Our solar eclipse experience (Ben Hayes)

Our solar eclipse experience

Relatively clear skies made for a terrific solar eclipse in Cleveland, OH. Sharing the moment with our children and friends made it extra special. This was a first total eclipse any of us experienced and we will never forget it.

The C3, diamond ring, prominences and corona, and C4 images were taken by my youngest son Jonathan (the one in the blue t-shirt in the photo) using the family's new travel scope, a ZWOSeeStar S50. Jonathan never used a telescope before and had a blast setting up and using that little thing. In fact, the SeeStar stole the show because we were all able to look at them on our phones during dinner afterwards! Everyone was on feeling elated by the entire experience and we couldn't stop talking about it while enjoying delicious Indian cuisine at a restaurant in Cleveland.

Earlier in the morning, I setup three scope/camera combinations on StarAdventurer and SkyGuider Pro star trackers and an AM5 mount: (1) Nikon 300mm lens/Canon 60Da, (2) RedCat51/ASI2600MC, and (3) ZenithStar61/ASI2600MC. I experimented with Eclipse Maestro for the Canon DSLR, NINA for the RedCat51, and SharpCap Pro for the ZenithStare software to automate the sequences. We had 7 days of clouds and rain in central Pennsylvania so I didn't really have a chance to fine-tune these setups and practice. During C3-C4, Daniel (the one in the green t-shirt) collected Ha data using a Baader Herschel wedge on the ZenithStar 61. But once totality set it in, we left the scopes run on their own and just enjoyed the experience together with our eyes or binoculars. The images from the RedCat and ZenithStar came out pretty good, but my favorites are these taken by Jonathan on that little Seestar S50.

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Description: C2, Diamond Ring, prominences and corona, C3 and view of the sky from the front yard

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