Total Lunar Eclipse

Just finished viewing and imaging a Total Lunar Eclipse, so thought I'd post some images.


The next Total Lunar Eclipse won't be til April of 2014, having said that there will still be a lot of celestial delights going on before then, especially in 2012.

First off because of all the solar activity going on, 2012 promises to bring lots of Auroras.

The Evening of Saturday March 3 you'll see the Moon, Venus, Mercury, Saturn and Mars in the sky at the same time with Orion right in the middle of them. A few weeks later Monday March 26 we get to see a triangle shape conjunction of the Moon, Pleiades and Venus, doesn't happen that often, should be cool to view and image.

Venus gets real close to the Pleiades, almost right in the mix Tuesday April 3, again a rare occurrence and won't happen again for another 8 years.

Now on Sunday May 20 the American Southwest gets treated to a Partial Solar Eclipse..but not just any kind of Partial, It will be an Annular, very rare, when the Moon fits just inside the Sun. Most of Canada will receive a regular Partial Solar Eclipse but I am seriously considering driving down to the states just to see and photograph it, it's that cool.

Another biggie....Tuesday June 5 we get a transit of Venus across the face of the Sun, most of Canada will get to see some or all of the event.

Last but not least Monday August 13 we get a daytime Occultation of Venus as the Moon sweeps in front of it. Theses are just some of the major events taking place... a very good year, then we got the whole end of the world thing going on December 21. I'll try to keep you up todate closer to the events so you don't miss.

Shanghai...The Solar Eclipse

The night we arrived in Shanghai we were treated to an awesome lightning show. I took the image above from the balcony of my hotel suite the eve of the Total Solar Eclipse, with a grim weather forecast for eclipse day my thought was if I wasn't going to be imaging the eclipse, I might as well get some lightning shots.

Didn't get much sleep, up at 4:00 am organizing my equipment, then at t-90 minutes and counting to the eclipse I ventured out to find a spot I would be viewing it from. The tour organizers had paid extra for us to have a place on the hotel terrace to view the event, but after I walked along the China Sea beach that morning, I knew this was the place for me, ended up being a great decision.


Met all kinds of people from different countries, was filmed by a Beijing TV crew and saw lots of ghost like Junk ships on the China Sea , they seemed to disappear then reappear from behind pockets of mist and smog, very creepy cool , and the people,

People in awe,

Amazed people,

Cheering people.

Just before the eclipse started the clouds broke a little, enough so that we were able to view a partial eclipse, everybody cheered.






Our tour guide was kind enough to let me use his phone, I regularly called updates of the event into the CNN live crew. A CNN producer read my blog about me getting my first passport just to go see the eclipse in China. She emailed me and asked if I wanted to do an interview as well as do regular call ins to update CNN of the progress of the eclipse in Shanghai, I said sure, who wouldn't,very cool.




Saw it get dark,

Darker,

Darkest......... all within a matter of minutes. So let me sum this up for you. I am in Shanghai on the China Sea beach, watching ghostly Junks float by, with people all around me watching my every move, on the phone with a producer from CNN giving her live updates on the Solar Eclipse I was viewing and imaging, oh and earlier was filmed by a Beijing TV crew for their nightly news... I remember thinking at the time that even my dreams don't get this good.

Just after totality it started to rain and some friends from my tour group helped me carry my equipment to the hotel, it was over , at least for us in Shanghai, an experience I will never forget and even to this day can't believe I was actually a part of.

The next day we visited the Old Shanghai Astronomical Observatory.




Our last major event on the tour was a visit to the 88th floor, the observation deck of the Jin Mao Tower, what a view of Shanghai,









All good things must come to an end but the memories and experiences I have gathered will never fade away, I took more then 1200 images and 6 hours of video to make sure they don't. Taking this trip to China was so not like me, being a claustrophobic fear of flying introvert, just goes to show you that fears can be conquered....... with the want and a lot of willpower.

I even learned a few words in Chinese, one phrase I remember is "Xie xie" pronounced "Sheh sheh" in English, means "Thank you", I use it when ever I buy Chinese food now, whenever I use the phrase the surprised look I get from the person behind the counter, and then they started talking back to me in Chinese, then I explained I don't know any other words, they look confused, I explain about my trip, they smile and I really got to stop doing that, but it is fun.

