The 8 April 2024 Total Solar Eclipse Experience: Part 2

This is the second blog post about the April 8th 2024 total solar eclipse that was witnessed by hundreds at Royal Botanical Gardens (Canada) in Hamilton, Ontario. I had the privilege of being the interpretive lead for the event, and was able to provide my own telescope for people to view the partial phases of the eclipse in safety. A previous blog post described the preparations for the event.

Monday 8^th April started out as an inauspicious looking day. The weather forecast was largely for cloud in the Hamilton area, and everyone was feeling a little pessimistic as to whether we would see anything other than a great big shadow in the afternoon. I arrived at the RBG Arboretum around 11:00 AM to start setting up my telescope and to get a feeling for the space in which the audience would experience the event.

One of the wonderful RBG volunteers taking a turn looking at the partial solar eclipse through the 5″ telescope.

My little 5” Meade Terabeam Maksutov Cassegrain telescope went together very quickly, and I did an approximate north alignment of the German equatorial mount, but on a completely cloudy day that kind of thing is iffy at best. I must admit that as an amateur astronomer I’m not terribly interested or capable of doing alignments. I have never been really able to get a good alignment on my telescope mounts. I have a lovely EQ 6 mount that is currently underutilized, and the smaller, beaten-up black mount (is an EQ4? I don’t know) that I use for the Mak-Cas. I set everything up, and was satisfied that it was going to be a workable telescope for public viewing. Unlike most 5” Meade telescopes, this telescope has a custom 2” optical back, which allows for 2” eyepieces to be fitted, as well as full frame DSLR cameras. For the eclipse I set up a 2 inch eyepiece so that the public could view the eclipse through the telescope when safely fitted out with an aluminized mylar solar filter

Shortly after noon I got a call from our communications specialist Cassandra who wanted to see if I could come to a different part of RBG and do an interview with the CBC. RBG owns and manages a large set of properties, and the prospect of having to drive for 15 minutes from site to site just before the eclipse started did not necessarily appeal. However, I thought I had better do my duty as Director of Science, responsible for science communication. When I reached the gardens in Hendrie Park, I found that the Ontario Science Centre had set up an interpretive table and were working with grade 12 students on interpreting the eclipse for the public. A CBC video crew was also there to transmit their impressions of the eclipse and the Ontario Science Centre efforts. I did two short interviews with the CBC crew about 20 minutes apart, and then popped back into my car and headed back to the Arboretum. While I was on the road to the Arboretum the eclipse had started. I was back at the Arboretum about 10 minutes later. At this point things were still completely cloudy.

I started working with the telescope to see whether I could catch any kind of glimpse of the eclipse, and I was also equipped with eclipse glasses. It was some time before the clouds started to show some blue and break up, but they did. About 10 or 15 minutes before totality we started seeing good views of the sun through light, high cloud. There were even breaks where some parts of the sky were completely clear. The clouds were moving quickly, and it made for a very dramatic atmosphere, would we or would we not see the eclipse in totality?

People started to line up to view the partial eclipse with the telescope, and there were a lot of very positive comments about that experience. A couple of nice sunspots made the view of the sun more interesting than a non decorated solar disk would appear.

The partial solar eclipse digiscoped through the 5″ telescope with an iPhone 12. The green object is an artifcatual internal reflection.

Just before totality, the clouds opened up and while there was high cloud during totality from our point of view we had a pretty good view of totality. It only lasted 87 seconds in the arboretum, a very short experience. But, it was thrilling, and I was able to get a few good photographs using a handheld Nikon camera and a fifth 150 to 500mm telephoto lens without filter out totality.

After totality and the sun burst through again there was just a lot of ooohs and awwws, and some applause, as everyone put their eclipse glasses back on and thought about the experience they had just had. Over the next hour I continued to offer viewing through the telescope, which was convenient but did need to be realigned manually every couple of minutes, as I did not have a motor drive working. While someone inconvenient it did work, and it meant I had to be on hand to make sure that people were looking at the sun safely. I should note that I have a nice 60 mm Coronado Solar Max Hydrogen alpha telescope, but without a mount tracking the sun I’ve found it too complicated to used for a public event like this.

Totality in Hamilton, Ontario!

I took a few more photographs of the sun with a 300 mm telephoto lens with a solar filter on it, and as the sky lightened up people gradually started drifting off. By the time the eclipse was completed the vast majority of people had left for home.

