Sky & Telescope - January 2025 - 84

FOCAL POINT by Steve Mazlin
Blame It on That Darn Corona!
During totality, the Sun's atmospheric halo has the mysterious ability to foil the best-laid plans.
A WELL-WORN MAXIM is that astrophotography
can be a frustrating hobby.
But let's face it, that statement doesn't
go nearly far enough. It seems that
where astrophotography is concerned,
Murphy of Murphy's Law was a downright
optimist.
Those imaging the deep sky often
spend hours or days chasing gremlins
that dare to sabotage pointing, guiding,
or focus, to say nothing of the clouds
that Joni Mitchell said got in the way.
But solar-eclipse photography condenses
all of that agita into a few minutes of
sheer terror, as the Sun's bashful but
devious corona finds ways to shield
itself from the camera. Yes, totality
often ruins the best-laid plans of man
and machines, turning us both into
nonfunctioning nincompoops!
Let's first consider the newbie mistake
of forgetting to remove the solar
filter as totality begins. What selfrespecting
Sky & Telescope reader would
admit to that? Uh, I will, but the corona
made me do it. In 2017, I diligently
practiced my eclipse routine for weeks,
but the sudden appearance of the
corona was so (excuse the pun) totally
84 JANUARY 2025 * SKY & TELESCOPE
disorienting that it wasn't until about
40 seconds later that I finally realized
why my camera's LCD screen showed
only black. It could have been worse - I
recovered and nailed the corona with a
good bracketed sequence.
However, the vindictive corona paid
me back with cirrus clouds in 2024, and
it also orchestrated the crash of my PC
software about 30 seconds after second
contact. It was the very software that
was supposed to automate my imaging,
allowing me to soak in the visual
spectacle unfettered by issues of camera
management. Facebook groups are
replete with similar stories from experienced
imagers.
Let's not forget that the corona
can trigger battery failure - and don't
think you can outsmart it by using an
AC cord. A friend of mine discovered
this the hard way: The hypnotic corona
caused a fellow eclipse participant to
trip over my friend's electrical cord,
pulling it free from the outlet, with
instant shutdown of his camera and PC.
Focus shift, mount slippage, memory-card
corruption - all are within the
powers of that wispy corona. AmazDespite
the corona's " deviousness, " the
author managed to capture this sequence of
Baily's Beads on April 8, 2024.
ingly, the corona can even cause the
kid standing nearby to accidentally kick
your tripod leg. Now, just try reacquiring
the Sun in your field of view as
totality's seconds tick by . . . with the
corona smugly watching over your
misfortune.
As I said, the corona almost dashed
my plans last April. Between the cirrus
clouds and software crash, I initially
thought I was cooked. Undeterred, I
assumed manual control of the camera,
snapping away at a far faster rate than
the PC software would have allowed,
and I unexpectedly bagged a wonderful
sequence of Baily's Beads as we exited
totality. The beads may lose a beauty
contest to the more elegant corona, but
at least I went down with a fight.
Next round of Mazlin vs. Corona:
Iceland 2026. Wish me luck!
¢ STEVE MAZLIN is a neurologist whose
retirement plans include chasing totality
across the globe (see page 26).

Sky & Telescope - January 2025

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky & Telescope - January 2025