Annular Solar Eclipse of 1984 May 30
 in the United State of America

Larry Stevens in Greer, South Carolina:

Larry had planned to view from the Atlantic beaches of Virginia, but rain there the day before the eclipse forced him to take I-85 toward Atlanta in search for better weather. The path for being located within the path was a very narrow 5.25 miles, and being directly on the centerline was a gamble, so he plotted the centerline according to the coordinates from a USNO Eclipse Circular and a local map we purchased out of a machine, which luckily had latitude and longitude on it. To image the maximum phase Larry used a 1200mm Bausch & Lomb Criterion 4000 mirror lens at f/12, unfiltered only around the maximum. This eclipse was never completely annular at this location, hence a "broken" annular.

We have an absolute match between the actual photographs taken on 1984 May 30^th by Larry Stevens in Greer, South Carolina, and the simulation.

Glenn Schneider in Pendleton, South Carolina:

On the map below one can see the area around the centerline along I-85 that many eclipse chasers drove on that day. Glenn and his friends did the same when they drove in the morning from Greenville to Pendleton to leave the cloud cover behind. Thanks to Howard for pointing us to the exact location in his archives 32 years later; then with some more forensics we managed to pinpoint the location to about 50 meters (160 feet) knowing that the area next to the Milliken plant has changed quite a bit while extensions were built over the years.
It is worth noting that the 2017 August 21^st total solar eclipse centerline will cross the 1984 annular one at only about five kilometers (about three miles) from this place.

Glenn Schneider took an unfiltered image sequence with a 400mm lens at f/32 on 35mm Ektachrome 64 film. This eclipse was never completely annular at this location, hence a "broken" annular.

Again the Baily’s beads simulation matches the photographs taken on 1984 May 30^th by Glenn Schneider in Pendleton next to the Milliken plant.

Fred Espenak next to Greensboro airport, North Carolina:

On the map below one can see the area around the centerline southwest of the airport.

Fred Espenak used a 1200mm Bausch & Lomb Criterion 4000 mirror lens at f/12, unfiltered only around the maximum. This eclipse was never completely annular at this location, hence a "broken" annular.

Again a good match that is also visible on the complete animation below.

Robert Slobins north of Boiling Springs, South Carolina:

Robert Slobins was located to the north of Boiling Springs, South Carolina, at the intersection of River Oak and Rainbow Lake Roads, location shown on the map below. The original plan was to view near the maximum point in Petersburg, VA. However, a cold front stalled off the coast and clouds covered the path east of Greensboro, NC. Therefore, eclipse chasers got the word from Joe Rao and sped towards Atlanta for clear skies.

Once more the Baily’s beads simulation matches the photographs taken on 1984 May 30^th by Robert Slobins near Boiling Springs, South Carolina. This eclipse was never completely annular at this location, hence a "broken" annular.

David Harrington in the vicinity of Atlanta, Georgia:

David Harrington was located to the northwest of North Druid Hills, Georgia, at the location shown on the map below.

Once more the Baily’s beads simulation matches the photograph taken on 1984 May 30^th by David Harrington near North Druid Hills, Georgia. This eclipse was never completely annular at this location, hence a "broken" annular.

Richard Sanderson at Lake Norman of Catawba, North Carolina:

Richard Sanderson took the following picture using a Roger Tuthill’s Solar Skreen filter (well known at the time with lots of advertising in Sky & Telescope magazine). The image used here is a quick iPhone picture of the black and white print he made from a severely underexposed Kodachrome slide. This eclipse was never completely annular at this location, hence a "broken" annular.

Again the Baily’s beads simulation matches the photograph taken on 1984 May 30^th by Richard Sanderson at Lake Norman of Catawba. The main beads or arc of beads are in place, and the gaps as well where the light intensity is lower.

Jörg Schoppmeyer near Ouled Nemma, Morocco:

Jörg Schoppmeyer was located to the south of Ouled Nemma, Morocco, at the location shown on the map below. As you can see this eclipse is there fully annular and not a "broken" annular.