Dec 31, 2009

Partial eclipse of a Blue Moon


Wide angle view at 21:30, exposure 8 sec, f/5.6, focal length=21.4 mm



Partial lunar eclipse at 20:06 MEZ, 14 minutes into the umbra
Taken through Soligor lens 500mm f/5, eyepiece 17 mm and Lumix DMC-FX 150
Clouds obstructed the view from 20:10 to 21:20


Combination of 4 raw images with exposure times between 1/10s and 1/400s
using Fdrtools, high contrast at left, high saturation at right

Dec 25, 2009

Moon shadow south of Japan on July 22, 2009




Satellite view of the Shadow of the Moon at Total Solar Eclipse
by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Jul. 23, 2009
http://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/en/imgdata/topics/2009/tp090723.html
"On Wednesday, July 22 2009, a total solar eclipse was occurred. JAXA observed the eclipse by NASA satellite, Terra. Round black area on the sea south of Japan in Figure 1 was a shadow of the Moon. The observation time was 02:05 (GMT)."


By adjusting contrast and gamma the outline of the umbra becomes readily visible.

Compare to the view 5 minutes later:
http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2009-07-28
MODIS Image of the day: July 28, 2009 - Solar Eclipse over Southeast Asia

Dec 11, 2009

Celebrating 100 Years of "Kosmos Himmelsjahr"


Gallery
Jubiläumsveranstaltung des Kosmos-Verlags am 02.12.2009 im Planetarium Stuttgart
100 Jahre Himmelsjahr, 100 Jahre Astronomie

Nov 28, 2009

IYA 2009 closing event in Stuttgart


Gallery

IYA 2009 closing event on Nov 27, 2009
organized by Kepler-Gesellschaft Weil der Stadt, Universities Stuttgart and Tuebingen

Sep 28, 2009

AME 2009


Gallery








AME 2009, astronomy fair on Sept. 26, 2009 in Schwenningen

Aug 31, 2009

Moonshot



Airplane passing in font of the moon, 2009 Aug. 30, 20:32 MESZ
Soligor lens f=500mm f/5 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX150 camera


Aug 6, 2009

PLE 2009 Aug 06 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse


Aug 05, 22:58 UT (left,before eclipse) and Aug 06, 00:07 UT (right, 32 min before maximum).
Digicam LUMIX DMC-FX150 and SOLIGOR lens 500mm f/5, eyepiece 17mm
Raw-files processed with SilkypixDS, followed by Paintshop Pro.



converted to black and white




Difference, setting 80 percent of the images during and before eclipse
Inverted (left, negative) and regular (right) rendering.
Starrynight simulation at far right.

Jul 28, 2009

Eclipse flights gleanings

The Daily News Jul 23, p. 10 has a picture from a Sichuan airlines eclipse flight: http://is.gd/1ReSK
Apparently there were 5 flights out of Chongqing - ironically it was clear there.
Did anyone know about this before?

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-china-eclipse22-2009jul22,0,6659536.story
"When the eclipse passed over Chengdu, in Sichuan province, passengers on five specially chartered Sichuan Airlines flights chased the moon's shadow on its trajectory across the country, enveloped in darkness for more than half an hour before landing in Shanghai. The price was $200, and few seats were empty."

http://sissixqy.blogbus.com/logs/42808705.html
"Rain, not the moon, casts a shadow over Shanghai - But even if it was not directly visible, the eclipse brought its fair ...said the pilots of her Sichuan Airlines flight from Chengdu to ...A group of true eclipse enthusiasts had decided not to leave it to chance. They boarded a specially chartered aircraft in Chongqing and chased the lunar shadow from above the clouds."

http://winewriter.wordpress.com/2009/07/22/chasing-the-total-eclipse-of-the-sun-july-22-2009
nice review about India and China
"Sichuan Airlines chartered five special flights for passengers to chase the moon’s shadow on its trajectory across China, starting in Chengdu... Planes were full, and the price of a seat was $200."

Details about the Japanese eclipse flight:
http://airlineroute.blogspot.com/2009/06/ana-solar-eclipse-sight-seeing-flight.html
20090609 ANA Solar Eclipse sight-seeing flight ANA on 22JUL09 will operate 1-time only Solar Eclipse observation flight. The Solar Eclipse is due 22JUL09 and can be seen in Japan for the first time in 46 years.ANA is operating a Boeing 777-200 aircraft operating to/from Kagoshima, which lasts approximately 2 hours circling around southern part of Kagoshima, but is subject to change. It will only sell a maximum of up to 193 seats only, mostly window seats for observation purposesKOJ0955 - 1155KOJ 772 (scheduled)

Jul 26, 2009

TSE 2009 Movies

Eclipseflight in India vs. Jinshan/China

total solar eclipse india 2009 youtube
Screenshot from movie by Christian Wolter, uploaded to YouTube on Aug. 11, 2009



Photos (c) Christian Wolter, Stuttgart

see also Mahesh Shantarams Fotos - Flight of Frenzy
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=78453&id=564672184&l=54c6d194dd


My longtime eclipse companion saw the the eclipse from above India at 41000 ft and I got a wet T-shirt in China

One minute past 3rd contact at Jinshan city beach


TRACE 2009 - the Totally Rainy and Cloudy Eclipse

on July 22, 2009 at the Jinshan City Beach near Shanghai

Movies coming soon
Photos at http://picasaweb.google.de/wolf.muehle/TotalSolarEclipse2009InShanghai

A 4-day trip with SACT (South America Classics Tours), Backnang, Germany.
Extended by 2 free additional hotel stays in Shanghai and Beijing - thanks to a thunderstorm in Beijing and courtesy of the stringent regulations of Air China.