Introduction
The Great American Solar Eclipse was two weeks ago. I’ll admit, the effort and experience left me a bit stunned. Now, however, I think it’s a new dawn, like that shown in Guillaume Vogels’ painting above. It’s time to take stock. This blog posting will attempt to do that and also help smart scope owners get ready for what’s next, whether it’s a future solar eclipse or the more mundane work of chasing comets, catching stellar explosions, or plumbing the deep universe.
I will start this blog with a confession. Although I warned many not to take their filter off during totality, I didn’t follow my own advice. I was concerned that someone might ruin their scopes on my watch for one thing. First timers should also never miss unaided quiet time with the solar corona.IMHO, these scopes are amazing with the Sun, but they have much better and more useful tasks in imaging other wonders of the universe. Then, a couple of days ahead of first contact, I knew that if I were going to remove a protective, white-light solar filter for a few minutes, I’d have to be super obsessive about the timing and mechanics of filter handling to make it work. I was able to do so with the help of my amazing nephews, Noah and Matthew, but not sure everyone has such able assistants on hand.
Experience and Reflection
Preparations
Weeks before the eclipse, I practiced with my equipment on the Sun almost every clear day. I had three devices I could press into service: Vespera, Seestar S50, and Hestia. I didn’t have a filter for my eVscope, and its FOV was smaller than the Sun, so I left it in my backpack at home. My original Vespera has always been a reliable solar imager. Seestar was doing well for me on the Sun and, honestly, delivering the best sunspot images. I made a new filter for it using Baader solar filter film that was great. For weeks it seemed like it would be my front runner — especially since I was not imagining I was going to bother removing the filter during totality. (NB: Seestar doesn’t allow multiple wifi connections, so that was going to be a problem given I would be observing for a large family group.)
When I received my Hestia and tried it a few times, I sensed I was up to the challenge of getting it to work too. I spent a lot of time with it, and in the end, mastered getting a good focus and handling the beta version software. I liked the idea that Hestia would require my careful attention throughout the eclipse because I’d have to keep a “steady hand on the rudder.” I found that it could deliver really nice images and straight to the phone. Although I ultimately didn’t use it on the eclipse, I think I will use it more and more for the fun of it. And, if I were going on an eclipse trip with fewer strings attached, I’d use it as my primary device and make my life easy and my luggage light.
I tracked the weather assiduously for a week and a half ahead of time using the app Windy, which allows one to see the European weather models. I was not going to move from the family location I’d already chosen, but that didn’t stop me from checking the weather at least four times a day. It consistently looked promising, but obsessive monitoring was an added stress.
In the week before the eclipse, I was on the verge of deciding to observe just using my Vespera and to actually attempt images during totality. I practiced removing and re-inserting the filter without moving the scope. I hit upon marking where the lower filter tab is inserted with tape so I could hit my mark quickly and gently enough to not disturb the tracking. The following image shows how I did this.
Eclipse Observing
The day before the eclipse, I arrived at my brother’s house outside Indianapolis, Indiana. I was then certain to go with the Vespera because I had the most experience with it. I could always get it going quickly on the Sun, and I knew it could track steadily for hours. Granted, I’m not thrilled at times with its automatic focus, but with the new eclipse mode, I knew I could do that manually too.
I also used the eve of the eclipse, to set up my equipment in the configuration I would be using. Some twenty friends and relations had been invited to my brother’s observing party. Because of that, I knew I would be busy coaching them along, meaning I couldn’t spend all of my time fiddling with scope. That also meant that I needed a shady place in the garage to place my iPad on a tripod so that people could monitor the eclipse without their eclipse glasses. As for the Vespera itself, I found a location on the side of the the yard that would give me a clear, continuous shot of the Sun and not be in a place where people might bump the telescope. I ran the scope to see that it would work fine and not be too far from the iPad in the garage.
On the day of the eclipse, I only had to repeat setting things up and get rolling about half an hour ahead of time. I have an outboard battery for my Vespera, so I wasn’t worried about losing power. When first contact came, it was great to see the Sun on the iPad. At that point, people knew they could begin to look for it with their eclipse glasses on.
I relied upon a fantastic app called: “Solar Eclipse Timer,” which is shown in the above picture. It provided precise times for the different events given my actual location. If you ever entertain the thought of removing a solar filter, I highly recommend it. One of my nephews installed it on his phone and ran the audio into a bluetooth speaker for all to hear as it called out the events of the eclipse. The guests appreciated it, as did the neighbors two houses away. Without Solar Eclipse Timer, I never would have tried to handle the filter in mid-flight. Additionally, when I had a question about the timer app, its author, Dr. Gordon Telepun, answered me directly and immediately. He’s now in my pantheon of cosmic heroes.
I also used my observing folder QR code,. giving it to all who attended. I’ve used this strategy before and it keeps people from trying to snap images of my iPad. The folder now contain a few of my images, as well as a crude video for awhile. Check it out.
