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Tales of the South Pacific (Hunga Tonga Volcano particulate).........er Chesapeake Eclipse

jimcoble2000
 

Doubtless there will be others who took pictures last night so I will just give a quick synopsis. Despite a cloudy day and counter to predictions the sky cleared for most of the eclipse demonstrating the maxim "you don't know if you don't go". We had an excellent group at the Chesapeake Planetarium. At first we thought perhaps no one would turn out but that fear was put to rest around 9 in the evening. There were around 5 scopes set up and a couple of sets of binoculars available for the guests to use. This was one of the most pleasant crowds I have helped host. The eclipse was much darker than the last one due to particulate in the upper atmosphere that originated in a remote volcanic eruption months ago. The large eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha' Apai in December of 2021, one of the largest eruptions of the 20th century placed large amounts of ash and particles into the atmosphere causing a very dark lunar eclipse last night. Clouds moved in around midnight but we were able to see the evolution of the moon into totality. The moon also occulted a 9th magnitude star late in the eclipse. The wide view in the 4 inch Televue Genesis SDF was stunning with it's superior contrast. A dark red moon against a dead black sky with stars all around the moon. The crowd size allowed several people to use their smart phones to get actually quite good pictures through the telescope. Usually this does not work well but last night many hand held photos were quite good making many visitors happy. Doubtless they will be shared. We packed up around 0 dark thirty and as I pulled out the rain started. I got back at 1 in the morning in a drizzle. Thanks to all for making this a fine event.
Tony Mascolo
 

Hey Mark,

Hope you are well.

Clouds cleared out.  Plopped the Skywatcher Collapsible 8" dob outside and was happy to be able to view the eclipse last night with my family, all of us were surprised at how dark it was at Totality.  They were all expecting the clear bright red of past eclipses at Totality, alas, not to happen.  My youngest, Caitlin, said it reminded her of Mars, more than an eclipse of the moon in appearance.  I had to agree with her, with the wispy clouds and volcanic dust obscuring the clarity, it definitely reminded me of trying to see detail on Mars, only larger.  Very surprisingly dim through an 8", that is a lot of dust.  Viewing with a University Optics 2" 25mm MK-70 Konig at 48x yielding a true field of view of 1.46 degrees and an exit pupil of 4.16mm, so plenty of light available.  Was still a pretty view, and the 25mm has enough eye relief for my Wife to use her glasses.

They all went inside after Totality, I stayed out to view more. Saw the star occulted that you mentioned.  Was hoping to see it all in reverse, obviously did not happen.  Clouds rolled in, and I saw some heat lightning, and that was that, rushed it all inside.

It was nice just to throw out an un-powered dob without any electronics, back to basics and perfect for this occasion.

Found this site for cloud mapping, which was pretty darned accurate.

Here:

https://weather-radar-live.com/cloud-cover-map/

Later,

Tony
jimcoble2000
 

Thank you Tony I am well. Glad you got to see it.

On Monday, May 16, 2022, 07:44:58 AM EDT, Tony Mascolo <tsmascolo@...> wrote:


Hey Mark,

Hope you are well.

Clouds cleared out.  Plopped the Skywatcher Collapsible 8" dob outside and was happy to be able to view the eclipse last night with my family, all of us were surprised at how dark it was at Totality.  They were all expecting the clear bright red of past eclipses at Totality, alas, not to happen.  My youngest, Caitlin, said it reminded her of Mars, more than an eclipse of the moon in appearance.  I had to agree with her, with the wispy clouds and volcanic dust obscuring the clarity, it definitely reminded me of trying to see detail on Mars, only larger.  Very surprisingly dim through an 8", that is a lot of dust.  Viewing with a University Optics 2" 25mm MK-70 Konig at 48x yielding a true field of view of 1.46 degrees and an exit pupil of 4.16mm, so plenty of light available.  Was still a pretty view, and the 25mm has enough eye relief for my Wife to use her glasses.

They all went inside after Totality, I stayed out to view more. Saw the star occulted that you mentioned.  Was hoping to see it all in reverse, obviously did not happen.  Clouds rolled in, and I saw some heat lightning, and that was that, rushed it all inside.

It was nice just to throw out an un-powered dob without any electronics, back to basics and perfect for this occasion.

Found this site for cloud mapping, which was pretty darned accurate.

Here:

https://weather-radar-live.com/cloud-cover-map/

Later,

Tony

Kent Blackwell
 

I was overwhelmed, such a gorgeous eclipse. I watched most of the end of the eclipse at home.


On May 16, 2022, at 6:53 AM, Mark Ost <jimcoble2000@...> wrote:

Doubtless there will be others who took pictures last night so I will just give a quick synopsis. Despite a cloudy day and counter to predictions the sky cleared for most of the eclipse demonstrating the maxim "you don't know if you don't go". We had an excellent group at the Chesapeake Planetarium. At first we thought perhaps no one would turn out but that fear was put to rest around 9 in the evening. There were around 5 scopes set up and a couple of sets of binoculars available for the guests to use. This was one of the most pleasant crowds I have helped host. The eclipse was much darker than the last one due to particulate in the upper atmosphere that originated in a remote volcanic eruption months ago. The large eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha' Apai in December of 2021, one of the largest eruptions of the 20th century placed large amounts of ash and particles into the atmosphere causing a very dark lunar eclipse last night. Clouds moved in around midnight but we were able to see the evolution of the moon into totality. The moon also occulted a 9th magnitude star late in the eclipse. The wide view in the 4 inch Televue Genesis SDF was stunning with it's superior contrast. A dark red moon against a dead black sky with stars all around the moon. The crowd size allowed several people to use their smart phones to get actually quite good pictures through the telescope. Usually this does not work well but last night many hand held photos were quite good making many visitors happy. Doubtless they will be shared. We packed up around 0 dark thirty and as I pulled out the rain started. I got back at 1 in the morning in a drizzle. Thanks to all for making this a fine event.
jimcoble2000
 

with or without booze?

On Monday, May 16, 2022, 07:50:09 AM EDT, Kent Blackwell <kent@...> wrote:


I was overwhelmed, such a gorgeous eclipse. I watched most of the end of the eclipse at home.


On May 16, 2022, at 6:53 AM, Mark Ost <jimcoble2000@...> wrote:

Doubtless there will be others who took pictures last night so I will just give a quick synopsis. Despite a cloudy day and counter to predictions the sky cleared for most of the eclipse demonstrating the maxim "you don't know if you don't go". We had an excellent group at the Chesapeake Planetarium. At first we thought perhaps no one would turn out but that fear was put to rest around 9 in the evening. There were around 5 scopes set up and a couple of sets of binoculars available for the guests to use. This was one of the most pleasant crowds I have helped host. The eclipse was much darker than the last one due to particulate in the upper atmosphere that originated in a remote volcanic eruption months ago. The large eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha' Apai in December of 2021, one of the largest eruptions of the 20th century placed large amounts of ash and particles into the atmosphere causing a very dark lunar eclipse last night. Clouds moved in around midnight but we were able to see the evolution of the moon into totality. The moon also occulted a 9th magnitude star late in the eclipse. The wide view in the 4 inch Televue Genesis SDF was stunning with it's superior contrast. A dark red moon against a dead black sky with stars all around the moon. The crowd size allowed several people to use their smart phones to get actually quite good pictures through the telescope. Usually this does not work well but last night many hand held photos were quite good making many visitors happy. Doubtless they will be shared. We packed up around 0 dark thirty and as I pulled out the rain started. I got back at 1 in the morning in a drizzle. Thanks to all for making this a fine event.
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