Solar Eclipse

Sunday was a big day here - the long-anticipated Annular Solar Eclipse. We had free solar glasses, and I had a piece of welder's glass to hold in front of the camera.

An Annular Solar Eclipse occurs when the moon is farther from the earth than normal, and therefore doesn't completely cover the sun, creating a "Ring of Fire."

But we got there way too early, thinking it was going to be really crowded.

But just next to the solar viewing sight was a bunch of rusty stuff!

Hot diggity!

About an hour before the eclipse began, the park service arrived with a telescope and viewing screen, which was located inside a U-Haul trailer.

Finally, the moon began to cover the sun.

And gradually covered more and more.

The giant telescope the park service brought was not working too well, but this reflection onto a cardboard box was a big hit.

I was surprised that the light in the sky did not seem to change at all.

Almost there! At this point you are supposed to be able to make out the mountains and valleys on the moon, but I didn't have a telescope, just a point-and-shoot Canon camera.

Finally - the ring of fire! A big cheer went up.

The moon gradually moved across the sun -

And exited on the other side.

The park service finally got their telescope working, and you could really see the Ring of Fire on their laptop.

It was a great experience, and I can't wait for the Total Eclipse happening in 2017!