dermuehle

Solar eclipses from Chaco Canyon

2011-12-31T15:18:00.002+01:00

from http://www.traditionsofthesun.org/chaco_book_eng.pdf

The annular solar eclipse of May 20, 2012 can be seen from China, Japan and the USA, where the path of visibility (antumbra) touches Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado (Four Corners) and Texas.
The most favorable weather conditions along the shadow track are in the American southwest, famous for its scenery and natural wonders. (Totality 12 magazine by Larry Stevens, Dec 2011 or at Javier Xubier's site and Jay Anderson's weather site).
"The western United States is the place to be for the upcoming eclipse on May 20th.", from Sky and Telescope, Feb. 2012, p.66, May’s Great Annular Eclipse, Fred Espenak & Jay Anderson

In New Mexico, Chaco Canyon -of archaeoastronomical importance- will provide a special viewing location. As one tour operator (Travelquest) advertises: "A highlight of our journey will be exploring and observing the May 20 annular solar eclipse amidst the ancient Anasazi Indian ruins at Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, whose archaeoastronomy markers and alignments have earned it the nickname, “Stonehenge of the West.”"

Photographic opportunities abound. A challenge could be incorporating the Fajada Butte landmark (famous for the "Sun Dagger") as a foreground for the eclipsed sun. A regular back country permit might not be sufficient. Area closed behind sign

A petroglyph ("Piedra del Sol") near Una Vida has been associated with a total solar solar eclipse.
Traditions of the Sun Explore the world's ancient observatories
Book pg. 24: petroglyph called "Piedra del Sol" - Solar eclipse with corona?
Exploratorium The petroglyph is thought by some to represent the total solar eclipse of AD 1097.
Exploratorium Piedra del Sol
Solar Eclipse Petroglyph Solar Astronomy in the Prehistoric Southwest
Photography by David Cortner
See also the page Sun Dagger in Chaco Canyon on this blog.

So when did total or annular eclipses occur there - during the Chacoan Period or an extended time frame?

Total solar eclipses occurred in Chaco Canyon on 0310 May 15, 0804 Apr 13, 1097 Jul 1, 1259 Oct 17 between 1 and 2012 as calculated by Xavier Jubiers tool Five Millennium (-1999 to +3000) Canon of Solar Eclipses Database.
"on March 7th, 1076, a total solar eclipse was visible just south of Chaco" (Ward).
In Chaco Canyon, it was partial with 95% magnitude, the center line 190 km to the south.

Annular eclipses were on 0098 Mar 21, 0171 Apr 22, 0290 Nov 19, 0805 Sep 26,1156 Nov14 before 2012 May 20.
The next one thereafter will occur on 2023 Oct 14 in the morning, the central line running exactly through Chaco canyon.
Further annular eclipses before 3000 will occur on 2121 Jul 14, 2154 Apr 12, 2711 May 09, 2795 Nov 03, 2876 Dec 06.

The total solar eclipse of Aug 21, 2017 will be visible as partial with a maximum magnitude of 80%.
Before 3000, another total eclipse will happen on 2866 Jul 03.

Landsat views the world, plate 84,
NASA SP-360, 1976

Total Solar Eclipse in Patagonia - timelapse video

2011-12-27T14:11:00.031+01:00

A time-lapse version of the total solar eclipse on July 11, 2010,
observed from the Balcon de Calafate, Argentina, compressed to 1/10th of the original length.
Also some brightening applied: gamma=70, contrast=40

Stills processed with Registax (bins of 5sec, 120 pics and 1 sec, 24 pics around second contact)
Gallery or animated slideshow, enjoy

Lux lucet in tenebris

100 Jahre Zeiss-Teleskop

2011-10-08T21:36:00.042+02:00

Festakt "100 Jahre Zeiss-Teleskop" der Sternwarte Stuttgart auf der Uhlandshöhe in der Gärtnerei Locher am 7.10.2011

Stiftskirche, Mond um 18:30

Festvortrag Prof. Manfred Steinbach

Moderation Prof. H.U. Keller

mehr Fotos

Rudi Idler's Urteil im Astrotreff
"Der 100 Jahre alte Zeiss Refraktor ( 175/2625 ) der Sternwarte Stuttgart verblüfft beim Durchschauen jedesmal Mal aufs Neue: Die Optik bietet eine Schärfe und einen Kontrast, die schier unglaublich ist.
Das Bild ist deutlich kontrastreicher als wie bei unserem 175 mm Astro Physics Refraktor, der AP Apo zeigt zwar keinerlei Farbe, liefert jedoch im Vergleich ein weicheres Bild. Das sekundäre Spektrum des Zeiss hält sich in Grenzen. "

Mercury in front of Moon

2011-10-03T20:33:00.006+02:00

The waxing moon with the Statue of Mercury
from Schlossplatz, Stuttgart on Oct. 02, 2011

Etoiles & Stars

2011-10-01T20:24:00.043+02:00

Les Etoiles de Mougins, Cote d'Azur and Starry Nights in Corsica

6e Festival International de la Gastronomie et des arts de vivre
Mougins du 16 au 18 sept.

