Stunning 2017 Eclipse Photos of the Corona Chromosphere

In summary: That is correct!In summary, I saw a photo of the shadow banding on the surface of a parking lot in Virginia. This is an effect caused by solar prominences. I also saw the star Regulus in the shot.
  • #36
Stavros Kiri said:
It was NASA's live stream (long) for the eclipse from NASA TV. I haven't looked for it in youtube etc. yet. For the original links see:
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/u-s-solar-eclipse-of-aug-21-2017.866521/page-17#post-5825887

She said ~"imperfections to the surface of the moon, such as craters etc." (covers what you say too) + ... "the moon's surface is not a perfect sphere" ... so she was being kind of general.
coolios, thanks :)
 
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  • #37
OmCheeto said:
Best/worst pun of the eclipse I've seen so far:

View attachment 209605

Totalitea. (It took me a minute. I'm old. And my brain doesn't think that fast anymore.)
I've been waiting for someone to say this pun.
It totally eclipsed my expectations.
 
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  • #38
davenn said:
another misunderstanding ... Flares and Prominences are two different animals
As I said in a previous reply to Janus, I am aware of that. The whole quote that you extracted from said:
Stavros Kiri said:
But what is definitely true is that big flares are kind of rare (not a common everyday thing). Are small eruptions visible during the eclipse, e.g. with your instrument set up? I am not sure, but I kind of doubt that.
But I know the distinctions and definitions are not clear there either, leaving it kind of vague, so your posts were very worthwhile in helping to sort things out.

Now we have more chances in understanding those eclipse photos! ...

Thanks Dave :smile:
 
  • #39
.Scott said:
I wasn't anywhere near totality, but I would like to see photos of the shadow banding - if anyone has some of those.
It is my understanding that shadow banding cannot be photographed. Apparently it is like an optical illusion that cameras do not detect. If I am wrong, someone let me know, I would love to see pictures or video of it also.
 
  • #40
Stavros Kiri said:
(etc.) All your replies helped. Thanks Dave. We are sorting things out. I tend to conclude that it was a combination of the two effects. Otherwise how can photos from the 1999 eclipse can have the same fire spots, if they were all prominences? That would have been a heck of a coincidence! ...

Reread my last post. The image I linked to was not the photo my wife found yesterday on facebook. The photo she found was of Monday's eclipse. That was the photo showing prominences in matching positions to the spots on my photo. The only reason I didn't link to the one she found was that she couldn't remember which page she saw it on and she had been looking at a lot of different pictures taken of Monday's eclipse, and I didn't pay any attention as what page it was on when she pointed it out to me.
Rather than spend a lot of time trying to find that particular photo, I just gave a link to the first photo I could find of an eclipse showing prominences that was of comparable quality to the one took of Monday's eclipse to show how they can be seen during an eclipse. It was not intended to show ones in the same positions as in my photo.
 
  • #41
Janus said:
Reread my last post. The image I linked to was not the photo my wife found yesterday on facebook. The photo she found was of Monday's eclipse. That was the photo showing prominences in matching positions to the spots on my photo. ...
... I just gave a link to the first photo I could find of an eclipse showing prominences that was of comparable quality to the one took of Monday's eclipse to show how they can be seen during an eclipse. It was not intended to show ones in the same positions as in my photo.
Ok it makes sense then.
 
  • #42
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  • #43
bobby3 said:
It is my understanding that shadow banding cannot be photographed. Apparently it is like an optical illusion that cameras do not detect. If I am wrong, someone let me know, I would love to see pictures or video of it also.
It's not that it can't be photographed, only that it is difficult. The contrast is low, the brightness is changing, the bands are moving, and the bands are variable length and thickness.

But with the video cameras that have become common place, it should be no problem. Video cameras will now dynamically adjust for brightness, contrast can be handled in post-processing, and the area photographed should be fairly large - on the order of 20 or 30 feet square - not the 8 feet square you often see on the web. Also, the "screen" does not have to be white. I spotted it on parking lot pavement without a problem.

The only real problem is that it may be affected by wind and thermal conditions on the ground and perhaps aloft.

