Solar panning camera build and eclipse shenanigans

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  • čas přidán 8. 04. 2024
  • Building a camera platform with a long lens on it to follow the sun and make a timelapse of the eclipse. Some interesting shots captured with it, and talking about light levels during the eclipse

Komentáře • 284

  • @george_thebean
    @george_thebean Před měsícem +231

    Bloody hell, Matthias ... woodworking, optics, astronomy, engineering, photography and electronics in one single video! Well done

    • @friedaspyder8485
      @friedaspyder8485 Před měsícem +3

      And family interaction to boot. Great video, and concept.
      I picked the wrong live stream, and was disappointed when there was no totality. He was a bit outside the path. Still cool though.

  • @jamescollier3
    @jamescollier3 Před měsícem +249

    Builds wooden telescope in two days

    • @super8hell
      @super8hell Před měsícem +2

      They're not that complicated if you know what you are doing.

    • @BadgerBishop
      @BadgerBishop Před měsícem +11

      With parts laying around the house.

    • @jameslang6767
      @jameslang6767 Před měsícem +12

      @@super8hell nothing is complicated if you know what your are doing, daaaa

    • @JobbityGifford
      @JobbityGifford Před měsícem +3

      Yeah, FFS NASA, get your act together!

    • @FDog16
      @FDog16 Před měsícem

      @@super8hell Mirrors is most complicated part

  • @rootvalue
    @rootvalue Před měsícem +123

    No idea why this isn’t a main channel video. Your build is great and the results are phenomenal.

    • @matthiasrandomstuff2221
      @matthiasrandomstuff2221  Před měsícem +50

      Its more tech oriented, so it belongs here more. Just because the main channel has 9x the subs doesn't mean it will get more views there.

    • @tvspace1237
      @tvspace1237 Před měsícem

      @@matthiasrandomstuff2221
      there are very very few creators who can inspire ordinary folks to learn unknown subjects and definitely you are that rare teacher / creator

    • @somethingorother5782
      @somethingorother5782 Před měsícem +10

      @@matthiasrandomstuff2221 It has gears, woodworking, and outside-the-box thinking. Totally belongs on the main channel.

    • @jasonharrison25
      @jasonharrison25 Před měsícem +2

      Why not both? Increase the odds of being viewed

    • @asailijhijr
      @asailijhijr Před měsícem +4

      ​@@jasonharrison25 if the side channel makes good videos that get good engagement, the side channel will gain followers organically.

  • @joethompson11
    @joethompson11 Před měsícem +172

    This is the only eclipse coverage I've seen so far, came from the best source. Thanks Matthias!

    • @friedaspyder8485
      @friedaspyder8485 Před měsícem +1

      The NASA capture by jet airplane is interesting. Added a couple of minutes to a normal ground based eclipse.

  • @cameronspears1386
    @cameronspears1386 Před měsícem +16

    “Harmonics of the chopstick” is something I’ve never heard before

    • @PatrickKQ4HBD
      @PatrickKQ4HBD Před měsícem

      I learned from a hobby machinist's channel, "Everything is a spring, no matter how strong you think it is."

  • @edcramer6475
    @edcramer6475 Před měsícem +2

    I love it when old projects can become new projects. Videos like this are good reminders that skills (and parts!) accumulate over time. I ignored the eclipse because "it's just a shadow, whatever" but you treated it as a 4-day engineering challenge and learned new things that will undoubtedly feed some other project.
    Time to go make more future parts!

  • @billyjbryant
    @billyjbryant Před měsícem

    This was just shy of a master class in DIY sun photography. Great job and amazing results!

  • @Makedeth
    @Makedeth Před měsícem +30

    Your mirror/diopter projector of the eclipse was amazing, too. That has never occurred to me, to do it that way.

  • @dege13
    @dege13 Před měsícem

    I just smiled when I saw you making a lens adapter out of wood. My braid had gone to 3d printing one, and I almost forgot your specialty was wood.

  • @geoffreygriffiths1487
    @geoffreygriffiths1487 Před měsícem

    Thank you so much for this video. I have been looking into astro-trackers called barn-door trackers, and have often wondered why there are so few builds based on stepper-drivers. Now I know, the purpose of them is to be simple to build. The jarring movement of the steps would be a challenge to most home builders to overcome, whereas cheap DC motors are easy to come by and control. Well done.

  • @Llamarama100
    @Llamarama100 Před měsícem +13

    I love these random tangents you go off on, they're always so fascinating and often include things I'm interested in! Also, we have the same SLR camera!

