Transits and Occultations Archives - Astrophotography by Alex Conu

Dec 09

by astrographist in Transits and Occultations 0 comments

ISS transits the Sun

This was space shuttle Endeavour’s last flight. I was lucky enough to capture it attached to the International Space Station as they transited the Sun. The transit took only 0.6 seconds. Date and place: May 22nd 2011; Furculesti, Teleorman, Romania Camera: Canon EOS 450D Telescope: Stellarvue SV80 ED and 2x Barlow lens Exposure: 1/1000 Aperture: 14 ISO: 800

Jul 19

by astrographist in Transits and Occultations 0 comments

Venus Transit

Transits of Venus are among the rarest of predictable astronomical phenomena. They occur in a pattern that generally repeats every 243 years, with pairs of transits eight years apart separated by long gaps of 121.5 years and 105.5 years. Being such a rare event, on each occasion observing campaigns are organized across the world. In 2012, after studying the weather forecast for many days in a row, I decided to photograph the transit from the shore of the Black Sea, near Eforie Sud. Choosing this place was a very good decision. The weather was great and I had the opportunity to get this image of the event. This image has been shortlisted on the Astronomy Photography of The Year 2013 contest. Date and place: June 6 2012; Eforie Sud, Constanta, Romania Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III Telescope: Vixen VMC 110L Exposure: 1/40s Aperture: 9.4 ISO: 100

Jul 19

by astrographist in Transits and Occultations 0 comments

Venus Transit in H-alpha

That black dot looks a bit strange, doesn’t it? That is Venus transiting the face of our Sun. This H-alpha image shows a bit of the activity going on at the surface and in the atmosphere of our star. Date and place: June 6 2012; Eforie Sud, Constanta, Romania Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III Telescope: Lunt LS60THa Exposure: 1/4s Aperture: 8.3 ISO: 400

Jul 19

by astrographist in Transits and Occultations 0 comments

Saturn occults star HIP 42705

I think this is the only image of this event in the whole world. We were very lucky as Bucharest was the only clear patch in a sea of clouds hanging above Europe. Look closely and you’ll see the star in Cassini’s Division (centre image). Date and place: January 25 2006; Bucharest, Romania Camera: Philips Vesta webcam Lens: Celestron C9.25 without/with 2x Barlow Aperture: 10/20 Comments: The photo is a common effort of me and Adrian Sonka.