Eclipse-watchers in the RBG Arboretum, chilling beside firepits!

This was an exciting total solar eclipse despite the clouds. The crowd was happy, the views were good even with high cloud at times, and it ranks up with the experience I had in 2017 of a total solar eclipse viewed in Missouri. That was a longer totality, but the environment was quite different. Both were worthwhile. I hope that if anyone has an opportunity to view a total solar eclipse they will make it a priority. While not common, these do not have to be once in a lifetime experiences if you are willing to travel.

Safe viewing!

David’s 2024 Eclipse Photos Featured on LiveScience

LiveScience contributor Brandon Specktor took in the 8 April 2024 total solar eclipse at the Arboretum at Royal Botanical Gardens (Canada). After the event he requested some of David’s images from the event and wrote up an engaging account of his experience:

https://www.livescience.com/space/the-sun/why-i-watched-the-solar-eclipse-with-my-kids-a-goose-and-2000-trees

Enjoy!

The 2024 Total Solar Eclipse, Part 1

Observing the 8 April 2024 Total Solar Eclipse at the Arboretum of Royal Botanical Gardens (Canada) in Hamilton, Ontario.

The total solar eclipse of 8 April 2024 that swept across North America caused an enormous public and media sensation. Millions of people were able to take in this beautiful natural phenomenon.

Here at Pine River Observatory (which is both virtual and portable) I’m going to post a couple of blog entries about my experience with the 2024 eclipse. I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in preparation for and leading the programming of a visitor experience for the eclipse at Royal Botanical Gardens (Canada), in Hamilton, Ontario, where I serve as Director of Science. In this first blog post describe the preparations for the event, which was held in the Arboretum of Royal Botanical Gardens (Canada) on the afternoon of April 8th.

Preparations for the event actually began about three years ago. I had traveled to the United States to witness the 2017 total solar eclipse that was sometimes called the Great American Eclipse. I joined friends south of St. Louis, MO, and experienced my first total solar eclipse. I also had the honour to serve as interpreter and observation guide for the group, which included members of The Explorers Club, St. Louis Chapter.

Members of the St. Louis Chapter of the Explorers Club and my little telescope set-up watching the 2017 total solar eclipse in Missouri.

The 2017 eclipse was a chance to prepare solar observation telescopes and some camera equipment to record the event. That event went pretty well, and I was excited to capture a variety of images. I also demonstrated that my small telescope, a 5 inch Meade Terabeam Maksutov-Cassegrain OTA with a two inch Jim Weggat optical back, performed very well for visual observations and photography when equipped with a mylar solar filter from Kendrick.

One of my telephoto images of totality in 2017.

In 2021 I first started bringing the 2024 eclipse to the attention of the interpretive and planning staff at Royal Botanical Gardens (Canada), with information about the path of totality and its duration. The Arboretum at University of Guelph was just inside the path of totality, with eclipse websites indicating 87 seconds of totality could be expected there. It was not hard to work with online ephemeris sites and get the direction and the elevation expected for the sun and moon at totality. This would be just about southwest, at 45° elevation.

Serious planning for the event at the Arboretum began in mid 2023, when our director of business development and I started to discuss just what was practical and possible on the day. While the astronomical portion of the eclipse was very predictable, the wildcard in all of this was the weather. We were expecting a 60% probability of being clouded out on the day of the eclipse. Historical weather information, however, is proving to be somewhat unreliable in the era of climate change we are now experiencing. The two days before the eclipse the weather turned out to be cloudless and beautiful. Of course, we did not know this in our planning.

Prior to the eclipse itself RBG organized a presentation by eclipse chaser David Makepeace, of Toronto, a videographer who has identified himself as The Eclipse Guy. David has traveled the world many times to take in eclipses, and gave a wonderful presentation on eclipse chasing at RBG two weeks before the event itself.

We also teamed up with two other institutions in preparation for the eclipse. The Ontario Science Centre in Toronto included RBG in some of its own planning, and sent a team to RBG for the day of the eclipse. This was done in part because the Ontario Science Centre was to be outside of the path of totality. The other partner was McMaster University, which made the wonderful donation of several thousand eclipse glasses to RBG for distribution during our programming. In total McMaster University had over 600,000 pairs of eclipse glasses prepared and distributed free in Hamilton to give people a chance to observe the eclipse in safety.

