT, seven hours for PT.
Correction for 4:50 a.m. ET May 20: I mistakenly placed Shasta College in Whittier, Calif., rather than Redding. That reference has been fixed ... sorry about that.
More about the eclipse:
- Get set to chase an annular eclipse
- Where and how to see the eclipse
- See the solar eclipse at a national park
- How to photograph the eclipse safely
- Interactive: What causes a solar eclipse?
Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
Leave a Comment:
Thanks Alan,
Also check out this site's animation videos. Theyt show the eclipse, and other events, in a way easy for anyone to understand what's going on.
http://shadowandsubstance.com/
Cool link ....
Thanks ....
I agree with Ben!
Awesome site!
Great link man, thanks a ton.
Just about 4 PM here in Arkansas!!! So glad Cassidy loves this kind of stuff!!!
I'm one of the lucky few set up perfectly for this... My fingers are crossed that Colorado's notoriously unpredictable weather cooperates!
Every time there's an eclipse, media always has to make a big deal out of "don't look at it"......you know...if some people are stupid enough to look, let them be blind. (kids excluded of course)
What's with the attitude? I think most of all, it's really just the media covering their own backside for litigation purposes. The article is talking about viewing this stuff so you can always expect a disclaimer so that if some "nanny-stater" wants to sue the news agency for failing to tell them there is danger in viewing the thing then the news agency can always point to the disclaimer and say "you were warned".
It's sad that we live in a world in which every little thing like this will cause someone to sue someone else. But it is what it is, I guess.
Anyways, it's just the author of the article doing their due diligence. Can't blame them.
yup!
sue me sue you --- from a position of fear
I dont like it and therefore do not participate
It hinders creativity and oneness
thats enough blue mist from me
lets all enjoy the star show--and if you fall ill from too much enjoyment
feel free to sue me for all I have
It is difficult to see from the "world" map if my location offers any observation possible -- I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota -- can anyone tell me if I will be able to see this or need to rely on the on-line stuff
Minneapolis will see a "Crescent Sun", with the Moon covering a bit more than 60% of the Sun's face - not the best place to see the eclipse, but still a fun chance to check out a "natural wonder":
http://www.spxdaily.com/images-lg/north-america-partial-eclipse-may-20th-2012-lg.jpg
The "path of totality" - where to be to see the deepest part of the eclipse - runs in a band starting near Lubbock, Texas, thru New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Northern California, across the Pacific to Japan and China
http://eclipse-maps.com/Eclipse-Maps/Gallery/Pages/Annular_solar_eclipse_of_2012_May_20_files/ASE2012_Stereographic_Magnitude_1.jpg
Even 60% obscured the Sun will be more than bright enough to cause permanent damage if viewed with the naked eye, so please take appropriate steps to protect your vision.
Enjoy the show!
I've found this to be a really great clickable map produced by NASA using Google Maps. Just click on the desired location and you'll find out what you can see when, not only in Minneapolis, but anyplace:
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2012May20Agoogle.html
The important thing about this is that the times are listed in UTC. In the U.S., we're not used to thinking about UTC, but you can translate into U.S. time zones by subtracting four hours for EDT, five hours for CDT, six hours for MDT and seven hours for PDT. Most of the times are in the 00:00 or 01:00 time frame, so you'll have to convert those to 24 or 25, then subtract the conversion figure to get military time, then subtract 12 to get conventional p.m. time.
I linked to this Web page a couple of times from my "Where and how to see the eclipse" posting, and now I see that it should be linked to again.
You should just put the calculations of the time zones on here to make it easier for people. I haven't looked at that site yet but will go see what time it comes in California. One cool thing about the internet is most people will be able to see it even if they cant in real time because the videos too bad not everyone in the world has internet. It will prob make most the news channels around the world maybe. Hopefully there is some good hd footage from some pros/ and amateurs after its over.
Thanks for article by the way.
But Mamma......thats where the fun issssssssssssssss
RE: Eclipse from Michigan? Nope, you are out of luck. Check this map from the Sacramento Bee. At the bottom is a graphic showing the swath of viewable area across the south-western US. I'm outside of Sacramento at the base of the Sierras and will get a 92%'ish eclipse.
That is if government of the People's Republic of CA doesn't tax it out of the state like they have done with businesses. We're dying out here.. but at least the weather will be nice when we really begin starving and rioting and such....... Sorry, just looked over our June 6th ballot and Gov. Brown wants to raise our taxes.. again.....
