Show HN: How will the Aug 12 eclipse look like from your address?

Posted by cpcdoy 18 hours ago

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August 12 is a total solar eclipse over Iceland and northern Spain and partially across Europe. In France it'll be visible over 90% (~92% in Paris at 8:17pm).

I wanted to know if I can view it and from where (with proper protecting glasses of course :). I built a site to help see it: you type your address (in France only for now, there's a default address you can click on to try it) and it shows you how it'll look like. You can also see the details of the eclipse for multiple cities.

Try it here: https://eclipse2026times.com/

Basically, using IGN's open data (https://www.ign.fr/), a ray is cast along the sun's azimuth and you'll see if the line of sight is clear. You'll see the fully rendered street in which you'll be able to move around and the tool puts you automatically on the lowest floor from which you can get a clear view to see the eclipse. All done in the browser client-side, nothing server-side.

Keep in mind you can't yet see cloud coverage and sometimes building data is outdated. There are probably other improvements to make as well.

Let me know what you think and if there's any features you'd like to see.

Comments

Comment by tony_in_FC 13 hours ago

I experienced the solar eclipse in Oregon in 2017 - it was an awesome experience. In planning for it I looked for a park and was constantly checking weather along the path of optimum visibility. I see you've got cloud coverage planned, parks might be cool too.

Comment by HerrlichDigital 17 hours ago

Awesome I was wondering how and if I will see it here in western Germany. Have seen a solar eclipse in the 90s and I wonder if it will be the same experience. Many thanks for this tool.

Comment by cpcdoy 15 hours ago

Thanks!

You should see it from Germany but it'll only be a partial eclipse. If you're talking about the eclipse of the 11th August 1999, that one had the totality crossing Germany, so the upcoming one will be less spectacular I think.

I've also updated the website to add more info about German cities, hope it helps!

Comment by HerrlichDigital 10 hours ago

Many thanks I will take a look at the new data about German cities.