Total Solar Eclipse of 2024
Observation Data
Location: Little Rock, AR (34.7445° N, 92.2880° W), On-site
Date and Time: 2023-04-08, 12:33 – 15:11 CDT
Sky conditions: Seeing – okay, some high clouds
Instrument: Apertura 60mm FPL-53 Doublet APO Refractor @ f/6 – Aperture: 60mm, Focal Length: 360mm, Daystar white light universal lens filter
Mount: Star Adventurer 2i
Eyepiece: N/A
Reticle Device: N/A
Imaging Equipment: Canon Rebel T7i, ZWO IR cut 1.25″ filter
Image type and sensor: CMOS, APS-C 22.3 x 14.9mm sensor
Image capture details: Partial phases: Aperture priority, ISO 100
Total: 1/640, 1/160, 1/125, 1/30, 1/25, 1/6, 1/13, ISO 100
Timelapse of full eclipse – 348 frames total
Software: Photoshop
Contact Times:
| Contact 1 (Moon on Sun’s disk): | 12:33 CDT |
| Contact 2 (Moon completely inside Sun’s disk): | 13:51 CDT |
| Contact 3 (Moon on the other side of Sun’s disk): | 13:54 CDT |
| Contact 4 (Moon leaves Sun’s disk): | 15:11 CDT |
Project Objectives
Observe the total solar eclipse, noting the exact date and time of each phase of the eclipse: start of partial, start of total, end of total, and end of partial. Include a sketch (or image) showing your observation at the point of maximum coverage, and include information about the location you were observing from – city and state, or latitude and longitude. Include observation data and impressions.
Impressions
This was my first total solar eclipse, and it was quite the experience. I missed the TSE that happened in 2017, only catching the partial phases, so I knew I needed to see this one no matter what. Since I did not live in the path (again) I had to travel to see it, and I ended up in Little Rock, Arkansas. The weekend was packed with festivities leading up to eclipse day and I had a great time exploring the city. The night before eclipse day, I scoped out a few locations, and while doing that, I somehow found myself being interviewed on the local news!
Actually seeing a TSE was incredible and very hard to put into words, but I tried my best to do just that in the below “Eclipse Reflections” container.
Eclipse Reflections
People slowly gather all around, with eyes on the sky and excitement and celebration filling the air, basking in the sun’s full glory. First contact hits, and you wait for what feels like an eternity for those minutes that seem like seconds. You’re worried about the high clouds that dance by, but the sun outshines them easily.
You don’t notice much difference in those long moments before totality at first, but soon you notice things look a little strange. Colors start to appear muted, almost sepia-toned. It’s as if it’s an overcast day, but not quite. It’s different, it’s an ethereal, eerie light that makes you question your senses.
As totality nears, the temperature starts to drop, and you notice little crescent shadows litter the ground, while the animal life begins their nightly routines.
But it’s not over yet. You know something wild is about to happen, even if you’ve never experienced it before. The moon is fast approaching the sun, turning it into the smallest crescent you’ve ever seen. There’s no way it could get any smaller, and yet it does. As the sky slowly darkens, your excitement builds along with everyone around you. These are the last moments of light as the sun is slowly covered by the moon.
People all around you cheer and scream in excitement, and in the blink of an eye you’re all left standing there in the dark. It’s much darker than you imagined it would be. It’s almost a shock to the senses. There’s no time to waste or you’ll miss it. As you stand there under the moon’s shadow, you finally see it.
High in the sky where the sun once brilliantly shown is the strangest, most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen. The moon is now the blackest black, something reminiscent of what you’d see in sci-fi film. A void in the sky backlit by shimmering and undulating neon white streams. These streams extend well beyond the edge of the sun as the wave and sway as if blown by a gentle breeze. You’re surprised by just how big the sun truly is in the sky, and honestly how much you can see even through high clouds.
You’re mesmerized, excited, disoriented, shaking with adrenaline. You can now understand why our ancestors were frightened by this spectacular event, because truly you’re a tad unsettled as well. Before you know it, the sky lights up again as the sun’s light peaks through the moon’s craters and makes its way across the face of the sun. It’s over, and you can finally breathe, but you’re left with a feeling of, “When can I see this again?”
The following is my eclipse experience checklist.
In the final 10 minutes before totality, check for the following:
Are any planets (e.g., Venus) or bright stars visible?
- Jupiter and Venus were visible. Jupiter was to the upper left and Venus was to the lower right of the sun
Any change in the behavior of birds or other animals?
- I saw quite a few birds flying and singing by as the light started darkening. I tried to listen for animals during totality, but could not hear anything over the excitement and awe of the crowd around me.
Any changes in the brightness of the sunlight?
- Yes, there is a noticeable shift in the brightness of sunlight. The sky took on an eerie quality, dimming into a deep blue
What colors or shades seem odd?
- Colors lose contrast and everything appears almost sepia-toned, or muted in a way. The landscape retained a soft illumination, creating a surreal ambiance
Any naked eye visible sunspots?
- I did not see any sunspots with my eyes
Describe what occurs in the last 5 minutes before the beginning of totality:
Any temperature change?
- I did notice a drastic temperature shift, but I did not take note of the degrees
Does wind direction or speed vary?
- Not that I could tell
Just before totality, do you see shadow bands?
- I did not see shadow bands
Just before totality, do you see the shadow coming over distant hills or other features?
- I looked for it, but I did not notice. I did create a time-lapse (see below) where I included cellphone footage, and you can see the shadow approach from the right side of the video.
If you didn’t know there was an eclipse, would you have noticed it?
- YES. Maybe not at first, but my goodness it gets dark incredibly quick. Almost as if someone turned off the light switch.
At totality:
Describe what you see where the sun once stood
- Have you heard the song Black Hole Sun? That’s what I saw.
What color is the disk?
- BLACK
What color is the corona?
- Neon white
Can you see any detail in the corona?
- It was a little cloudy when totality hit, but I was still able to see the corona. I could not pick out any detail with naked-eye, but my camera did pick up some magnetic field lines loop around the prominences.
Right on the disk, check for smaller, reddish glows
- There was a big naked-eye visible prominence near the southern limb of the sun
My Images and Timelapse Videos
We had some high clouds during totality, so I wasn’t sure how an HDR image would turn out, but I think it turned out pretty nice! I did a blend of 6 different exposures to show the different layers of the corona. Sadly, no earthshine moon detail because of the clouds. The time-lapse videos were created by using my images as frames.
The following TikTok is a time-lapse I created from all of my images and a cellphone video of the event. I included the sounds that were picked up by my cellphone at totality in the time-lapse, bringing a new layer to the video. I did add music over it, but you can still hear the excitement from the crowd. And if you look closely, you can see the moon’s shadow approach from the right side at the beginning of the video.
@britt__miller Sights and sounds of the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse #totalsolareclipse #astronomy ♬ mirage – théos & Antent
