Solar Eclipses / Sky / Photos

Fig. 1: The previous gray picture has been multiplied with a picture at longest exposure time to give a more realistic impression. — Minolta XD-7, Lichtenknecker FFC 3.5/500mm, Fujichrome Astia 100, Verdun, France, 11 August 1999

Fig. 2: The total solar eclipse of 11 august 1999. This is a composite of six individual pictures with different exposure times. They have been combined using the pellet method. — Minolta XD-7, Lichtenknecker FFC 3.5/500mm, Fujichrome Astia 100, Verdun, France, 11 August 1999

Fig. 3: The previous corona composite has been multiplied with a long exposure image to give a more realistic view. — Minolta XD-7, 300mm telephoto lens at f/8, Fujichrome Velvia 50

Fig. 4: Total solar eclipse on 4 December 2002 in Ceduna, Australia: A composite of seven pictures with different exposure times. The sun was low on the horizon. Unfortunately clouds came after the eclipse and one could not see the setting sickle behind the sea. — Minolta XD-7, 300mm telephoto lens at f/8, Fujichrome Velvia 50

Fig. 5: A composite of two pictures to shw the corona and protuberances on one picture. The corona image with 1/2s exposure time was contrast enhanced and then added the protuberance picture. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/6, 2x Nikon Teleconverter, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, Side, Turkey, 29 March 2006

Fig. 6: A composite of six pictures with different exposure times. Each picture was contrast enhanced using the Pellet method and then layed over each other. The moon's disk is a black mask because that method produces ugly artefacts on the moon's edge because it is not perfectly round. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/6, 2x Nikon Teleconverter, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, Side, Turkey, 29 March 2006

Fig. 7: A composite image consisting of ten individual exposures with different times ranging from 1s to 1/500s. The composite was made with the Pellet method. It shows the outer parts of the sun's corona with the magnetic field lines. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/6, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, Side, Turkey, 29 March 2006

Fig. 8: the previous composite which shows only the brightness differences in the corona was multiplied with a picture of 1s exposure time. This represents more or less the visual impression during totality. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/6, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, Side, Turkey, 29 March 2006

Fig. 9: HDR composite of seven single frames of the total solar eclipse on 29 March 2006, shot in Side/Turkey. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/6, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, Side, Turkey, 29 March 2006

Fig. 10: Total Solar Eclipse, 11 August 1999: The totality of the eclipse. This is a HDR picture made from nine slides with different exposure time. I created ths in 2010 using Photomatix Pro. — Minolta XD-7, Lichtenknecker FFC 3.5/500mm, Fujichrome Astia 100, Verdun, France, 11 August 1999

Fig. 11: The total solar eclipse of 11 august 1999 — Minolta XD-7, Lichtenknecker FFC 3.5/500mm, Fujichrome Astia 100, Verdun, France, 11 August 1999

Fig. 12: Total Solar Eclipse, 11 August 1999: The diamond ring effect occurs when the first or last beams of sunlight through the valleys on the Moon's edge reach the Earth. — Minolta XD-7, Lichtenknecker FFC 3.5/500mm, Fujichrome Astia 100, Verdun, France, 11 August 1999

Fig. 13: Total Solar Eclipse, 11 August 1999: The totality of the eclipse. This is a combination of five images with different exposure times because the dynamic range of film emulsions is not wide enough to capture the whole corona. I saw the eclipse in France - after an odyssey through Europe. Unfortunately the print resolution file of this picture is no longer available. — Minolta XD-7, Lichtenknecker FFC 3.5/500mm, Fujichrome Astia 100, Verdun, France, 11 August 1999

Fig. 14: Total Solar Eclipse, 11 August 1999: The crescent of the Sun short before the totality. At this time the sky was still covered with clouds. — Minolta XD-7, Lichtenknecker FFC 3.5/500mm, Fujichrome Astia 100, Verdun, France, 11 August 1999