My Results
Overall, I grabbed thousands of images in automatic mode with Vespera. During totality, with the filter off, I snapped well over a hundred. Photos were being taken every couple of seconds. All I was doing was re-focusing prior to second contact if I thought it was needed and adjusting the exposures during totality, so I could post-process later. About half way through totality, I stopped adjusting the exposures and observed the corona with my binoculars. Then, finally, at the right time, at the final diamond ring, the filter went back on. It was a quick 3.5 minutes. Here are my favorites so far. They are unprocessed.
I’m curious about the green color of these images. At first I hoped I might be seeing coronal line emission from highly ionized Calcium and Potassium, but I really don’t think so. I believe the green hue has to do with the responsivity of Vespera at the time of the imaging. I’ll have to look into it at some point.
When I looked through the binoculars, it looked much like the images you’ll see on the Internet. I especially noticed spikes out at 3:30, 6:30, and 11:00, if youthink of the corona as a clock face. Maybe if I process some of my images together, I’ll get this pattern to emerge.
Reflections
Here are my take-aways from the experience:
Practice made a big difference. If I hadn’t practiced, I wouldn’t have had the guts to take the filter off. I also might have messed up something during setup and not been able to operate. Practice also helped me understand what I could and couldn’t do. Furthermore, it “trained me” to keep my eye on the focus and adjust it easily now and then.
Reliability was key for me. In the end, I just had to go with the system I was most comfortable with. I’m impressed with the images from my Seestar S50, but I’m just not confident enough using it yet.
Timescale differences were stunning. I should have known this from the previous eclipse I’ve seen, but I’m still shocked at how fast things go at the time of totality. So, let’s do the math: First to fourth contact ~ 2.5 hours times 60 minutes per hour = 150 minutes. Totality ~3.5 minutes. That means totality was only 2.3% of the time the Moon was moving in front of the Sun.
Timing precision was essential. Luckily we knew the timings of eclipses quite well. Without these exact times, my alert nephews, or my trusty Apple watch, I might not have been able to do the tricky filter moves.
Binocular time was terrific. I’m also fortunate to have a great pair of binoculars. I knew from the previous eclipse that a minute or so with the binoculars would show me more coronal details than I could hope to see with my smart scope — at least before any post- processing. I will confess, I didn’t get enough time to look around the horizon. I did last eclipse, but I am sorry I missed seeing the amber “sunset” band encircling us this time around. I know my brother said it was one of the more interesting phenomena of the experience.
I have a flood of images. I’m not sure what to do with everything. Maybe it’s a blessing and will give me something to do when I can’t observe and have time on my hands. I’d like to think I’ll do some post-processing, but I’m afraid I’m a little too impatient these days.
The smart scope really impressed the other amateur in the family. One of my in-laws has been observing with a large SC Telescope for years. When he saw how well my Vespera worked on the eclipse, he told me he was blown away for a number of reasons. He added that he was going to go right out and buy one. In the end, he said that it had been one of the best days of his life.
Smart Scopes vs. Upcoming Eclipses
If you had a great time with this eclipse and have the inclination to do a repeat and money to travel, you’ll want to mark your calendars for these upcoming total solar eclipses:
Spain and North Atlantic — 12 August 2026 — 2m18s— Not sure about the weather in the Atlantic, but the food is great in Spain.
Egypt and Mid Atlantic — 2 August 2027 — 6m23s — I’ve been to Egypt; it’s fantastic. This totality will be really long, but also during a brutally hot time. Might be best to be at sea.
Australia and South Pacific — 22 July 2028 — 5m10s — This is maybe the most interesting IMHO. That’s because it will also offer a chance to observe the southern hemisphere sky at night when the galactic center is right overhead. It will not be as hot as the previous too, either.
Southern Africa and South Pacific — 25 November 2030 — 3m44s — Southern Africa is fabulous too. The timing will be similar to this recent eclipse.
I think that chasing eclipses on ships might make the best sense. But what would one do with a smart scope? I don’t think the more sophisticated ones will work on ship decks because of the rocking. As I was drafting this blog, I learned of someone who did take a reasonable coronal picture using a Hestia off the coast of Mexico. Maybe Hestia will be a compact way to go too without a major investment?
Conclusion
These past few days, the skies have been clear. I’ve gone back out to image the Sun only to find it brimming with spots. I think it is doing an encore after delighting so many here in the U.S.
I know I really need to process my eclipse images better, but I’m a lazy image processor. I’ll enjoy the amazing work of others.
In the meantime, I’ll be off into deep intergalactic space now that the constellations Coma, Virgo and Ursa Major will be high overhead. Picking the low hanging fruits of the cosmos is my favorite game.
I wish you all clear and dark skies. I can’t promise there won’t be satellites, however. Stay tuned for a blog on that topic soon.
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Image Credits:
The heading painting is, L’aurore, Mer du Nord by Guillaume Vogels, c. 1877
The other pictures are all mine.
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