This page was adressing especially to the travelers to the polar cruise from Svalbard to Franz-Joseph-Land, covering the eclipse of 2008 Aug. 01, the "IcEclipse".
For actual results, see my eclipse 2008 page.
The most important accessory for observing the one-hour-long partial phases of the eclipse is an eclipse glass, a shielding foil mounted in a piece of cardboard. It protects your eyes against the solar radiation. Travelers, who booked with Eclipse-Reisen.de get it from Eclipse-Reisen.
For the observation of the totality there are neither eclipse glasses nor other special devices needed. However, binoculars with a higher magnification (optimal 15-20 x, but even smaller magnifications are better than nothing) will show many details of the corona, which are not observable with naked eye. With magnifications higher than 10x you should use a tripod. Telescopes with high magnifications will probably not be useful, because we will observe the eclipse onboard the ship and its movement will impede detailed observations .
For the observation of the partial phases with binoculars you need a proper solar filter with neutral density 5! You can build them yourself easily using shielding foil and paperboard.
Optimal for photos of the partial phases from solid ground are focal legths of 1000 to 2000 mm. A solar filter is necessary! Depending on your lens and film or camera you can either use the photographic solar foil with neutral density 3.8 or the visual foil with ND 5. For example, my 4.5/300 Rubinar lens gives with ND 5 foil and iso 200 an exposure time of 1/2000 sec. For lower speed lenses and 50 asa films you should better use ND 3.8.
As the Sun
appears very small at the sky, you need long telephoto lenses
for eclipse photgraphy. Recommended
focal lengths (35 mm film)
for the total phase are 300 to 500 mm.
Trying to use compact
cameras for the corona
will be
disappointing in the most cases, although such cameras are good for
taking pictures of the scenery. For this purpose, setting a digital
compact camera to a night shot program should provide the best results.
You should test these settings at home in the dawn. If
possible set digital cameras the file format to RAW, in order to have
better conditions for image processing.
As autofocus will not work reliable in the dawn of totality, you should select manual focus and adjust it to infinity. For long telephoto lenses test your inifinity point in advance, as there may be a shift according to the low temperatures! If no manual focus is available, try to focus on the moon limb or the horizon.
For any photos, be sure, that the flash is switched off! !
You will also need a tripod. For land based photos, the film/camera sensitivity should be in the lower range for better image quality.Onboard a ship, you have to expect movements of the vessel of several degrees, even in a very calm sea. For preventing camera shake you should use exposure times as short as possible, requiring a higher camera sensitivity and a focal length not longer then 500 mm.
With good wide angle lenses you can take pictures of the approach and disappearanceof the lunar shadow and changes of the landscape.
Important: Exercise
and test your equipment carefully at home and make a detailed itinerary
of your planned photos and observations!!
For photos of the partially eclipsed Sun on film simply try solar
photos from
home to check exposures, for testing your equipment for the totality
use the full moon.
You find more tips for photographers in my special page eclipse photography (in German) containing some sample pictures.
You can record
the eclipse on video.
For the Sun and the corona a tele converter for
your camcorder ist
useful. It provides a better image quality than the digital zoom.
To
record changes of the landscape a wide angle converter should be used.
You should use a tripod and
for close ups of the partial phases
a solar filter is required.
A video camera is very good for recording the shadow bands!.
Be sure that
you have enough video tapes or memory space for the eclipse!
Furthermore, have charged batteries ready, if possible a second battery
set, and buy a plenty of spare films and batteries for your journey!
International: Thousand Oaks, Rainbow Symphony. Linklist with phone numbers and addresses.
Germany: Astroshop.de,
http://www.astromedia.de/
or http://www.baader-planetarium.de. Travelers, who
booked with Eclipse-Reisen.de
get it from Eclipse-Reisen!
A construction manual for a simple solar filter using foils is found here: http://www.zellix.de/papp.htm (in German).
1. Cont. 08:48:38.8
2. Cont. 09:48:53.3
Mid: 09:50:01.8 2:17.0
3. Cont. 09:51:10.3
4. Cont. 10:51:06.1
Times for Victoria Island (80° 09' N, 36° 46' E):
1. Cont. 08:46:57.6
2. Cont. 09:47:18.5
Mid: 09:48:18.8 2:00.5
3. Cont. 09:49:19.1
4. Cont. 10:49:28.7
(Svalbard: Time zone in Summer CEST (UTC +2h), Victoria Island: CEST +1h (UTC +3h, Eastern Europe Summer Time),
Franz-Joseph-Land: CEST +2h (UTC +4h = Moscow Daylight Time (MSD)))
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Actual solar image from SOHO: |
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Actual solar corona image from SOHO: |
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Cloud maps from Skiron
for Europe up to 72 hrs in advance. There are also other prediction models available, eg. GFS predictions. Select 'SLP, H500-H1000, Clouds' in the 'GFS Wz' model. |
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Actual weather
map of the arctic region by the University Cologne Also good: |
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Actual sea ice maps from Cryosphere Also good: |
Other useful sites providing actual wheather data:
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Impressum und Datenschutzerklärung
My actual eclipse results page
