A long awaited trip to a place where a total solar eclipse took place. Anyone who has never experienced a total solar eclipse live does not know what they are missing and do not understand why some travel so far because of this. For me it was my third total solar eclipse. On August 11, 1999 I was in France and on December 4, 2002 in Australia. In July 2005, I booked flights for my friends and I for this trip with Sun Express and rooms in the Pension Kassiopeia booked in Side on the Turkish Riviera. Even if nothing had come of the solar eclipse, we still had a nice week in Turkey and were all pleasantly surprised - especially as some only know the Turks, who always attract negative attention in Switzerland. There are some wonderful landscapes in Turkey and remnants of the dawn of civilization can be found everywhere.
Fig. 1: A composite of the previous two images to capture prominences and inner corona. The corona image with 1/2s exposure time was contrast enhanced using the pellet method and then the corona image was added. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/7, 2x Nikon teleconverter, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, 1/30s + 1/2s, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 2: A composite consisting of six images with different exposure times, which were used to enhance the contrast of the corona using Pellet Method were combined. In addition, a picture for the protuberances. The moon is a black mask because the combination of the different images with rotation masks creates unsightly artifacts at the edge of the moon. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/7, 2x Nikon teleconverter, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 3: In this composite image, the previous composite image was multiplied by a 1s exposure and the contrast and gamma curve were adjusted. It roughly reproduces the visual impression of the eclipse, since due to the immense range of brightness, not all areas of the corona can be captured photographically in the same image. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/7, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 4: The striking two-tower mosque of Side. The towers are illuminated on Fridays. Unfortunately, it isn't particularly antique, as it is made of concrete and the songs come from the band via somewhat tinny-sounding megaphones. A pity. The supermarket and the Coca Cola vending machine on the ground floor will certainly be a thorn in the side of Islamic fundamentalists ;-) — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 28-70mm 1:2.8, Side, Turkey, March 28, 2006Fig. 5: Houses in Side. On the roof there are solar panels with tanks for the production of hot water. With so much sun, it even works without a pump. Hats off to saving energy! Very progressive. What is a pity is that (at least in the tourist areas: the unadorned, cheap western style has found its way. I expected a bit more oriental Mediterranean flair in the style. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 28-70mm 1:2.8, Side , Turkey, March 28, 2006Fig. 6: Two people in the sunset on the beach of Side. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 28-70mm 1:2.8, Side, Turkey, March 28, 2006Fig. 7: The bay of Side with the distinctive two towers of the mosque. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 28-70mm 1:2.8, Side, Turkey, March 28, 2006Fig. 8: Pure kitsch: Sunset behind reeds. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 28-70mm 1:2.8, Side, Turkey, March 28, 2006Fig. 9: Marble columns at the ruins of Side. Numerous television stations have positioned themselves here to report tomorrow's solar eclipse spectacle live. A band played and created a good atmosphere. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 28-70mm 1:2.8, Side, Turkey, March 28, 2006Fig. 10: Prepare yourself on the sand dunes in the midst of old Roman ruins for the big moment. Everyone is excited and it sometimes happens that you align a mount to the south instead of the north and wonder for the longest time why the tracking is not working properly. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 28-70mm 1:2.8, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 11: Is the sun still there? Hmmm, let's see. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 28-70mm 1:2.8, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 12: Stefan compares the inclination of the tripod legs with his legs. Yep, all in parallel. Ready to go! — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 28-70mm 1:2.8, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 13: A solar eclipse is amazing. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 28-70mm 1:2.8, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 14: The partial phase of a solar eclipse. The moon partially covers the solar disk. Even the mountain ranges on the edge of the moon could be seen with the eyepiece. These are not visible in the small picture here. The three spots on the left are on the Sun and about the size of the Earth and no speck of dust on the CCD — William Optics ZenithStar 105 ED Triplet APO, Nikon 2x teleconverter, Nikon D70, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 15: The moon is getting closer and closer. — William Optics ZenithStar 105 ED Triplet APO, Nikon 2x teleconverter, Nikon D70, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 16: When the sun is only a narrow crescent in the sky, it casts a pale greyish light and the shadows become increasingly sharp because the light source is almost point-like. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 17: Just before totality. Some cirrus clouds have moved in front of the sun, but they will disappear again soon. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 18: The light is getting weaker and everyone is looking forward to the great moment of totality of a solar eclipse. I walk barefoot and feel the sand slowly getting cooler. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 19: So, everyone is ready for totality and also the last mounts are pointing towards the North Pole, so that the sun does not move out of the picture during the three minutes of excitement. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 20: The moon completely covered the sun. Cheers and applause goes through the crowd on the dunes and all around you can see the colored band of twilight. There was a unique atmosphere there. It can be quite addicting. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 21: And the eclipse is over again and a bright crescent sun shines across the sky, casting sharp shadows in the gray strange light. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/7, 2x teleconverter, Nikon D70, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 22: The beautiful ZenithStar 105mm ED Triplet APO f/6 by William Optics in Taiwan. In addition, the super-practical azimuthal AYO mount from AOK Swiss, which is sold in this design as the "Eazy Touch" mount by William Optics. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 28-70mm 1:2.8D, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 23: The day after the eclipse, the weather was bad. You wouldn't have noticed any darkness there. Were we lucky! The gray misty weather was ideal for visiting a sunken city over 2300 years old in the mountains of Turkey, northwest of Antalya. The city of Termessos was founded by the Solymians and made 334 BC. Alexander the Great successfully resisted. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 28-70mm 1:2.8D, Termessos, Turkey, March 30, 2006 Nikon D70; Δt=1/125 s; f=60 mm; f/5.6; 30 March 2006 13:26:46Fig. 24: The ruins of Termessos. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Side, Turkey, March 30, 2006 Nikon D70; Δt=1/125 s; f=12 mm; f/5.6; 30 March 2006 13:41:39Fig. 25: The ruins of Termessos. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Side, Turkey, March 30, 2006 Nikon D70; Δt=1/125 s; f=20 mm; f/5.6; 30 March 2006 13:43:02Fig. 26: The ruins of Termessos. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Side, Turkey, March 30, 2006 Nikon D70; Δt=1/125 s; f=12 mm; f/5.6; 30 March 2006 13:47:25Fig. 27: The ruins of Termessos. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Side, Turkey, March 30, 2006 Nikon D70; Δt=1/125 s; f=15 mm; f/5.6; 30 March 2006 13:48:11Fig. 28: The ruins of Termessos. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Side, Turkey, March 30, 2006 Nikon D70; Δt=1/50 s; f=16 mm; f/4.0; 30 March 2006 13:52:41Fig. 29: The ruins of Termessos. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Side, Turkey, March 30, 2006 Nikon D70; Δt=1/160 s; f=24 mm; f/6.3; 30 March 2006 14:03:21Fig. 30: The ruins of the amphitheater of Termessos. Despite the desolate condition, the acoustics are still excellent. One of the visitors stood in the arena and quoted Shakespeare. It was perfectly understandable in the whole theater in the last tiers. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Side, Turkey, March 30, 2006 Nikon D70; Δt=1/250 s; f=12 mm; f/9.0; 30 March 2006 14:14:56Fig. 31: The ruins of Termessos. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Side, Turkey, March 30, 2006 Nikon D70; Δt=1/320 s; f=12 mm; f/9.0; 30 March 2006 14:19:30Fig. 32: The ruins of Termessos. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Side, Turkey, March 30, 2006 Nikon D70; Δt=1/200 s; f=24 mm; f/8.0; 30 March 2006 14:30:25Fig. 33: The ruins of Termessos. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Side, Turkey, March 30, 2006 Nikon D70; Δt=1/125 s; f=24 mm; f/5.6; 30 March 2006 14:42:11Fig. 34: The ruins of Termessos. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Side, Turkey, March 30, 2006Fig. 35: The ruins of Termessos. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Side, Turkey, March 30, 2006Fig. 36: Insight into the cistern of Termessos. Impressive how the water supply of the whole city was guaranteed back then. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Side, Turkey, March 30, 2006Fig. 37: The ruins of Termessos. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Side, Turkey, March 30, 2006 Nikon D70; Δt=1/125 s; f=18 mm; f/5.6; 30 March 2006 15:40:30Fig. 38: Forest between the ruins of Termessos. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Side, Turkey, March 30, 2006 Nikon D70; Δt=1/100 s; f=12 mm; f/5.0; 30 March 2006 15:49:08Fig. 39: The plundered tombs of the Termessos necropolis. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Side, Turkey, March 30, 2006Fig. 40: The plundered tombs of the Termessos necropolis.Fig. 41: The plundered tombs of the Termessos necropolis. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Side, Turkey, March 30, 2006Fig. 42: The plundered tombs of the Termessos necropolis. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Side, Turkey, March 30, 2006Fig. 43: The plundered tombs of the Termessos necropolis. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Side, Turkey, March 30, 2006Fig. 44: Cats can sleep anywhere it's nice and warm — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 28-70mm f/2.8D, Side, Turkey, April 2006Fig. 45: — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm 1:4D, Koprulu Canyon, Turkey, April 2006Fig. 46: — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm 1:4D, Koprulu Canyon, Turkey, April 2006Fig. 47: — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm 1:4D, Koprulu Canyon, Turkey, April 2006Fig. 48: — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm 1:4D, Koprulu Canyon, Turkey, April 2006Fig. 49: — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm 1:4D, Koprulu Canyon, Turkey, April 2006Fig. 50: — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm 1:4D, Koprulu Canyon, Turkey, April 2006Fig. 51: The narrow stone bridge over the river. Don't try to drive over there with a wide car. