Astronomy


















Solar Eclipse of August 21, 2017 

We observed the eclipse at Tallmadge Meadows Metropark in Munroe Falls, OH.  The photos are taken from the eyepiece projection screen using a 60mm Bushnell Sky Chief II telescope.  I cropped, rotated, and enhanced the contrast and brightness of these images for this posting.

Click to enlarge photos.



The solar projection telescope is show in the center, mounted on a wooden tripod.
Sunspot groups are visible near the center and the limb of the sun.




Maximum coverage was 80% at this location.


Telephoto shot through a solar filter (Canon PowerShot A650 IS).


Unfiltered photo during maximum coverage as clouds briefly passed over the sun.



Total Lunar Eclipse of October 8, 2014

I shot these just before dawn (around 6:40 AM EDT) as the full moon was emerging from totality, hanging low in the western sky.  The scattering and refraction of light from earth's atmosphere casts a copper color over the moon's surface even when it is totally eclipsed by the earth's shadow.

Canon PowerShot A650 IS
2 sec @ f/4.5 ISO 200


    The silhouette of a tree (right) and rooftop are barely visible in this photo:

    FL 44mm | 6x Zoom:




Transit of Venus on June 5, 2012

This was the last Transit of Venus across the disk of the sun that we will see in our lifetime.  About 200 people attended the event at Fishcreek Elementary school in Stow, OH, under the direction of my friend and long-time astronomer, David Jesse. 

Digital photos of the transit were taken from an eyepiece projection screen using a 60mm Bushnell Sky Chief II telescope (yes, its practically an antique!).  The telescope set-up is shown in a photo below. I enhanced the contrast and brightness of the images for this posting. 

The event was plagued by clouds and rain until the last 20 minutes or so when the sun finally appeared through a broken sky. The last pictures were taken as the sun was descending below the treeline.

Please note:  The small dots near the middle of the disk are sunspots.