Its all about practice Michael, thats how I knew what exposures to take at Turkey. Thats shows a good image scale, great for the outer corona.
I'm going to give the 6" mak a go at the moon to see what kind of image scale I get. It it works, then its going to Russia with me.

I'm reconsidering what to do for the eclipse.This is a unprocessed image from Turkey,


Note that this image scale, this is with the canon and a 500mm focal length scope, its pretty good for the corona, a longer exposure would have given a nicer corona, one thing to think about this time around and its so damn obvious I don't know how I missed it last time is that it would be seriously advantages to rotate the camera in such a manner as to have the poles of the Sun pointing to the top and bottom of the frame, this way the corona doesn't get clipped by the edge of the frame.

For this eclispe, I'll once again bring the 4" refractor + canon (the intes is just too big!), I also hope to piggyback mount a camcorder and 2 more cameras with high power telephoto lenses onto the top of the scope, all going well.

I'm considering a 2x or 1.5 barlow for the scope combination as I think a higher power would be fantastic for catching those prominences and let the other 2 cameras catch the corona. One has a 200mm lens, the second one I might use a 300x lens, we'll see.

Guide to exposure times from Fred Espenak's website www.mreclipse.com

It seems we will be sharing the 14-hr stopover between connecting flights in Moscow upon our return.

This schedule is being shared by members of the Greek mafia and including the Godfather (Vaggelis Tsamis).

Sweet!
It'll be fun to meet up with you geeks....
Er,.. I mean GREEKS.

(phew... that could have been awkward)

There's an ISO25 and ISO50 setting? Didn't know that!

one thing to think about this time around and its so damn obvious I don't know how I missed it last time is that it would be seriously advantages to rotate the camera in such a manner as to have the poles of the Sun pointing to the top and bottom of the frame, this way the corona doesn't get clipped by the edge of the frame.

Dave,
they might not be 'polar', but just the luck of the draw of the Sun's corona. I think you just need to make the rotation regardless when you see it.

Seanie.

It'll be fun to meet up with you geeks....
Er,.. I mean GREEKS.

Yo, Frank, I guess we geeks will be soooooo haaaaappy after the eclipse, that we wouldn't really mind meeting you. he he he. 8-)
But seriously, some of you we will have come to Greece in July, so it will be sort of reunion in Novosibirsk, or Moscow.
btw, are YOU coming to Greece?

There's an ISO25 and ISO50 setting? Didn't know that!

one thing to think about this time around and its so damn obvious I don't know how I missed it last time is that it would be seriously advantages to rotate the camera in such a manner as to have the poles of the Sun pointing to the top and bottom of the frame, this way the corona doesn't get clipped by the edge of the frame.

Dave,
they might not be 'polar', but just the luck of the draw of the Sun's corona. I think you just need to make the rotation regardless when you see it.

Seanie.

You sure Seanie??
I thought the shape of the corona was generated magnetically by the suns field.

It is Dave, but the 'poles' are not concentric like ours are. Due to it's plasma-like nature, the Sun's magnetic field warps now and again.

are YOU coming to Greece?

I am working on it!
I have very little room to move because of
my holidays left with work but I am going to try!

It is Dave, but the 'poles' are not concentric like ours are. Due to it's plasma-like nature, the Sun's magnetic field warps now and again.

I didn't think so, but if yo say so.

It is Dave, but the 'poles' are not concentric like ours are. Due to it's plasma-like nature, the Sun's magnetic field warps now and again.

I didn't think so, but if yo say so.

Something to boost this:

The Corona is not always evenly distributed across the surface of the sun. During periods of quiet, the corona is more or less confined to the equatorial regions, with coronal holes covering the polar regions. However during the Sun's active periods, the corona is evenly distributed over the equatorial and polar regions, though it is most prominent in areas with sunspot activity.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona

So I guess it depends on the Sun's mood whether the coronal spikes you see at eclipse are polar or not!

Seanie.

Horaaay for Seanie

well, I was really talking about this year in particular. Since the sun is just beyond solar minimum now, the corona will be centred at the equator and appear to emanate from the poles. Solar maximum corona is a mixed bag of randomness. I suppose we'll see in august, presuming the weather is on our side.

Hey, long time no type!
I 've just designed our team's Eclipse T-Shirts. We will make them next week.



farm4.static.flickr.com/3103/2552290568_37fffd1a38_o.jpg and farm4.static.flickr.com/3148/2552290600_ce34c22cbf_o.jpg

... and the black version:



farm4.static.flickr.com/3140/2552318984_8d540f50f4_o.jpg and farm4.static.flickr.com/3036/2551495901_0c92c900e6_o.jpg

See you in Novosibirsk!

Hello, eclipsers,
Me and my friend can provide you an accomodation in a cottages or in flats and a lot of services in Novosibirsk - we can make a tour of the city, show you other Siberian cities, Altai (also called "Russian Switzerland"), etc. If you are intrested in this offer, please write me - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The prices will be reasonable!
We also will help you to find the best places around the city to see the solar eclipse. You may ask me a questions through email or in this topic.
Regards,
Alexander.

well lads,
Its only 2 months away and it has occurred to me that I don't have a single word of Russian. So in an effort to atleast learn the accent, I've been taking lessons from a Russian (or atleast eastern european) guy I know, his name is Niko Bellic, all the same I'm not taking any of his driving tips. :wink:

Kak dilah, Dave?

мечты осуществляются!! :wink:
(Mitsti Oshuchestnavania)

means "Dreams come true" means "I'll be there" in the middle of Siberia!

Kak dilah, Dave?

means: "How are you, Dave?"

I guess you might say smth like "Kharash'o"

lads,
I'm clueless with the Russian, :oops:
I don't even know what side of the road they drive on, and we hired a car for the trip, I'd better look it up.

BTW we arranged today to have a minibus in Novo for
the eclipse day so could meet together.

Cool.
I have your mobile number and I hope to bring my gps with me It would be great fun it we could meet up there and enjoy the eclipse together.

Some maps of the area:







There is a beach at the town of Leninskoye overlooking the lake on the north side. The western side of the beach is 1.6miles from the exact centre line of the eclipse. On the southern side of the lake is the town of Sosnovka. The beach here is 1.26 miles from the centre line.
Would this offset from the centreline be noticable?

From looking at Google Earth, is it just me or does the aerial photo look like it has been updated recently?

Hi,
Does anyone know of tomtom GPS maps of novosibirsk, they seem to have maps of everywhere except central Russia :?

lads,
I don't even know what side of the road they drive on, and we hired a car for the trip, I'd better look it up.

:shock:

Uhh,
Dave.
Did I mention I'm probably gonna be staying on the roof of the hotel
like Anto?

lads,
I don't even know what side of the road they drive on, and we hired a car for the trip, I'd better look it up.

:shock:

Uhh,
Dave.
Did I mention I'm probably gonna be staying on the roof of the hotel
like Anto?

At least you mightn't get injured there...

Did I mention I'm probably gonna be staying on the roof of the hotel
like Anto?

Hehehe, good man!

The roof translates to electrical power (for laptops), tables, chairs, clear and unobstructed views, no visitors ("can I take a peek?") etc etc ....

I am after the corona in all its glory ...