Lunar Eclipse

[AaronSmall]

What is everyone planning for the eclipse on April 15th (aka Tax Day for us in the US)?  Capture plan suggestions?  Tracking or camera on a tripod?  Exposure settings?  How to stay awake at work the next day?

 

Open for suggestions, comments, and advice.

 

This is assuming, of course, that Mother Nature cooperates.

[jforkner]

I plan on taking a series of shots (using BYE) with my DSLR attached to my tracking telescope.  I plan to start shooting when the "partial" begins and continue until the partial ends.  I plan to take one image every 30 sec. and compile a time-lapse when done.  I'm also going to be shooting a sequence of shots with another camera (one every 5 min.) with the camera on a fixed tripod.  I'll then stack the images to create a single "sequenced image."  Finally, I'll be taking random ad hoc shots with a third camera.  Hopefully, I'll have it covered.  Weather forecast is perfect in my neck-of-the-woods.

 

Jack

[admin]

I plan on taking a series of shots (using BYE) with my DSLR attached to my tracking telescope.  I plan to start shooting when the "partial" begins and continue until the partial ends.  I plan to take one image every 30 sec. and compile a time-lapse when done.  I'm also going to be shooting a sequence of shots with another camera (one every 5 min.) with the camera on a fixed tripod.  I'll then stack the images to create a single "sequenced image."  Finally, I'll be taking random ad hoc shots with a third camera.  Hopefully, I'll have it covered.  Weather forecast is perfect in my neck-of-the-woods.

 

Jack

 

Instead of taking a single shot every 30 seconds... take 5... one with difference TV length to ensure you have at least one with the correct exposure at each 30 second interval.

 

1) Set 5 exposures with different TV exposure length (use 5 line items in BYE capture plan with 1 exposure each) with no pause in between.

2) On the last item set a 30 second pause.

3) Enable the loop feature.

4) click start.

 

EDIT: You may also want to set a different ISO.

 

Guylain

[AaronSmall]

Good thoughts.  Unfortunately, we have a storm moving over the Mid-Atlantic with 98% cloud cover by 2am EDT so it appears I'm going to miss this one.

 

With Guylain's suggestions I can easily see how the process can be automated but then the issue I would have is power supply.  I know we've had many discussions on camera power supply on the Yahoo Group, but has there been any consensus on the best way to provide longer (all-night) power without AC (i.e. coming from a 12V DC battery supply)?

 

Power hasn't been an issue in the past as I have extra batteries for the camera and can usually go 2-3 hours in a session before I have to swap them.

[fmhill]

There is a company in Great Britain, Astronomizer, who makes a very nice 12 V DC power module for a number if not all of the different Canon models used in astrophotography.

[jforkner]

Instead of taking a single shot every 30 seconds... take 5... one with difference TV length to ensure you have at least one with the correct exposure at each 30 second interval.

 

1) Set 5 exposures with different TV exposure length (use 5 line items in BYE capture plan with 1 exposure each) with no pause in between.

2) On the last item set a 30 second pause.

3) Enable the loop feature.

4) click start.

 

EDIT: You may also want to set a different ISO.

 

Guylain

 

I see how that would help ensure the correct exposure, but wouldn't I end up with 4X the images I need?  Also if the correct exposure was not one of the five predetermined ones, wouldn't I have the same problem (i.e., I'd have to stop the process to enter the correct shutter speed)?  Also, I assume I'd have to stop the process to change the ISO?

 

Jack

[admin]

Yes to all your questions.

 

An eclipse is one of those things that you need to experiment with because they are rare and we are not used what settings to use best. 

 

My take on this is take more pictures... or risk missing it entirely.  I would not hesitate, and did it several times in the past, to take 500+ shots in a single night to capture the perfect shot... or sequence.  Been there done that.

 

Your camera can take it... but your love for your camera... well... only you can be at piece (or not) with taking that many pictures in one night with your camera <_>

 

Getting the right exposure for an eclipse takes a lot of effort, involvement, and trial and errors.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Guylain

 

 

[astroman133]

I am going to use Planetary mode with 5X zoom to capture the moon. I can capture 800 frames in about a minute. With 5X zoom, it will take 4 movies to get the complete disk.  Then I will use RegiStax to stack each of the movies and sharpen each of the resulting images.  Then I will use RegiStar to combine the resulting frames into an image of the complete disk.

 

This is the process that I used when I captured a previously posted image. 

 

I plan to repeat this process every 25-30 minutes throughout the eclipse

 

See this thread --> http://forum.otelescope.com/post/lunar-mosaic-with-bye-planetary-mode-6845104?pid=1282349581

 

 

[admin]

Yes, and the loop feature was added in planetary for just that too... and use the pause is you want a few minutes between movie recordings.

 

Guylain

[jforkner]

Getting the right exposure for an eclipse takes a lot of effort, involvement, and trial and errors.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Guylain

 

 

I get your point.  Thanks for the comments.  We'll know in about 12 hours.

 

Jack