We went to Wyoming and an Eclipse broke out.... The show video (and audio), a little slide show and more description is on our web site. So let me point you there instead of repeating it all here. https://www.hamradionow.tv/episodes/2017/8/25/hrn-343-totaled
Lo Rez from near Franklin, KY...montage (Hi rez is committed to canvas...) ;-) Second, for a text book---also low rez... Wish I had brought a 600mm lens!
I traveled to an observation site in eastern Oregon, slightly south the center line but within the totality path, for the eclipse. I chose this location 18 months ago after researching lowest statistical probability of cloud cover. It paid off with a wonderful clear sky on the eclipse day. The advantage of being not exactly on the center line is the viewpoint which emphasizes and prolongs an effect known as "Bailys beads"... which I wanted to experience and possibly capture in a photo. The effect only lasts for a few seconds, but can last much longer near the edges of the path of the umbra. After seeing several partial eclipses before, this was my first total eclipse. Here's what I learned: Seeing the total eclipse is a totally different thing from a partial eclipse. Even a 90% partial eclipse is not anything like a total eclipse. There's no other astronomical event that compares to a total solar eclipse. North Americans who missed seeing the total eclipse will get another chance, 7 years from now (08 April 2024) but the statistical probability of cloud cover is poor for many zones in the 2024 totality path. HF Radio Propagation Out of curiosity, I was active on HF (14MHz, 10MHz, 7MHz, 5MHz) shortly before and after the eclipse, with my HF mobile. I made a few contacts using ALE on several bands. Also, I checked reception of WWV and WWVH on all the standard frequencies. I personally noticed no change in HF propagation that I could attribute to the eclipse. HF propagation was generally very poor that day, as it had been for a week prior. Photography and Viewing On the other hand, the visible total eclipse was fantastic! While the telescope was a very good way to see the fine details of the eclipse and photograph it, I found that my high power binoculars and naked eye provided the best personal experience of it. The depth of a stereo view is breathtaking. Total eclipse photo showing Bailys beads and prominences on 21 August 2017 by Bonnie Crystal. Single exposure, visible light, single frame, no processing, no filter. 80mm refractor telescope, 2.5x barlow, Sony a300, Celestron AVX equatorial solar tracking mount. Total eclipse photo showing corona and prominences, 21 August 2017 by Bonnie Crystal. Single exposure, visible light, single frame, no processing, no filter. 80mm refractor telescope, 2.5x barlow, Sony a300, Celestron AVX equatorial solar tracking mount. Heavy Traffic in Eclipse Zones The eclipse traffic prediction map, that I originally made in April 2017 for a Cloudy Nights forum post, had over 500k hits. It turned out to be quite accurate, as proven out by actual traffic patterns recorded by mobile Google Map users on the day of the eclipse. The map was utilized by over 400 websites, including space dot com and cnet , etc. "Solar Eclipse 2017 Highway Traffic Map" Google map of predicted traffic density on highways crossing the 2017 Solar Eclipse Path. . .
Bonnie is absolutely right-- there is nothing that turns on ALL the emotions at once like a total eclipse. You feel like you have touched heaven and slump empty and incomplete at the end of totality. No words... Excellent shots Bonnie!
Hi Bonnie, where were you? I was 20mi east and slightly north of Seneca OR. Same results on HF. I took one photo, otherwise never took my eyes off it. I gotta say, photos do not really show how amazing is the real thing with my eyes. I am hooked. When's the next one?I'm leaving tomorrow. Took all week driving back to east bay, traffic was fine, but staying ahead of the smoke from the wildfires was real trouble!! I think half of Oregon is burning!
ND4XE, W4REQ, and KA4KOE went to Orangeburg, SC...... I opted to travel light with only a camera/tripod. Left my 8" F/4 Vixen at home as I figured the last thing I wanted to do was to fool around with that monster in the heat. I inserted music into this edited version as frankly folks might think I had lost my mind when it went dark. If you haven't witnessed a total solar eclipse, then you wouldn't understand. Eclipses are literally visceral events for first timers.
Your totality corona photo is wonderful, even at low rez. The size, depth, and texture of the corona visible to the eye is something that is very difficult to capture with a camera.
Wonderful video! Thanks for posting it. I noticed that you caught Regulus there during the totality when the camera opened up the iris.
Thanks Bonnie, As an astronomer, I would not qualify it as "photometric". What's there is real, but the relative magnitudes are skewed for aesthetic detail. It is a mask of two shots, one over the other, both of totality. This increases the gradient for dynamic range in the mids, decreasing saturation and bloom of the mids, and enhances eye-perceived differences in surface brightness. Essentially it is an 'compander' algorithm for the mids. In theory you can do this with the 'curves' function in photoshop, but that also blooms the noise. Two shots masked mitigate the noise. There is actually a face-on meteor that was captured in the corona from my location in KY. I will blow it up from the hi rez and show (above). I have rotated image. Showed up in two shots but not before or after. Regulus? I cropped out before going that many solar radii in angle...
