Astronomy Pics

GoneWestUtah

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This is the August 2017 total solar eclipse, taken by yours truly, near Rexburg, Idaho.

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Pentax K30, 80mm telescope used at prime focus (equivalent to a 560mm telephoto lens).

I used Photoshop to suppress the corona, making the red prominences more visible.
 
Although I've been an amateur astronomer for over 55 years, this was my first total solar eclipse.

Seeing it in the sky was an experience like no other. Though I knew the physics behind what was happening, my brain was still yelling all kinds of "this is wrong!" messages at me. It was simply the most amazing, beautiful, humbling thing I have ever seen in my life, with the exception of the birth of my own daughter. Yet it was still frightening in the extreme, if that makes any sense.

I'm sure that during totality, I wasn't the only person there who thought about tossing a virgin into a volcano to appease the gods!
 
Thanks, it's one of hundreds I shot of that comet. All were tracking time exposures. A retirement project of mine I'm looking forward to is scanning all of my old negatives, 40 years worth.
 
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