I look back on this adventure with fond memories, the kindness of the Chinese people, their vast and rich history, seeing the great Wall for the first time from a plane, touching and smelling the clay that the Terra-Cotta army was made from, all something one doesn't soon forget.


I'll leave you with a video I took from the observation floor of the Jin Mao Tower. Note that at 1:20 into the video I cut in a Mission Impossible III scene, in the bottom of the four tower images I took above, the tall round building and the slanted roof building next to it are involved.

Darkness Falls On Shanghai

I'm back and what an experience visiting China has been. Initially I decided to go because of the Solar eclipse, it didn't take long before I was forgetting what the main focus was as well as what it was slowly becoming, a sensory delight.

Touching the Great Wall Of China, smelling incense in the Jade Buddha Temple, walking in the Forbidden City seeing up close and personal the Terra -Cotta Warriors and hearing the chatter of a thousand voices in Tiananmen Square on a Saturday. I took the above image while our tour driver was taking a shortcut down the back-roads where the common people live, shot through the window, says a lot, a part of China we never toured but through the lens I was able to capture a moment in time.


Coming into China is an eyeopener. Right off the plane you follow signs that have arrows and say baggage, they basically just guide you to numerous checkpoints where you will be asked a series of questions and asked to show your passport, oh, and walk through a temperature sensor. Not once but twice the person right in front of me was whisked away to a waiting tent and to what looked like health officials, probably checking for signs of the H1N1 virus. She was with a group of teenagers, they reassured her they would wait, I never saw the group from then on.

There are numerous guards that line "baggage lane",(as I like to call it). they're just off to the side, and everyone is wearing protective masks, very intimidating to say the least. At the final checkpoint, there was a yellow line where you had to stop before you proceeded through to be asked the same questions and once again show your passport and go through another temperature sensor, I guess I was a little over the yellow line and a security/police/army type scary guy with a mask rushes in and shouts something in Chinese and pushes me back.......well I didn't know whether to shit, salute, or go into shock, come to think of it I probably did a little of each, now don't forget I had just come off an eleven hour fight from Vancouver, I wasn't a happy camper or feeling 100%, couple that with the fact that I was one of the lucky ones to be selected for a pat down at the Vancouver International Airport Security Check-In , and I mean pat down, hands down the back and front of my pants, told to assume the position and checked again, at least he thanked me for my cooperation.

After the final checkpoint you see another baggage sign with an arrow pointing to an escalator, you take this down, not to your waiting baggage but to a train station where you wait for a train that will take you to another building to finally get your baggage, congrats you pass and don't go to quarantine.


Then there is the matter of blocked social networking sites, stuff we take for granted like blogger and twitter. Another reminder that Bob wasn't in Kansas anymore. Of course this story has a happy ending , I made it home alive and well, the planes didn't crash and burn, I no longer have a fear of flying and I had a most excellent adventure. I even got lost in Shanghai while traveling down some back roads, finally got my bearings and made it back to the hotel.... again adding to the adventure.


I have lots of stories waiting to be told. I took over 1,200 images and 6 hours of video, but for now I will leave you with a video I took of the blackness that fell on Shanghai during the Total Solar Eclipse, we didn't get to see actual totality but we did experience the premature night fall which was quite the experience in itself.

Total Solar Eclipse In Shanghai (well, not quite total)

I have heard from Bob again. He got a couple of good Partial Eclipse images before it clouded over.


Here is part of the email he wrote to me -

"Colin it has been amazing here. So many stories to tell and pics to show but internet time is hard to get and I'm very busy and of course I can't get blogger here. At least we weren't totally blocked out with clouds and was able to get some partial eclipse pics before it totally clouded over, very super cool, and the sky went black like night for 5 minutes. Had people lined up to see my images and then thanking me. Chinese people are very polite, met lots of interesting people during the eclipse. I got a super video of the darkness and the reaction of the people around me when it happened which I will post when I get home."

Bob made the CNN website. He was a contact person in Shanghai and called them every 30 minutes or so to let them know how it was going. Here is a link to the CNN article. The CNN producer saw his website and emailed him to see if he'd be interested in doing an interview. How could he refuse?


