August 2017 Solar Eclipse

[Chris R]

Here is one more from yesterday, you can see 7 sunspots.

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by Chris R

Here is one more from yesterday, you can see 7 sunspots.

Very cool Chris ! Pat

[LeonW]

just back to Windcrest winery near Lincoln, NE. we drove about 50 miles SW to get 2 1/2 minutes of totality. Got a break in the high clouds so great viewing of the totality. but my cell phone photos just show a bright spot. Oh Well. Our glasses and solar binoculars worked very well. tomorrow we are off to visit the Homestead National Monument, before heading back.

[thoer]

We had about 87% coverage at our home. The forecast was for cloudy, but we got lucky and the clouds broke just long enough for us to get clear views during most of the build up and completely clear for the maximum. i sure was glad that we had scored some eclipse glasses as they worked great for us. We had NASA TV playing on an iPad and they had remarkable shots from full eclipse sites from coast to coast.

For anyone with access to (US) PBS, tonight they have a NOVA special on the eclipse.

[gbaglo]

According to 'Good Morning America' and a special on another US channel that my wife watched this afternoon, Americans invented the "Great American Eclipse".
Good on ya!

[Mike Lewis]

Originally Posted by Chris R

Here is one more from yesterday, you can see 7 sunspots.

Chris- What are you using to photograph the sun? Are you using a reflective solar filter on a conventional camera lens, an off-axis filter on a telescope, or something else? The images are really good.

[Chris R]

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

Chris- What are you using to photograph the sun? Are you using a reflective solar filter on a conventional camera lens, an off-axis filter on a telescope, or something else? The images are really good.

My gear is a Nikon D800E DLSR, a few years old now, a Sigma 150-600mm lens and a DYI filter using Baader solar film and a sturdy tripod.
I did hang a heavy back pack from the centre of the tripod to reduce vibration, buses and truck make the house vibrate. Camera was set on manual, F8, about 1/500 sec, no auto focus, I set the focus yesterday and taped the focus ring so it would not move. The challenge was to get the correct exposure to avoid over loading the sensor with blown highlites or under exposure. It was a fun morning.

[garysd]

We saw some amazing things here in Portland this morning that I hadn't seen before. The first was what's called shadow bands, or ripples, moving over the ground and on the side of the house a few minutes before and a few minutes after totality. Well, a bit over 99% here in Portland.

The second thing we noticed is that the light filtering through the trees was casting crescent shadows. These lasted a bit longer than the shadow bands.

Gary

[rbryan4]

I'm in Durham NC today Gary, and we had the crescents in the shadows too. They were at 94 percent. It got noticeably darker, but nowhere near as dark as the totality zone.

[Mike Lewis]

Originally Posted by Chris R

My gear is a Nikon D800E DLSR, a few years old now, a Sigma 150-600mm lens and a DYI filter using Baader solar film and a sturdy tripod.

Thanks for the info; it worked well. I had some solar film but I left it at home in Florida. Well, duh.

Today I set my camera on manual focus and exposure, aperture f/11, and bracketed shots from 1 second to 1/2000 second. The one I posted was the one-second shot, but there is detail in the others that I need to review. I might come up with a better image if I use (i.e. learn how to use) fancy computer processing.

I noticed that at totality the background sky wasn't black-- it was a deep blue. The moon was black. The bright corona surrounding the black moon made the exposure too much to handle for my Sony A7, so it couldn't pick up the deep blue of the sky. Maybe I can combine exposures and get a more realistic image.

[gbaglo]

Here's my eclipse picture. I shot it this afternoon, in my back yard.

[StarvingHyena]

I rented a 72" TV and stood real close .... it was like being there! No traffic....

Tom

[War Eagle]

I had to eat two extra bowls of cereal this morning to empty out the cereal box so I could use it, but it worked fine - kind of. Pin hole in aluminum foil on one top corner. Viewing/photography port on the other. Not quite like being at Madras, OR, but it made me feel like a kid again!

[Bill_75]

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

It was the fastest one minute, 57 seconds I have ever spent. And I spent much of it taking photographs that look like, well, everyone else's. But I really enjoyed the experience.

Yes, ditto here from Charleston SC, the last ones in NA, I believe to see it. It was beautiful.

[gbaglo]

Amazing moment captured by Reuters:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater

[Mucram]

Camped @ friends house near crouch Idaho. Totality was magnificent. Odd lighting change & temp drop prior to total darkness for 2"4 sec. then return of the sun. Saw 2 planets during totality. What an incredible experience.

[ThomasG]

Here is my totality image from near Huntington, Oregon.

[MyronL]

Wow -- now throwing my camera in the ocean. Here's the best I could do but - pix was totally blown out. Then the clouds immediately obscured any second shot chances and we all lurched toward the beer. Managed to salvage this much, using a Nikon RAW editing program and adjusting exposure manually to its lowest point.

[Mike Lewis]

Originally Posted by ThomasG

Here is my totality image from near Huntington, Oregon.

That is very nice! Good capture of Mercury (?) at the lower left. I went back and looked-- some of my exposures show Mercury as well, but I thought it was dirt on my laptop screen because my screen is always dirty.

[ThomasG]

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

That is very nice! Good capture of Mercury (?) at the lower left. I went back and looked-- some of my exposures show Mercury as well, but I thought it was dirt on my laptop screen because my screen is always dirty.

That spot could possibly be Mercury, but a quick look at my astronomy app looks like Mercury was farther away. I think it is a star. Perhaps a better astronomer than I can give an opinon.

Here is the full resolution file of the same image if anyone wants to see it: https://goo.gl/photos/YmQHrGmnJa3ehFAX6

I did some work in Lightroom to make the raw image look as I remembered it during the eclipse.

I test for dirt on my screen, or something in my image, by moving the image on the screen. If the "dirt" doesn't move with the image, it is on the screen, and if it moves with the image it is in the image.