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US Solar Eclipse 21 Aug 2017 -- How Does Tobacco Behave?

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deluxestogie

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Everyone in North America will experience a solar eclipse on Monday, 21 August 2017. For some, it will be total. For most, the eclipse will be partial.

If you will be at home (where the tobacco heart is) during the eclipse, and the weather is camera friendly, take at least 4 plant-height photos of your tobacco:
  1. moments before the eclipse begins
  2. at the maximum
  3. moments after the eclipse ends
  4. 1 hour after the eclipse ends
I'm not asking for photos of the eclipse. The pros will post a ton of them. But photos of your tobacco. Pics of kids, grandkids and pets optional.

Look at an eclipse map on-line, and determine the appropriate times in advance. [http://www.eclipse2017.org/xavier_redirect.htm] Also, note the percentage of eclipse in your location (e.g. 92%). [If your tobacco will be in totality, the photos will be extra special.] Then POST THEM TO THIS THREAD.

For example, deluxestogie's eclipse data:
  • For my tobacco, the % obscuration of the sun will be about 92%.
  • start time of partial eclipse: 1:11 pm EDT
  • time of maximum: 2:39 pm EDT
  • end time of partial eclipse: 4:01 pm EDT
If you have a notion to look directly at the eclipse, be sure to have suitable eye protection. (You'll never catch another flea beetle, if you're blind.)

What do I expect?
Most of us are familiar with the "praying hands" leaf posture that tobacco may assume at sunset, and maintain during the night. Since I believe that this is entirely a response to light-induced alterations in leaf evaporative water loss, I expect the eclipse to start those plants a praying.

  • How quickly do they begin to pray?
  • How complete is the response?
  • How long does the response last after the eclipse is over?
  • Do confused Manduca sexta hornworm moths come out at mid day?
So, if you are curious, take some photos, and post them here. If we can gather data from a fair number of members, then we should be able to make some definitive conclusions.

Or, we can wait a few more decades, and catch it next time.

Bob
 
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BigBonner

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I should be in the 93% area . If I can get my plot watcher deer camera working I could set it to time lapse . That camera may not take a good picture if the light gets low .
 

OldDinosaurWesH

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Bob:

According to my local newspaper we will be in the 97% totality area. The total eclipse area is about 150 miles south. Burns, Oregon would be the closest to me. Burns is the high desert at about 4,200 feet and is a bleak place filled with sagebrush, jackrabbits, antelope, and the occasional Rattlesnake. If you are into the desert landscape or interested in Geology, the Burns area is quite interesting. If you are just passing through...not so much, Glass Butte is 40 miles west, and you can collect all the Obsidian you could ever want just laying around on the ground. Most of eastern Oregon is part of the Great Basin, which is centered around The Great Salt Lake. I'm sure every campground and motel room for many miles around will be packed with people.

This is an intriguing idea. I'll see if I can't set up my tripod and participate.

The last time we had a total eclipse in my area was in 1979 or 1980, I don't remember exactly. It was cloudy that day. All I remember was that it got dark for a few minutes, and then it was light again. I was in college then, and didn't have a whole lot of time for eclipse watching anyway.

I stand corrected, the website referenced above says I'll be in the 95.456% totality area and that Burns is south of the totality belt.

Wes H.
 
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SmokesAhoy

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I've seen a few thanks to coincidentally living in the right places at the right times, but this will be my kids first so were going to make it special. Unfortunately I think we're only 60% if I read it right so they won't get the full show but maybe they'll make the next full one extra special with their kids.
 

Jitterbugdude

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I won't have time to photograph the tobacco plants. I will be studying the sun as I believe when the moon obscures it we will able to see the aliens ships that have been hiding in the glare of the sun.. studying us...:rolleyes:
 

DIY Pete

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I won't have time to photograph the tobacco plants. I will be studying the sun as I believe when the moon obscures it we will able to see the aliens ships that have been hiding in the glare of the sun.. studying us...:rolleyes:

Don't waste your time looking for the ship they had it repainted black just for this occasion.:)

I am traveling for the eclipse. Driving around 5 hours to a spot that puts me right in the center of totality. If the weather cooperates I will be in the dark for 2 minutes and 36 seconds. This is a bucket list item for me so fingers are crossed. As a side note. I have friends in Jackson WY. and so many people are coming into town for the eclipse that folks are renting out space in their yards for people to tent camp. They are charging 300 to 400 for a spot to put up your tent, dry camp with no water or power. Insane.

Pete
 

deluxestogie

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Cheap Pin-hole Projector Eclipse Viewer

So, you were a lazy slug, and never bothered to get some eclipse glasses. What to do?

551880-pinhole-projector.jpg

This is not projecting an image of the hole, but a focused image of the sun's shape.

For a manageable focal length (the distance between the pinhole and the viewing surface), the pinhole should have a diameter of between ~0.5mm and ~1.0mm. (250 mm is 1/4 of a meter; 1000mm is 1 meter)
Focal length mmPinhole diam. mm
2500.577
5000.816
10001.155

Plan B is to just make a tiny hole, then fiddle with the distance between it and the viewing surface, until it comes into sharp focus. [Indoors, at night, you can play with this by bringing the image of a light bulb into focus. Sun, light bulb--same thing.]

