By Peter Slansky
The total solar eclipse on 12th August 2026 in Spain was all great…
In the middle of the Spanish summer heat up to 40°C on a nameless and shadowless field near Astudillo village, south of Burgos, we – five observers from Germany – had a fantastic view on the event. Despite great technical effort, nearly everything went well. There was significant dust in the air, resulting in an orange sun. But that is a result, not a bug.
My main camera was an Alexa 35 provided by ARRI, equipped with a 2.8/65-300mm Signature zoom. This combination, weighing approximately 30 kg, was barely supported by my large mount, which ARRI had also shipped to Spain. Based on tests conducted with Björn Voss, the director of the Hamburg Planetarium, I modified my plans somewhat and became more involved in his live broadcast than originally planned. As a consequence, my image of the sun with the Alexa 35 was live on air for the whole duration of the eclipse (= two and a quarter hours) without a break.
Via Starlink Björn realized a quadruple video streaming into Hamburg Planetarium: A 360° camera, a telescope, the ARRI Alexa with a wider view of the sun and a smartphone for Björn Voss’ live commentary. I will still receive the exact numbers of other planetariums that screened our show, too. But it was at least Hamburg, Berlin, Bochum, Chicago, Costa Rica and at two planetariums in Brazil. My wife Doris watched the show in Bochum planetarium and said the live experience was very nice. But I had been hecticly jumping arround from time to time… Additionally, there was a more simple 16:9 Live-Stream on Youtube.
In addition to the ARRI Alexa 35 as my main camera, I had also borrowed a polarization camera—about the size of two thumbs—from the manufacturer The Imaging Source. Using this camera and a fisheye lens, I was able to record the entire progression of sky polarization. The result is interesting, but to understand it, I’ll probably have to revisit various physics textbooks from my college days…
But that wasn’t the end of the day. After a small dinner at a campground, we headed back to the stubble field and watched the Perseids until 6:30 a.m.
Of course, now there are lots of data to be processed. Please find some impressions enclosed. A first short video you will find here: https://vimeo.com/1218573713?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci.
A solar eclipse is the most extreme example of the old adage that where there is light, there is also shadow…
All the best!
Peter
