Author: Texas Eclipses

All of Texas will see at least a deep partial Solar Eclipse of at least 80% Coverage of the Sun by the Moon. Key Cities in the path of Annularity – that will see the “Ring of Fire” are Midland/Odessa, San Angelo, Kerrville, San Antonio and Corpus Christi.

The “Ring of Fire” Solar Eclipse is not as dramatic as the Total Solar Eclipse of April 08 2024, but it still is a great example of the Wonder of Science and Astronomy. The light we get “eerie” or weird once the moon covers about 80% of the sun. Look for half moons in the shadows of trees. As of now all of Texas is in for Clear Skies, so protect your eyes, as if you can view the solar eclipse safely.

Times are estimates as they differ based on your location in Texas. But roughly.

Start of Partial: Sat, Oct 14, 2023 at 9:14 am MDT
Start of Annularity: Sat, Oct 14, 2023 at 11:41 am CDT (if in the path)
End of Annularity: Sat, Oct 14, 2023 at 12:01 pm CDT (if in the path)

If Solar Viewers are unavailable you can use the Projection Method using two pieces of card board. Looking away from the sun, you hold up one cardboard with a hole in it, casting the shadow on the 2nd piece. You’ll can see the moon track over the sun with this projection method.

My favorite is to pull the colander from the kitchen. Again, looking away from the sun, hold up the colander and project the shadow on the ground or white sheet. You can track the progress of the moon occluding the sun, by the half moons projected.

Texas Eclipse Viewers are from the premier reputable vendor, Rainbow Symphony, and are verified to be compliant with the ISO 12312-2 international safety standard

Instructions for the safe use of solar filters/viewers:

• Always inspect your solar filter before use; if scratched, punctured, torn, or otherwise damaged, discard it. Read and follow any instructions printed on or packaged with the filter.
• Always supervise children using solar filters.
• If you normally wear eyeglasses, keep them on. Put your eclipse glasses on over them, or hold your handheld viewer in front of them.
• Stand still and cover your eyes with your eclipse glasses or solar viewer before looking up at the bright Sun. After looking at the Sun, turn away and remove your filter — do not remove it while looking at the Sun.
• Do not look at the uneclipsed, partially eclipsed, or annularly eclipsed Sun through an unfiltered camera, telescope, binoculars, or other optical device.
• Similarly, do not look at the Sun through a camera, telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device while using your eclipse glasses or handheld solar viewer — the concentrated solar rays could damage the filter and enter your eye(s), causing serious injury.
• Seek expert advice from an astronomer before using a solar filter with a camera, telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device; note that solar filters must be attached to the front of any telescope, binoculars, camera lens, or other optics.
• If you are inside the path of totality on April 8, 2024, remove your solar filter only when the Moon completely covers the Sun’s bright face and it suddenly gets quite dark. Experience totality, then, as soon as the bright Sun begins to reappear, replace your solar viewer to look at the remaining partial phases. Note that this applies only to viewing without optical aid (other than ordinary eyeglasses). Different rules apply when viewing or imaging the Sun through camera lenses, binoculars, or telescopes; consult an expert astronomer before using a solar filter with any type of magnifying optics.
• Outside the path of totality, and throughout a partial or annular solar eclipse, you must always use a safe solar filter to view the Sun directly.

Note: If your eclipse glasses or viewers are compliant with transmission requirements of the ISO 12312-2 safety standard, you may look at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed Sun through them for as long as you wish. Furthermore, if the filters aren’t scratched, punctured, or torn, you may reuse them indefinitely. Some glasses/viewers are printed with warnings stating that you shouldn’t look through them for more than 3 minutes at a time and that you should discard them if they are more than 3 years old. Such warnings are outdated and do not apply to eclipse viewers manufactured since 2015, compliant with the ISO 12312-2 standard adopted that year, and in excellent condition. To make sure you get (or got) your eclipse glasses/viewers from a supplier of ISO-compliant products, see our Reputable Vendors of Solar Filters & Viewers page or viewers from Texas Eclipses.

An alternative method for safe viewing of the partially eclipsed Sun is indirectly via pinhole projection. I used this method for my very first partial eclipse. For example, cross the outstretched, slightly open fingers of one hand over the outstretched, slightly open fingers of the other, creating a waffle pattern. With your back to the Sun, look at your hands’ shadow on the ground. The little spaces between your fingers will project a grid of small images on the ground, showing the Sun as a crescent during the partial phases of any solar eclipse or as a ring during the annular phase of an annular eclipse. Or just look at the shadow of a leafy tree during a partial or annular eclipse; you’ll see the ground dappled with a crescent or ring-shaped Suns projected by the tiny spaces between the leaves.

Fort Worth, Texas on the frontier, was the centerline for this eclipse. Economically Texas and especially Ft Worth was booming. Progress and strong city leadership made Ft. Worth an attractive option for the eclipse. One reason, Ft Worth had a new railroad station, the train finally arrived in 1876. The Railroad was making Ft. Worth a financial powerhouse. However, Ft. Worth was still the Wild West, where guns were worn as a necessity for defense not only from other men but from the common rattler and other critters. It was a small town with grand ambitions. It had nine churches, nine schools, two militia units, and a dozen physicians. With the economic boom based around cattle and railroad, the town also hosted the infamous “Hell’s Half-Acre,” a designated “Red-Light District.”

To this Wild West Town, a scientific party of five, led by Mr. Leonard Waldo, of Harvard College Observatory arrived to study the eclipse. You can find his report of the eclipse on Amazon or Goodreads, links below this post.

I really enjoyed reading the report. Several things popped out to me when reading.

• The size of the expedition’s equipment, which was carried to the final location on several mules. Although I do know a few current eclipse chasers, such as Milo Slav Druckmuller, who do travel with a team and several vehicles full of equipment.
• Professor Waldo’s very common human reaction when seeing the eclipse. You get lost in the moment, his words, “Just as the time-keeper called two, however, I noticed that I had forgotten to remove my shade-glass, which I now immediately did, regretting that I had lost 15 seconds of precious time.” Professor Waldo had spent months preparing for this moment, his report tell of the drills they ran in preparation. But the experience overwhelmed him.
• The amount of time that Waldo and his team had to spend to determine their location by looking at the stars and aligning their location with Sextants.
• The fact that Waldo did not know what time it is. He or a member of his team spends several evenings trying to get a telegraphic “signal” back to the Washington Observatory in D.C. to set his watch.
• The citizen science that took place. Waldo and his team had help from those in Ft Worth and with the help he garnered during his travels, he included the reports from these citizens in McKinney, Allen, and Dallas. He set up a ‘class’ and gave instructions on how to draw the eclipse to several other citizens, who help with viewing the event.