For a tinier pinhole: cut a wider opening in the hand-held card, tape it over with a square of aluminum foil, then make a tiny pinhole in the foil (with a pin!). This will allow you to shorten the distance between the pinhole and the viewing surface, if you need to.

To make a cereal box viewer, check out this 1 minute NASA video:


Bob
 
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OldDinosaurWesH

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Bob:

Is it safe to view the eclipse thru the video viewer in my camera?

On a similar by unrelated note, I was near the center of the ash cloud for the Mt. Saint Helens eruption. At noon it got the blackest black you will ever see. The street lights came on. And then it started "snowing" A really bizarre experience! We got about two inches of the gray stuff.

Wes H.
 

deluxestogie

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Is it safe to view the eclipse thru the video viewer in my camera?
Here is a discussion of that question: http://www.pennlive.com/wildaboutpa/2017/08/will_the_solar_eclipse_destroy.html

The larger your camera aperture (i.e. the nicer the camera), the greater the risk of toasting the camera. If you have a camera with an actual viewer, then you should not look through it at the sun.

My own humble opinion is that you can't get a photo that's worth missing the experience. Since the sun will be pretty much overhead at the time of the eclipse, it's not likely that you will have the sun in the frame while photographing your awestruck tobacco.

Bob
 

Jitterbugdude

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This will be my second "Solar Eclipse of the Century". I well remember the eclipse of 1970. I was quite an avid astronomer-wannabe as a kid.
 

OldDinosaurWesH

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Bob:

I am attaching a sample photo for your review. I think I'll set my tripod up in this spot and shoot into the (my plot 3) garden. This is on the corner where my garden makes a transition between types and therefore will include about five different varieties. It will also capture my Tabacum alata ornamentals. The ornamentals open up in the evening and become fragrant. That alone would make a good study to see if they react to the dimming light. This is a good angle as it puts the sun mostly behind and to the side. This area of the garden should also be in full sun for most of the eclipse. I was figuring on taking one snap every 5 minutes 'till totality starts. As totality starts, I thought one snap every 30 seconds. This is just a guess on my part. Let me know if this is a viable plan.

Tobacco Seedlings 8-20-17 112.jpg

Wes H.
 

deluxestogie

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My Solar Eclipse Photography Station

Garden20170820_2978_eclipseCameraSetup_600.jpg


It's the day before the solar eclipse (albeit a partial one, here in Virginia). Rather than panic at the last moment, I have set up my photography station (minus the camera itself) to document whether or not my tobacco even notices the eclipse. (It could be a collossal Nicotiana, "Whooptie frickin doo.")

For years now, I've used my tiny backpacker's tripod to attach my camera to a suitable stationary object (fence post, tree, etc.), most often just using its long Velcro strap to anchor it to my trekking pole. Two of its 5" legs fold flat into the third leg.

UCO Ultrapod-II (~$20): https://www.campmor.com/c/uco-ultrapod-ii-82059

I wanted to have the camera position exactly the same for each of my 4 critical photos of the eclipse effect on tobacco,
(for me:
  • start time of partial eclipse: 1:11 pm EDT
  • time of maximum: 2:39 pm EDT
  • end time of partial eclipse: 4:01 pm EDT
  • one hour after end time: 5:01 pm EDT).
Garden20170820_2980_eclipseCameraSetup_detail_600.jpg


And there it waits.

Bob

Wes,
That looks like an excellent angle, and if I click on the thumbnail, the resolution looks perfect. You'll have a lot of photos to edit through.
 

OldDinosaurWesH

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Bob:

That's why I'm asking. Maybe I don't need to take so many shots, I'm just guessing.

If the tobacco reacts at all to the eclipse, the blooming ornamental alata should show it. My best guess is that not much will happen. If there is a reaction I will be able to smell it. Alata becomes quite fragrant at dusk and into the evening. The totality only lasts for about 2 1/2 minutes. The rest of the time, it's like a mild overcast. Plants have biorhythms too.

The only reason I have a tripod, is my brother gave me his old one. He got a bigger heavier camera, and the old tripod wasn't a stable enough platform. When he gets serious he gets his Leica film camera out. Film is a bit of a hassle these days, but the Leica sure takes some spectacular photos. You can blow the film shots way up in size and they don't get grainy. He swept the photography section at the county fair a couple of years ago.

Hey! I have a wooden ladder like that. I rarely use it any more in favor of a fruit picker's ladder. A much more stable platform for a klutz like me.

Thanks,

Wes H.

This eclipse - tobacco reaction thing is reminding me of a quote from an old television advertisement, "It's not nice to fool mother nature".
 

deluxestogie

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This plant response to the eclipse has, surprisingly, not been studied very much. So a lot of folks are not sure what they might expect, and a fair number of observational studies will be happening on the subject tomorrow.

Plant diurnal rhythms are, to a large extent, based on the light spectrum shift to red that occurs as the setting sun passes through a thicker slice of atmosphere, and on period of darkness (rather than length of day). Since the eclipse really won't shift the sunlight into the red, I don't expect to see too much, other than response to less intense radiation (changes in turgor pressure, such as "praying hands").

Animals are not as smart as plants, and may do odd things. Mosquitoes are likely to come out early. Will anyone see a Manduca sexta hornworm moth tomorrow afternoon? That would be significant.

Bob
 

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