To set up for the eclipse, it was decided that the Arboretum on the North Shore of Cootes Paradise Marsh would be the best place for an RBG eclipse viewing. It’s not that the Arboretum is anything particularly special, but it does present a large grassy area with a good view to the southwest. Our food services department set up a food truck, and our operations and events people set out chairs, tables, and even fire pits across the Arboretum so that visitors could relax and enjoy the event in style.

I decided to set up a couple of cameras and my five inch telescope 5 inch telescope so that people could take a look at the eclipse in its partial phases through the filtered telescope. On 7th of April, the day before the eclipse, I set up all of my equipment in the Arboretum and did a practice run with solar imaging, producing a decent visual light image of the solar disk.

The sun’s disk on the afternoon of 7 April 2024, just 24 hours before the total solar eclipse was to begin. Taken at the RBG Arboretum with the Terabeam telescope and a Nikon D5100 at prime focus.

I disassembled the equipment and packed it back up into my car for the overnight wait, and then arrived at the Arboretum around 11:30 on the morning of 8th April. It took a while to set up the equipment, but I decided to do a very simple thing with my telescope. Critical to any observed observations with a telescope is the telescope mount. In my case I have an old mount of about an EQ3 size (I’m not even certain), and I decided I was going to use it simply as a manually-moved German Equatorial manual mount. I made a rough north alignment, and then set up the optical tube assembly, the mylar solar filter, and eyepiece.

For camera equipment I had a Nikon D 7000 with a 150 to 500mm telephoto lens and yellow plastic solar filter. I used the handheld camera to take pictures of the sun and moon at various times. At totality, I removed the filter so that I could get photographs of the totality event.

And that was about it. I set up my relatively simple telescope, and during the day I was aided by several RBG volunteers, a wonderful group who come out to help at nearly every event. The wait was on to see if we would get an eclipse, because early on the morning of the 8th of April the weather forecast did not look very good. We had solid cloud until at least 1:00 PM, with totality scheduled for about 3:20 PM.

I’m going to pick up the story of the actual eclipse event in our next blog post. I’ll review the programming and experience of eclipse day, observations and the interactions with all of the public who joined us on the event, and share some photographs. We had at least 400 people attend. It’s not giving anything away at this stage to say that we did see a wonderful eclipse, the clouds cooperated in a rather dramatic fashion, and it was my impression everyone was very excited and satisfied that day.

Get Ready! A Quick Guide to Observing the 8 April 2024 Total Solar Eclipse in Canada

A time-series of the August 2017 Total Solar Eclipse I photographed in south of St. Louis, Missouri.

The April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for amateur astronomers in Canada to witness an extraordinary celestial event. By planning ahead, selecting the right equipment, following safety guidelines, and keeping an eye on weather conditions, you can maximize your chances of experiencing this breathtaking phenomenon. Remember that the memories and awe-inspiring moments you’ll capture during the eclipse will be cherished for years to come.

This blog post gives you general suggestions about viewing or photographing the eclipse, based on my personal experiences with the August 2017 total solar eclipse that I saw in Missouri.

1. Where Will the Eclipse Be Visible?

The April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse will be visible across a large portion of North America, offering Canadians an incredible opportunity to witness this phenomenon. The path of totality—the region where the sun is completely covered by the moon—will stretch across several provinces, allowing observers to experience the eclipse in its full glory. In Canada, the path of totality will traverse regions including Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, southern Quebec, southern Ontario.

Totality – the period when the sun is completely blocked by the moon – varies from place to place. It will cover a narrow band of about 160 km across. The differences can be stark. Totality will not be visible in downtown Toronto, but will be in Hamilton. Even if you are not in the path of totality the sight of the moon obscuring the disk of the sun can be very dramatic.

Here’s a good guide for the details on-line: https://eclipse.aas.org/eclipse-america-2024

2. Recommended Equipment

A 5″ Terabeam telescope (the white ETX-125TB Catadioptric Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope on the left) and a Nikon digital camera and telephoto lens on an Eq-5 tracking mount, both equipped with mylar solar filters suitable to photograph a solar eclipse.

To fully appreciate the grandeur of a total solar eclipse, it’s crucial to have the right equipment on hand. While a total solar eclipse is a mesmerizing sight to behold with the unaided eye, using proper eye protection is essential to avoid permanent eye damage. A pair of certified solar viewing glasses or eclipse glasses are an absolute necessity during all stages of the eclipse, except for the brief period of totality when the sun is completely covered.

