As soon as we found out that the center of the track of totality was going to go through Bloomington (home of Indiana University), we started to plan for April 8th, because my niece and her husband live in Bloomington--and they witnessed totality in 2017 in Tennessee. After days of watching the weather forecasts fluctuate between good and bad, the big day arrived--and it was clear.
I had my double stacked PST set up as well as my Seestar smart telescope, but I was counting on the naked eye view and my trusty 12x36 image stabilized binoculars to give me the best views during totality.
Most of my family were there as we set up in a park near my niece's house so the eclipse doubled as a family reunion. Between 1st and 2nd contact, a bald eagle flew over our encampment, which seemed like a good omen--and it was. The weather was perfect.
You don't want to be doing anything except looking during totality, so I made these sketches based on my observations, my visual memory, and consultations with my wife Judy, who is a keen observer equipped with binoculars.
The H alpha sketch with the PST was memorable because of the prominence visible on the left side above the horn of the crescent. People looking through the PST were thrilled to see that.
The sketches were made on black Artagain paper and Canson pastel paper (using the smooth side) and with pastels and white and black charcoal pencils. I will have to post them in a series due to the posting size constraints. The first sketch was done on Canson paper immediately after the event. The second sketch (on black Artagain paper) was based on the first, because I wanted to do one on black paper to show the blackness of the Moon in front of the Sun--it was like a hole in the sky. The third one is the H alpha view through the double stacked PST just before second contact.
Edited by Special Ed, 13 April 2024 - 06:28 AM.
