Ground Shadows During An Eclipse

[Chesterton]

I don't think I'd ever noticed this before. Outside during the eclipse awhile ago, we noticed the light streaming through the leaves of the trees formed half-circle crescent like shapes on the pavement. As the eclipse progressed, the light made more elongated horseshoe shapes.

I also noticed my shadow got very blurry on the edges. What's weird is near the beginning of the eclipse, as I stood with my back to the sun, the right side of my shadow was well-defined like normal, but the left side of my shadow was blurry.

I think I found one article about this but the page wouldn't load for some reason. Anyone know what was going on?

 

[USincognito]

I don't think I'd ever noticed this before. Outside during the eclipse awhile ago, we noticed the light streaming through the leaves of the trees formed half-circle crescent like shapes on the pavement. As the eclipse progressed, the light made more elongated horseshoe shapes.

I also noticed my shadow got very blurry on the edges. What's weird is near the beginning of the eclipse, as I stood with my back to the sun, the right side of my shadow was well-defined like normal, but the left side of my shadow was blurry.

I think I found one article about this but the page wouldn't load for some reason. Anyone know what was going on?

The leaves are forming a natural camera obscura. Do a search for "eclipse camera obscura" and you'll get a number of pages that explain the effect.

 

[Chesterton]

Hmm, I searched that and I didn't get anything mentioning shadows, just instructions on how to make the camera. ?

 

[USincognito]

Hmm, I searched that and I didn't get anything mentioning shadows, just instructions on how to make the camera. ?

Sorry, on my phone I searched for "eclipse leaves camera obscura". Leaves will make the difference.

 

[Chesterton]

Sorry, on my phone I searched for "eclipse leaves camera obscura". Leaves will make the difference.

Thanks, I found info. Found a pic, too. Seems odd to me that all the crescents are pretty much the same size.

I've seen lots of eclipses, funny how I never noticed this before. Still wondering about the half-blurry shadow of my body, though.

 

[USincognito]

Thanks, I found info. Found a pic, too. Seems odd to me that all the crescents are pretty much the same size.

View attachment 337679

I've seen lots of eclipses, funny how I never noticed this before.

I think I first head about the effect back during one in the early 90s.

Still wondering about the half-blurry shadow of my body, though.

That I don't know. Maybe a glitch in the matrix.

 

[Kylie]

I don't think I'd ever noticed this before. Outside during the eclipse awhile ago, we noticed the light streaming through the leaves of the trees formed half-circle crescent like shapes on the pavement. As the eclipse progressed, the light made more elongated horseshoe shapes.

I also noticed my shadow got very blurry on the edges. What's weird is near the beginning of the eclipse, as I stood with my back to the sun, the right side of my shadow was well-defined like normal, but the left side of my shadow was blurry.

I think I found one article about this but the page wouldn't load for some reason. Anyone know what was going on?

The light coming through the leaves was forming those shapes because the small gaps between the leaves was acting as a pinhole camera.

 

[iluvatar5150]

Thanks, I found info. Found a pic, too. Seems odd to me that all the crescents are pretty much the same size.

The size of the projected image is a function of the focal length, or the distance between the aperture and the surface onto which the image is projected. The spaces between the leaves are all roughly the same distance from the garage in your picture, so they all produce roughly the same size image.

 

[NxNW]

Thanks, I found info. Found a pic, too. Seems odd to me that all the crescents are pretty much the same size.

View attachment 337679

I've seen lots of eclipses, funny how I never noticed this before. Still wondering about the half-blurry shadow of my body, though.

This happened in 2017 as well. Basically anytime you've got the eclipse shining through a hole, you'll see that.

 

[Chesterton]

The size of the projected image is a function of the focal length, or the distance between the aperture and the surface onto which the image is projected. The spaces between the leaves are all roughly the same distance from the garage in your picture, so they all produce roughly the same size image.

Hey iluv, long time no see. While the spaces between the leaves are all roughly the same distance from the garage, wouldn't it matter that the spaces between the leaves will be different sizes?

 

[iluvatar5150]

While the spaces between the leaves are all roughly the same distance from the garage, wouldn't it matter that the spaces between the leaves will be different sizes?

It matters, but differently. Aperture size affects the brightness and sharpness of the image. If it's too big, it'll just be a blurry smudge. If it's too small, it'll be too dim to see.

 

[Chesterton]

It matters, but differently. Aperture size affects the brightness and sharpness of the image. If it's too big, it'll just be a blurry smudge. If it's too small, it'll be too dim to see.

That makes sense.

 

[Kylie]

Hey iluv, long time no see. While the spaces between the leaves are all roughly the same distance from the garage, wouldn't it matter that the spaces between the leaves will be different sizes?

My mum was a photographer, and I picked up quite a bit. What's happening is that the holes in the leaves are forming a basic pinhole camera. The size of the hole doesn't make any difference to the size of the image, but to the sharpness of it. If the hole is small, it will be sharp, but also dim. As the hole gets larger, it will become brighter, but the image will also become more out of focus.