Dang - My Bad! The link was cut off due to my rant about CA govt. Apologies. Here you go:
SacBee Eclipse Link
Dr. Dean - I just watched the eclipse from Michigan; Detroit, to be precise. It's not the best place, certainly, but not what I'd characterize as "out of luck".
I can tell that NH will not be able to see much of the eclipse, but will go to the site that Michael cited. As it was because of the cloud cover in the area, I missed the Super Moon. Won't miss this is possible!
Make a "Box-viewer". Using a 10" x 10" x 24" box, punch a small hole, ¼" diameter or so in the end. Take the box and a piece of parchment paper outside and aim the box at the sun. Hold the paper in the box till the sun fills it 75% and measure the distance from the front of the box to the paper. In the top of the box, make a razor slit 8½" long at that measurement. Slide the parchment in the slot till the hole is shining the sun on the paper and tape it in place. Go get the Digital camera and do all the preliminary settings till you get a good contrast and clear picture. When the Eclipse happens you will be set and ready to shoot. Be sure to have the box end at a perfect 90° to the Sun for a good picture. Drape a dense bedspread or other cover over the viewing end of the box to make it dark in the box for best results. Do all setups a day or more PRIOR to the event. NEVER LOOK INTO THE SUN WITH THE NAKED EYE OR POINT YOUR CAMERA AT THE SUN WITHOUT THE PROPER FILTERS. BOTH WILL BE DESTROYED IF YOU DO.
And here I thought it was as simple as being in the right placw with a pin hole camera and looking up!!!!!!!
So, I usually have a problem converting GMT to pacific standard time.. 0100 GMT is 5 o'clock pm pacific time, right??
Here's a good link:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/
Thanks!
I thought I was going to miss the solar eclipse because I live on the East Coast. Our local observatory (which is one of the most powerful) is closed on Sundays.
I'm sure glad you gave us links to all the webcams. I'll definitely see it, weather permitting.
Thanks as always, Alan!
Hey Darrah ....
I won't be able to see the eclipse from where I am now ....
But I looked at its track and saw it going through Mt. Shasta area ....
I spent a month there about a year and a half ago with a friend from high school ....
I called him today and he said he was prepared to view it through his welding shield or mask ....
I'll have to settle for the videos ....
Better than nothing .... "LOL"
Have fun ....
Ben, Darrah,
I won't be able to see it either (Philly), but some of the various websites I saw said they are showing it through a HA filter ( FYI of others, that's the one that lets you see those really neat solar flares and such.) That should be an impressive sight!
Solomon Kane ....
We'll just have to see what videos come out of this eclipse ....
I kind of wish I was at Mt. Shasta to watch it with my school friend ....
The mountain was about 15 or so miles from his ranch ....
But it looked a lot closer ....
The night time viewing of the milky way was great from there ....
It gets supper dark out where he is ....
I couldn't live there though because of the really low humidity level all the time , ( too dry ) ....
Solar flares would be great to see live through some kind of protected viewing ....
Take care , have fun Solomon Kane ....
Ben and Solomon,
Wow, Ben! I envy you spending time at Mt. Shasta! I've always wanted to go there and to Mt. St. Helen too.
I've been to Philly, Solomon. It's been about 15 yrs. ago. It's a very nice town with lots going on. The older part of Philly is so alive. I stood in front of the Liberty Bell and it was a very moving experience. But then you know all of this. lol
I'm going to find one of the sites Alan provided a link to in order to check out the solar eclipse tomorrow.
I just realized that my local observatory, Roper Mountain, has a webcam that I can use with my computer. The observatory is only open to the public on certain nights but I'm not sure if I'll only be able to see anything other those nights or not. What I really hate is that Winter is a really good time to do some stargazing, but from what I understand, the observatory is closed for the Winter to create their Winter Wonderland scenery you can drive through. You can see a huge star sitting on top of the mountain which is pretty, but I'd rather spend some time looking at the real stars. As they say, you take what you can get. :-)
I wasn't thinking about which webcast site to go to for the solar eclipse but you might want to try them out in advance. While reading articles on the National Geographic site, I saw the Slooh space camera. They provided a link on the natgeo site. Slooh has a countdown clock which goes to the last second (of course), and it's exciting just to watch the clock alone. lol
At this min., we have 1 day, 2 hrs, and 21 min., (more or less) to go.
Heck, let's switch back and forth on each website. lol
You know Darrah that there will be plenty of people on line trying to share there live feeds ....
Even if we see the videos after the eclipse , they should be great ....
