10. October 2005: Eruptions seen from Punta di LabronzoOn 10. Oct. 2005 the full moon, as observed from Punta di Labronzo ("Osservatorio"), passed precisely behind the eruptions. A dry easterly wind facilitated observations by blowing steam and ash away from the crater terrace and making for excellent visibility. All photos were taken with a 200 mm tele photo lens at f2.8 on 200 ASA film. The images shown here were all cropped somewhat. Exposure times were kept below 20 secondss so that the moon did not get too blurred due to its diurnal motion. | |||
 Approximately 20h00 local time: The moon, 7.3 days old, has just passed over Pizzo (far left). The brightest star is Nunki (Sigma Sagitarii; 2.03 Mag). |  As the moon approaches the left rim of Stromboli's crater terrace an eruption occurs at the NE cone. Apparently "inside" the crater is the star Ascella (Zeta Sagitarii, 2.50 Mag). |  As the moon moves behind the eruptions it illuminates the steam which is blown towards the right by a light East wind. Note the Earthshine on the moon's dark (left) side. |  Temporarily the moon is hidden behind a small but dense cloud of steam, while a particularly strong eruption occurs from NE cone. |
 At about 21h00 local time the moon has moved towards the right, above Sciara del Fuoco when yet another eruption shoots skyward from NE cone. |  This is an eruption from NE crater, nearer to us than NE cone. Note how the steam gets blown down the Sciara del Fuoco, below the moon. |  After the moon has moved away towards the right, longer exposures are possible, revealing the apparent motion of the stars (59, 60, 62 and Omega Sagitarii upper center). |  Three days later (13.10.2005): Moist air causes more steam to condense, and the NW wind drives it over the crater terrace, hampering visibility of eruptions. |
| More photos from Pizzo Copyright: J. Alean and M. Fulle | |||