For those looking to capture the eclipse’s stunning moments, a digital camera or smartphone can be used to take photographs, but it’s important to use appropriate solar filters to prevent damage to the camera’s sensor. Solar filters designed for cameras or telescopes can help capture the intricate details of the eclipse’s corona.

If you’re an amateur astronomer with access to telescopes, consider using a solar telescope or a telescope equipped with a solar filter. These devices allow you to observe the eclipse in even greater detail, revealing sunspots, prominences, and the solar corona during totality.

There are also some very simple ideas that can make for a fun viewing experience. These include pinhole “cameras” that project an image of the sun onto a white panel or card from a small hole in a solid sheet.

3. Viewing in Safety

Safety should always be a top priority when observing a solar eclipse. Even a partially eclipsed sun can cause permanent damage to your eyes if proper precautions are not taken. Follow these safety guidelines:

Use Certified Solar Viewing Glasses: Regular sunglasses, no matter how dark, are not sufficient for observing the sun. Only use certified solar viewing glasses or eclipse glasses that meet the ISO 12312-2 international safety standard. Check for any damage or scratches on the glasses before use.

Inspect Your Equipment: Ensure that any equipment you use to observe the eclipse has the appropriate solar filters in place. Telescopes, binoculars, and cameras all require specialized filters to prevent harmful sunlight from damaging your eyes or equipment.

Monitor Children: If you’re observing the eclipse with children, make sure they also have proper eye protection and are aware of the importance of not looking directly at the sun without it.

4. Weather Considerations

While regions of Canada offer prime viewing opportunities for the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse, weather conditions can play a significant role in determining whether you’ll be able to witness the event. It’s crucial to keep an eye on weather forecasts in the days leading up to the eclipse and to have a backup plan in case the weather takes an unfavorable turn. As the eclipse is taking place in early spring, for example, the chance that it will be obscured by cloud in Ontario runs about 50%.

If you’re planning to travel to a specific location to view the eclipse, consider selecting a spot with a history of clear skies during the month of April. Coastal areas may be prone to fog or marine layer clouds, so it’s wise to research local climate patterns before finalizing your viewing location.

5. Potential Challenges

While parts of Canada are fortunate to be within the path of totality for the 2024 solar eclipse, there are a few challenges to keep in mind. The farther you are away from the path of greatest totality, the shorter the duration of totality will be. Be prepared for a potentially brief but incredibly intense experience. At most it will be about three minutes. During that period the entire landscape will become dark – not quite night, but very dramatic none-the-less. You may also experience a distinct cooling during the eclipse as the warming rays of the sun are cut off. Also, if you are in a popular area during the event traffic may be heavy!

6. Final Thoughts

I travelled from Hamilton, Ontario to St. Louis, Missouri in 2017 to view the total solar eclipse with friends from the area. This was one of the most moving experiences I can remember. It was well worth the time and travel. And, I prepared for the photographic experience by reading and practicing with my equipment before I left for the trip. If you can take in the 2024 eclipse I highly recommend it.

Preparing to Photograph the 21 August 2017 Solar Eclipse? Practice, Practice, Practice

If you’re going to try to photograph the solar eclipse on 21 August, practice what you want to try out. Totality will last less than three minutes at best. You just have one shot.

I’ve been practicing and preparing for Monday’s solar eclipse by going over my equipment, trying photographic methods, and thinking what it is I’m really trying to do in seeing this event.

First and foremost, I want to experience the eclipse, not spend those few precious minutes fiddling with gear only to realize later that I missed the whole show. That means planning what I will and will not do, in detail.

I’m planning on setting up one camera on a tripod to take a series of wide angle shots that can be stacked afterward to make a composite image. This must be set up with a solar filter that can be popped off at the beginning of totality and then on again at the end. The good thing is that with that camera running on its own intervalometer it’s pretty much a hands off process.

A practice run of solar images captured with a dSLR running on internal intervalometer with a brown plastic solar filter. The sun covers its own diameter in the sky in about 2 minutes. This image is cropped from a larger composite lasting a fee hours. It represents about 50 minutes of the sun’s movement through the sky.

My most complex set-up will be a 125 mm Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope equipped with a mylar solar filter, set up on my old black EQ4 mount for viewing, twinned with a dSLR with 500 mm telephoto lens for detailed coronal photos at totality. I’ve been working out the basic details of exposure times this week.

