Solar Eclipse Maestro Icon

Eclipse Animation

The visualize the eclipse progress from a given location, and later generate a video, you can use the eclipse animation manager.

  1. In the Display menu, choose Eclipse Animation…
    Eclipse Animation Manager Dialog
    The display area is divided into a map region on the left and an information panel on the right. A time slider, visible only when the pointer hovers over the map, lets you choose the instants to view the animation at. A live diagram of the eclipse as viewed from the observer’s location can be seen in the lower right corner.
    The map can be displayed in either equirectangular or stereographic projection, the latter being the best choice when looking at high latitudes (near the poles). The shaded umbral path is shown at the altitude of the observer.
    The location of the observer is marked by a purple cross in the middle of the map.
    In addition, for central eclipses, the locations of the centers of the (ant-)umbra at second and third contact, as seen from the observer’s location, are annotated with the Coordinated Universal Times of those instants as small back circles.
    The information area on the right provides the eclipse circumstances and the parameters are updated at each incrementing time step. The eclipse as seen from the observer’s current location is displayed below. The information is presented in three (color coded) sections:
    • Static Parameters (in olive)
      Observer UTC Max = Coordinated Universal Time of maximum eclipse
      Observer Latitude = latitude of the observer in degrees
      Observer Longitude = longitude of the observer in degrees
      Observer Altitude = altitude of the observer in meters
    • Dynamic (Ant-)Umbral Path Circumstances (in purple)
      Current UTC = current Coordinated Universal Time
      Umbra Longitude = longitude of the center of the umbra at the observer’s elevation
      Umbra Latitude = latitude of the center of the umbra at the observer’s elevation
      Umbra Width = width of the (ant-)umbral shadow in kilometers at the observer’s elevation
      Umbra Velocity = instantaneous speed of the (ant-)umbral shadow in kilometers per hour
      Solar Azimuth = solar azimuth from the observer’s location at current UTC in degrees east of true north
      Solar Altitude = solar elevation from the observer’s location at current UTC in degrees with reference to the astronomical horizon
      Magnitude = magnitude from the observer’s location at current UTC
      Obscuration = obscuration from the observer’s location at current UTC in percent
      When = time to/from maximum eclipse
    • Static Contact Information (in dark blue and red)
      Coordinated Universal Time of second and third contacts
      Solar elevation in degrees with reference to the astronomical horizon at contacts
      Solar azimuth in degrees east of true north at contacts
      Position angles of contacts along solar limb in degrees east from north
      Duration of totality or annularity in minutes and seconds
    After any of the parameters is modified, you’ll have to click on the Refresh Animation button to update the animation data.

  2. A contextual menu, that can be invoked with a right click over the map, will let you select various options:
    • Hide Blueish Color of Large Water Bodies - Display or hide the blue color of large water bodies (seas, lakes, etc.)
    • Hide Brownish Color of Lands - Display or hide the brown color of lands above sea level (continents, islands, etc.)
    • Switch Fill Colors - In stereographic projection to allow switching the fill colors used for the sea and land
    • Show Animation Map Scale - Display or hide the scale on the animation map (available only for the equirectangular projection)
    • Map Projection
      • Equirectangular - Recommended but near the poles
      • Stereographic - Best used at high latitudes close to the poles
    • Hide World Location Names - Display or hide the world locations overlaid on the map
    • Show Only Main Cities - Display only the major cities overlaid on the map
    • Show NASA Blue Marble Earth Imagery - Use or not the NASA Blue Marble Earth as the background. Monthly images are used when possible. An opacity slider is activated so you can control the opacity of the satellite imagery.
    • Apparent Horizon Correction - Display the solar elevations with reference to the astronomical horizon taking into account the apparent horizon and draw the Sun-Moon diagram accordingly
    • Zoom In (⌘⇪+) - Zoom in one level
    • Zoom Out (⌘⇪-) - Zoom out one level
    • Zoom Default (⌘⇪=) - Zoom to the default value
    • Animation Frequency Update
      • 1x (real-time) - The animation is updated in real-time every second
      • 2x - The animation is updated every 5 seconds
      • 5x - The animation is updated every 5 seconds
      • 10x - The animation is updated every 10 seconds
      • 30x - The animation is updated every 30 seconds
      • 60x - The animation is updated every 60 seconds
      • 300x - The animation is updated every 300 seconds
      • 600x - The animation is updated every 600 seconds
    • Play Animation - Start playing the animation
    • Resume Animation - Resume the animation previously stopped
    • Stop Animation - Stop playing the animation
    • Play Animation in Loop - Set to play the animation in loop
    • Display Animation at Reference Time - Display the animation at the time of maximum eclipse
    • Movie Size (Width by Height)
      • 3840x2160 pixels (4K) - 4K size in landscape format with the Sun-Moon diagram
      • 1920x1080 pixels (HD) - Full HD size in landscape format with the Sun-Moon diagram
      • 1280x720 pixels - Full size in landscape format with the Sun-Moon diagram
      • 1024x686 pixels - Full size in landscape format with the Sun-Moon diagram
      • 1024x494 pixels - Reduced size in landscape format without the Sun-Moon diagram
      • 622x804 pixels - Full size in portrait format with the Sun-Moon diagram
      • Current Window Size - Use the current window size
    • Movie Quality
      • High - Full resolution and no compression
      • Medium - Full resolution with compression
      • Low - Full resolution with reduced number of colors and compression
    • Inter-Frame Delay
      • Automatic - The best value is automatically selected
      • 1 second - One second between each image
      • ½ second - Half a second between each image
      • ¼ second - One fourth of a second between each image
      • ⅙ second - One sixth of a second between each image
      • 1/12th second - One twelfth of a second between each image
      • 1/30th second - One thirtieth of a second between each image
      • 1/60th second - One sixtieth of a second between each image
    • Save As QuickTime Animation… - Allow the user to save the animation as a QuickTime movie
    Eclipse Animation Graphic Contextual Menu

All eclipse types are handled.

Additional overlays can be provided by putting them directly in the following user folder:
~/Library/Application Support/SolarEclipseMaestro/AdditionalOverlays/
That folder is created automatically by Solar Eclipse Maestro and can be opened directly by selecting the corresponding item in the Window menu.
To have the additional overlays available for every user, put them directly in the following folder:
/Library/Application Support/SolarEclipseMaestro/AdditionalOverlays/