  • @Wordsnwood
    @Wordsnwood Před měsícem +8

    That mechanism was fascinating. I was adjusting my solar viewer manually and it was amazing how fast the image of the sun moved

    • @matthiasrandomstuff2221
      @matthiasrandomstuff2221  Před měsícem +7

      It would probably have moved as fast as my image of the sun on the wall did. The sun moves its width about every two minutes.

    • @Wordsnwood
      @Wordsnwood Před měsícem +2

      @@matthiasrandomstuff2221 Most likely. still, it was an amazing experience and I am keen to find another one to view!

  • @harlanbarnhart4656
    @harlanbarnhart4656 Před měsícem +5

    That plasma eruption shot is amazing.

  • @StefanoBorini
    @StefanoBorini Před měsícem +17

    Nothing in astronomy is more satisfying than getting the pictures of something yourself. I was superexcited when I got the M42 nebula, because I had to come up with a hacked up parallel mount to take a picture while using my telescope as a manual tracker.

    • @tolkienfan1972
      @tolkienfan1972 Před měsícem

      M42 is one of my favorites

    • @phs125
      @phs125 Před měsícem +2

      When I first got my DSLR, I was so happy taking moon photos.
      I've seen plenty of moon photos in my life, they all look the same.
      But still the one I took would be a lot more exciting...
      Later on I took a photo of Jupiter and some of its moons, nobody would understand why I was so happy about it...

  • @JonnyDIY
    @JonnyDIY Před měsícem +2

    Why aren't you working for like NASA or something Matthias 😆💕👍 Thanks for sharing, loved the shots with red geysers. My Dad, a professional photographer loved your setup too 👍

  • @clark7117
    @clark7117 Před měsícem +10

    Great capture. I appreciate your inclination to utilize simple resources at hand.
    Your friend is so notorious for leaning against the railing, the last time he did it during an eclipse, even the sun and the moon complained about the view getting distorted!

  • @deanwellerassociates
    @deanwellerassociates Před měsícem +23

    I loved that, doing what you can with what you've already got. Hope the kids enjoyed the experience.
    🌅

    • @PedroCoelho98
      @PedroCoelho98 Před měsícem +2

      He's like McGyver back in the day! Only instead of exploding something Matthias gives us this amazing videos!

    • @aaroncameron1494
      @aaroncameron1494 Před měsícem

      and getting better pictures than I did with a professional setup

    • @Sharpless2
      @Sharpless2 Před měsícem

      @@aaroncameron1494 What gear do you have? If its "professional" like you said, you probably dont know how to use it correctly.

  • @truckguy6666
    @truckguy6666 Před měsícem

    Fabulous! Main channel worthy. And then some.

  • @amwtm
    @amwtm Před měsícem +1

    I love that you made your adapter out of plywood.

  • @adamathypernerd7728
    @adamathypernerd7728 Před měsícem +18

    Of course he made a plywood lens mount on a lathe... Amazing work! I love this channel. How'd he get the focal length correct??

    • @jojojorisjhjosef
      @jojojorisjhjosef Před měsícem +3

      No doubt eyeballing it.

    • @burgir
      @burgir Před měsícem +5

      On a metal lathe

    • @9peppe
      @9peppe Před měsícem

      lathe sounds like a recent addition

    • @nixlarfs1002
      @nixlarfs1002 Před měsícem +1

      @@9peppe A few months, he has some videos tinkering with it on this channel or the other one.

    • @graymouser1
      @graymouser1 Před měsícem +2

      @@nixlarfs1002 tbf, wood/metal might be equally accurate on that lathe. ;P It was clearly purchased just to bang things out.

  • @Ed_Stuckey
    @Ed_Stuckey Před měsícem

    My son noticed the red eruption from the bottom and pointed it out to me asking what it was. I told him it was a coronal mass ejection but soon realized solar prominence was more fitting. Either way, it was amazing to see.
    Lots of work on your part but the capture you made was as good as any I've seen. Great work! 👍

  • @maidbloke
    @maidbloke Před měsícem +2

    There's nothing like an immovable deadline to focus the mind. 😂 Great video and brilliant end result.

  • @wm005
    @wm005 Před měsícem +6

    I just wanted to say how much I really appreciate all of the amazing work you do with your brilliant mind. You truly are an exceptional individual and I love tuning in to watch your videos.

  • @IanKjos
    @IanKjos Před měsícem

    Thank you for capturing the picture of the plasma eruption! Most photos don't (perhaps can't?) do it justice. To my eyes it was a bright ruby-red dot in a corner of the black sun.

  • @oliver9089
    @oliver9089 Před měsícem +1

    Kids are getting big!!
    Thanks for the share. Neat project

  • @quilleymemory
    @quilleymemory Před měsícem +1

    This has to be one of your best ever videos. I love what you did and think the results are incredible. Thank you!

