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Watch the Eclipse with Thorlabs!
Watch the Eclipse with Thorlabs!
The August 21, 2017 Eclipse
Thanks for joining us on August 21st for the live-streaming of the solar eclipse as seen from Thorlabs’ manufacturing facility in Newton, NJ. For those of you who didn’t have a chance to view it live or would like to watch it again, we posted a sped-up version here as well as on our YouTube channel. The eclipse lasted 2 hours and 40 minutes and we compressed the footage to a 20 second segment.
The telescope we used, pictured above, is constructed entirely of Thorlabs components and incorporates a focusing optic, filtering optics, and an imaging sensor. The optical assembly is mounted onto two rotation stages that are controlled by a program that enables the telescope to track the sun's movement.
We hope to reconfigure the telescope for future events, including a full moon or supermoon, lunar eclipse, periods of high solar activity, or the next North American solar eclipse in 2024! Keep an eye on our homepage for future announcements.
Livestreamed from our manufacturing facility in Newton, NJ
Safety
The only safe way to look directly at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun is through special-purpose solar filters, such as "eclipse glasses" or hand-held solar viewers. Homemade filters or ordinary sunglasses, even very dark ones, can be dangerous for looking at the sun as they can transmit thousands of times too much sunlight.
Below are some safety tips and alternative methods for viewing the eclipse:
NASA Eclipse Safety
AAS Eclipse Watch Safety Instructions
Next Total Eclipse for North America
Although it has been a long 38 years since the last U.S. total solar eclipse, don't fret as it will be a relatively short 7 years to the next total solar eclipse in North America. The next total solar eclipse will occur on April 8, 2024 and will pass over upstate New York so keep your viewers handy!
Map Info
The eclipse path map displays the path of the moon's umbral shadow. The magnitiude is the percentage of the sun's diameter being covered. For example, if you are in a region where the sun has a .9 magnitude of totality, then you will see that 90% of the sun is covered by the Moon at the peak eclipse.
You will be able to see complete totality of the eclipse if you are anywhere on the map under the Total Eclipse path.
Eclipse Path Map