Lyra and Cygnus from Calvi, Sep 28, nothing compared to the view
from the mountains at 2000 m altitude

Oct. 01, Monte Rosa, Gornergrat,
Matterhorn

Eiger, AirBerlin AB8869 Airbus319
NCE - STR 01.10. 14:10 - 15:30

Total Lunar Eclipse 2011 June 15

2011-06-16T22:44:00.041+02:00

Video at 23h 55m MESZ, 7 minutes before leaving the umbra

The total phase was visible intermittently through haze and clouds starting at 22h 45m with the help of 7x42 binoculars.

Total phase 22h:47:38 and 22h:48:08 with aircraft taking off from STR
click for animated large view

23h:22:35 with helicopter

23h 22m

23h 56m MESZ shortly before leaving the umbra

http://www.sternwarte.de/

Eclipse with airplane

2011-01-04T12:27:00.078+01:00

At 09:35 I saw a plane rushing across the solar disk at 20x magnification, then immediatly turned the Lumix DMC FX150 in video mode on. And there was another one only a minute later!

Video on youtube

montage of 4 screenshots

The rising sun already in eclipse was recorded on slide-film through a 500 mm telephoto lens.
Some processed scans are here

A little more occultation: airplane crossing the partially eclipsed sun at 09:36

Anticrepuscular rays - encore

2010-12-27T13:38:00.049+01:00

Anticrepuscular rays were recorded already on a photo taken 9 minutes before second contact of the Total Eclipse on July 11, 2010 from the Eclipse City camp on the Balcon de Calafate.

Hardly recognizable on the standard rendering (jpeg below), HDR techniques were employed on the raw-format image. After developing with different exposure values in Silkypix, the resulting three tif-files were combined to a Pseudo-HDR using FDRTools.

The cloud in the upper left-hand corner is obviously the cause for the diagonal dark band extending towards the anti-solar point. The other dark bands could be caused by (unnoticed) clouds overhead.The mountaintop on the horizon opposite to the sun is Cerro Campo 25 de Mayo, el. 1338m, 12.7 km away.

EXIF data for image P1150024:
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX150
f=7.8mm, 1/125sec, f/3.1 ISO 100

Excursions to Balcon de El Calafate provided exclusively by Mil Outdoor Adventure, regular price US $ 50 w/o solar eclipse.

HDR-Panorama

See the blog entry of July 20, 2010

Erster Raumfahrttag in Stuttgart

2010-10-08T21:04:00.004+02:00

Mission Zukunft: Von Baden-Württemberg ins All
am 8. Oktober 2010 im Haus der Wirtschaft in Stuttgart
Fotogalerie

TSE 2010 from Magallanes Region in Chile

2010-08-10T22:49:00.010+02:00

Eclipse Total en Torres del Paine Magallanes Chile
5 youtube videos by EsquivelMario
/*views of the umbra from just outside of the totality zone*/

From Puerto Natales
Eclipse Solar, Julio 11 de 2010 by Patagonia Webcam
Video1 on Vimeo /*partial phase*/
Lamentablemente la nubosidad no permitió disfrutar del evento natural en su totalidad. Aqui el registro de Patagonia Webcam.
Video2 on Vimeo /*colorful sky after the eclipse*/
Eclipse y Atardecer en Puerto Natales

Sigue el Eclipse on Chilean IYA2009 website

In the media: La Nacion July 13, 2010 terra.cl July 11

Refraction at the horizon hugging eclipse

2010-07-27T20:12:00.033+02:00

A photo taken during totality at 21:50:47 UT was matched with a computed horizon for the Balcon de Calafate observation site. The center of the eclipsed sun is determined to be at an elevation of 1.25 deg, zenit distance z=88.75 deg. This value is by 0.36 deg larger than the elevation uncorrected for refraction and slightly smaller in comparison with the Besselian mean refraction table.

Line of sight towards Cerro Murallon

Details:
Xavier Jubier’s local circumstances tool predicts h=1.0 deg, or better yet with the 5MCSE web tool
Xavier gave the hint: "Worth to mention also is that when you hover the mouse, leave it a
few seconds, over the eclipse altitude, then the value with refraction is displayed. It gives 1.4 degree, but that is with average weather conditions, not the winter ones you had in Patagonia."

