April 8 Solar Eclipse Thread

[Crumpets]

Conditions are looking pretty good here in DC. 88% coverage isn't totality, but a crescent sun will still be pretty cool - especially to mark the end of Ramadan.

[Crumpets]

One of the things that strikes me most about solar eclipses is just how lucky Earth is to have a moon that is almost exactly the same apparent size from Earth as the sun is. Any smaller and you wouldn't get totality. Any bigger and you wouldn't get to see the corona or the solar flares. Plus it adds the drama of lasting at most only a few minutes and only hitting a certain area once or twice in a lifetime.

I'm pretty sure no other planet in the solar system experiences this, and even among all known planets (granted, moons are hard to detect) isn't exactly thought to be common.

[Crumpets]

Surprisingly really good viewing conditions here in DC, even though we were outside the path of totality. There was a very high, light haze around the maximum eclipse, and it was nearly dark enough to look at directly without hurting your eyes (although I wasn't about to try).

I like to think I know my way around a camera, but even at the darkest possible settings, both my phone and my nicer camera really struggled. After a lot of trial and error, I got the first pic. The second has a pretty good view of the crescent in the lens flare.