We went to Lon and Ann’s to view the Solar Eclipse using Lon’s automatic arc welding helmet.  It has a sensor which “instantaneously” (1/2000 second) darkened the lens when facing the sun.  It worked very nicely and enabled us to watch the progress of the partial solar eclipse in Britt.

On eclipse day our Star is shining through early morning haze.

During partial eclipse our Star shines through two layers of high cloud.   The higher thin cirrus causes the slight halo and the lower cumuloform cirrus adds some detail to this photo made about 6 hours later than the upper photo.

In the upper photo where is the moon?  ie How far away to the right is the moon?  How many sun diameters?

*See answer below….

Since the camera is pointed Southward,  it is obvious that we are well North of the path of totality.  Think about going South to get “under the moon”, deeper into its shadow.

Meanwhile, back on Earth:

The blackberries are continuing to ripen.  A good crop this (wet) year….

A hoverfly is visiting a white fall aster …

Chokecherries are ripening.  There is some evidence of bears foraging but most are deeper in the bush feasting on a good crop of berries…

Orange-belted bumblebee visiting Goldenrod …

The long antennae indicate that this is a bee, probably one of The Solitary Bees.

A male  Twelve – spotted Skimmer perched on a dogbane bush. See  Libellula

Short antennae indicates a hoverfly.  I have seen this one quite often, judging by its unique eye colouration:

Highbush cranberries are ready to be picked and processed into jelly.   That recipe writer refers to the wet running shoe stink of these cranberries.  It will linger in the kitchen for a while.

White-faced Meadowhawks are abundant these days.  These members of the Skimmer Family will be around for another month, depending on temperature.

This “wheel position” is why Sympetrum obtrusum will be around for a while ….

Here are a variety of views of Fragrant White Water Lilies ….

It seems that this might be an ambush spider of some sort on the fall aster.  It must be hunting for very small prey.

Pearly Everlasting are ready to be used as dried flowers for the winter ….

These Tamarack cones are all brown now, maturing by opening up their cones to release their seeds  over the next month or so.

Brilliant Orange Hawkweed is still blooming ….

This White Admiral is in pristine shape, possibly a second generation?

Andrew passed on this Eclipse Megamovie … a timelapse of still shots made along the path of totality … mainly the sun’s corona but some showing Baily’s Beads and the Diamond Ring

*  Here is a very approximate estimate of the position of moon when the early sun photo was made.  Both the sun and moon are moving with respect to the observer.  Their changing positions are affected equally by the spin of the earth.

If Earth stood still, Moon would appear to be moving around Earth at 360º/month or 360º/30 days or 12º/day or 3º/6 hr  (Actually the Sidereal Month is  a bit shorter than 30 days (~27.3 days) so Moon will be moving a  little faster than 3º/6 hr.

So in that early morning photo Moon is about 3º or about 6 Sun diameters to the right of Sun  — about half ways to the right hand edge of the photo.   Right, Andrew?

EDIT

Actually Moon was about 6 Sun diameters up about 45º to the right (or more precisely at our co-latitude ( ~44.2º) with respect to the horizontal) when the early morning Sun was photographed through the haze.  Both Moon and Sun follow a path across the sky which is inclined depending on our Latitude.  If we were at the equator the sun would rise vertically in the east and set vertically in the west giving short lasting sunrises and sunsets.  For observers at the poles the sun makes a circle around the pole parallel to the horizon —- when the sun is visible.

ANOTHER EDIT

Andrew sent along this image which shows the position of Moon at the time that the first image of Sun was made.  He used “Starry Night Pro” to make the image.

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