Tunisia, october 2005

 Annular Solar Eclipse & Astrophotography

 

maximun phase

 

The Annular Solar Eclipse took place under perfect conditions at Tozeur, Tunisia, 2005-10-03. Not a cloud in sight. Maximun phase was 9:14 UT. The local tunisian amateurastronomers had gone into the desert to observe. I had not the fourwheeldrive car needed for such an adventure, so I stayed at my hotel during the event. There I could seek shadow at will, to avoid the burning Sun. I didn't bring my solartelescope. Instead I used my binoculars to project the Sun on a surface, as can be seen in the picture above. A temperaturegraph during the event is available here.

 

 

Astrophoto in the desert of western Tunisia, 2005-10-04. Venus (lower right corner) was very bright. The nights were warm and completely free from dew. Although haze was prominent along the horizon, the sky around zenith was excellent. The dark shadow to the lower left, is a handle of my camera support. Headlights from cars on a distant highway are visible. Some worry was the activities of wild packs of dogs in the dark.