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Koprulu Canyon, Turkey, April 2006Fig. 52: An underwater spring gushes out of the river — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Koprulu Canyon, Turkey, April 2006Fig. 53: mountain landscape with erosion forms on the way to Selge — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm 1:4D, Koprulu Canyon, Turkey, April 2006Fig. 54: View down the valley — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm 1:4D, Koprulu Canyon, Turkey, April 2006Fig. 55: The Aspendos Amphitheater — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Aspendos, Turkey, April 2006Fig. 56: The amphitheater of Aspendos. The two on the roof are Christoph and Ivan. — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Aspendos, Turkey, April 2006Fig. 57: The gallery at the top of the Aspendos Amphitheater — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Aspendos, Turkey, April 2006Fig. 58: The Aspendos Amphitheater — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Aspendos, Turkey, April 2006Fig. 59: The Aspendos Amphitheater — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4D, Aspendos, Turkey, April 2006Fig. 60: A sunset at Side beach. Awfully tacky beautiful — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 80-210mm 1:2.8D, Side, Turkey, April 2006Fig. 61: A sunset with a ship on the beach of Side. Awfully tacky beautiful — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 80-210mm 1:2.8D, Side, Turkey, April 2006Fig. 62: A sunset at Side beach. Awfully tacky beautiful — Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 80-210mm 1:2.8D, Side, Turkey, April 2006Fig. 63: The previous series of five images from First Contact combined. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/7, 2x Nikon teleconverter, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 64: A few seconds before totality. The moon has not yet completely covered the sun, but a prominence can already be seen at the edge of the sun. The picture is an enlargement of a section of the slide. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/7, 2x Nikon Teleconverter, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, 1/8000s, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 65: Beginning of the String of Pearls Effect. The edge of the sun is still discernible through some valleys at the lunar limb, while it is already covered by the mountains at the lunar limb. detail enlargement. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/7, 2x Nikon teleconverter, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, 1/4000s, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 66: The point in time when the edge of the sun can only be seen through a few valleys at the edge of the moon is referred to as the string of pearls effect. A few prominences at the edge of the sun can be seen quite nicely. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/7, 2x Nikon teleconverter, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, 1/2000s, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 67: Only a tiny bit of the sun can be seen through a valley at the moon's edge. Now the prominences can be recognized with a beautiful red glow. There are prominences, which can extend even one solar radius out into space. One like that during an eclipse would be cool! — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/7, 2x Nikon teleconverter, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, 1/1000s, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 68: Prominences at the edge of the sun during the totality of a solar eclipse. Note that the diameter of the Sun is about 109 times that of Earth. The prominence at the top is about four times larger than Earth. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/7, 2x Nikon teleconverter, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, 1/250s, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 69: This image shows the sun's corona, a hot, glowing layer of gas around the sun. Under natural circumstances, the corona is only visible during a total solar eclipse. In contrast to the normally visible surface of the sun (photosphere: which is about 5800K hot, the corona shines much weaker but the temperature is up to 2 million Kelvin. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/7, 2x Nikon teleconverter , Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, 1/30s, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 70: The corona of the sun. You can see the field lines of the solar magnetic field with the poles at the bottom left and top right. The drop in brightness of the corona from the edge of the sun to the outer regions is so strong that it cannot be captured by a single exposure on slides. — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/7, 2x Nikon teleconverter, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, 1/2s, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 71: During a total solar eclipse the IQ probably drops to around 30. I wanted to record a second series of the eclipse without the 2x teleconverter to capture the sun's corona in all its glory. In the rush I didn't remember how to rewind the film on the Nikon F100 and in the darkness of an eclipse you can't see the red symbols on the black housing. :-) Then I wasted valuable time fumbling around and lighting with my cell phone and then started the exposure series not at 1s but at 1/8000s, so that the sun was peeping out from behind the moon again when the exposure series arrived there. Janu! — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/7, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, 1/4s, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006Fig. 72: The diamond ring effect of a total solar eclipse. The bright corona is still visible around the moon and a tiny bit of the sun has peeked out from behind the moon again. The crowd on the dune field applauded and I thought "Shit, it's over!" :-) — William Optics Zenithstar 105 ED Triplet APO f/7, Nikon F100, Fujichrome Velvia 100F, 1/1000s, Side, Turkey, March 29, 2006
