On October 13, 2023, our usual crew loaded up my mom’s minivan with camping gear and snacks and headed toward the path of annularity for an annular solar eclipse. An annular solar eclipse is when the moon passes between the Sun and Earth, but it’s too far away to completely cover the Sun, so you still need eclipse glasses to look at it.
We 3D printed a cap for our telescope that had a solar filter on it, which allowed us to see the sun spots and take some great photos (like the one above).
While we were there for the eclipse, the stars the night before were also unreal.
It’s amazing what kinds of things you can go see on a random weekend if you’re willing to find it.