I live in NH, so I'll get my shot at it in 2024.
 
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  • #44
.Scott said:
...But with the video cameras that have become common place, it should be no problem.
...
Still waiting for a video...
 
  • #45
I subscribe to several local(state) photographers on Facebook, as, OMG, they have the best friends.

My favorite, which, I can only describe as; "This guy groks his camera's optics..."

professional.photographer.jpg


[edit: Oops. He makes his living doing this. Ergo, his website: https://stuartnafey.smugmug.com/]
 
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  • #46
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  • #48
Stavros Kiri said:
May be you'll find some information there:
https://www.physicsforums.com/posts/5769728/
Thanks for the link.

OmCheeto said:
Still waiting for a video...
If you look down at the sand in your first Stavros Kiri's first video between 4:50 and 5:00 you will see blotches going slightly darker and lighter. But the camera is not handling the low contrast conditions well - and the effects can be taken as mpeg compression issues.

At a minimum, this gives me a better idea of what challenges I can expect if I attempt to video the bands in 2024.
 
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  • #49
.Scott said:
If you look down at the sand in your first Stavros Kiri's first video between 4:50 and 5:00 you will see blotches going slightly darker and lighter.
The original posts in the links that I quoted were done by @OmCheeto .
 
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  • #50
.Scott said:
If you look down at the sand in your first Stavros Kiri's first video between 4:50 and 5:00

Stavros Kiri said:
The original posts in the links that I quoted were actually done by @OmCheeto .

I have no idea what video is being discussed.
But anyways, that "Smarter Every Day" guy posted an update on "shadow bands" just two days before the eclipse, and hence, I didn't see it until this morning.



As far as I can tell, I accidentally did everything correctly. Within the limitations of the equipment on hand, of course. My camera is full auto everything in movie mode.

But this is going to take some serious studying on my part[1], and some serious $$$ tucking under the mattress[2], if I want to do this experiment again, before I die of old age.

[1] This looks like a good candidate for study: High-contrast Imaging with Differential Imaging
I have no idea how to do such things.
[2] Next total eclipse is in 2019, down in Argentina/Chile. And wouldn't you know it, the first town I checked out: Primary industry: Cattle Ranching...

This is going to give me a "reputation"...

Another of my Facebook posts; "I've never slept with cows before, and it was kind of fun. Wait, that sounds kind of weird. Let me rephrase that. The cows going to bed in the fenced off pasture next to the camping grounds were somewhat entertaining. I've never heard a herd going to bed before. They talk to each other! And they all have different voices. And once in awhile, one will start doing a weird noise, that sounds like a cow version of a cat coughing up a fur ball. Which made me laugh, as I wondered then, if cows make that noise, because they're coughing up grass balls?"
 
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  • #51
OmCheeto said:
I have no idea what video is being discussed.
Here you go:
OmCheeto said:
I just found this 360° video. It looks exactly as you've described it.
I'm still reviewing the whole issue myself here (+haven't checked out fully your new post yet either).
 
  • #52
OmCheeto said:
And once in awhile, one will start doing a weird noise, that sounds like a cow version of a cat coughing up a fur ball. Which made me laugh, as I wondered then, if cows make that noise, because they're coughing up grass balls?"

In a way, they are. They are regurgitating their "cud". But unlike cats which expel the regurgitated hair ball, after chewing the cud, the cows re-swallow it. This is a normal part of the digestive process for ruminants like cows. Quite a familiar sound and sight to this farm-raised boy.
 
  • #53
Janus said:
In a way, they are. They are regurgitating their "cud". But unlike cats which expel the regurgitated hair ball, after chewing the cud, the cows re-swallow it. This is a normal part of the digestive process for ruminants like cows. Quite a familiar sound and sight to this farm-raised boy.
Ummmm...
And on that note, I have decided NOT to fly off to Buenos Aires.

I guess I'm still too "city slickerish". ?:):woot::eek:

[not sure which one of those emotis best emotes a 'barf' feeling, but I'm sure you get the picture.]
 
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  • #54
OmCheeto said:
Ummmm...
And on that note, I have decided NOT to fly off to Buenos Aires.

