While watching the nationally anticipated total solar eclipse Monday morning atop the downtown Morgan Hill parking garage using a crudely constructed “pinhole projector,” Times staff ran into a handful of sky watchers who had a similar idea but with better equipment.
Andrew Remer, a Morgan Hill resident, used some household items to create a “last minute” solar lens for his Nikon Coolpix camera, which he set up on a tripod to capture crisp, clear images of the crescent-shaped sun as the moon partially obscured its light during the Aug. 21 eclipse.
“At the last minute, I scrambled around looking for my old welding helmet,” Remer explained. “I removed and cleaned the lens and cut up a Snapple bottle. It just happened to fit perfectly. I pushed the lens through (the end of the bottle) and added some duct tape to keep out excess light and, voila, I had a cheap and easy solar lens for (my) camera in five minutes.”
Other eclipse watchers at the downtown garage used certified viewing glasses that allowed them to stare directly at the event. Times staff settled with a pinhole projector made out of two paper plates, one with a small hole that illuminated a live image of the moon’s shadow crossing in front of the sun as seen from Earth.
In Morgan Hill and most of the U.S., Monday’s total solar eclipse was only partially visible, and not without eye protection or a safe viewing device.
A narrow swath across the lower 48 states, commonly referred to as the “path of totality,” saw the full effect of the solar eclipse as those areas descended briefly into mid-day darkness at the peak.
