Yesterday there was a transit of the tiny planet Mercury across the visible surface of the Sun. I have found it easy photographing Sun spots but shooting this event was far more difficult. First I tried the Canon M5 with the 400mm zoom lens. No problem photographing the Sun, with a proper solar filter to protect the camera, but Mercury didn't show at all well. In the end I swapped the camera body for my trusty Canon 70D. It has an annoying 'fault' where successive auto exposure shots may vary wildly . As it happened the very last shot I took captured the tiny black dot of Mercury as it moved between us and the Sun.
It can be seen about a fifth of the way across at mid height in this cropped photo.
The Sun is about 1,391,000 Km (864,327 miles) in diameter
Mercury is about 4,879 Km ( 3,032 miles) in diameter, 38% the size of the Earth.
There won't be another chance until 2032.
Great shot.
ReplyDeleteDave: Thank you.
DeleteThis is fantastic and it also made me clean my monitor as I could see half a dozen Mercurys so a productive way to start a Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteAdrian. Had to smile. I had the same problem with the laptop screen when I was checking the photos.
DeleteExcellent shot. Thanks for all the effort and sharing the results.
ReplyDeleteKris: Thank you.
DeleteBrilliant John. In spit of its tiny size I spotted it the moment I switched on.
ReplyDeleteWeaver: Thank you.
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