On October 14, 2023 along a line from Oregon through Texas there was an annular eclipse. The rest of the continental U.S. got to see a nice partial solar eclipse.
I observed the partial eclipse along with about 50 others at Palomar College where I teach astronomy.
 |
| The eclipse crowd at Palomar College (that's my shadow in front) |
As you can see from the photo above we had perfect weather and the eclipse did not disappoint.
Here's a photo taken when the Moon had maximum coverage over the Sun from our vantage point:
 |
| Image captured using a Unistellar eQuinox 2 telescope |
Thanks to the dedication of Palomar student Tomas Chester we were able to capture a time-lapse video of the entire event. Here's what it looked like:
About two weeks before the eclipse I learned of a very cool outreach tool that helps to make eclipse viewing safe and fun - a disco ball. (See the paper: Why every observatory needs a disco ball). I immediately purchased a disco ball and set it up on the day of the event.
Above left is a standard disco ball. Each of the mirrors acts like a pinhole camera and reflects an image of the sun. The image on the right shows many images of the partially eclipsed Sun projected by the disco ball during the eclipse. It was very popular with our crowd and gave an almost magical view of the event. I highly recommend using a disco ball for every eclipse outreach event.
This eclipse was sort of a preview for an even better one - a total solar eclipse that will take place on April 8, 2024. Weather permitting it will be visible along a path from Mexico, up through central Texas and up toward the northeast U.S. and into Canada. I plan on observing that one and I will bring my disco ball with me.