The calculator at eclipse-chasers gives a result of h=1.0 deg too for the height of the sun without refraction for mid-eclipse at 21:49:49UT as does Starry Night Backyard .

The USNO online calculator states in 'Notes on the data"
"The altitude is corrected for refraction assuming standard atmospheric conditions.",
the output is again 1.0 deg however, the value without refraction.

The observed refraction angle is somewhat smaller than predicted from the Besselian table
(mean refraction at 0 deg Celsius, 760mm pressure):
z-obs/deg | R
88 | 19’ 07”
89 | 25’36”
90 | 36’ 38”

Glenn Schneider uses this refraction chart as shown in his 1986 eclipse report.
This gives at the altitude of 979 m a correction of 23' for an elevation of 1.0 deg, resp. 24' for an elevation of 0.9 deg.
The time of the picture is between mid-eclipse and third contact, with an uncorrected height of 55.6' = 0.89 deg. This yields an observed refraction angle of 21.6' which is a little smaller than expected from the graph given by Schneider.

A second photo at 21:50:21, closer to mid-totality will be analyzed shortly.

The digital elevation model (DEM) was obtained from Jonathan Ferranti’s site
and is essentially the latest SRTM data ver 2.1 with voids filled. Visualization was done with Microdem
“MICRODEM is a microcomputer mapping program written by Professor Peter Guth of the Oceanography Department, U.S. Naval Academy. It requires a 32 bit version of Windows (NT/2000/XP or 95/98/ME) and is freeware.”

Anticrepuscular rays during solar eclipse

2010-07-20T20:31:00.058+02:00

Pictures taken at 3m 00s and 2m 53 s before second contact in the direction opposite to the sun.
Raw images from Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX 150 were developed with Silkypix DS 3.0, gamma set to 1.0, contrast to 2.5. Autofocus did not work properly, unfortunately.
The vertical "white beam" was readily visible to the unaided eye, I noticed the diagonal feature to the left only upon inspection of the photographs. Or is it in fact a broad dark feature framed by bright rays?
Mystery solved? Comments are welcome. Was it noticed or recorded by any other observers?

Compare this to an image displayed in the gallery at the ESO hotel on Cerro Paranal: dark rays are produced by mountain tops.

The explanation for the eclipse phenomenon as anticrepuscular rays was proposed to me by Mike Simmons (President, Astronomers Without Borders) upon my verbal description. In this context I would explain the bright rays as caused by gaps, i. e. valleys in the distant (below horizon) Andes mountain range. Web links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anticrepuscular_rays
http://www.atoptics.co.uk/atoptics/anti1.htm

-----------------------------
Stefan Krause commented by email on 21. Juli, 2010 02:19
Die Gegendämmerungstrahlen waren mir ebenfalls aufgefallen - allerdings erst nach Sonnenuntergang in der echten Dämmerung.
Der weiße Strahl ist m.E. lediglich ein Kontrastphänomen bzw. der helle Himmelshintergrund zwischen den dunklen Strahlen. Die fast vollständig bedeckte Sonne stellt eine schlitzförmige Lichtquelle dar, welche jeglichen Schatten scharf hervortreten lässt (z.B. http://www.sofi2010.de/bericht/P1170920.JPG ). Dadurch ist der Kontrast zwischen Gegendämmerungsstrahlen und Himmelshintergrund vermutlich größer als dies normalerweise der Fall ist. Die Himmelsaufhellung könnte übrigens durch Aerosole bedingt sein; es gab nach Sonnenuntergang auch ein recht deutliches Purpurlicht. In diesem Zusammenhang mag interessant sein, dass über Südamerika seit Wochen deutlich erhöhte SO2-Werte verzeichnet werden: http://wdc.dlr.de/data_products/SERVICES/GOME2NRT/so2.php . Ich hatte daher bereits vor der Abreise auf farbenprächtigen Dämmerungen spekuliert und bin in der Hinsicht nicht enttäuscht worden. Bereits am Morgen des 11.07.2010 war auf unserer Fahrt zum Perito Moreno kurzzeitig ein schwaches Purpurlicht zu beobachten, gefolgt von heftigem Alpenglühen (s. Bericht).
Viele Grüße aus Bonn! stefan

------------------------
Update Jul 23, 2010: Image processing with FDRTools

method receptor left, compressor right

------------------------
Update Jul 28, 2010: Terrain analysis

A close inspection of the digital elevation model was done with the GIS tool Microdem.
From a point downwards the line-of-sight the look back at the horizon shows indeed a gap at az=308 deg.

