Category Archives: eclipse

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May 25, 2025

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Aurora Borealis, eclipse, hiking, Inspiration, Nature, Northern Lights, Photography, Thoughts, Travel

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Photographic Thoughts — 05/18/2025 to 05/24/2025

“Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies, you will not find another.”
― Carl Sagan, Cosmos

Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.

I had a medical procedure done this week, so I did not have any quality time to put together the post I wanted. What I am posting this week is what I wanted to post during the summer when I was exploring our country.

These are some astrological events that I have photographed over the years.

For reference, most of the time when there is a cosmic event in our area, there seems to be cloud cover, and I miss the event. These are events that I was able to capture.

Sunday, 05/18/2025: Posted photo — Baily’s Beads.

Date: April 8, 2024

Location: Houlton ME

This was the second total solar eclipse that I have seen and photographed. I learned from the first eclipse and feel this is a better photo than the first time. I will be posting a photo of the first total solar eclipse in the bonus section of this post.

This was the first astrological event of this year.

Monday, 05/19/2025: Posted photo — Aurora Borealis.

Date: October 10, 2024

Location: Westminster MA

This is the second astrological event of this year.

The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, normally do not appear in my area. This was the second time this year that they appeared. The first time I just took out my cell phone and took photos so that I could practice settings. The next few nights, it was cloudy.

I was glad that they returned, and I obtained better photos. This is not as spectacular as some that I have seen since we have hills in the area.

Tuesday, 05/20/2025: Posted photo — Comet Tsuchinshan.

Date: October 14, 2024

Location: Princeton MA

This was the third event of the year. I took my camera to the summit of Wachusett Mountain to get this shot. The comet was moving away from us and was very faint. I am happy with this photograph.

This was the second comet that I have photographed and did not have the opportunity to so a lot of pre-planning for this shot since the idea of taking this photo was spontaneous.

Wednesday, 05/21/2025: Posted photo — Total Lunar Eclipse.

Date: January 24, 2019

Location: Westminster MA

I arose early one cold January night to take this series of photos. I wanted to capture the entire event. There is a location near our house that was open and sheltered, so I just set up camp there and took this series of photos.

If you look at the big crater, The South Pole-Aitken basin, you can see it swing from right to left.

Thursday, 05/22/2025: Posted photo — First Milky Way.

Date: July 11, 2019

Location: Canyonlands National Park, Needles Section

We were in a dark sky Nation Park, and I wanted to take a photo of the Milky Way for the first time. I had to wait until 2 am to take this photo. The moon set about 1:45 am and I wanted to attempt this photo with no moonlight.

Not bad for the first time.

Friday, 05/23/2025: Post photo — Two Lunar Eclipses.

Date: January 24, 2019, and March 14, 2025

Location: Westminster MA

I was not happy with the photos I took of the total lunar eclipse this year because of cloud cover. I wanted to put together another collage but decided to put the two eclipses side by side.

If you look closely, you can see the direction of the shadow in totality. The south pole in the first eclipse is bright and the north pole in this year’s eclipse is bright. This year’s eclipse came from the third quadrant to the first quadrant.

Saturday, 05/24/2025: Post photo — Comet NEOWISE.

Date: July 19, 2020

Location: Templeton MA

This was the first photo I took of a comet. I am very happy with the lighting and composition of this photo.

That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.

Bonus Photos

B1 — Total Solar Eclipse Houlton ME.

Date: April 8, 2024

Location: Houlton ME

Much improvement from the eclipse back in 2017.

If you want to know, I have a solar filter for my camera so that I do not burn out the sensors when taking photos of the sun when it is not in totality.

B2 — Total Solar Eclipse.

Date: August 8, 2017

Location: Maryville TN

This is the first total solar eclipse that I witnessed. I had my settings incorrect in this photo, so I was very happy to be able to see my second total eclipse and learn from my mistakes.

B3 — Bright Sky Milky Way.

Date: July 19, 2020

Location: Templeton MA

Just fooling around while taking photos of the Comet NEOWISE.