Fig. 15: The total solar eclipse of 11 august 1999. This picture was take from an old battlefield from the first world war. — Minolta XD-7, Lichtenknecker FFC 3.5/500mm, Fujichrome Astia 100, Verdun, France, 11 August 1999

Fig. 16: Total Solar Eclipse, 11 August 1999: The totality of the eclipse. The red spots are protuberances on the Sun's surface. Unfortunately not very sharp because a flat field camera with f/3.5 is very hard to focus during daylight. — Minolta XD-7, Lichtenknecker FFC 3.5/500mm, Fujichrome Astia 100, Verdun, France, 11 August 1999

Fig. 17: Partial phase of the total solar eclipse on 4 December 2002 in Ceduna, Australia — 300mm telephoto lens at f/8, filter: 2 layers rescue foil, Fujichrome Velvia

Fig. 18: Total solar eclipse of 4 December 2002 in Ceduna, Australia. The red seam along the Moon's edge is probably caused by chromatic aberration of the telephoto lens and not the Sun's chronosphere or protuberances. There is also a reflection in the upper right corner of this picture — One second exposure on Fujichrome Velvia, 300mm Minolta telephoto lens at f/8.

Fig. 19: Total solar eclipse of 4 December 2002 in Ceduna, Australia: The diamond ring effect: some parts of the solar disk are shining through valleys on the moon's edge. The red spots on the upper right edge are probably protuberances — 300mm telephoto lens at f/8, Fujichrome Velvia

Fig. 20: Total solar eclipse on 4 December 2002 in Ceduna, Australia: The sickle of the Sun a few seconds after totality. 300mm telephoto lens at f/8. No filter. Image processing: crop, gamma curve and removed reflection of sickle in upper right corner — Fujichrome Velvia

Fig. 21: Sunrise with a partial solar eclipse of 31 May 2003. Shot from the Bachtel tower by Albina Gees — Minolta XD-7, 135mm, Fujichrome Astia, Bachtel, Zürcher Oberland, 31 May 2003

Fig. 22: Partial solar eclipse at sunrise on 31 May 2003, shot from Bachtel Tower in Zurcher Oberland — 6.3/500mm telephoto lens, Fujichrome Provia 100F, 1/500s, no filter

Fig. 23: Series of five pictures from the first contact — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/6, 2x Nikon Teleconverter, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, 1/250s, Side, Turkey, 29 March 2006

Fig. 24: A few seconds before totality I started with the exposure series at 1/8000s, doubling the exposure time with every picture up to 1s. Some parts of the sun are still visible. One can see a protuberance on the upper edge. Picture is a cropping from slide. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/6, 2x Nikon Teleconverter, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, 1/8000s, Side, Turkey, 29 March 2006

Fig. 25: Begin of the pearl chain effect. The edge of the sun is still visible through some valleys on the moon's edge. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/6, 2x Nikon Teleconverter, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, 1/4000s, Side, Turkey, 29 March 2006

Fig. 26: The pearl chain effect. The edge of the sun is still visible through some valleys on the moon's edge. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/6, 2x Nikon Teleconverter, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, 1/2000s, Side, Turkey, 29 March 2006

Fig. 27: End of the pearl chain effect. The edge of the sun is still visible through some valleys on the moon's edge. The exposure time gets longer and the protuberances become more clearly visible. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/6, 2x Nikon Teleconverter, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, 1/1000s, Side, Turkey, 29 March 2006

Fig. 28: Protuberances on the sun's edge during the total solar eclipse of 2006. Remember that the sun's diameter is about 109 times than that of the earth. The small protuberance on the upper edge is about 4 times bigger than the earth. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/6, 2x Nikon Teleconverter, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, 1/250s, Side, Turkey, 29 March 2006

Fig. 29: Composite of seven different exposures — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/6, 2x Nikon Teleconverter, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, 1/30s, Side, Turkey, 29 March 2006