"I have lots of stories and images to share when I get back, an experience of a lifetime! Bob"

On behalf of Bob, take care everyone, Astro-Nuts

Shanghai, Total Solar Eclipse 2009

Just an update on my once in a lifetime trip to China to view live and in person the Total Solar Eclipse July 22 2009. A lot has transpired since I started my countdown to China a while back. First off, I now have a passport, what can I say, I don't....... or rather they don't let me out that often. Apparently you need passports to leave your home country, I've only heard speak of them before, now I have one.

To get one I first had to get a birth certificate, well I had one but under "Name" it had "Baby Boy". Plus I have gotten all my shots, I have over come my fear of needles to get all kinds of shots to protect me from God knows what, I spent over an hour listening to the travel agency nurse informing me of all the things I could get and how not to get them, turning white and getting faint as she's talking, and invariably it always happens, the statement,"Are you going to be okay, would you like a glass of water?" I hate talking about diseases, I always develop the symptoms when talking about them. I sent my passport away with my China visa application and I'm just waiting for the actual visa and passport to return, then I'm good to go.


I have done a lot of research about the weather stats over in Shanghai using sites such as NASA's Eclipse Web Site, It would kind of be sad if I went through what I went through spent what I spent to only have it cloudy the day of the eclipse, mind you a trip to China is okay cool to fall back on, so rich in history and lots to see. Shanghai is actually one of the better places to be during the eclipse. The image above shows it has the lowest average cloud cover of the sites in the eclipse's path. So here's the plan, I have found out that the Hotel... nay... Resort I will be staying at has Internet access, so I am planing , if all goes well, from the Hotel terrace...la de da, to use USTREAM to broadcast live from my blog, the actual Eclipse Event!!!!!! The Total Solar Eclipse starts at 9:32 am July 22, you can find what the time is in your location by using this converter, it works out to be 9:32 pm EDT July 21.


One last thing, as part of their International Year of Astronomy 2009 celebrations, KW Telescope is having a "Photographic Celebration Of the Night sky" where they display images taken by astrophotographers from across Canada, two of mine were selected to be on display for the event, my Nuclear Moon image above and my Double Halo with Circumzenithal Arc, image below, thought it was cool to have my work half way across the country being displayed with the best, very honored.


I'll leave you now with an animation of my Nuclear Moon.

I'm Going To China!!!!

Wednesday July 22 at 9:30 am Shanghai time the Moon comes between the Sun and the Earth casting it's tiny shadow on to the Earth in a small corridor that includes Shanghai, and I will be there live and in person to witness and image the fantastic event we call a Total Solar Eclipse! I have placed a countdown timer on the top right of my site to remind you and me of when I leave on a plane to this event.


The above image shows the path of the total solar eclipse.


I will be on an 11 day tour so not only will I be witnessing the Total Solar Eclipse I will also be visiting the Great Wall Of China.

The unbelievable TerraCotta Warriors, Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, The Temple of Heaven, a boat ride across the Kunming Lake, and a visit to the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, frigging awesome stuff.

The only down thing about my whole adventure are the plane flights, I am terrified of flying. When getting my passport the person processing me said she just went to China as well and that she is also afraid of flying, she suggested lots of knock out drugs and head phones. Anybody out there that has any suggestions I'd like to hear from you, also anyone who has been to China I'd be interested on hearing from you as well about suggestions or things to look for.

I'll be taking 1,000's of images and have already bought more memory cards, so expect lots of pics. Hopefully they have Internet connections in the Hotels. I will post images of the eclipse as soon as I am able after the event. To see a live Total Solar Eclipse has been a lifelong dream of mine... soon to be realized.

I'll leave you now with an animation of my latest Sunset image complete with a Green Flash.

Martian Water Confirmed and Total Solar Eclipse

It's confirmed, ice water on Mars!! After a couple of failed attempts the Phoenix Lander's scoop finally got some of that ice water soil into one of it's ovens to analyse and confirm there is ice water on Mars. The soil came from a trench around 2 inches deep called Snow White, image above and below, top one being a cool 3D image.



Some more great news, NASA has increased the funds for Phoenix extending it's mission to September 30, 5 weeks past the original 90 days.


