cubinator

It's the biggest explosion you're ever going to see in your life. Possibly more mass than the Earth undergoing thermonuclear combustion, surpassing a temperature of 100 million degrees, visible in city lights from 3000 lightyears away. It's literally like a planet exploding. https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/269/2/323/992661

It's near Arcturus.

Don't worry, there's most likely plenty of time!

A white dwarf in a binary system in the constellation Corona Borealis is due to blow its top sometime in the next few months. It will reach magnitude +2. I've been checking it nightly when the clouds allow. Tonight is just a little too cloudy for me to see, so if anyone is able to report I'd appreciate it. Otherwise, I'll assume it hasn't happened yet and won't worry about it. Keep an eye on this constellation! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T_Coronae_Borealis Here's the position of the star, in the red circle:

I know Lots that can happen with a mechanism like that, and I'm also a big fan of not giving things a lot of extra potential energy when it's not needed.

Luckily it's not too hard to handle the wind force.

The most reasonable thing to do is not use SLS at all.

So I'm NOT necessarily completely wrong about that thing casting a shadow on Europa that I estimated to be 3-7 km tall by counting pixels?

Partway through my processing, still learning how to make it photorealistic. Here you can see all the detail I got!

One thing I wonder about near-horizon eclipses is whether the longer shadow makes it easier to see more stars above. The sunset effects compounded with the eclipse ones would undoubtedly be an interesting contrast to the two I've now seen. I thought about planning a drive up to Canada for the 2021 annular eclipse at sunrise, but the clouds didn't look favorable. I might be able to catch one of the upcoming annulars in Brazil or Argentina, but those are high in the sky.

Yeah, I could barely see the shadows on the grass IRL, so I didn't even bother trying to film them or watch them very closely. Maybe a project for next time. The most valuable thing to capture on the phone was the audience reaction. Finally back in my home state now. What an adventure! I objectively had a highly successful trip, and I'm ready for a rest now.

Correction: I went back and watched my video this morning, and in it I actually did mention spotting Capella. I looked back at the eclipsed Sun and the vista with greater focus. Was really amazing to see the stars and planets come out so abruptly right before totality, even though I didn't get as much time to enjoy them that way. It was a really big contrast from 2017.

I miss it already. Each 'o' is one hour driving. One-way. My timelapse is currently in pieces on my phone, as is my realtime/exposure bracketing stuff. Worry not - I will bring it back to my computer desk tomorrow night!

Congrats! Glad you didn't have to reschedule to 2044 due to clouds.

Some cultures are careful not to observe eclipses. It can sound antiquated to some of us, but a lot of people still practice these traditions.