Eclipses
Wisconsin, as well as the rest of the United States, was treated to at least a partial solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. A mere 70-mile wide swath actually experienced a total eclipse– lucky folks. I understand it to be a euphoric, perhaps even spiritual experience based on first-hand reports, and one I probably will never know. 🙁 I was fully prepared to watch it safely with a kitchen colander and sheet of white paper. “Frugal, I am!”, saith Yoda.
Since I wasn’t able to watch the eclipse due to climactic flukes (also known as clouds), I watched it on a program I keep in my sock called “Stellarium”. It is a free program that allows you to play around with the universe. That’s quite a statement when you consider the size of the topic when compared with the size of the program.
I keep Stellarium in my back pocket for occasions such as these. You never know when a celestial occasion may occur and you unfortunately don’t happen to have your personal jet available. Trump may suddenly need it for golfing purposes– and who can argue with the current POTUS? Many have suffered a significant demise of late for that very reason.
The Eclipse From My Perspective
This is how it looked from my back yard at its peak:
Quite impressive, wouldn’t you say? That would be true if you were interested in cloudy skies. I was more interested in the once-of-a-lifetime solar eclipse thing that everyone was talking about. I wanted to experience that spiritual thing that everyone was talking about. Damn the bad luck.
Stellarium
Stellarium is a free program that allows you to look at the universe in a very personal way. As is the case with the above “eclipse” scenario, it allowed me to view something that the climate gods would not otherwise allow. So much for their authority!
Granted, even though watching the progress of a solar eclipse within Stellarium is not comparable to the actual experience, it is still a viable substitute. Those of you who may be concerned with seconds and dimensions will certainly appreciate the control this program affords.
Stellarium Views Of the Eclipse
For your entertainment, I will offer a few views of the eclipse provided by Stellarium which I was unable to see because of the tormenting nature of nature:
Image 1 at 10:30am:
If you look closely, you will be able to see a silhouette of the moon to the upper-right of the sun.
I will now jump ahead to the near maximum solar eclipse at around 1300; for those of you who may be illiterate in the ways of a 24-hour clock, that means about 1 o’clock in the afternoon.
How beautiful. Meh… at least you can see what it’s supposed to look like when you can’t actually see it. Compared to how it actually looks, it is quite dull. Here is an example of how Mother Nature intended it, shown in its full glory in Oregon without any marijuana involved (really!):
Beautiful, isn’t it?
A Short Video
This video explains some of the basics of eclipses, why they happen, and when you might expect them to happen. I hope I am not boring you with this:
Forgive me, but I wanted to share some interesting facts with you…
How To Get Stellarium
Stellarium is a wonderful, free program that you can find if you search the Internet. Here’s the Stellarium home page.
There you have it. If you have cloudy skies and want to see something anyway, then this may be a solution to your frustrations. I wasn’t totally satisfied, but it did help. A little bit…
Richard
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Hi Richard. Did not find Stellarium that impressive, but Celestia (located on their site) is very informative. I loved the DEMO but wished they had a voice option. Having to read and watch the show, well, it’s kind of primitive. Checked out their forum but did not notice anyone else posting this question, Mindblower!
Hi Mindblower!
I’ve had Stellarium on my computer for eons. I don’t use it that often, but it’s free and that’s my favorite part. I like Free.
I really only fire it up when there is something I’d like to keep track of and then I’ll run outside and get some eye-balls on it.
Thanks for your comment,
Richard
Keep your politics to yourself.
Hi Jeffrey,
I presume you are referring to this: “Trump may suddenly need it for golfing purposes– and who can argue with the current POTUS? Many have suffered a significant demise of late for that very reason.”
As far as I can tell, this is an observation and not a political stance.
Richard