Long Island Astronomy: solar filter

Partial Solar Eclipse as seen from Fire Island, New York

On the morning of Sunday, November 3, 2013, the eastern United States was privileged to be in the path of a partial Solar Eclipse at Sunrise. Many had the misfortune of having clouds obscure their viewing of the eclipse, as did I, but there was enough of a break in the clouds for me to capture some awesome images of this rare event from Fire Island, New York!

(Click on image to view larger images!)

Partial Solar Eclipse of the Sun taken at Sunrise enhanced with filters

Not quite sure how this image happened but I like it! :-)

Partial Eclipse of the Sun taken through a Solar Filter

Partial Solar Eclipse of the Sun taken at Sunrise without a filter

Partial Eclipse of the Sun taken through a Solar Filter

(*Caution: NEVER look directly at the sun without an approved SOLAR FILTER as this could result in permanent eye damage or blindness! You should contact your local Observatory or Astronomy Club for more information!)

At California's Griffith Observatory

to witness the Transit of Venus

On June 5, 2012, thousands of people were at the Griffith Observatory, which is located in Los Angeles, CA., to view a once-in-a-lifetime event! People were there to witness Venus as it passed between earth and our Sun! There were many amateur astronomers sharing their telescopes, equipped with solar filters, with the public. The solar filters allow you to view the sun safely in order to get a close-up view of the TOV without the sun damaging your eyes! (You should never look directly at the sun without the proper protection to avoid permanent eye damage!)

There were many news crews and helicopters documenting the event. The Observatory is on top of a mountain overlooking the Hollywood Sign and had monitors and screens throughout the Observatory showing the Transit in real time through video feeds.

OBSERVATORY OFFERS PUBLIC VIEWING OF TRANSIT OF VENUS On Tuesday, June 5, Griffith Observatory welcomed thousands of people for a once-in-a-lifetime free viewing of the transit of Venus. Observatory staff, along with volunteers from the Los Angeles Astronomical Society, Los Angeles Sidewalk Astronomers, and The Planetary Society, offered visitors the chance to look through filtered telescopes, the coelostat, and Observatory eclipse glasses. Tens of thousands of people from around the world watched the Observatory's live video feed of images from its Zeiss telescope and coelostat and commentary from curatorial staff. ~ Griffith Observatory