  • @StopAndGo1
    @StopAndGo1 Před měsícem

    I'm always blown away with not only the amount of detail and insight you explain about your projects but the amount of work you do to document the project as you go along as well as the amount of time you (or whoever) must spend to put it together at the end. I'm tired after just watching this ;-) .... I think I'll go and take a nap.

  • @ro_yo_mi
    @ro_yo_mi Před měsícem

    Thank you for sharing, this was very interesting.

  • @AllanKobelansky
    @AllanKobelansky Před měsícem

    Nice project. Educational as well.

  • @EeekiE
    @EeekiE Před měsícem

    Fun and interesting project and video 👍🏻

  • @bw1532
    @bw1532 Před měsícem

    Mattias is a freaking goat. Amazing work (play) man. Love the content.

  • @honeyforce996
    @honeyforce996 Před měsícem +2

    I don't relate to all of the videos on this channel, but it's times like this that make me really appreciate it. Thanks for sharing the process, as always. Glad you and the family got to experience it together

  • @TheCaphits
    @TheCaphits Před měsícem

    I built some filters using some wood disks and solar filter film.
    Used some rubber bands to hold them to binoculars. It was absolutely incredible. You could easily see sunspots and other features. It felt like you could touch it.

    • @Sharpless2
      @Sharpless2 Před měsícem

      this is the correct way to do it. Solar filters dont just dim the sun, they also block all harmful wavelengths that you cant see.

  • @spelunkerd
    @spelunkerd Před měsícem +1

    Gotta love the work you put into doing this. Another option would be to recognize how much detail modern sensors allow, enough to crop images significantly. This would allow one to leave the camera rock steady pointing at one lower magnification spot, to fully encompass all of the movement you'd see over a short time span. Cropping video later in Premier Pro or FCPx can be rock steady, without the complexity of a moving camera mount.

    • @matthiasrandomstuff2221
      @matthiasrandomstuff2221  Před měsícem +1

      Most of the unsteadiness came from the atmosphere. Also, sensor is just 12 megapixels, and to have a lens super sharp edge to edge is another challenge. I also would have needed a much bigger filter. So your idea gets complicated fast.

  • @richardschuff8447
    @richardschuff8447 Před měsícem +5

    I don't know why I had tears running down my set face as I watch this but you are the epitome of human ingenuity thank you

  • @ZenWithKen
    @ZenWithKen Před měsícem +6

    We had complete cloud cover here. Thanks for sharing!

  • @RobsWorldWV
    @RobsWorldWV Před měsícem

    A very nice homebrew RA Dec Mount...

    • @Sharpless2
      @Sharpless2 Před měsícem

      yup. Tho his method of polar alignment (the piece of wood) is flawed. Enough for low focal lengths tho.

  • @69dblcab
    @69dblcab Před měsícem +5

    shenanigans approved!!! Thank you Matthias.

  • @jacobdavidcunningham1440
    @jacobdavidcunningham1440 Před měsícem

    really cool, fun to chase something

  • @howder1951
    @howder1951 Před měsícem +2

    Well done M with your usual attention to the various details of the task. Enjoyed very much, as we were in the 30% zone and it was cloudy to boot! cheers!

  • @MazeFrame
    @MazeFrame Před měsícem

    Damn! Impressive work!

  • @Mrelectric423
    @Mrelectric423 Před měsícem

    I really enjoyed this video!

  • @bob-the-Millwright
    @bob-the-Millwright Před měsícem

    This is why I watch your channel! You are crazy smart and you put it to real world use in a way we all understand and love watching. Thank you.

  • @cowcar87
    @cowcar87 Před měsícem +1

    Great job. Thank you for sharing these awesome images.

  • @RNMSC
    @RNMSC Před měsícem

    One of the things that doesn't get talked about much is that you can drive a stepper motor with an analog signal. Preferably two equal sine waves 90 degrees out of phase, Applied Science demonstrated this a few years back. The real problem is finding a DAC that you can use to generate a sine wave at the frequency needed to drive one phase. The other phase could be handled by a phase shifter made out of some OpAmps, but while I know that works for music, I'm not so sure it will work at the low frequencies needed here. That said if you have a DAC that can generate the frequency needed, it's likely that you can get a second one, and set it up to start a new sine wave at 0 as the first sine wave peaks, and you will have the right phase separation. Then run those two signals through a pair of voltage control gates off of a power supply that provides the voltage you're comfortable driving your stepper motors at, and you get the desired movement out of the steppers. (With the caveat that if the stepper is rotating in the wrong direction, you simply flip the wires on either pair of coils.
    The bad part is I don't expect to be around to test this the next time North America sees a total solar eclipse. It should work for astro-photography though.

