Astronomical Events
Venus Transit Jun 8,2004
Lunar Eclipse Nov 9,2003
Solar Eclipse May 31,2003
Lunar Eclipse May 16,2003
Other lunar eclipses
Other solar eclipses
Mercury Transit May 7,2003
Partial eclipse of the Moon 2008 August 16
This eclipse is observed from a balcony of an apartment in Nijmegen. Used hardware is TeleVue Genesis 100mm, Canon EOS 40 SLR camera.The weather was not completely clear, there were some cirrus clouds which made viewing of the low Moon more difficult.
Transit of Venus over the Sun 2004 Jun 8
Very good weather conditions !
Lunar Eclipse 2003 Nov 9
On the night of Nov 8-9, 2003 I saw a really beautiful lunar eclipse total lunar eclipse and made a few photos by putting my Sony DSC-S75 digital camera behind a 30mm eyepiece and a barlow on a 10 cm f/5 TeleVue Genesis telescope. Despite weather forecasts were a cloudy night and even some rain it was a very clear night, so this is one of the best lunar eclipses I have ever seen.My previous lunar eclipses (in Holland unless stated otherwise):
These eclipse data except my comments are derived from the NASA site compiled by Fred Espenak. Listed are only those which were theoretically visible at the location I was.| Date+UT | Type | Saros # | Max. Magn | Comment |
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Solar Eclipse 2003 May 31
On 2003 May 31 I saw it on a location in a small nature reserve near the 'Emma Pyramid' called Veluwezoom north of Arnhem, Holland. The sky was very hazy and clouds near the horizon blocked view of the rising crescent, but later I saw the upper part of the crescent rise above the trees and clouds. I used a Sony DSC-S75 digital camera behind a 30mm eyepiece on a 10cm Televue Genesis telescope, unless stated otherwise. I did not use any filters which is not according to my own safety requirements but the sky was very hazy.
Here the official NASA site of the eclipse. The solar eclipse visible in Northwestern Europe of Saturday morning May 31, 2003 was annular in Iceland. A friend of mine saw it just between the clouds at 4:00 UT and after the annular phase the sky went overcast. The Swiss guy Oliver Staiger alias Klipsi saw it from a NW 34 flight from Seattle to Amsterdam.
My previous eclipses (in Holland unless stated otherwise):
These eclipse data except my comments are derived from the NASA site compiled by Fred Espenak. Listed are only those which were theoretically visible at the location I was.
| Date | Max UT | Type | Saros # | Max.Magn | Max duration | Where was the eclipse visoble | Comment |
|---|
All times in UT (local summertime in Holland, add 2 hours)
Lunar Eclipse 2003 May 16
On May 16, 2003 I saw the beginning of a total lunar eclipse and made a few photos by putting my Sony DSC-S75 digital camera behind one of the barrels of a 10x50 binocular.Mercury Transit 2003 May 7
The Mercury transit on May 7, 2003 from Arnhem, Holland, my first one after 33 years ;-) The event started at 05:13 UT and ended at 10:32 UT, and the sky was nearly cloud-free apart from some cirrus clouds. Here the official NASA site on the transit with visibility area, etc.
I watched the one of May 9, 1970 with a 5cm telescope with an (unsafe!) eyepiece filter. The next one on Nov 10, 1973 was a rainy day :-( And the ones of 1986, 1993 and 1999 I missed because I was on the wrong location on Earth :-(
Now I even saw Mercury when I projected the Sun with a 10x50 binocular, and also while holding the
1000 Oaks filter in front of the binocular lenses and looking through (one of) it.
The pictures are made from a sheet of paper on which the solar image is projected. The larger
spot is a group of sunspots which are considerably larger than Mercury. During watching or taking
pictures I removed the 5cm diaphragm to use full aperture.
All times in UT (local time in Holland, add 2 hours)