Blog: Astrophotography
Annular Solar Eclipse of October 14, 2023
October 14, 2023
Permalink | Tags: Solar Astronomy, Astronomy, Astrophotography, Photography
WARNING: When observing the Sun, be sure to use only equipment designed specifically for that purpose and produced by reputable manufacturers. Follow their directions closely. Do not improvise your own filter material for solar observing. If you are careless, you risk instant and permanent injury and/or vision loss.
One of the things I have grown to love about astronomy in general is the sheer luck that sometimes comes out of it.
Although I had been eagerly awaiting the annular solar eclipse that swept over my little corner of the Pacific Northwest today, forecasts had been pointing to cloudy conditions that threatened to scuttle the entire event.
But today was my lucky day. A clearing in our cloud cover happened just in time for the eclipse. Although I didn't see its very beginning and very end, I saw the part that mattered most.
At the very least, the eclipse reminded me of the sheer joy I get out of being able to observe something as awesomely powerful as our Sun.
Check out more details and pictures from the eclipse in this fuller-length article.
Smoky Moon
August 25, 2023
Permalink | Tags: Lunar Astronomy, Astronomy, Astrophotography, Photography
This year, wildfire smoke hadn’t been too much of an issue until recently. But rather than get bummed out about it, I decided to make lemons out of lemonade.
With my Canon EOS M200 mirrorless camera attached to my trusty 1962 Questar, I took this image of the Moon as it appeared in our smoke-laden skies:
A bit more than a year ago, I took this series of three images as the Moon set:
As I noted in this post on Cloudy Nights the next day, the effect was kind of like that of a total lunar eclipse. As the Moon set, it sank lower into the smoke haze, and its reddish tone grew more intense.
Huge Prominence
July 28, 2023
Permalink | Tags: H-alpha Solar Astronomy, Solar Astronomy, Astronomy, Astrophotography, Photography
WARNING: When observing the Sun, be sure to use only equipment designed specifically for that purpose and produced by reputable manufacturers. Follow their directions closely. Do not improvise your own filter material for solar observing. If you are careless, you risk instant and permanent injury and/or vision loss.
Perusing the internet on my iPad over breakfast, I happened to turn to my solar activity monitor that I have on my website. I was shocked to see an absolutely huge prominence lifting off the Sun likely as the result of a rather strong flare. I quickly got myself setup and captured what little remained of the fast-moving event whose climax I missed unfortunately. Still, the progression of images is neat to see.