  • @DF-vo8ce
    @DF-vo8ce Před měsícem +4

    Very cool stuff!!

  • @JohnMGibby
    @JohnMGibby Před měsícem +1

    Amazing work and intelligence to do what you did with what you had.

  • @shawngrosser
    @shawngrosser Před měsícem +2

    This was a great video. Can I suggest a shorter version of just the eclipse photos to share with friends?

    • @matthiasrandomstuff2221
      @matthiasrandomstuff2221  Před měsícem

      the eclipse photos i took are nothing special, others no doubt made better ones with better gear

    • @shawngrosser
      @shawngrosser Před měsícem +2

      @@matthiasrandomstuff2221 yes but your picture actually look authentic and the story is cool. I would share that video, but not this one because my family and friends aren’t interested in the level of detail you provided. I should note that I was interested in that level of detail.

  • @jaycullen9901
    @jaycullen9901 Před měsícem

    In word, impressive!

  • @ClanMcCormick
    @ClanMcCormick Před měsícem +1

    Thank you for capturing and sharing this! I have been telling everyone that looking at the totality was like looking at a TV with a broken pixel in it. Your pic at the end is what I was seeing.

  • @alskjflaksjdflakjdf
    @alskjflaksjdflakjdf Před měsícem

    Wow. Just wow. Thank you for building your setup and sharing it with us. Like you, I love the photo of the plasma eruption! I believe I live too far north to be in the path of totality, but I do remember my dad giving me some welding glass when I was a kid to watch the eclipse.

  • @ne8r
    @ne8r Před měsícem

    I remarked at the red jet near the bottom of the Sun while watching - truely amazing event. I was in Indiana for a 4 minute, 1 second totality.

  • @williamdawson3353
    @williamdawson3353 Před měsícem

    ++++ You are a super smart guy, your kids are lucky.

  • @macedindu829
    @macedindu829 Před měsícem

    I can't believe the weather we got for this eclipse, and even more amazing, I got the same sort of weather for the 2017 eclipse. The craziest thing for me in both cases is how the sun is completely too bright until the last second. Like, if you didn't know about eclipses, you'd have about 5 seconds between when the sun basically looked normal, until it looked like a blackhole sun, and it suddenly became dark (though, of course, the light cast around you looks weird for like 20 minutes beforehand). These two eclipses are major highlights of my life, and I may well never see one again. I'll never tire of eclipse content, and I suspect that's true of anyone who's ever witnessed one.

  • @ikocheratcr
    @ikocheratcr Před měsícem

    Very nice project, with a hard deadline and barely time for testing. Good it came out very good.
    I live nowhere near the the totallity path, so I watched NASA stream, the commented one. They mentioned the plasma eruptions in there, and also the diamond ring, and bunch of other things.

    • @1pcfred
      @1pcfred Před měsícem

      I wasn't near the path either. We got 83% here. But with eclipse glasses on I still saw the Moon transiting in front of the sun. Without the glasses I couldn't notice a thing. At one point the sun did look like a crescent Moon. I guess it was 83% covered. In an eclipse the light doesn't really change until the sun is just a sliver. So somewhere north of 99%

  • @joe-edward
    @joe-edward Před měsícem

    You should make a third channel just for your optics experiments, since that is something you are obviously super passionate about, and it is also interesting for us nerds out here.

  • @trevorburford-reade8685
    @trevorburford-reade8685 Před měsícem +3

    Astounding.

  • @fletchro789
    @fletchro789 Před měsícem

    Nice work! 👍

  • @Frankemand
    @Frankemand Před měsícem

    Cool video, again!!

  • @BrettRebman
    @BrettRebman Před měsícem

    I was more excited about your inevitable eclipse experiment videos than I was for the eclipse itself 😂 very nicely done!

  • @jej3451
    @jej3451 Před měsícem

    great video

  • @sachiperez
    @sachiperez Před měsícem +2

    so much more fun than just buying stuff!

  • @sidelinerbeekeeper
    @sidelinerbeekeeper Před měsícem

    If only I was half as smart as this guy. Very cool video, the best I've seen. Thanks.

  • @equinoxefr75
    @equinoxefr75 Před měsícem

    Awesome, love your experiments !🤩

  • @dorvinion
    @dorvinion Před měsícem

    Better pics than I got - my camera died 10m before totality (and then magically worked again 10hrs later - I guess it overheated)
    My tracking system worked at least (EQ-1 mount, 3d print shaft adapter, and a stepper) so I will at least now be able to do some long exposures that I've wanted to do for years.

