cjb's astrophotography

1/4s ISO100 Pentax SMC Takumar 300mm lens on Canon 350D

Total Eclipse - Wuzhen (nr Shanghai), China - July 22 2009
The total phase of the eclipse was visible only due to an amazing piece of good fortune.
The hour leading up to totality had begun with skies overcast and a thin drizzle in the air and little hope of observing anything.
Not wishing to be caught out in the seemingly unlikely event of the clouds lifting I set up my camera and put a plastic bag over the top. Thank goodness I did.
Suddenly a small patch of pale blue sky appeared and was heading towards where the Sun ought to be.
Then a few minutes before totality the nearly eclipsed Sun appeared behind this hazy patch.
For the next few minutes until near the end of totality the eclipsed Sun was visible through varying amounts of hazy cloud sometimes totally obscured.
After totality the clouds thickened again and the Sun disappeared.
Getting exposures right in these conditions was pot-luck but at least I managed one shot of totality.

20090722 Total Solar Eclipse 3