Solar Eclipse
Taken by Mark Seibold on October 23, 2014 @
Clackamas Oregon 13 miles west of my home in Sandy Oregon.
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Camera Used: Unavailable Unavailable
Exposure Time: Unavailable
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Date Taken: 2014:10:25 04:53:20
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Details:
*New Processed images on Oct 25th 2014 with natural solar image below in wide panorama as natural naked eye view.
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Solar Partial Eclipse Over Clackamas Oregon, October 23rd, 2014.
After a frantic and fast drive, confident in my Mercedes that I could see the light. I quickly plotted a route westward ho! Starting from the darkness in the shadow of the mountain, I left the valley of darkness, then suddenly the light came over me but it was not good. Lightning bolts stabbing downward from all directions along the highway toward the sun. I pulled into a service station for fuel. As soon as the attendant began to deliver my needed Premium gasoline, I noticed he accidentally had selected Regular, so standing nearby, I snapped the pump handle to stop, ordering him to reset it for Premium, yet it was too late, as lightning began to strike the ground all around us and too close for comfort, and the gas pumps were all disabled. Now waiting for a solution, several attendants attempt to figure out the computer controls inside the station office. Finally after a few more electric blue snaps of lighting flying in all directions, I am shocked that they quickly get the pumps going again! I am literally charged with energy to speed toward the sun now, as I see it breaking open into large blue gaps in the western sky.
After battling with traffic for the next several miles, I can see that many other motorists have also suffered the lightning storm, some pulled over at the sides of the highway appearing to be traumatized. Several accidents along the way have gridlocked the roads from all directions.
I gingerly arrive at Clackamas Town Center as I spy a large open parking lot, and now I see it all under brightening sunlight, and it is good!
So as I begin to set up the telescope and camera on tripods, yet further deterrents, as I usually like to allow the public to observe through the telescopes but I have to work fast as the eclipse is on the wane now, so only allowing a few passersby to walk up and view the live camera screen over the eyepiece, I keep snapping away at the camera shutter and replay the images, magnifying to check that I have proper focus. But still through high thin clouds, it is difficult for the h-alpha solar filter to see the image well. Then suddenly all others are gone, and a security guard pulls up behind me. I am intent over the eyepiece of the telescope, and only hear him talking from behind me: "Sir, do you mind, may I ask you a question?" Now I turn to look from under a dark wool scarf covering my head like a portable dark room that I am working under, I know I must look rather menacing to the public. The Mall Security Guard says that they had a complaint called in from the shopping mall that was rather suspicious. I apologized to the officer, explaining what I was doing and asked him to come over and look through the telescope at the eclipse. A young respectable man of maybe early 20's in age, he admitted that he had never viewed anything in a telescope, no less the sun! So he was immediately gratified and told me that he was glad to have seen it live and that he had to get back to work.
Now after nearly an hour of photographing mostly through high thin clouds, I assembled these few decent 6 images over a panorama of the surroundings showing the suns image modestly well with the large central surface sunspot even through clouds at times diminished somewhat the desired quality that I had hoped for but as the moon's disc moved away from the sun, the eclipse now waning, a final image at right reveals what appears as a dark string as the moon seems to be pulling a tether. It's a surface filamentary prominence perhaps several 10's of thousands of miles in length. A final surprise bonus aside from the large sunspot. All in all, a great Autumn experience as the season now approaches with cooler darker and wetter weather.
art & photography by mark seibold©1954~2014
all rights reserved
Photographer's website:
http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/1579463287/photos/3055300/solar-partial-eclipse-oct-23rd-2014-from-clackamas-town-center-parking-lot_11_five-versions-over-1-hour-in-chronology-with-natural-eye-view-below-in-wide-panorama_3000pxl_titles-copyright-mark-seibold-2014
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