Monday, May 13, 2019

[iupddfbx] Eclipse shadow bands simulated by snowflakes and a street lamp

I observed shadow bands moments before the August 2017 total solar eclipse, on a white shower curtain I had placed on the ground.  (Interestingly, I did not see them after totality.)

This winter, I saw a similar looking phenomenon in the shadows that large snowflakes cast on the ground (conveniently white and featureless ground covered in fresh snow).  The light source was an LED streetlamp with no diffuser, so its array of LEDs cast an array of very sharp shadows.

The shadows of the snowflakes moved rapidly linearly across the ground and look like eclipse shadow bands.  The snowflake shadows moved so rapidly as to appear indistinct.

We make this note because the appearance of eclipse shadow bands is hard to convey, and they are hard to film.  Total solar eclipses are rare; snow is more common, though snow with snowflakes large enough to cast shadows is kind of rare.

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