Eclipse

Sunday was the big eclipse and while we weren't in a "100% coverage" area, we would still get to see about "84%" coverage as the moon passed by. That's pretty good for not having to leave the house!

But we did, leave the house. We went over to the coast to watch the eclipse and eat dinner. Of course, not everything went according to plan...

First, we waited until the last minute to get together some eclipse viewing materials. We had hoped to pick up something to use to view the eclipse at the Maker Faire the day before, but by the time we ventured into the "stuff buying" zones, the crowds were so bad we couldn't get around to view the various offerings. The aisles were just too crowded. It was impossible.

So we settled on a long cardboard tube and a pinhole. Something the Internet assured us would work. For my part, I brought my camera, but only because I was hoping to get some good pictures of the kids. I knew I wouldn't be able to take photos of the eclipse directly -- I don't have the right gear for that.

According to the Internet and the local news, the weather would be nice at the coast, and the fog would not be a factor. The eclipse would start around 5:30pm-ish and reach its peak an hour or so later.

Flash forward to us piling in the car and zooming over to the coast. It's a 20-ish minute ride and there was no traffic. The wind was coming in off the ocean making me very glad I brought an extra sweatshirt. And the fog was out there, hovering over the ocean.

We tried so hard to make the cardboard tube/pinhole thing work. Here's the best image we got, projected onto the back of one of the kids.

Can you see it there in the middle? Yeah, me either. But it's there, really.

Then the fog came in and... and it was great! The fog acted like a filter and so I was able to take this photo with my camera:

Definitely click on the image for a better view.


All in all, the kids had a great time, and a great weekend if you include the Maker Faire. Basically it was a very educational weekend disguised as fun.