Megamovie App makes photographing the Total Solar Eclipse a Snap
The Eclipse Megamovie project has released an app that makes it easy for citizen scientists with smart phones to photograph the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse and upload the images to the project team; a collaboration between the Space Sciences Laboratory’s Multiverse education group and Google’s Making & Science initiative to provide a lasting photo archive for scientists studying the sun’s corona.
The Eclipse Megamovie Mobile app, created by Ideum, is available for Android phones through Google Play store and for iPhones through iTunes’ App Store.
UC Berkeley astronomer Alex Filippenko, an admitted eclipse addict, advises on safe viewing and why you shouldn’t miss this rare event, the Great American Eclipse. Video by Roxanne Makasdjian and Stephen McNally.
When downloaded and installed, the app walks users through a simple process to point your smart phone at the sun and automatically starts taking photos. Photos begin 15 seconds before totality and throughout the total eclipse – which will last a maximum of 2 minutes, 40 seconds, depending on where you are – and 15 seconds after the total eclipse has ended to capture what is known as the “diamond ring” effect.
The complete article on photographing the total eclipse using the Megamovie Mobile app is found here.