“Sumens imagines consolatur et inspirat me.”

“Quod scripsi, scripsi.”

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March 16, 2025

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eclipse, hiking, Inspiration, Nature, Photography, religion, Thoughts

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Photographic Thoughts — 03/09/2025 to 03/15/2025

“Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph.” — Matt Hardy

Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.

Sunday, 03/09/2025: Posted photo — First Sunday of Lent.

Today is the first Sunday in Lent. Lent is the time of year when we prepare for Easter, the holiest day in the Liturgical Year.

Lent is not only giving up chocolates or drinking or smoking, etc. but also doing a little extra for others. If you go to church and listen to the readings, they teach you to give up prejudice towards others. In this day, many of us are prejudice towards people unlike us, immigrants from other countries, people with different color skin or different social and political views. Jesus teaches up to get along with each other and respect others.

Some people forget this. Some people are very prejudice to immigrants and other. Remember what Jesus said — love one another as I have loved you. If you see yourself as being religious, you should follow his words and not those of false prophets.

Monday, 03/10/2025: Posted photo — Sunset.

This is the first sunset of the year from the summit. With the time change, my group was able to get to the summit in time for sunset.

The trails were very tricky tonight. With the warm temperatures, the trails were muddy, and the snow and ice patches were unstable. I started out without my microspikes but put them on shortly after the hike started.

My hike last Saturday was on Mount Chocorua in the White Mountain National Forest. The summit on Saturday had gusts of over 50 mph with temperatures in the high signal digits (F). We had to brace ourselves so that we did not blow off the mountain.

Two different mountains, two different locations, two different experiences.

Tuesday, 03/11/2025: Posted photo — Sunset Sky.

What a wonderful view from the summit. This looks like the last good night this week. I am hoping that the clouds hold off for Thursday night / Friday morning so that I can get at least one photo of the total lunar eclipse.

Wednesday, 03/12/2025: Posted photo — Lunch Time.

We were sitting down for lunch last Sunday and saw this squirrel sitting on the rail eating acorns. It was posing for me, so I took its photo. I kept waiting for it to run away but sat there for about 10 minutes.

Thursday, 03/13/2025: Posted photo — Roses.

Quick photo for today. Took a photo of some roses. I need to go to sleep to check out the eclipse tonight.

Friday, 03/14/2025: Post photo — Lunar Eclipse.

Will the clouds hold out? Will the moon clear the trees in our yard so that I do not have to drive to a location to take photos at 2 in the morning? No and Yes. We had partly cloudy skies tonight making it extremely difficult to focus on the moon. I would normally go out before the eclipse starts to focus on the full moon because I know that once the eclipse starts, it would be difficult to focus. I went out and it was difficult to focus on the moon due to the thin layer of clouds. The moon was in and out of the clouds, so I had to guess on the focus. With my lens, any bit of wind makes the photo out of focus.

I set my alarm for 1:45 in the morning so that I could check to see if the clouds covered the moon. I was able to see the moon through some breaks in the clouds, so I put on warm clothes and went to my side yard to take photos. The moon moves very fast, and I needed to set my exposure for over 2 seconds, something I do not like to do for moon photos. You can see in this photo that there is a star next to the moon that shows signs of motion blur.

Here are two total lunar eclipse photos taken 10 years apart. I did the best I could to save the photo from this year. The direction of the shadow is very evident in these photos. Enjoy.

Saturday, 03/15/2025: Post photo — Eggs.

Eggs. Have you seen the price of eggs go down? I have just seen the price skyrocket.

The topic of the week for one of my photo projects is eggs. I needed to go out and purchase eggs so that my wife could bake a birthday cake. I have seen the price as high as $8 for a dozen. I have seen a package of 24 for almost $30. My neighbor sells them at a much lower price. When you purchase eggs in the store, you do not know how old they are. There is a date on the carton but I like them fresh.

That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.

“Sumens imagines consolatur et inspirat me.”