A telescope equipped with a mylar solar filter twinned with a dSLR camera and a 150-500 mm telephoto lens, also behind a mylar filter. This setup will not follow the sun with accuracy: it will have to be corrected manually throughout the eclipse.

I’ll also have a video camera set on wide angle to record the overall setting. My fourth camera will be a “general purpose” dSLR to take photos of the event and my colleagues as it unfolds.

The main thing is to be able to set things up efficiently and then paying attention to the timing of the event. One key manipulation is to pop solar filters off of cameras during totality. I’m creating a checklist to keep my intended processes working minute by minute, with time built in to take the whole thing in.

Practice, practice, practice!

The Eclipse of 2017: One Week To Go!

Will the total solar eclipse of 21 August 2017, which will transit across the continental USA, live up to the hype? The eclipse will also be visible as a partial eclipse from pretty much all of Canada and Mexico.

I've already seen that some writers are expecting the eclipse to be the most-photographed event in history (at least far). I'm planning on seeing the eclipse first hand, as are many other astronomy fans and photographers. My contacts near our planned main observing site are worrying about the traffic. Stores specializing in astronomy gear are selling out of excise viewers.

Whether or not the event – compounded by human interest – lives up to it all depends on the weather too. Right now I'm hopeful it will cooperate. Long-range forecasts (always to be taken with a grain of salt) show a sunny day expected on the 21st at my planned observing site. Just in case, though, I do have a backup site thanks to the suggestions of friends in the area.

In the mean time, many people planning on attending the eclipse in its totality are practicing their photographic methods. I've been preparing by running a series of tests of interval exposures with wide-angle lenses. Shot through solar filters, these photos are then stacked together to create a single image showing the track of the sun through the sky.

Above, a Nikon D800 dSLR on a sturdy tripod with a wide angle lens and a solar filter, set up to take photos every 30 seconds. The sun moves through the sky at a rate of about 15 degrees per hour. At a diameter of about 30 arc-minutes this means that the sun shifts by its own diameter every two minutes.

I've also been running through other equipment options, such as whether I should try to set up a telescope and motorized mount to follow the sun. Given the travel distance and the practicalities of carting around heavy gear, I'm now planning to minimize the kit and maximize the experience, but also be equipped to take some interesting snaps.

On to more mundane things today though, like having a plumber over this morning to replace some old plastic water lines that are now prone to leak.

Getting Ready for the Eclipse? Free Viewers in SkyNews!

Kudos to SkyNews, Canada's astronomy magazine! In specially-marked copies of the current issue (on shelves right now) they're giving away free eclipse viewing glasses. Look for the yellow sticker on the top right of the cover for a copy with the insert. Eclipse viewers are hard to find already. Even KW Telescope on Manitou Drive in Kitchener have told me they've sold out and are expecting more shortly.

You should be able to find SkyNews in Chapters, Indigo, and other shops with large magazine racks – until they sell out too!

Also, there's a photo of mine on page 14 🙂 (the Nov 2016 moonrise sequence).

The Great Eclipse of 2017 is Just Around the Corner!

One of the grandest spectacles in astronomy is a total solar eclipse. On 21 August 2017 there’s going to be a stunning event, as the shadow of the moon sweeps over the continental USA from west to east. I’ve recently seen suggestions that this might be the most photographed event in history (to date) when it happens. I’ll be in there too, dear readers, making plans for many months about the chance to photograph this spectacle. The next one that will be visible over the North American continent will take place on 8 April 2014.

Alan Dyer’s ebook on the 21 August 2017 eclipse is highly recommended. You can get your own copy here: http://www.amazingsky.com/eclipsebook.html 

A total solar eclipse is, of course, a transient event in which the moon passes directly in front of the sun from the perspective of some location on earth. Because of the coincidence of the similar relative sizes of the sun and moon as viewed from earth, the moon can just about block out the central disk of the sun. A total eclipse, as the name suggests, brings the sun, moon, and earth into alignment. A partial solar eclipse consists of part of the sun’s disk being blocked.

The 21 August event will be a partial solar eclipse in southern Ontario. For observers in a band a few kilometers across running from the west to the east coast of the USA it will be total.

