Total Solar Eclipse of August 2017 (The Great American Eclipse)
Description:
On August 21, 2017, my wife and I traveled to Madras, Oregon to find ourselves directly in the path of this total solar eclipse. It was the first total eclipse we saw. In the excitement of the preparations, I inadvertently misadjusted my focus and did not have time to fully rectify before the start of the event. The photo is therefore not as clear as I would have liked but the memory is very vivid. We see the planet Venus just to the left at the bottom, made visible in the dark. The totality lasted 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
Technical details:
Camera: Nikon D90 and Nikkor 70-300mm lens combined with a 1.4x tele-extender for a total focal length of 420mm
iOptron SkyGuider light equatorial mount to keep the image centered despite the Earth rotation
Multiple preprogramed exposures varying from 1/4000 sec to 5 seconds to capture the full extent of the corona, from the brightest to the most tenuous section. Individual frames were assembled and an HDR processs was performed (High Dynamic Range).
