Total Solar Eclipse 2008 - Russia

Anthony,
You believe skylux mount is inadequate for this? I really don't know...

Vaggeli,

Photographing the partial phases is trivial and a simple tripod will suffice. However ....

What would you sugest for imaging the corona?

... this is where we have a problem and it has to do with the extended exposure in order to capture the full magnitude of the corona. Unfortunately we need an exposure which must be at least four seconds (and quite possibly more).

I suggest you try and see if this is doable with your current setup. For example, take one exposure and four seconds later take a second exposure. When viewing the two images, is there ANY image shift?

Another approach is to take a four-second exposure to see how clear the disk and its edges are.

Please remember that you are using a 400mm focal length setup (mine is 530mm) which leads to a small field of view and greater movement within the field by the object(s) of interest!

Renting a russian mount perhaps?

This is my preference as well BUT they did not reply to my message about this possibility.

I just checked a few minutes ago the luggage restrictions by Aeroflot and we are allowed ONE check-in piece at 20 kg maximum PLUS one carry-on piece at 10 kg maximum. These limits create a problem for me since I need TWO check-in pieces plus one carry-on. :evil:

Renting a russian mount perhaps?

This is my preference as well BUT they did not reply to my message about this possibility.

One serious problem with this scenario (ie. renting a mount) is the possibility of something going wrong and arriving on eclipse day and only to find out there is no mount for you due to some mistake. It would be a great shame to travel so far and NOT have a mount to use. It is for this reason that I prefer to bring my own mount and thereby avoid any problems due to bad communication and/or planning on their part!

What would you sugest for imaging the corona?

... this is where we have a problem and it has to do with the extended exposure in order to capture the full magnitude of the corona. Unfortunately we need an exposure which must be at least four seconds (and quite possibly more).

The corona has great detail when imaged properly and it is vital that you have very good tracking. I realize that we have a maximum exposure, for example, of four seconds but this does not help us since the field of view due to the focal length we plan to use makes these four seconds an issue!

PS. To make matters worse, totality will be occurring relatively low in the sky which means greater apparent movement than when high overhead. In other words, tracking is now even more critical since totality will be occurring at only 33.5 degrees altitude. :oops:

I have a little experiment for you ... when the sun tomorrow is around 33.5 degrees (either rising or setting), take a four-second exposure with your setup to see if you have any trailing at 400mm focal length.

Last time I checked Aeroflot allowed two pieces of check-in luggage plus one carry-on.

This limit is for transatlantic flights from US/Canada. For us poor slobs in Europe, we are allowed one check-in piece and one carry-on.

Otherwise, get the wallet out and pay for each additional kilogram whether it is excess baggage (extra piece) or not. :evil:

Unfortunately we need an exposure which must be at least four seconds (and quite possibly more).

For anyone interested in catching the moon (!) while it is eclipsing the sun (ie. earthshine), we need an exposure which is at least eight seconds!!! :oops: