Had I decided to photograph today’s partial solar eclipse a few days ago, I would have had time to buy the necessary solar filter for my camera. Such a filter reduces the amount of light by a factor of one million to one, allowing for proper exposure and preventing the destruction of the camera’s sensor. Yes, the sun is THAT bright! Determined to memorialize the rare celestial event in some way, I aimed our spotting scope at the sun and placed a piece of white paper on the ground behind it. I did not have time to angle the paper such that it was orthogonal to the scope, so the geometry is slightly distorted (stretched horizontally). Nevertheless, I was able to photograph the paper where you can see the moon taking a bite out of the sun. It was a quick hack that let me “see” a partial solar eclipse for the first time in my life. The next total eclipse will be on August 2, 2027, and will begin over the Atlantic Ocean, cross southern Spain and Morocco, then proceed across North Africa through Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt, before moving through Saudi Arabia and Yemen and passing over Somalia and the Indian Ocean. Perhaps I will time a visit to one of these countries to catch totality.

Later this evening, we have another celestial event that I hope to capture for tomorrow’s post.