Having said all that you may want to look at investing in some of that now wet Martian real estate, I mean now we have confirmed water, the property levels are bound to jump. Those of you that are my regular readers know I have purchased Lunar Real Estate and being the forward thinker and wise investor that I am, have purchased some Prime View Martian Property, that's right not just any view, Prime View. For just $22.49 you can get in on the ground floor with the purchase of an acre of Prime View Martian real estate. After your purchase you will receive your Martian Deed, a Martian map with your location, so you know where to go and a copy of the Martian constitution and Bill Of Rights, and on top of all that you will have a great conversation starter at all the dinner parties you attend, example;

Informed Bob: So, uninformed friend I have purchased an acre of Prime View Martian real estate.

Uninformed Friend: ...............I thought you had lunar property?

Informed Bob: Yes that is true, I have purchased an acre on the Lunar Southern Hemisphere in the Crater Campanus, lot# 15/1247, 26-30 degrees south, 30-26 degrees west. and being the forward thinker and wise investor that I am have decided that after the confirmed ice water discovery on Mars it would be in my best interest to purchase Prime View Martian real estate before the prices become too prohivitive to purchase.

Uninformed Friend: ..................What?...................................you nuts?

see.



This morning there was a Total Solar Eclipse, it started around 6 am EST, the path of totality started in North East parts of Canada and ended up in China and Mongolia. if you missed it you can catch up over at NASA or watch the You Tube video below. A Total Eclipse occurs when the Sun, Moon and Earth are perfectly aligned so the Moon which is in between, blocks the Sun from the Earth.

Some interesting facts:

The Moon's shadow for the August 1 2008 eclipse was 6,235 miles long and 147 miles wide.

During the eclipse the Moons shadow covered .4% of the Earth's surface.

The entire Eclipse lasted 2 hours 3 minutes, totality lasted 2 minutes 27 seconds.

Below is a You Tube video of the eclipse posted by the Associated Press.

Aquarids, Draconids and Perseids

I know what you're thinking, your thinking my title is referring to a new "The Adventures of Sinbad" movie, you'd be wrong, although I wish they would make a new Adventures of Sinbad movie, the title is referring to the names of past and future meteor showers.

The image above is a Draconid meteor taken during the Dranconid meteor shower of June 29. I drew out the constellations for you to show you how everything fits in the night sky. I did the same for the image below of the Aquarid meteor shower back in May. The showers were literally back to back, 180 degrees apart, gives you a good idea of the major constellations in the spring sky in the Northern Hemisphere.


A point of interest, on the Draconid image I located for you the location where The Hubble Telescope was pointed for it's Hubble Deep Field image, (just above the arm of the Big Dipper).

NASA trained Hubble on an area in the sky no bigger then the size of a dime at 75 feet, pointed the scope away from the dust and stars of our galaxy, and away from the Virgo, Coma galaxy clusters, in an area they thought would be pretty empty of galaxies. What they discovered was astounding, after stacking 342 separate images over 10 days between December 18-28, 1995, they found at least 1,500 galaxies in various stages of evolution of up to more then 10 billion years ago, image below.



NASA thought that was pretty cool, so much so they thought they'd do it again, this time they aimed Hubble at a southern constellation Fornax, this time 800 images were taken over a 4 month time frame totaling 1 million seconds, this image is called the Hubble Ultra Deep Field and produced 10,000 galaxies, image below.


Back to the meteor showers. August 11 through to the early morning hours of August 12 the Perseid meteor shower peaks, look for 1-2 every minute, should be a good one. The radiant, or the place in the sky where the meteors seem to start from, is in the constellation Perseus. look low in the NE at Sunset for the start of the show.

NASA TV will be broadcasting live the Total Solar Eclipse Friday August 1 starting at 6:30 am EDT, that's right, hey it's 4:30 am where I live, I'll be up. The eclipse starts high up in North Eastern Canada, passes over Greenland, Russia, China and Mongolia. I vow to one day see a Total Solar Eclipse before I die, mark my words and if I still have a blog I will post tons of images, in the meantime it's NASA TV for me.

I'll leave you now with a clip of the Milky Way Galaxy I put together, 70 images, each at 30 seconds exposure, real time 45 minutes.