Actually, being a weeknight, not sure where to go. Thinking of heading up to Macedon Ranges Observatory ( http://www.darksky.net.au/events.html ) and view/image from there. From where I work, that is closer (time wise) than going home!
There has been some discussion here in Perth already as the moon rises just as it enters totality, which affords some unique opportunities to capture the eclipsed moon in the belt of Venus. Some of us are now on the lookout for a site with a good eastern horizon that is not King's Park - and hoping it's not going to be cloudy!
Great article Mike , can't wait.Last total i saw was way back in 2000 i think , in the states mid north with crystal clear skies ,hope it's the same this time.Below is a still from a sony handycam taken by a friend and myself on the night.
Last edited by southern 40; 27-06-2007 at 12:01 AM.
Nice image Bazz. The 2004 total eclipse was an early morning event (5am-ish) and I saw it out of my window to the West while driving to work. I took some binoculars with me and had a look when I arrived at work, but it was difficult to observe.
This upcoming eclipse will be my first where a) I know what's going on, b) It's easy to observe, and c) I have the technology to take pictures of it
Great Article Mike, I have created a link to it on our website.
We will be at Brunswick Heads to watch the full moon rise and the eclipse to follow shortly after. It will be a public event all are welcome especially those who cant quite grasp this amazing phenomenon. Lets all hope for clear weather. The last one was in between cloud cover in Sydney. www.starrynight.com.au
As we are concerned about the weather for 28 August, I looked up Ken Ring's Almanac for 2007 and have attached his forecast for that date - looks good if he is correct.
1. by switching the mount to track in lunar, that will that track the moon and give you star trails with longer exposures for totality, say F10 scope iso 400 or slower?
2. Under partial conditions what do you aim for - the bright section to focus or the "dark section"?
3. What part of the moon is best to focus on, the middle or the edge? Would this change throughout the eclipse?
gee I have taken the pills this morning!!
4. Now for a newbie to autoguiding - can you autoguide on the moon? don't laugh this is serious!!!!!
5. How would you "white balance" A modded DSLR for lunar shots?
6. How many will be throwing nearly all their entire imaging arsenal behind imaging this event?
G'day Y'all
Would of thought 1/2000 sec, 1/500 sec, 1/250 sec, 1/125 sec, 1/60 sec combination of the lens aperture and shutter speeds as the shadow progresses will be needed.
A fast shutter speed will use a larger aperture (small F-stop number) to avoid an under-exposed image. A slow shutter speed requires a small aperture (large F-stop number) to avoid over-exposure.
NO star trails from that
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Originally Posted by h0ughy
OK ......by switching the mount to track in lunar, that will that track the moon and give you star trails with longer exposures for totality, say F10 scope iso 400 or slower?
..........
1. by switching the mount to track in lunar, that will that track the moon and give you star trails with longer exposures for totality, say F10 scope iso 400 or slower?
I would doubt it - your exposures are going to be under 4 seconds. You won't notice star trails in that time.
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2. Under partial conditions what do you aim for - the bright section to focus or the "dark section"?
The bright section.
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3. What part of the moon is best to focus on, the middle or the edge? Would this change throughout the eclipse?
The middle, but honestly it won't matter. The difference of a few hundred kilometres (from middle to edge) at a distance of 400,000 kilometres, won't be noticeable when focusing. Your camera should be set at practically infinity. It shouldn't change during the eclipse, except for the effects of the cooling glass. It might be worth re-focusing every hour or so, and lock focus in-between.
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4. Now for a newbie to autoguiding - can you autoguide on the moon? don't laugh this is serious!!!!!
I don't know, but I honestly wouldn't bother. You can readjust using the hand controller if it starts drifting.
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5. How would you "white balance" A modded DSLR for lunar shots?
I don't know, but take the opportunity later this week/weekend to do some test shots and get it set correctly before next Tuesday.
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6. How many will be throwing nearly all their entire imaging arsenal behind imaging this event?
hehe, mostly. Thought I have to borrow another camera (300D) to do what I want to do. I suppose I could use the digicams in a crunch.