Annular Eclipse

Strange dreams last night after a long day.

We went down to Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Arizona, which is a fair drive, and drove around to the various overlooks. The guy my dad was expecting to meet at one of the campgrounds had already left, so we set up somewhere else - a relatively popular spot with a good view to the horizon, lots of rock, and some shade. Then it was a matter of setting up our camp chairs and telescope and waiting. Lots of driving and lots of waiting for an event that really wasn't very long.

With a solar filter or the relatively cheap glasses to block out most of the light, we could see the sun as it was slowly covered by the moon until, at the peak, only the trademark "ring of fire" (due to the moon being far enough away from the earth to not totally block out the sun) was visible, and then they proceeded the other way. The ring was only complete for a few minutes. It was neat to watch, but I was sort of amazed at how little actual effect there was without the viewing gear. Even at the height of the eclipse, the light from the sun was only slightly dimmed, not enough to be safe to look at unprotected. It did some interesting, but subtle, things with shadows. It struck me that pre-science mankind was probably totally unaware of any such eclipses in the past.

It was definitely neat to have seen, and my dad was quite excited as he's always wanted to see one. Definitely worth the trip overall even if I wasn't home 'til about midnight.

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