RE: [APML] Imaging the Venus Transit

["Jeff Ball" <jeffball@astro-photography.com>]

Hello,
I am thinking along the lines of Kent on this one.  I am racking my
brain on a foreground/horizon object.  It is very difficult to find a
flat horizon in West Virginia as well.  I am hoping to go at this
unfiltered.  This will permit a wider range of framing opportunities to
silhouette objects on the bright horizon.  The window for this
unfiltered shot is going to be pretty narrow, I am thinking a couple of
minutes after the sun cracks the horizon.  I am going to go with my
Canon 10D and 70-200mm f2.8 with the 2x extender.  This gives me a field
of view equivalent to a 600mm lens, but only 400mm in true focal length.
I tried this out today on the sun with Baader and I believe it is enough
power to get Venus defined on the disk.  I just don't want to have to
setup a heavy duty mount for my scopes, so this is my compromise.  If I
get a Wimberly mount for the Traveler before the event, I may shoot with
film.  I may have to travel quite a bit as well.  It is premature to get
excited anyway as our weather has been horrific this spring with daily
t-storms.  I do think we have a unique opportunity on the east coast to
capture this with horizon foregrounds.  I wish all good luck and clear
skies, or maybe just a few dramatic clouds for affect!

Best regards,
Jeff Ball
www.astro-photography.com
 
-----Original Message-----
From: astro-photo-bounces@seds.org [mailto:astro-photo-bounces@seds.org]
On Behalf Of KGKIRKLEY@aol.com
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2004 10:15 AM
To: astro-photo@seds.org
Subject: Re: [APML] Imaging the Venus Transit

Thom:
Just a 300mm might be a little short.
Do you have a 2x Extender to make it a 600mm.
I've shot numerous solar eclipses at 600mm.

For those of us in the US, another picture possibility is shooting the
sun, with the transit in progress, just as it rises. Terrestial objects
like buildings, trees, off shore oil rigs, ships, farm-ranch windmills,
etc. could figure into the composition. Also, when the sun first rises,
it's intensity is reduced by atmospheric pollution so that a solar
filter might not be necessary, at least for a few minutes. The sun's
disk is usually flattened by refraction and there is the possibilty of
seeing the 'green flash' with Venus on the disk.

Kent Kirkley

2004

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