True, Ben. I'd rather watch it live though. If I were rich, I'd buy a ticket to Seattle. I really wouldn't want to go to China --at this time. lol
Events like this have gotten me interested. I can't understand why people wouldn't be interested, especially if they like reading Cosmic Log.
I've been looking at the weather in Seattle by using the site I found earlier.
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/
It looks like it might be a little cloudy with rain tomorrow. It could be that I looked at the wrong city but I don't think so.
Maybe people have to go up further than Seattle.
Funny how Mt. Shasta is like a hole to the sky during bad weather most of the time ....
It's probably from its elevation I think ....
If you Google Map Yreka Ca. , you'll also see the mountain ....
I stayed about in the middle of the two ....
It was so dry there that I had to sleep with a humidifier and the oxygen level is also lower ....
But at night or early evening was like someone turned on the air conditioning from the cool air flowing down from the snow and ice covered top of the mountain ....
That was always nice ....
My friend drove us north one day to Crater Lake , which everyone should see sometime in their life ....
I really enjoyed seeing and walking through the giant redwoods west of where I stayed and to the north a bit ....
Like I said earlier , the Milky Way was the best there that I have ever seen ....
My friend told me that he would call me and tell me how cool the eclipse is .... "LOL"
Rubbing it in of course .... "LOL"
We'll see what we can see today now Darrah ....
Happy viewing .... : )
It would be fun if we had a duplicate tab open so that we could watch the solar eclipse from a site that has a live feed and comment about the eclipse here. I don't belong to FB or twitter and never intend to.
I'm not a tweeter either .... "LOL"
My phone can send messages though , but I don't use those capabilities ....
But I will send those who send me messages , a message back sometimes that just says tweet , tweet .... "LOL"
LOL
Who wants to know that a certain celebrity is eating two chocolate chip cookies instead of three because she or he's on a diet?
God, don't people have lives anymore?
It's happening now Darrah ....
Whooooooops ....
False alarm ....
My headband slipped down over my eyes for a moment .... "LOL"
I've planned my day around it. Run errands and be on the computer at 5pm and wait for the countdown.
T-minus 29.min, 59 seconds, and 999,999,999 nanoseconds. lol
http://events.slooh.com/ ....
These guys will have a live broadcast at 8:00 E.P.T. Darrah ....
Their main page is really ....
http://www.space.com/15773-solar-eclipse-online-webcast-info.html ....
Happy viewing ....
Oops! lol
Ok, I was referring to 5:30 pm (ET), meaning that I would be on the computer at 5 and I would have about 30 min. to wait. But I added rather than subtracted, right? As in t-minus blah, blah, blah?
Who cares. Moving onto Alan's new article.
See ya!!
Another option, mr. Boyle, would be to give all times in UTC as well as (in brackets) in your funny American times for the people who are not used to. Now they have to make a calculation, and might not be used to that either.
Another idea, mr Boyle, might be to write all the times in UTC as well as (between brackets) in those funny American times because they are not used to UTC. Now they have to make a calculation and some might not be used to that either.
"moon is farther away from Earth than usual" causing the ring of fire. Wasn't it just two weeks ago when the moon was large in the sky because it was very close to earth?
If I may expand that a bit.... We are talking about two different cycles, which just happen to coincide this month.
First variable: The Moon's orbit is elliptical, varying between ~362,000 and ~405,000 km on EVERY orbit.
Second variable: The Moon of course presents different phases to the Earth, from New Moon to Full and back again.
This month those two different cycles happened to "hit their peak" at the same time - Full Moon happened to be when Luna was at its closest, and two weeks later, when Luna is very nearly at its furthest, the New Moon is also directly in line with the Sun - a solar eclipse.
So, it's not surprising that the Supermoon is followed by an annular solar eclipse, but rather it's the natural progression of the same motion. The motion of the Earth-Moon system repeats itself every 18 years 11 1/3 days, in what is called "the saros cycle" - this same alignment will be repeated on May 31st, 2030, and every 18 years thereafter. It is also the same alignment we had 18 years 11 1/3 days ago, on May 9th 1994, and every 18 years previously, going back thousands of years.
It is the Grand Dance of the Planets. I hope that you are someplace tomorrow where you may enjoy the show.
Cheers! ~Michael (Astronomy.FM★Radio)
This is a wonderful thing for us to witness.....I'm just surprized no one has blamed President Obama yet.
JUST KIDDING!!!
"Second Life"?
Give me a break. Somebody (a whole lot of people apparently) need to get a real life.