353 replies to this topic

[R Botero]

Very True.  Maximum Totality in Iceland is 2:13, while in Spain it's 1:50, but that time of year the chance of clear skies in Iceland is less than 15%, while in Northern Spain its 40%.  The chances of it being mostly cloudy or entirely overcast in mid-August is 30% in Spain vs. 65% in Iceland.  I might have to rethink this.

 

 

Cloud (and other weather) data found here:

https://weatherspark.com/map

Consider the altitude of the Sun if you are planning to go to Spain.  Sky may be clear but you will need a pristine horizon:  http://xjubier.free....3.0&Zoom=6&LC=1

 

Cataluña and the Balearic islands are great holidays though.

 

Roberto

[TASCPA]

Another set of thanks to all that made this automation and scripting possible.  All of my setup and the scripting worked flawlessly except for two things:

1. Add me to the list of those that hadn't verified that my computer time changed to the local time, so missed the early C1 shots.

2. The operator is an idiot.  Yes, that's me.  The one who neglected to remove the solar filter....

 

Still, given my profession, it was a miracle that the trip to TX even happened, let alone that the skies cleared up enough to get the views we did.  And, without the scripting tool and knowledge from this forum, I almost certainly would have been forced to give up on the imaging altogether.

 

Definitely makes me wish I'd had the time to add the prompts add on scripting!

 

We got to see an incredible event and view.  Holy cow.

[Juzwuz]

I was in Dallas, TX (little North and West of Plano) with 3 minutes and 10 seconds of Totality. The heavy cloud cover in the morning started dissipating after noon and then about 30 minutes before totality, a big patch of blue sky appeared. I was in and out of clouds after C1 and more unfortunately I had set up the night before in my cousin's backyard and didn't notice the roof eaves were partially blocking the telescope's view. So I only captured 11 partial eclipse images before C2. I also didn't have a chance to refine the focus so it was a bit off during totality.

 

The script/sequence ran successfully even when I had to pivot and decided to increase the number of partial sets from 10 to 40 to try to image between fast moving clouds. I think I must have started and stopped the sequence 3 times and it always brought me back to the correct point in the sequence. I did have to manually shut down a couple of copies of the voice prompt. The Bailey's and inverted Bailey's portion worked well. My totality sequence also executed as planned. I think I only had less than 5 frames that had the previous exposure setting so it wasn't difficult to sort out. One suggestion for the script generator is the ability to move a Step up or down in the sequence. I accidently deleted a Step in the middle of my totality section and I couldn't find a way to re-insert the Step back in the original spot. I eventually deleted the sequence on my local copy and used the website copy.

 

I was surprised to see how much of the corona was visible from the stack of 40 frames (16ms exposures). The stack was enhanced with a radial blur technique.

 

Totality sequence:

 

Edited by Juzwuz, 17 April 2024 - 03:17 PM.

[min_rk]

I am reposting this from my post in the main section as the video would not have happened without the help of those in this thread. If you have a headset then please check it out as I think the actual VR video turned out pretty good other than my unfocused scope images.

 

For those that missed out I captured the eclipse from the front lawn of the US Airforce Museum in Dayton Ohio and now have it online at Meta/Oculus TV and both a 4k cropped version and the VR180 8k version on Youtube. The 4k version is ok but the best experience will be had by using a VR headset to watch on either Meta TV or Youtube VR in 8K. You can find it on Meta TV by searching for my creator's name MIN_RK and on Youtube my name is Hillbilly Hobbyist.

 

Keep in mind that this event had several firsts for me. The first time out with the new R5C camera with dual fisheye lens, the first time astro imaging away from the comfort of my driveway and the first time doing any solar imaging other than some test shots the week before. This was also the first time using Sharpcap so I ended up making a few mistakes. I did not have any intentions of going to the totality until just over a week out so I had to cram hard. I got a thousand oaks filter(learned too late that the Baader is better for imaging) off amazon and had to design and 3d print a housing for it. My mini pc is attached to the dovetail of my Edge scope so I had to design and 3d print a new housing to attach to the Sharpstar. Thanks to the guys in the imaging with sharpcap thread I was able to use an automated script but I could have done better on some of the timings. My biggest regret is not getting critical focus due to the rush and thousand oaks filter. The inlay was captured with my scope and consists of images straight from camera with processed filler. It is by no means a perfect sync but has roughly the same timings other than where several clips were dropped due to clouds. If you notice during bead/ring sections, there were several satellites that flew by. Anyways, if you have a headset then please check out the video.

 

4k regular version https://youtu.be/SxE2Y8JlPfA

8k VR180 version https://youtu.be/frjMJB0XPIE