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April 14, 2024

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eclipse, hiking, Inspiration, memorial, Nature, Travel

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Photographic Thoughts — 04/07/2024 to 04/13/2024

“An eclipse is one phenomenon that is actually more impressive from the ground.” — Leroy Chiao

This week’s blog will feature photos of one of nature’s wonders, a total solar eclipse.

Sunday, 04/07/2024: Posted photo — Moose.

Today was a travel day to Houlton ME to see the eclipse. We were looking to go to either western Ohio, northern New York, or Vermont to see the eclipse. We have relatives and friends in those areas. Looking at the weather for tomorrow’s eclipse, it was decided to head to Houlton ME. There is a Walmart in Houlton. Since we saw the last total solar eclipse seven years ago in a Walmart in TN, we thought it would be a good idea to go to one in Houlton. Walmart had a big open space and there would be many people. We also though we could sleep in the parking lot. This did not happen, we slept in a rest area on the way. Houlton ME was predicted to have the best weather in the country along the path of totality. It did not disappoint.

This moose is at the Kittery Trading Post. We stopped in Kittery to get candy and to go to the Trading Post. I needed another fuel can for my camping stove. If the weather was cold, we were going to have hot chocolate while we waited, and I did not want to run out of fuel. We also stopped in Freeport to go to LL Bean. We shop the outlet store and did not go to the main campus this trip.

The ride to ME was uneventful. There were signs in both NH and ME warning people about the traffic and not to stop on the side of the road to see the eclipse. We did not see many vehicles on the road.

Monday, 04/08/2024: Posted photo — Sundog.

While waiting for the eclipse, I saw a sundog and took a photo of it with my cell phone. I adjusted by camera setting for the eclipse and did not want to change them.

Sundogs are colored spots of light that develop due to the refraction of light through ice crystals. They are located approximately 22 degrees either left, right, or both, from the sun, depending on where the ice crystals are present. This sundog was in the little clouds there were.

Tuesday, 04/09/2024: Posted photo — Second Contact.

Second contact is the start of totality. First contact is when the eclipse starts, second is the start of totality, third is when totality ends, and fourth is when the eclipse ends. Between first contact and second contact, a special solar filter needs to be put on your camera. It is the same type of filter that are in solar glasses.

Just before totality, a single bright spot will remain, resembling a diamond in a ring. I missed taking a photo of this phenomenon during the eclipse seven years ago and was fully prepared for it this time.

Wednesday, 04/10/2024: Posted photo — Totality or Maximum Eclipse.

Totality lasted 3 minutes and 18 seconds in Houlton. It was very close to the maximum totality line. Three minutes and 18 seconds is not a long time, but it was worth it. Looking at the horizon and seeing sunset/sunrise. Seeing Jupiter and Venus on either side of the eclipse was another bonus. I was looking for comet 12P/Pons-Brooks near the eclipse but it was too bright to see.

Here are a few photos of totality. Unlike seven years ago in TN, the sky was cloud free and the eclipse as spectacular.

Thursday, 04/11/2024: Posted photo — Third Contact.

This is Baily’s beads just as third contact starts, or totality ends. During the last few seconds before totality, the crescent Sun breaks up to form Baily’s beads (those are typically only visible through a telescope with a solar filter attached). At the end of totality, this sequence happens in the reverse order, starting with Baily’s beads until the returning burst of sunlight becomes too bright to view with the naked eye. I also missed this during the eclipse seven years ago and did not want to miss it again.

When looking at this photo, you can see some solar prominences. Though they look like they could be made of fire, they are eruptions of plasma, known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs). They are a hot gas made of electrically charged hydrogen and helium, extending outward from the sun’s surface.

Friday, 04/12/2024: Post photo — Collage.

Here is a composite photo of different phases of the eclipse.

The timing for these photos were taken from the Partial Phase Images area in my Solar Eclipse Timer app. This was a great app to use since it gave verbal instructions and information on what was happening during the eclipse. It would tell you want to look for on ground level and it would count down to the different contacts.

Saturday, 04/13/2024: Post photo — Daffodil.

The daffodils are starting to bloom in our yard. This is a sign of spring. The cold and damp weather did not stop their growth.

That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.