A partial solar eclipse came my way today. There was a cloud problem, but in the end there was a hole big enough to peek through. Note that at times it is nicely visible that the moon is actually a sphere floating by in front of the sun.
Sorry for the hectic camera motion. I closed one eye and used the hand-held camera to block direct sunlight from the other one. Direct viewing of a partial eclipse without a filter will leave a nice focused image of the sun's visible portion literally burned on your retina. Total brightness is too low to trigger automatic closing of your eye, but the local spot where the sun is imaged gets fried. Ouch.
@matteng1997 Yes, I've been indeed lucky. In 1999 I got the total one in Germany for the price of a four-hour rail trip, and I got this one for free. You will be able to see one without a passport: according to the NASA website, there will be an annular one on May 20, 2012, which will touch the west of the USA.
kiendl 1 year ago
Aww man you are so lucky to see that! I've never ever seen one. They never come to the U.S.A. Great job!
matteng1997 1 year ago