The Sun

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In April 2024 “The Great North American Solar Eclipse” gave millions of people across the United States the opportunity to view a total solar eclipse. While Colorado was not on the path of totality, a 65% partial Eclipse was visible from my home. Above are photos of the partial eclipse taken through my Takahashi TSA 120 refractor.

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Above are some pictures of the partial solar eclipse on 10-14-23 as seen from Castle Pines Colorado – the eclipse was annular in certain parts of the country. The different colors of the Sun in the pictures are due to the different solar filters used on my various imaging set-ups.  The Blue photos were taken through my 5” refractor telescope, and the Red/Yellow images were taken through my tripod-mounted camera and a 40-150mm zoom telephoto lens.  Sunspots are visible in some of the photos. The photo of the ground shows projected images of the eclipsed sun (the small crescents) as the sunlight passed though the gaps in the foliage of my backyard tree which acts like a pinhole camera.

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The 2016  transit of the planet Mercury across the face of the Sun. The planet Mercury (slightly larger than our Moon) is the small dot to the lower right-of-center.  Note the small groups of sunspots near the center and left of center on the solar disk. The last transit of Mercury visible from North America occurred on November 11, 2019 but unfortunately the view from the Denver area was obscured by clouds. The next Mercury transit event visible from the U.S will not be until the year 2049. Transits of Venus are even more rare. The next transit of Venus will not occur until 2117 !
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A partial eclipse of the Sun by the Moon on October 23, 2014.  Note the large grouping of sunspots.
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To view the Total Solar Eclipse of 2017 my family and I traveled to Arthur Nebraska – a 5 hour drive from Denver – where we set up camp at the county fairgrounds along with several hundred other viewers. The morning started off cloudy and foggy but it cleared off well before the eclipse began.
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The beginning of the total solar eclipse of 2017.
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Almost at totality.
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The Sun totally eclipsed by the Moon.  At totality the solar corona becomes visible (the white streamers) and the solar prominences (the red filaments along the limb of the Sun).
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Photo of the surrounding landscape during totality showing the eerie lighting and shadows cast by the eclipsed Sun. Photo by Ron Zoerb.
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The Sun beginning to emerge from totality showing the “Diamond Ring” effect.
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