10.06.2021 Partial Solar Eclipse.

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Friday 10th. Bright, but with thin, high cloud cover. A 30% partial, solar eclipse is due locally at about 11.35-13.35.  Roughly12.35[CET] maximum. Thicker cloud is forecast to coincide with the eclipse. 

I know from experience that trying to image, even in the present conditions, is hard work. The cloud usually veils the detail. Thicker cloud easily turns the sun completely invisible in my instruments. I have hundreds of hours wasted watching the cloud hide the sun.

I am also  more of a close-ups imager. With little interest in capturing the whole disk. I do not have suitable instrumentation for it. Much preferring to capture a single sunspot [AR] in as much detail as possible.. Or even an occasional prominence.

The cloud was much less than forecast so far and largely high and thin.

 
I have been capturing away with my old 90/11 Vixen, Lunt 1.25" wedge and ASI174MM camera.

My Lumix G9 is on my 88mm Kowa Prominar TSN884  spotting scope with a Baader Solar Foil filter. This is able to capture the full solar disk. It also captures cloud. Which thickened as maximum obscuration occurred at 12.37[CET.] 

The Kowa was handy for recording the correct orientation. Which I completely failed to arrange correctly with the Vixen and the Lunt solar wedge. 

The Manfrotto Fluid head is absolutely hopeless for astrophotography. Once it is tilted much past horizontal it has to be locked up to carry the weight without droop.

The scale is all wrong with the H-alpha 150/10 'scope for an eclipse. Though I added a 20mm eyepiece to keep an eye on things.

I took these AR images earlier. Before the eclipse started.

12.51 Heavily clouded over now but still bright.

I was very lucky to be hardly bothered by cloud.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just after maximum obscuration captured with my Lumix G9 and Kowa TSN884 spotting scope. 25x setting on Kowa eyepiece.

All in all I was badly prepared. I should have rehearsed the Vixen with solar wedge to be sure of orientation. A shorter focus instrument would have been better. For a wider field of view.

The G9's sensor, or the Kowa eyepiece, must have been dusty. There are dust bunnies on all my images.

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