It was challenging weather for sure, though we thought we may not see this eclipse at all just days before. I was optimistic when I popped my head out at 3 in the morning and saw Venus and Orion in the eastern sky. I packed up the gear at 6:30am and headed up to Observatory Hill hoping to set up and be ready for the initial bite at 8:07am and the subsequent phases.

It was foggy driving up the Hill and the lot by the new IT building was vacant. I could see there was fog covering much of the horizon. I was soon joined by a number of RASC members and some DAO staff that would supply the internet for whatever phases I could capture and send back to the auditorium at the Centre of the Universe.

Considering the conditions, I think we did well. Through the fog and clouds we certainly caught glimpses of the Moon taking bites out of the Sun as time past. I was also able to get a glimpse through my refractor of the two large sunspots that were eventually covered up.

Settings on my camera were quite variable and some frames were overexposed in an attempt to see something through the clouds.

Camera: Nikon Z6 II
Sensor ISO: 200 to 1600
Lens: Nikkor 300/4 with TC 1.4 Convertor
Filter: Baader Astrosolar Film
Mount: Star Adventurer
Exposures: Shutter Variable 1/5 to 1/1000 second; f/stop 5.6
Capture Software: NX Tether
Processing: Adobe Photoshop 2024