  • @ggbirdymill1618
    @ggbirdymill1618 Před měsícem

    This was very interesting. Thank you for taking us with you on this adventure.

  • @cradd00
    @cradd00 Před měsícem

    Thanks for sharing! You have the best footage I've seen so far. You're one smart cookie to figure all of this stuff out.

  • @Gersberms
    @Gersberms Před měsícem

    Way more interesting than anything else I've seen on this eclipse!

  • @AbdicateDotNet
    @AbdicateDotNet Před měsícem

    Great job!!!

  • @nealcalvert1153
    @nealcalvert1153 Před měsícem

    I watched that on autoplay.
    Then opened the video just to leave you a like.
    Amazing as always.

  • @JorgTheElder
    @JorgTheElder Před měsícem

    That was fantastic.

  • @gorak9000
    @gorak9000 Před měsícem +1

    You knocked it out of the park again! I did see those geysers, but only on the official NASA Tv feed where they were using nice cameras on telescopes at every location they showed the eclipse from. Very impressive images you got considering you just started putting stuff together 4 days beforehand, and only using stuff you had on hand! It was very interesting to see the difference in lens clarity at various apertures - I've always known that shooting around f/8 gives sharper images, but I've never looked at images captured at various apertures and compared them myself!

  • @Brian-uh6dq
    @Brian-uh6dq Před měsícem

    Loved this

  • @AnthonyVandergugten
    @AnthonyVandergugten Před měsícem

    This is classic Matthias and it is what makes every video awesome.

  • @tanmanhnguyen5932
    @tanmanhnguyen5932 Před 17 dny

    When you wanted to test for jerkiness of the rotation, you could have used a lazer pointer taped to the main disk (that what you avoid the resonance all together, as well as the large inertia of such a long/big rod)

  • @KSCPMark6742
    @KSCPMark6742 Před měsícem

    always a good experience to watch you work!

  • @danel1922
    @danel1922 Před měsícem

    great job!

  • @zweg1321
    @zweg1321 Před měsícem

    Very cool thank you

  • @noneofabove5586
    @noneofabove5586 Před měsícem

    Well done !

  • @dakotamax2
    @dakotamax2 Před měsícem

    One of your top 10 concepts for sure.

  • @kizbo
    @kizbo Před měsícem +1

    Thanks for all your work producing this very cool video!

  • @MCsCreations
    @MCsCreations Před měsícem +1

    Fantastic work, Matthias! 😃
    Really fun project!!!
    Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

  • @hpda44
    @hpda44 Před měsícem

    I love this stuff! There’s something to be said for using science for every day stuff. Keep them coming

  • @haydensutton6289
    @haydensutton6289 Před měsícem

    Very fascinating

  • @jatag100
    @jatag100 Před měsícem

    So interesting thank you

  • @zeroy
    @zeroy Před měsícem

    nice one Matthias!!

  • @JoseSilveira-newhandleforYT

    Excellent work, Matthias! Well worth the effort!

  • @GeekboyNC
    @GeekboyNC Před měsícem

    Nice work! I really enjoyed your experiment.

  • @solanuskc4303
    @solanuskc4303 Před měsícem +1

    Only mid way thru the vid and this is awesome

  • @d64d64
    @d64d64 Před měsícem

    Have to say this was one of my favorites.

  • @eikmethner3343
    @eikmethner3343 Před měsícem

    I Just smiled all the time. Very well done Matthias and so much fun to watch.

  • @oasntet
    @oasntet Před měsícem

    That shot of the sun geyser is awesome. Worth all of the effort, imo.

  • @davismccoy77
    @davismccoy77 Před měsícem

    Matthias, this was a great video!

  • @Wes12940
    @Wes12940 Před měsícem

    This should've been posted on the main channel! Awesome, Matthias!

  • @luckenbachmachineworks7000
    @luckenbachmachineworks7000 Před měsícem

    Very cool!

  • @kylewollman2239
    @kylewollman2239 Před měsícem

    I've been looking forward to this video since you mentioned that you were going to do it. Did not disappoint!

  • @pdxRetired
    @pdxRetired Před měsícem

    Excellent! Good pictures, and fun process of building the apparatus.

  • @jasperbusch9928
    @jasperbusch9928 Před měsícem

    Great vid as always. Only eclipse vid I watched as well :)

  • @edualbergaria10
    @edualbergaria10 Před měsícem +1

    The best video about this theme

  • @first_namelast_name4923
    @first_namelast_name4923 Před měsícem

    Matthias - you are a true engineer.