Preparation for watching an eclipse is a must. Not only should anyone wanting to take this in be prepared from the perspective of observation itself, safety is a crucial concern. Although the disk of the sun is blocked by the moon during these events, the sun is still producing a great deal of UV radiation from the corona, the tenuous outer layers of the sun’s atmosphere. Always wear appropriate eye protection during these events, or observe indirectly, such as with a pinhole camera you make make from a simple cardboard box. For safe eclipse observing ideas, see: https://www.space.com/35555-total-solar-eclipse-safety-tips.html

In preparation I’ve been sorting out gear, trying things, and reading up. I highly recommend Alan Dyer’s comprehensive e-book on photography of this specific event. I’m planning on using several cameras to capture different aspects of the eclipse. At least one will be running interval photos that can later be stacked to produce this sort of effect:

A three hour sequence of solar photographs taken at the home base of the Pine River Observatory, at Lurgan Beach, Ontario on 29 August 2017. A Nikon D7000 digital camera was set up to take photos every 30 seconds, and was equipped with a Mylar solar filter and a wide-angle lens. Every sixth resulting photo was then stacked with StarStaX. The last photo, with the sun in the trees, was taken without the solar filter. It forms a background for the otherwise rather dull individual photos of the sun.

Another camera will be set up with a long telephoto lens and a Mylar solar filter. I am not quite sure yet whether or not I will set up any camera on a telescope mount to track the sun – as this trip requires some travel, lugging such things around is always complicated.

If you are able to take images of the eclipse, consider submitting them to SkyNews Magazine, Canada’s own astronomy magazine. They’re holding a contest for the best solar eclipse photo: http://www.skynews.ca/solareclipsecontest/ 

Safe observing!

Copyright 2017 David Galbraith

 

Happy Perihelion for 2014!

While we make a big deal of the two annual equinox and solstice events, most people don’t realize that there’s a point when the earth is closer to the sun than at any other time during the year (perihelion) or as far away as we can get from our local star (aphelion, pronounced “ap-helion,” not “afeelion”). Perihelion is always in the first few days of January in our current epoch; aphelion comes in early July.

The earth’s orbit is an ellipse, with the sun sitting on one of the two foci of that ellipse. Because it’s not exactly a circle, there are times during the year when the earth is a little closer or a little further away from the sun than average – about 3% closer. According to the web site In The Sky (http://in-the-sky.org) the earth was at perihelion at 06:59 EST, Saturday 4 January 2014. This was just before sunrise this morning (which took place at 7:52 AM EST here in Hamilton).

I went out to take a photo of the sun on the morning of perihelion 2014. I hadn’t been following the news, and so was pleasantly surprised to spot the big sunspot on the visible disk (AR 1944) in the camera view-finder.

The sun, photographed 4 January 2014. See below for details.

The photo of the sun above was taken from the LaSalle Marina in Burlington, Ontario at 10 AM EST, 4 January 2014, three hours after perihelion. The large sunspot in the lower left has been designated AR 1944 and is one of the largest this cycle. Taken with a 150-500 mm Sigma telephoto zoom lens and 1.4x teleconverter on a Nikon D7000 body; solar filter was an Orion mylar filter for white light. Conditions were not ideal – a great deal of wind, quite cold, and high, diffuse clouds.

Copyright © 2014 David Allan Galbraith

Free Solar Observing Today at Royal Botanical Gardens

We’re going to hold Royal Botanical Gardens’ third “Solar Thursday” today (29 August 2013) from 12 noon to 1 PM, on the lawn area in front of the main visitor entrance to RBG Centre. Everyone’s welcome to join us for a view of the sun through special, safe telescopes.

If you have a solar telescope you are very welcome to join us in presenting the amazing spectacle of the sun to the public. We like to be “open for business” at 12 noon, so coming a little earlier to set up would be helpful. We have electrical power available if your telescope needs it. We start packing things up around 1 PM. RBG is located at 680 Plains Road West, Burlington, Ontario.

We will be looking through specially-equipped telescopes that filter the bright light from the sun. These filters make it safe to observe the sun’s surface. Remember:

No one should ever look directly at the sun without special, appropriate equipment. Permanent eye damage or blindness may result from inappropriate attempts to see the Sun, or the use of incorrect equipment. We will be using telescopes designed specifically for solar observation, or those equipped with filters specifically made for this purpose.

Once you’re familiar with the equipment and have things in focus, you will be able to take in the sights in just a few minutes! Some nice sunspots are visible today.

Visitors to Royal Botanical Gardens, 680 Plains Road West, Burlington, Ontario enjoying views of the sun live during RBG’s second “Solar Thursday” event, 15 August 2013.

Copyright © 2013 David Allan Galbraith