Miguel Claro is a professional photographer, author and science communicator based in Lisbon, Portugal, who creates spectacular images of the night sky. As a European Southern Observatory photo ambassador, a member of The World At Night and the official astrophotographer of the Dark Sky Alqueva Reserve, he specializes in astronomical skyscapes that connect Earth and the night sky. Join Claro here as he takes us through his video of the total solar eclipse of July 2, 2019.
On July 2, 2019, thousands of people in Chile and Argentina had the incredible opportunity to witness the moment when the moon completely blocks the sun's disk in a total solar eclipse.
It is extremely difficult to translate into images or words the magical experience and deep feelings experienced while witnessing such an event. So, my girlfriend, Apolónia, and I had the crazy idea of flying a drone with a camera to record a video of totality. Maybe, we thought, this could help to make this moment last in our memories. I was busy controlling three of my cameras while she was flying the drone during the maximum of the eclipse.
Related: How to Catch the Next Eclipse: A List of Solar and Lunar Eclipses in 2020 and Beyond
The final video is the result of drone footage captured during totality and mixed with some still shots taken using different exposures over the course of 2 minutes and combined to reveal a dramatic range of lighting that is not otherwise visible to our naked eyes and standard cameras. The sequence was captured in Lambert, a town 19 miles (30 kilometers) northeast of La Serena, Chile. I used a Nikon D850 camera with a 600-millimeter (24 inches) telephoto lens for still photos, with a Star Adventurer portable mount and a Mavic Pro I drone for the aerial videos.
Editor's note: If you captured an amazing astronomy photo and would like to share it with Space.com for a story or gallery, send images and comments to managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.
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To have a print of Claro's amazing astrophotography, visit his Fine Art Print store at www.miguelclaro.com/prints. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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