The galactic centre area in Sagittarius (at left) and Scorpius (at right) low in the south on a summer night at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. This was June 30/July 1, 2022. Being just 10 days after summer solstice and at latitude +50° North, the sky even to the south still has a blue tint from all-night twilight. I made no attempt to neutralize the sky colouration. In addition, some haze from smoke discoloured the sky and reduced transparency and contrast low in the sky. Many of the nebulas and star clusters in this part of the Milky Way are visible, many of them showpiece Messier objects for binoculars and telescopes. The colourful area around the star Rho Ophiuchi above Antares is at right, though muted here by the smoke and haze. This is a blend of a single tracked 1-minute exposure at f/2 with the RF28-70mm lens and ISO 1600 for the sky, with a stack of two 6-minute untracked exposures at f/3.5 and ISO 800 for the ground, all with the Canon R5 on the Star Adventurer Mini tracker. A mild Orton glow effect added to the sky with Luminar AI and a mild dynamic Pro Contrast effect added to the ground with Nik Collection 5 Color EFX Pro. LENR in-camera dark frame subtraction employed on all frames on this mild night. Taken between 12:30 am and 1 am.
The waxing crescent Moon two days after New low in a smoky sky setting over the Badlands of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada. This was June 30, 2022. Despite the hazy skies, the twilight colours show up well in the sky. The glow of Earthshine shows up slightly on the night side of the Moon. This is a blend of a single 3.2-second shot with the RF24-105mm lens at f/4 and 105mm for the sky, with a stack of four longer 13-second exposures for the darker ground at the same lens settings, and with Canon R5 at ISO 200.
The waxing crescent Moon two days after New low in a smoky sky and over the Red Deer River in Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada. This was June 30, 2022, Despite the hazy skies, the twilight colours show up well in the sky and reflected in the water. The glow of Earthshine shows up slightly on the night side of the Moon. Castor and Pollux in Gemini show up faintly at right. This is a single 2.5-second shot with the RF24-105mm lens at f/5.6 and Canon R5 at ISO 125. Processed almost entirely in Adobe Camera Raw with masks for sky, trees, and water.
