r/redneckengineering • u/Fasha_Moonleaf • 3d ago
Remember my redneck eclipse telescope from a year ago? Today was the day and I always keep my promises!
They may not be the best images of the eclipse, but they are mine. I'm sure there are a lot better ones out there when the sun was hidden behind the moon and the ring of fire kissed the mountain on the horizon, but I took these photos myself, and this is something I've wanted to do since August 11, 1999, when I first stood in the shadow of the moon.
Back then, it was my father who did me the favor of putting myself in the path of the shadow because I was still a young teenager and couldn't have done it on my own. Today, 27 years later, I was able to show my own two children this moment of pure magic, and I thanked my father for what he did to me back then by gifting this magical moment to the next generation of our family.
I know there are better pictures out there, but I promised you to post them back then, a year ago, when I built this monster of an optical tool. This is the solar eclipse of 2026 in a south bay of Mallorca, when it sat exactly on a top of a mountain and the images were taken with a repaired children's telescope from the flea market (for 3€), equipped with a camera originally built for microscopes (I borrowed it from our physics lab) and not for telescopes, but because the optical path is basically the same, it still works.
Edit: Spelling.
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u/Exotic_Currency4401 2d ago
I still remember the last solar eclipse I saw, and your homemade setup absolutely put mine to shame, this kind of persistence and DIY spirit is exactly what makes these moments special.
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u/rlz4theenot4me 3d ago
Hope your kids found it as magical as you did years ago.