Last week, our astronomical community gathered at Volkssterrenwacht Urania for our traditional DDD (De Duistere Dag) event. With the spectacular Total Solar Eclipse of August 12 still fresh in everyone's memory, the entire day was packed with technical deep-dives, vivid expedition reports, and exciting future plans.
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| I used this image to talk about the eclipse day itself |
Morning Sessions: Tech, Tools, and Expeditions
The day started in classic Urania fashion: catching up with fellow eclipse chasers over hot coffee and viennoiserie in the Urania Bar.
Kris Delcourte officially opened the event with an introduction to the agenda. Maciej Szupiluk followed with a presentation on Total Control, a specialized software tool designed for eclipse photography with Sony cameras. The software was really easy to use and he promissed to have a Nikon version ready, 100 days before next year eclipse.
Ruben Verboven then shared insights and atmospheric data from the Eclipse Weatherstation Project during the August 12 TSE in Spain.
The rest of the morning brought an array of eclipse reports from across Spain and beyond:
Kris Delcourte shared his experiences observing from Montelahorra in the DO Ribera del Duero region.
Wim, Sarah, Marnik, and Karin presented a joint talk on their practical experiences with the Solar Eclipse Workbench. The next release will embed detailed bailey beads.
Roman Weiss rounded out the morning block with a report on the total solar eclipse from Asturias and the total lunar eclipse observed from Andalusia.
Around noon, attendees gathered for a sandwich lunch at the Urania Bar, discussing camera settings, filters, weather predictions, and visual impressions. Before returning to the auditorium for the afternoon sessions, everyone stepped outside for the traditional group photo.
Afternoon Highlights: Iceland, Global Eclipse Chasing, and Drone Imaging
The afternoon session kicked off with invited guest speaker Saevar Helgi Bragason, who brought breathtaking stories of observing the Total Solar Eclipse from Iceland and how he did promote this by his own!!
Werner Hamelinck then offered a comprehensive look at Urania's collective experiences across various observing locations during the August 12 eclipse. Joerg Schoppmeier took the audience on a remarkable global journey, reviewing two partial solar eclipses (New Zealand and Mauritius), two total lunar eclipses (Crete and Joshua Tree National Park), a deep partial lunar eclipse (Madrid), and the total solar eclipse in Spain.
I then had the opportunity to step up and share my own project: Total Solar Eclipse 2026 Wide-Angle Drone Imaging. Operating from Carrión de los Condes, Spain, I used a DJI Neo 2 drone to film the event from the air on August 12, 2026. Capturing the sweeping shadow of totality and the 360-degree horizon twilight from above offered a thrilling new dimension to our eclipse documentation. A live demo was given.
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| AI generated slide use for my presentation. |
Looking Forward: 2027 and Beyond
The focus then shifted to the future. A vibrant group discussion unfolded regarding plans and logistics for the upcoming Total Solar Eclipse on August 2, 2027.
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| Live demo with my DJI Neo 2 Drone |
