Annular Eclipse - 2nd and 3rd contact mosaic

[geoffsims (Geoff)]

Another image from the recent collaborative expedition with Colin Legg to Newman, Western Australia. This sequence was taken from one of the non-timelapse cameras.

The bottom sequence, from left to right, shows the beginning of the annular phase, 2nd contact. The Sun's inner atmosphere, the chromosphere, is visible as a thin red line between the crescent. The lower portions of the Sun (not visible in this image) were below the horizon at the time! Images were taken 4 seconds apart.

Similarly, the upper sequence shows the end of the annular eclipse, 3rd contact. Again, the chromosphere and some Bailey's Beads are visible. Images were taken 2 seconds apart.

The middle image shows the Sun during full annular eclipse; still massively distorted because of atmospheric refraction. This frame is slightly enlarged relative to the sequences.

Canon 5D Mark III, 500 mm, 1/1000 sec @ f/8, ISO 100

Processing: 2nd and 3rd contact mosaics were sharpened to increase the contrast of the chromosphere, and median blurred to reduce the noise slightly.

[iceman (Mike)]

Very nice Geoff. What was the eclipse like, visually? When compared with a total?

How dark did it get?

[geoffsims (Geoff)]

Hi Mike

Good questions.

Visually, I thought it was spectacular. I have obviously never seen anything like it before, and possibly never will again. To see the "rising snake", followed by a distorted D-shaped annulus perched just below/on the horizon, was an exceedingly unique thing to see. For the first minute or so, I was able to view naked eye. During that time, when the Sun was not more than 0.5 degrees above the horizon, I thought the spectacle for all it was, was AS good as a total.

Having said that, the experience was completely different. Even in the closest of annular eclipses, the light drop is negligible compared with a total. This was particularly hard to notice in this instance because it occurred at sunrise. The biggest thing I noticed (visually) was that there was no "glow" where the imminent Sunrise would occur. Joe Cali's website shows this clearly in a nice image pre-Sunrise. Good think we had our cameras pre-aligned...

An "interesting" way to visualise the light drop is by watching Jack Hao Hia's video (second half) here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoE13-5aflI

I say "interesting" because the video is deceiving. His camera was set to follow the light curve of a "normal" night > dawn > day sequence. You see it gets light, then dark, then light. This is not showing the absolute light drop - which is why it is deceiving - but it is showing the light drop, relative to what an exposure would have been on another day.

All in all, this experience was, photographically and visually, as good as a total for me.

[h0ughy (David)]

great shot - you must be a happy chap with that result

[CapturingTheNight (Greg)]

Stunning work Geoff.

[Octane (Humayun)]

Just awesome.

H