Originally Posted by mrken30

A great and free way to safely view a solar eclipse is with a mirror and a large blank wall.

Originally Posted by steveq

True, but one thing which isn't being made clear is that AT TOTALITY you can remove the glasses !!

Originally Posted by mrken30

Just read this story

A great and free way to safely view a solar eclipse is with a mirror and a large blank wall. If you use a small mirror (about 4" across round or square) you can bounce the image of the sun onto the side of a building where everyone can view it. During the last solar eclipse in our area, I was working downtown and had gone outside with a bunch of co-workers to watch the eclipse. One of them had a small piece of glass from a welders mask. We were all passing it around looking at the sun waiting for the eclipse to start. When someone in the crowd whipped out a small makeup mirror and reflected the sun onto the side of the parking garage right next door. There was a beautiful full circle of sun about 8-10 feet across displayed on the building. As the eclipse progressed you could watch the "shape" of the sun change on the side of the garage. Over 200 people stood there and watched it. It was much more convenient and cheaper than everyone buying a pair of glasses or welding glass. here is a youtube video of someone projecting an eclipse onto a bedsheet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5j0t4NaJRE

Originally Posted by WEBlue

Yes, thanks much for posting this, Mrken!!

We have family coming to visit at the time of the solar eclipse. (Which will be partial in our location.) I just dug out my round hand mirror and a white bedsheet that I'll clip to our clothesline out back.

Much easier and more fun for a group of people than trying to order a number of (hopefully safe) special specs & on the day keep them on the little ones' noses.

Originally Posted by Oakvillian

to do this effectively, the screen (bedsheet) needs to be in deep shade, otherwise the contrast will be too low to see the image effectively. That's presumably why, in the video above, the sheet is on the far side of the road under a tree.

Originally Posted by Pulaski

If you live just south of Carbondale, IL you will be on the centerline of the Eclipse this summer, and on the centreline of the one in 2024.

Originally Posted by SultanOfSwing

One of the first things I looked up before I moved here was when the next eclipse might me. 'Oh, 2017 and it'll be visible from Illinois, isn't that lucky', I thought. Then I completely forgot about it until it was way too late to make travel arrangements.

However ...



I'll try and be more prepared in 7 years

Originally Posted by moneypenny20

Set a reminder on your phone. Then remember to transfer it to your next phone, and possibly the phone after that.

Originally Posted by SultanOfSwing

I have an Android, so when I set reminders, it goes on my Google calendar, so I'd not need to transfer it

Originally Posted by moneypenny20

I've never looked at my Google calendar.

Originally Posted by moneypenny20

I've never looked at my Google calendar.

Originally Posted by SultanOfSwing

That's the good thing about setting reminders, it means you never actually have to look at it.

Originally Posted by Pulaski

A few hours beforehand I got a reminder for the concert I attended eight days ago, together with a suggested route, a report of traffic conditions, and an estimate of the journey time, courtesy of Google .... despite having never put the concert in any calendar. ..... It is clear that Google is reading my email!

Originally Posted by SultanOfSwing

That's kind of handy though. I never got any kind of reminder for the last concert I went to, other than an email from Ticketmaster. I guess Google's too busy reading your emails to bother with mine.

Not that I needed directions to the railway station a mile from my house, of course.

Originally Posted by Pulaski

I am waiting to see if I get a reminder for the concert I am going to this evening, and what sort sort of reminder I might get for the one next week, which is 4+ hours from Pulaski Manor, and far enough away that flying would be an acceptable strategy for getting there.