Night Blind

They stand under a brilliant sky with millions of stars, but these two telescopes at the Teide Observatory on Tenerife are dedicated to observing just one star.

 

The star under such close scrutiny is our Sun and the telescopes, called THEMIS (Télescope Héliographique pour l'Etude du Magnétisme et des Instabilités Solaires) and VTT (Vacuum Tower Telescope) are solar telescopes, used to research solar plasma flows and magnetic fields. As they are daylight telescopes, their cupolas are kept closed at night to protect the sensitive scientific instruments.

 

I certainly was severely fatigued during the last night of my astrophotography trip with @benjaminbarakat to the Canary Islands, but when I captured this image, I wondered whether these complex, but night blind instruments are aware of the magnificent show they miss at night...

 

EXIF

Canon EOS Ra

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L ll @ 50mm

iOptron SkyTracker Pro

Sky:

Vertical panora of 3 panels, each a stack of 10 x 90s @ ISO1600

Foreground:

Focus stacked paorama captured during twilight. 6 exposures of 5s @ ISO800.

Done