Fig. 30: On this picture one can see the inner corona of the sun. The corona is a glowing gas layer around the sun, much dimmer than the normally visible part (photosphere) but much hotter, up to 2 mio. Kelvin. The photosphere is 'only' about 5800K hot. Under normal circumstances one can only see the corona during an total eclipse. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/6, 2x Nikon Teleconverter, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, 1/30s, Side, Turkey, 29 March 2006

Fig. 31: The corona of the sun. On can see the lines of the sun's magnetic field with the pols on the lower left and upper right side. The brightness range of the corona from the inner edge to the most distant outer parts is so huge that it can't be captured wit one single shot on one slide. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/6, 2x Nikon Teleconverter, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, 1/2s, Side, Turkey, 29 March 2006

Fig. 32: Composite of eight different exposures — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/6, 2x Nikon Teleconverter, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, 1/30s, Side, Turkey, 29 March 2006

Fig. 33: This is a HDR picture of the corona using seven slides. Made with Photomatix Pro in 2010. During the manual bracketing the moon moved slightly eastwards. That's why it is a bit blurred while the sun's corona is sharp. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/6, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, Side, Turkey, 29 March 2006

Fig. 34: During a total solar eclipse the IQ sinks probably down to 30. I wanted to take a second series of the eclipse without the teleconverter and needed to change the film because the first was full. I couldn't remember how to wind back the film with the Nikon F100 and the red markings were not visible in the dim light. I wasted precious time by illuminating the camera with my mobile phone. And I started the exposure series at 1/8000s instead at 1s so that the sun appeared during the long exposure phase. Next eclipse will be digital. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/6, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, 1/4s, Side, Turkey, 29 March 2006

Fig. 35: The diamond ring effect of a total solar eclipse. The bright inner part of the corona is visible around the moon while the sun's surface is already visible. The crowd on the dunes at Side applauded and I thought "shit, already over" — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/6, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, 1/1000s, Side, Turkey, 29 March 2006

Fig. 36: The partial phase prior to the total solar eclipse. The moon is moving across the solar disk. With eyepiece and eye one could see mountains on the moon's edge. They are not visible with this scale here. The three spots on the left edge of the sun are sunspots in the sun's photosphere and not on the CCD sensor. — William Optics ZenithStar 105 ED Triplet APO, Nikon 2x Teleconverter, Nikon D70, Side, Turkey, 29 March 2006

Fig. 37: The moon steals more and more of the sunlight. — William Optics ZenithStar 105 ED Triplet APO, Nikon 2x Teleconverter, Nikon D70, Side, Turkey, 29 March 2006

Fig. 38: And the eclipse is already over and the sickle of the sun shines on the sky and produces sharp shadows in a strange gray light — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/7, 2x Teleconverter, Nikon D70, Side, Turkey, 29 March 2006

Fig. 39: This is all we could see from the 2010 eclipse on the air strip of the small island Mangaia (Cook Islands). See this time lapse movie. There were three layers of coulds moving in different directions. Some guys 2.5 km further south from our place could see a little of the totality phase. — Nikon D200, AF-S VF 80-400mm, Mangaia, Cook Islands, 11 July 2010 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/4 s; f=400 mm; f/5.6; ISO 100; 2010-07-11 20:32:49

Fig. 40: Partial phase after the eclipse which was hidden behind clouds. I held a solar filter in front of the camera lens to get this image. Looks much more interesting than just a sickle an black background. See this time lapse movie which I made with a second camera. — Nikon D200, AF-S VF 80-400mm, Mangaia, Cook Islands, 11 July 2010 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/500 s; f=80 mm; f/8.0; ISO 100; 2010-07-11 20:42:54

Fig. 41: Taken through a 5 minute cloud gap at 11:54 CEST with Lunt LS60T H-Alpha telescope, ZWO ASI 178MM camera. Image postprocessing with Autostakkert and Photoshop.