Observation place, Zirler Berg

How to bring a sun sickle for a walk along a mountain-slope ? In addition the sun should not shine to bright and the a horizontal sickle during the maximum should gleam through a well tuned cloud.. and,and,and. O.K nearly impossible, but let's try. Here the choice felt on the Zirler Berg near Innsbruck/Austria whereby distance and climb gradient was  measured out in a laborious work . Helpful was here Google Earth! At this place you can vary the height and distance.

   

The positioning to photograph the solar eclipse at least with the maximum close by a mountain ridge placed itself as a complicated act.I realised also that I could forget the series along the ridge because the sun appeard high intensiv already at a height of 4° throught the cloud gaps, and also at the maximum. Up to this time each exposure was ruined. Either the star was covered or the strong blooming did made an exposure impossible

   

Due to the quick southern current (Foehn) the cloud consistency during the maximum was exactly correct. Pale but impressively the sickle stood scarcely over the ridge of the Axamer Lizum and the Mutters Alm. Finally also reasonable exposures succeeded with a focal length of apprx. 300mm.

Above: The same photo, however different cutouts

However the distance of the sun (not even 0,25° degree) to the slope was so scarce that I had the feeling, the sickle would run in into the ridge. Thus I drove again 150m toward the east and stood about 1-2 minute somewhat more highly near the unromantic roadside. Here I discovered a larger view gap through the mountain forest. Nevertheless the distance to the ridge had became a bit larger.

Again the sun was veiled, but showed up shortly for one minute as horizontal! sickle with the photographic dream parameters but only for seconds. Yeahh!! To the phantastical sight I noticed that the human eye can deal with these extreme lighting conditions much better than my camera chip. Unfortunately the moon covered star  (68%) stepped out  hasty from the cloud haze, and no exposure without sun foil was possible.

The phantastic sight of this eclipse persisted for minutes. 

Never before I drove home quite happy with such a contemplative number of photographies  : -)

And here a snapshot from Marc Szeglat sighted from Oberhausen. The sickle was barely filtered through the deep damp layers.

More about the eclipse in this German written site: Naturkatastrophen und Naturphänomene

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Further links

SOFI.INFO           astronomie.de 

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All eclipses & occultations

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