While the Sun's corona certainly is the most impressive sight of a total solar eclipse, the fleeting moments just seconds before the Moon fully covers the Sun (Contact 2, or C2) and the first seconds after the end of totality (Contact 3, or C3) are very interesting too.

When just a tiny rest of the Sun is visible, it forms the Dimond Ring with the faint corona that becomes visible around the otherwise black circle of the Moon.

As the shadow progresses, the last sunlight passes through the valleys of the Moon, forming the Baily's Beads.

This is also the time when the red solar prominences become visible. During the April 8th eclipse, taking place close to the solar activity maximum, I observed more and bigger prominences compared the the 2017 eclipse, which took place while the Sun was less active.

This image is a composite of extremely short exposures, just seconds before and after totality.

The sequence of 12 exposures on the upper left depicts the progression of the eclipse from the Dimond Ring stage to the Baily's Beads and ends showing the Sun's Chromosphere at C2. In the lower right, the opposite development can be seen at and immediately after C3.

EXIF
Canon EOS-R
Canon RF100-500 f/5.6-7.1 L IS USM
Skywatcher AZ-GTI

24 x 1/2500s @ 500m

Tags:   Eclipse Eclipse2024 Solar Eclipse Sun Astrophotography Astronomy

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After returning home from my post-eclipse trip, I finally have time to work on my solar eclipse images.

This is my first processed result, showing the stunning solar corona. The image is an HDR composite of 14 exposures, covering 12 exposure stops. I also mixed in the solar prominences and Baily's Beads captured at C2 and C3.

EXIF
Canon EOS-R, astro-modified
Canon RF100-500 f/5.6-7.1 L IS USM
Skywatcher AZ-GTI

HDR image from 14 exposures between 1/2500s and 2s.

Tags:   Solar Eclipse Eclipse Eclipse2024 Astromony Astrophotography Sun Moon Corona HDR Canon Canon EOS R

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I captured this beautiful chapel in the French part of Switzerland a few years ago with my buddy Benjamin Barakat.

Located in the outskirts of a small town, the chapel is in a bortle 4 area. This definitely isn't a dark sky site, but a great foreground under a less than perfect sky can still yield good results.

The image has been sitting on my hard drive for a long time, but somehow never got published. I think it's time to change that and there's hardly a better release date than Easter for it.

EXIF
Canon EOS-Ra
Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8
iOptron SkyTracker Pro

Sky:
Panorama from 3 panels, each 7x 45s @ ISO1600

Foreground:
Focus stack from 5x 5s @ ISO400 during twilight

Tags:   Switzerland Swiss@Night Astrophotography Astronomy Nightscape Starscape Long Exposure Night Landscape Canon Canon EOS Ra Tamron Tamron SP 15-30mm F/2.8 iOptron Skytracker Chapel

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Among the most fascinating things I saw in Namibia, are the nests of the sociable weaver (Philetairus socius), a species of bird in the weaver family, endemic to Southern Africa.

The species builds large, compound, community nests, a rarity among birds. These nests are amongst the largest built by any bird. They are large enough to house over 100 pairs of birds, containing several generations at a time. The nests are highly structured and provide birds with a more advantageous temperature relative to the outside.

When I saw this nest during an afternoon game drive, I knew that I had to come back and shoot it after nightfall. Fortunately, there normally are no predators in this area and the Rhinos we had seen closeby in the afternoon were gone too.

EXIF
Canon EOS-R, astro-modified
Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 @ 20mm
IDAS NBZ filter
iOptron SkyTracker Pro

Sky:
2 panel panorama, each a stack of 6x 90s @ ISO1600, unfiltered & 3x 180s @ ISO6400, filtered

Foreground:
Focus stack of 5x 8s @ ISO400 during twilight

Tags:   Namibia weaver bird Milchstrasse Milky Way Astrophotography Astronomy Nightscape Starscape Long Exposure Night Landscape Canon Canon EOS R Astro-Modified Narrobanding IDAS NBZ Tamron Tamron SP 15-30mm F/2.8

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Naturpark Gantrisch was certified by DarkSky International as the first Dark Sky Park in Switzerland.

www.facebook.com/share/p/c7C1UzDJua4B7Xcm/

I guess there is no better reason to publish this image of me capturing the spring Milky Way during a wonderful night of astrophotography at the Gantrisch in April 2020.

EXIF
Canon EOS 6D, astro-modified
Samyang 24mm f/1.4 @ f/2
iOptron SkyTracker Pro

Sky:
Stack of 6x 45s @ ISO1600

Foreground:
Stacked focus stack of 4x5 exposures, each 45s @ ISO1600

Selfie:
Single exposure of 12s @ ISO6400

Tags:   Switzerland Gantrisch Swiss Alps Swiss@Night Nightscape Starscape Astrophotography Astronomy Long Exposure Night Landscape Landscape Astrophotography Canon Canon EOS 6D Samyang SAMYANG 24mm f1.4

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