Special section dedicated to the lake Bienne
and the floods of mid July 2021
Special section dedicated to the lake Bienne
and the floods of mid July 2021
This website is mainly dedicated to astronomy, covering the solar and planetary observations to the deep-sky photography.
There are also some sections treating some effects linked to the Earth atmosphere, like lightnings and rainbows. All pictures have been taken by the author.
In the case of download and further use, please simply mention the source. This page is temporarily devoted to astrophotography without telescope, to the comet C/2020 F3 (Neowise),
which was the astronomical surprize of the summer 2020, and to the famous solar eclipse of August 21, 2017.
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The Milky Way and
several Messier objects immortalized through a wide angle and a telephoto lens
All these photographs were taken on the night of July 11 to 12, 2021 from Prêles (BE), Switzerland. The two main disturbances limiting image quality
are the light pollution and
the growing number of artificial satellites.
The relatively small city of Biel was illuminating the sky in the east till an altitude of about 45° (top right).
Satellites on low Earth orbits (LEO, i.e. below 2000km) are
almost everywhere in the dark sky. On a wide field image (bottom left), it becomes almost impossible to get rid of traces of satellites.
Taken into account those disturbances, getting a clean wide field photograph of the center of our Galaxy remains
a challenge from Switzerland. Click here for a better-resolution and logo-free image.
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The Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) from Chasseral (BE), Switzerland
Setup: Canon EOS R + 135mm f/2.0 L USM, Settings: Exp 1.6 s, f/2.2, ISO 6400, Time: July 11, 2020, UTC 21:21
The largest source of light pollution is emitted by the cities of Montbéliard and Audincourt (France), located at 45km.
On the bottom right corner, the village of Saignelégier (JU), Switzerland, is clearly visible at a distance of 15km.
As foreground, the multiple red dots at the bottom of the image are wind turbine beacons.
Press clipping: Journal du Jura  of July 14, 2020.
Le Franc-Montagnard and
Le Matin of July 15, 2020.
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The Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) from Chasseral (BE), Switzerland
Setup: Canon EOS R + 70-200mm f/2.8 L USM on Skywatcher Star Adventurer travel mount.
Settings: Exp 13 s, 200mm f/2.8, ISO 5000. Time: July 18, 2020, UTC 21:04.
The dust tail (the brightest) and the gas tail (faint and opposite to the Sun) are clearly visible.
Please click here for getting the image with the highest resolution.
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The Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) from Prêles (BE), Switzerland
Setup: Canon EOS R + 70-200mm f/2.8 L USM on Skywatcher Star Adventurer travel mount.
Settings: Exp 13 s, 200mm f/2.8, ISO 6400. Time: July 20, 2020, UTC 21:29.
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About two and a half minutes of Black Sun
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The Solar Corona @ UTC 17:45 from Glendo, Wyoming, USA
Setup: Canon EOS 100D + 400mm f/5.6 L, Settings: Exp 1/8 s, f/11, ISO 400, Time: August 21, 2017, UTC 17:45
One hidden star on this picture? Yes, but there are much more than only one. Please click here to identify more suns!
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Solar Eclipse's Crescent and Prominences during Totality
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The Eclipse @ UTC 16:51
Setup: Canon EOS 100D + 400mm f/5.6 L, Settings: Exp 1/800 s, f/11, ISO 200, Astrosolar Filter (density 5) Sunspots are clearly visible. |
@ UTC 17:39
Setup: Canon EOS 100D + 400mm f/5.6 L, Settings: Exp 1/1600 s, f/11, ISO 400, Astrosolar Filter (density 5) |
@ UTC 17:44
Setup: Canon EOS 100D + 400mm f/5.6 L, Settings: Exp 1/60 s, f/11, ISO 400, Astrosolar Filter (density 5) In this extreme phase just before the totality, the profile of the mountains of the Moon is visible, called Baily's beads or diamond ring effect. |
@ UTC 17:46
Totality of the Eclipse Setup: Canon EOS 100D + 400mm f/5.6 L, Settings: Exp 1/250 s, f/11, ISO 400, filter removed |
@ UTC 17:46
Setup: Canon EOS 100D + 400mm f/5.6 L, Settings: Exp 1/500 s, f/11, ISO 400, filter removed In this extreme phase just after the totality, the light from the photosphere reappairs strongly, but the tiny prominences remains visble mainly in emission Hα. |
@ UTC 18:29
Setup: Canon EOS 100D + 400mm f/5.6 L, Settings: Exp 1/800 s, f/11, ISO 200, Astrosolar Filter (density 5) |
Earthshine during the Eclipse
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Earthshine, the Solar Corona (atmosphere of the Sun) and Regulus @ UTC 17:45 from Glendo, Wyoming, USA
Setup: Canon EOS 100D + 400mm f/5.6 L, Settings: Exp 1/4 s, f/11, ISO 1600, Time: August 21, 2017, UTC 17:46
The lunar maria become visible. (Reference image: Wikipedia)
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A Special Magic Stamp dedicated to the Eclipse
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The U.S. Postal Service is hosting the national release of its first-ever heat-sensitive thermochromic stamps during a summer
solstice event Tuesday at the University of Wyoming Art Museum.
Please click here or on any stamp to see the animated GIF, illustrating the thermochromic ink. |
The site of Glendo, Wyoming, USA, located precisely on the path of the totality
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Path of the eclipse through the USA on August 21, 2017
Please click here for getting the high-resolution map. |
Exit Glendo on Interstate Highway 25 North |
Observation area in Glendo
Background: a 3km-long loaded coal train |
Camping car of Kathy and Jon | The setup used for taking the pictures | The Senior VP Sales observing | Alternative for observing the eclipse | Huge traffic jam on the way back |
Bonus linked to this eclipse: Download a wallpaper designed for your Samsung Galaxy S10
If you have any comments, please mail to : michel(at)willemin.li
