Eclipse Monitor

[doody]

In my location, there will be a partial solar eclipse on the 29th March peaking at about 35%, but I see this as a preparation for a total eclipse for some of Europe in 2026.

Partially based on https://youtu.be/IuUMxNfDfFY?si=ILf-Q8HwBbLL-AVZ this experiment from Matt Parker last year with a light meter.

I will be running an experiment on phyphox on an old phone to collect:
GPS data (location)
Magnetometer
Light Illuminance.

Samples are taken at a 10 second interval.

As the phone will be left in the sun for several hours, some thin opaque packing material is used to shield the phone and diffuse the incoming light.

In my case I have a secure area that won't be shaded at the time of the eclipse, both for security and to reduce interference in the measurements.

[doody]

Here are some images of my measurements https://bsky.app/profile/doodyr.bsky.soc...jdms23j223

[Jens Noriʇzsɔɥ]

A good, you have already shared your data. Unfortunately, I have not managed to answer in time before the eclipse.

Your light sensor works impressively well (that's not that common).

I wonder if (in future) “camera brightness” (available with the current test versions, see https://phyphox.org/download/) might be an option – with some tricks like diffusor…

[doody]

A good, you have already shared your data. Unfortunately, I have not managed to answer in time before the eclipse.

Your light sensor works impressively well (that's not that common).

I wonder if (in future) “camera brightness” (available with the current test versions, see https://phyphox.org/download/) might be an option – with some tricks like diffusor…

Thanks Jens!!  I now have access to the test versions and can run some experiments over the next few sunny days and better describe the setup.

[doody]

       

here are some notes:

I have used some tissue paper (or other opaque paper would be suitable).

With the camera sensor, turn off Auto Exposure settings and configured white balance to daylight.


Point the camera in the general direction of the sun, and change the exposure time so that there is no red on the display.  Then start the test.

Configuring the exposure time in blight sunshine is not an easy task and would need careful instructions.

In the attached images, a gradual reduction in the luminance value can be seen over 45 minutes in the early evening, the big drop in luminence was due to the sun going behind a building and shading the phone.

The other image captures the camera exposure settings.