I guess I'm still too "city slickerish". ?:):woot::eek:

[not sure which one of those emotis best emotes a 'barf' feeling, but I'm sure you get the picture.]

Don't give on the idea so quickly, you might want to ruminate on it for a while.
 
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  • #56
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  • #57
1oldman2 said:
What would it take to get you to reconsider... maybe?
http://eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/2001-2100/SE2020Dec14Tprime.html
The cattle aren't that bad if you stay upwind.
Actually, cow poop probably smells better than I do.
And come to think of it, the cows probably think I sound kind of funny too.

[edit: no need to listen beyond 10 seconds...]


I've got that "old person" thing going on.
 
  • #58


Love the final view of the shadow.
 
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  • #60
anorlunda said:
How about this one from today's APOD? https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170828.html

View attachment 209906
That was one of the things I discovered while researching the eclipse. Though I was mostly wondering if any satellites would be flying by during the eclipse. I saw that the ISS was about an hour late in crossing paths with totality.

nasa.eyes.satelites.2017.08.21.eclipse.png

Aug 21, 2017, 11:18:34 am PDT
Eclipse here was around 10:20 am.
Image courtesy of NASA's Eyes software.

I didn't bother thinking about capturing it during the partial phase. I'm glad someone did.
 
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  • #61
Janus said:
A couple of points of interest in the photo I got. The colored dots on the edge of the disk are caused by solar prominences. ( I didn't realize this until I saw some higher res photos that showed them clearer in those positions.
I also caught the star Regulus in the shot. it is the white dot in the lower left of the image.
View attachment 209606

Have you seen this guys pictures yet?

Astrophotography by Jerry Lodriguss

http://www.astropix.com/2017_Total_Solar_Eclipse_02.html
Lodriguss_Total_Eclipse_02.jpg

Exposure: Composite of 2 frames:
2nd Contact Baily's Beads - 1/4000th second
3rd Contact Chromosphere and Prominences - 1/8000th secondhttp://www.astropix.com/2017_Total_Solar_Eclipse_Corona.html
Lodriguss_2017_Total_Solar_Eclipse_HDR_Corona.jpg

Exposure: High-Dynamic-Range Composite of 36 frames at 14 different exposures
[Yup. That's Regulus off to the upper left.
He was about 10 miles to my west during the eclipse]

https://www.facebook.com/jerry.lodriguss​

Still no word/images from Miloslav Druckmuller.
This is one of my greatest regrets about the eclipse.
I drove through Mitchell, and there were no parking spots within 1/2 mile of downtown.
I was worried, that if I parked, someone would steal everything from the back of my pickup truck.
About 4 hours later, on the drive home, I realized that, although the bed was full, the total value of everything was about $15.
Sigh...

The last time all of my camping gear was stolen, about 30 years ago, I upgraded, and was really happy about that.
And yes, my camping gear is now all 30 years old.
Should have parked.
Sackafrassin' beejimaheezits!
 
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  • #63
Amazing, thank you all for sharing the photos!
 
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  • #64
laurenrayjohn said:
Amazing, thank you all for sharing the photos!
Welcome to PF!
 
  • #65
OmCheeto said:
Have you seen this guys pictures yet?

Astrophotography by Jerry Lodriguss
​
​

I've seen these and have been studying them closely to be prepared for 2024... :)
 
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  • #68
Amazing photos, thanks everyone!
 
  • #69
OmCheeto said:
...
Still no word/images from Miloslav Druckmuller.
...
As I suspected, he has the most stunning image I've seen so far.

Corona from [Mitchell] Oregon , about 7 miles from where I was.
Composition of 161 eclipse images taken with two cameras.​

No wonder it took him a month!

The following had me quite confused up until now.
I knew his team was going to be in two locations, and the other one was to be Whisky mountain.
There is a "Whiskey Mountain" about 50 miles from Mitchell, but it was outside of totality.
His Whiskey Mountain is in Wyoming, 520 miles away, and was dead centerline of the eclipse.

Corona from Whiskey mountain
Coordinate N 43° 25.234', W 109° 37.883', Alt. 3165 m​
 
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