Image of the eclipse, the diamond ring, and Bailey’s beads provided by Barre Spencer and Patrick White using a Canon Rebel with a 200 mm zoom lens.  Location of photo:  Columbia, SC 

A group of folks from various places met outside of an Italian restaurant to enjoy the solar eclipse together.  We were all surprised how few came to this quaint little town to observe this historic event.  The totality duration was ~ 2 mins  34 seconds, and with perfect weather!    

During totality the sky darkened to a surprising level, but not as dark as a clear full moon night.  Venus appeared very bright in the western sky and Jupiter in the southeast.  I could not see any stars….naked eye.  

Both Debbie and I were amazed at the sudden flash of the diamond ring.  (See the image above) 

The temperature drop was very significant.  A weather bureau report from Newberry, SC, not many miles away and also in the line of totality, had a temperature drop of 11º Fahrenheit .  

We can only assume that this temperature drop would have been similar in Laurens.  When the sun began to re-emerge, we noticed a shimmering of light waves on the pavement in front of us, known as shadow bands.  A very interesting phenomenon, that I was hoping we’d see, and we did!  

What an incredible day!  

Supplemental: Comet Neowise, also photographed (below) by Mario Motta. Comet Neowise was discovered on March 27, 2020 by astronomers during the NEOWISE mission of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) space telescope. At that time it was 18th-magnitude.

NEOWISE is known for being the brightest comet in the northern hemisphere since Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997. It was visible to the naked eye under dark skies, reaching a magnitude 0.5 to 1. (Information from Wikipedia)

Roger Ivester: Hyakutake notes, and sketch via an 8 x 50 telescope finder.

I seem to have misplaced my sketches of Hyakutake, but most were made using a 6º finder, as a 2º telescopic view was just not large enough! I also used a pair of Pentax 7×21 mini-binoculars

The following is a note card from the night of March 22nd 1996:

Incredible! Can see a 20º tail without optical aid. My Pentax 7 x 21 mini-binoculars gave an excellent view also, but still too small to appreciate. When using my 10-inch f/4.5 Newtonian, and a 32mm (2-inch format) and 1.7º FoV, not very impressive.

This comet is like nothing I’ve ever seen!! Seemingly “almost” taking up the entire northern sky! When walking out in my back door, without any dark-adaptation…and there it is!

The following binoculars photo:

After almost 35 years, my mini-Pentax 7×21 binoculars, which I’ve used so many hours, including viewing the two great comets of my lifetime. I would use them when I didn’t want or have time to set up a telescope.

And the days before heading to work in the early mornings with a nervous feeling in my stomach, due to a terrible meeting waiting on me.  So, Before getting in my car, I’d have the little Pentax bino’s tucked in my coat pocket, and might enjoy a view of some brighter star clusters.

After about 15 minutes looking at the sky, I’d be ready for the stressful day before me.  Also, before going to bed, on clear nights, I often spend a few minutes taking in some brighter deep-sky objects with these tiny binoculars.  

Amateur astronomy does not “always” require a large telescope, with long set-up times to enjoy the night sky. 

Many amateurs…for their first binoculars, will choose 10x power (or sometimes even greater) and with 80mm objectives, only to find out they cannot be “handhold” and the field-of-view is too small and dim.

I’ve always believed that 8x is the maximum magnification of any binoculars, that can be handheld. Roger