Sunspots

Currently many different and big sunspots are visible on the sun's "surface".

Scorpius area with Milky Way

Dark Sky picture taken at Valle (Grand Canyon South Rim, Arizona). The picture shows the area of Corona Australis and Scorpius with a very bright Milky Way. A couple of  Messier deep sky objects can be observed.

Arches National Park Dark Sky with Meteor

I had the chance to see a real, real dark sky. The first one was in Valle (south of the South Rim Grand Canyon) and the second one in Arches National Park. I could make some beautifull pictures and the one below shows a part of the Milky Way above Balanced Rock together with a meteor. Myfirst meteor ever ever I could catch in a picture. I was astonished on how bright the Milky Way was the way it was expanding the entire sky... awesome.

Error Press Shutter Release Button Again

Two days before the Solar Eclipse @ Rexburg (ID) my Nikon D60 gave the error "Press Shutter Release Button Again". I tried everything to fix the problem but unfortunately the error did not go away. Via Youtube the problem could be fixed by greasing the gear of the shutter motor. But I had no tools and even if this would work, was it reliable in view of the upcoming solar eclipse.

It was decided to buy a new camera and as we were heading from Moab to Salt Lake City I was luckily and found a Nikon Store "Pictureline" in Salt Lake City. I managed to get there on time (closing 14h30) and after a good discussion with the salesman and the Denish owner I bought a Nikon D7500 including a spare battery. I got a fair deal and a quick training on the most important features. Specific those aspects I needed for the solar eclipse.

Today I was able to open my Nikon D60 and to grease the gear of the shutter motor. However this did not solve the problem. My understanding is that the either the motor life span is over and/or the gearbox itself is weared out. With 50468 shutter counts and a lifetime of 11 years, I'm questioning if I should be dissapointed or not? Hopefully my new Nikon D7500 will last more then 10 years :)

Halo around the Sun @ Averbode

For those who looked up at the sky in Averbode, this afternoon, it was possoble to see halo's around the sun. Two sun dogs, left and right of the sun. And high above the sun, in the zenith, a circumzenithal arc showed up.

Prominences during Solar Eclipse Rexburg §ID)

Some more pictures of the Solar Eclipse in Rexburg (ID). The first one shows the beautiful corona around the sun and the second pictures shows three bright prominences at the end of the totality.

Solar Eclipse Rexburg (ID)

A first picture of the August 21, 2017 solar eclips taken in Rexburg, Idaho (Porter Park). The corona is very bright and easy to recognize.