More illustrations at the end of album 03

Total Success in El Calafate

2010-07-15T01:04:00.040+02:00

another meaning for TSE 2010, the Sunny Sunday Sunset Eclipse
with Eclipse City on the Balcon de Calafate.
Pictures and videos added July 20 - Album02

image processing, analysis, more pics added July 27: Album0 3

Unfortunately the second video is out-of-focus, I pressed the button hastily upon third contact

Words cannot describe it adequately, neither pictures. Will post some next week, including two with a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.:
Shortly before totality a white vertical beam of light was in the sky exactly opposite the sun.
-------------------
addendum July 23:
"Argentina, like Winston Churchill once said of Russia, is “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma" in Trust, Friendship & Development In Argentina
"The country is hard to understand, harder to explain and impossible to predict."
"...How have Argentina’s recent leaders faired on this scale? Very poorly."
Anybody still wondering why Macair 's LV-BZH did not fly?
-------------------

From an internet cafe in San Pedro de Atacama.

Goal - moon and airplane

2010-06-24T00:03:00.017+02:00

Airplane passing in front of the moon, 2010 Jun 24, 22:03 MESZ
18 minutes after the 1:0 Germany vs. Ghana
Soligor lens f=500mm f/5 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX150 camera

Compare to the event on Aug. 30, 2009

Simulation of the Lunar Umbra on July 11 2010

2010-04-25T19:17:00.052+02:00

updated Jun 02, 2010

3D-Visualization of the Total Solar Eclipse on July 11, 2010 in Patagonia at sunset using a Google Sketchup model for the lunar umbra in Google Earth. The umbra is modeled as a glass tube, colored gray on the sunward side from the shadow center and blue in the opposite direction.

Onset of totality at the Mirador Cuesta de Miguez on Ruta 40 near El Calafate.
Ground views are 20 seconds apart.
More images, maps

Video animation - youtube

Astronomy Day

2010-04-25T16:56:00.007+02:00

Astronomy Day in Germany, April 24 2010
Astronomietag 2010 Gallery from Stuttgart

Mercury and Venus Conjunction

2010-04-08T19:46:00.007+02:00

Venus and Mercury, Lumix DMC-FX150
2010 April 05, 20h:48m MESZ at left, 21h:03 at right

ISS Pass

2010-03-08T20:55:00.016+01:00

ISS passing over Stuttgart. Computed scene from heavens-above.com at right.
Castor, Pollux, Mars at top right. Regulus between the tree branches.

LUMIX DMC FX150, f=6mm, ISO 200, 30 sec exposure

Raw image processed with Silkypix Developer Studio DS3

Partial eclipse of a Blue Moon

2009-12-31T23:12:00.000+01:00

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

Moon shadow south of Japan on July 22, 2009

2009-12-25T14:54:00.000+01:00

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

Celebrating 100 Years of "Kosmos Himmelsjahr"

2009-12-11T14:48:00.000+01:00

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

IYA 2009 closing event in Stuttgart

2009-11-28T14:35:00.000+01:00

Gallery

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

AME 2009

2009-09-28T13:54:00.000+02:00

Gallery

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

Moonshot

2009-08-31T18:20:00.000+02:00

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

PLE 2009 Aug 06 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

2009-08-06T20:38:00.000+02:00

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.

Eclipse flights gleanings

2009-07-28T17:50:00.000+02:00

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)

TSE 2009 Movies

2009-07-26T20:01:00.000+02:00

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

2009-07-26T14:44:00.000+02:00

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.

Astronomy Fair AME 2008

2008-09-14T23:00:00.000+02:00

Astronomy Fair AME 2008 in Schwenningen, Sept. 13, 2008
http://picasaweb.google.de/wolf.muehle/AME2008Astromesse

Altai Trekking

2008-09-14T21:55:00.000+02:00

Altai Trekking 2008

Photos from slide films between July 24 and Aug. 08

http://picasaweb.google.de/wolf.muehle/Altai2008slides

Total Solar Eclipse 2008 in Altai mountains

2008-08-15T00:25:00.001+02:00

Scenes of eclipse observation, scanned from slide film at
http://picasaweb.google.de/wolf.muehle/TotalSolarEclipse2008Aug01Altai

Altai Trekking and Total Solar Eclipse

2008-08-12T18:16:00.000+02:00

Back from a fabulous two week hiking trip in the Altai Mountains

near Mt. Belucha including the Total Solar Eclipse of Aug. 01, 2008

Photoalbum July 22 to Aug. 02 at
http://picasaweb.google.de/wolf.muehle/Altai2008