Wesley's Tool-Box

2012 was a rare year where I was able to photograph two instances of celestrial bodies blocking the Sun. It's also the year I left this blog without updates, so I skipped on sharing what I caught, at this place. I'm going to rectify this problem with this post.

After I uploaded the composite photo of the partial solar eclipse yesterday, I remembered that I also made an animated GIF version of it. The left one is this. If you click the thumbnail, you'll be able to see the 24 photos in succession.

The right one is the Venus making a transit of the Sun, which is quite rare - the next one will happen in 2117. I was in Madison, Wisconsin at the time, and was able to catch the event as the Sun was setting into the western sky. It was very cloudy that day, but I was able to make do and catch enough photos to make an animated version out of it. Click the thumbnail to see it in full glory.

- Partial solar eclipse
Camera: Canon EOS 450D + Tamron 18-270mm Di II VC PZD
Time: 2012-05-21 06:51 - 08:46 KST (UT+9)
Composition: 24 frames, 5-minute interval
Location: Seoul, Korea

- Transit of Venus
Camera: Canon EOS 450D + Tamron 18-270mm Di II VC PZD
Time: 2012-06-05 18:35 - 20:23 CDT (UT-5)
Composition: 12 frames, 10-minute interval
Location: Madison, Wisconsin, USA

Yesterday, there was a rare "hybrid" (annular/total) solar eclipse that were visible in parts of Africa and Americas. Unfortunately, it was in the middle of the night in Korea, so I couldn't personally see it. Next solar eclipse that I can see without leaving the country would be in 2016.

So I'm looking back at the solar eclipse that I did see and photograph last year on the roof of the company office. The 24 photographs of the Sun, starting from the lower left (because it was rising) were taken at a 5-minute interval and then put into one image. The eclipse started as the Sun rose over the horizon, and finished just before the work hours. Talk about work-friendly celestrial event.

Camera: Canon EOS 450D
Time: 2012-05-21 06:51 - 08:46 KST
Location: Seoul, Korea

While the overhead cloud hampered the observation of the solar eclipse at its peak (around 10:48 AM) and beyond, I was able to manage a few shots at the Sun as the eclipse progressed. Here's a ten-photo crop of the photos I took. There has been no retouching or resizing. Enjoy!

Too bad Korea didn't fall into the total solar eclipse zone (that prestige went to southern China and India), but this eclipse is the best one I've seen with my own (shielded) naked eyes yet. Good thing the office had spare floppy disks lying around. It's a very good filter.