Photography of the Sun through a natural filters

Sun through fog

Gazing at the Sun with the naked eye is dangerous. Much more dangerous is watching the Sun through instruments like binoculars or telescopes without a filter! It causes serious eye damage, which is a retina burn and blindness for the rest of your life. Basically, there are two types of solar filters: white light and … Read more

How the lunar shadow looks like during the solar eclipse?

Lunar shadow seen from MIR TSE 1999

The area covered by umbra is the most spectacular of the whole solar eclipse phenomenon, therefore I would like to pay particular attention to this. Because I was watching the totality only once, I am going to use some supporting materials next to my own pictures. How the lunar shadow looks? We can consider it … Read more

Sky brightness changes during total solar eclipse

Sky brightness changes total solar eclipse

Recently I have shown the light level changes during the solar eclipse. The illumination level is strongly related to the sky brightness. Both of them change at the same time throughout the eclipse. In this article I would like to focus on these changes, having external data from Wolfgang Strickling. Because his observation venue was … Read more

Light level measurements during total solar eclipse

Total solar eclipse 2017 Wyoming

The illuminance level and sky brightness are very important elements of solar eclipse phenomena because both are clearly noticeable by the observer along with his eye adaptation. When the eclipse phase is deep and turning into totality, the light level changes drastically, much quicker than on any other occasion. It makes the solar eclipse one … Read more

Visual range changes during solar eclipses

Owl Creek Mountains extended visual range total solar eclipse

A solar eclipse is a magnificent natural phenomenon, during which the direct Sun is shadowed by the moon to darken the daytime sky (Vollmer, Shaw, 2018). In this article, I would like to draw your attention to another phenomenon, which I “discovered” accidentally during the Great American Eclipse – the visual range changes. 1. INTRODUCTION … Read more

Light scattering in the atmosphere during total solar eclipse

Lifght scattering in the atmosphere total solar eclipse

The light scattering issue in the Earth’s atmosphere has been described recently for typical daylight, evening, and twilight conditions. In this article, I would like to explain a light scattering phenomenon under total solar eclipse conditions, which was observed accidentally during the 2017 Great American Eclipse. Initially, the aim of my observation was a record … Read more

What is a light transition? What examples of it can we see?

Starburst effect light transition

Light is omnipresent in the Universe and the environment. This is electromagnetic radiation, that can be detected by the human eye. I have written more about the light and the ways of measurement in this article. Now I would like to describe a very common process, occurring both in the Universe and in Earth’s atmosphere, which … Read more

Astrophotography with the Peakfinder.org, part 2 – solar & lunar eclipses

Peakfinder mtBlanc

In the 2nd part of this short guide on the Peakfinder.org panorama generator, I would like to focus on another kind of observation, that we can enjoy. There are solar & lunar eclipses. Those celestial events are quite rare (especially solar eclipses) so this is the prime reason, that we should prepare as best as … Read more

Watching the sky with Krosno branch of Polish Society of Amateur Astronomers (PTMA)

PTMA stare logo

In this article, I would like to describe my a few years of adventures in the Krosno branch of the Polish Society of Amateur Astronomers, where I could develop my noble hobby. Except for my activities, I want to show the best and the most unique observations made by members of this society in the … Read more

Total solar eclipse vizualisation on Google Earth, part 2

Solar eclipse visualization Google Earth

<<< Read the 1st part of The solar eclipse visualization on Google Earth In the 1st part of this article, I showed you how to create the “umbra” in Scribble Maps and use it in Google Earth as a .kml file. Here I would like to demonstrate step by step how to create a pretty … Read more

Deep partial solar eclipse in Scotland

Scotland Highlands partial solar eclipse 2015

On 20th March 2015, we could witness one of the most spectacular phenomena in the Solar System, the total solar eclipse. The track of totality passed across the North Atlantic and next headed into the Arctic Ocean. This eclipse used to be a logistical nightmare to observe because the only populated places from which the … Read more

African “Ring of fire” on the live stream and web cameras

Annular solar eclipse 2016

One week ago African dwellers experienced the annular solar eclipse, which occurred throughout Central Africa, Madagascar, and the Reunion. A spectacular “ring of fire” solar eclipse darkened skies over Africa from early morning to early afternoon. The annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon’s apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun’s, blocking most of the … Read more