STEVE Arc with Green Fingers (Aug 7, 2022)

A portrait of the infamous STEVE arc of hot flowing gas associated with an active aurora, here showing his distinctive pink colour and the fleeting appearance of the green picket fence fingers that often show up hanging down from the main arc. On this night the green fingers lasted no more than two minutes. STEVE = Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement, and is a river of hot gas flowing east to west equatorward of the main aurora band. This is a tracked single image looking straight up, and framing the Summer Triangle stars at right and the Milky Way. Moonlight from the setting waxing gibbous Moon lights the sky, as does the bright aurora to the north. This is a 30-second exposure with the Canon R5 at ISO 1250 and the RF15-35mm lens at f/3.2, with the camera on a Star Adventurer Mini tracker. The focus is a little soft but the image serves to illustrate the phenomenon. The frame is part of a short time-lapse sequence.

STEVE Arc All-Sky with Green Fingers (Aug 7, 2022)

A portrait of the infamous STEVE arc of hot flowing gas associated with an active aurora, here showing his distinctive pink colour and the fleeting appearance of the green picket fence fingers that often show up hanging down from the main arc. On this night the green fingers lasted no more than two minutes. STEVE = Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement, and is a river of hot gas flowing east to west equatorward of the main aurora band. STEVE appeared after the main Kp5-level aurora died down in activity to the north, typical behaviour for STEVE. He was visible for only 35 to 40 minutes, again typical. This is a single untracked image looking straight up, and taking in most of the summer sky using a fish-eye lens. Moonlight from the setting waxing gibbous Moon lights the sky, as does the bright aurora to the north, visible at left. The Summer Triangle stars are at centre at the zenith; Jupiter is the bright object rising at lower left in the southeast. This is a 20-second exposure with the Canon Ra at ISO 1600 and the TTArtisan 7.5mm lens at f/2. The frame is part of a time-lapse sequence.

STEVE Arc Wide-Angle with Green Fingers (Aug 7, 2022)

A portrait of the infamous STEVE arc of hot flowing gas associated with an active aurora, here showing his distinctive pink colour and the fleeting appearance of the green picket fence fingers that often show up hanging down from the main arc. On this night the green fingers lasted no more than two minutes. STEVE = Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement, and is a river of hot gas flowing east to west equatorward of the main aurora band. STEVE appeared after the main Kp5-level aurora died down in activity to the north, typical behaviour for STEVE. He was visible for only 35 to 40 minutes, again typical. This is a single untracked image looking high in the south, and taking in most of the summer sky using a full-frame fish-eye lens. Moonlight from the setting waxing gibbous Moon in the southwest lights the sky, as does the bright aurora to the north, just visible at upper left. The Summer Triangle stars are at centre at the zenith; Jupiter is the bright object rising at lower left in the southeast. This is a single 25-second exposure with the Canon R6 at ISO 1250 and the TTArtisan 11mm lens at f/2.8. The frame is part of a short time-lapse sequence.

Auroral Arc over Wheatfield (Aug 7, 2022)

An arc of a Kp-5 aurora over a wheatfield from home in southern Alberta. The panorama takes in the northern stars, from the Big Dipper and Ursa Major at left, to the W of Cassiopeia at top right of centre, with Perseus below Cassiopeia, and Andromeda and Pegasus at right. Moonlight from the waxing gibbous Moon low in the southwest illuminates the scene. Jupiter is rising at far right low in the southeast. This was taken when the display was at its most active. An hour later as it was fading STEVE appeared in a fabulous show. This is a panorama of 7 segments with the Canon R5 at ISO 800, and Canon RF15-35mm lens at 18mm and f/2.8 for 25 seconds each. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Cygnus Nebulosity and Starclouds

A framing of the major areas of bright and dark nebulosity in Cygnus, showing pink emission nebulas contrasting with dark dusty regions in the Cygnus arm of the Milky Way. The main area of the bright Cygnus Starcloud is at upper right. The bright blue star Deneb is above centre. Just below it and left of centre is the North America Nebula, NGC 7000, and its adjacent companion Pelican Nebula, IC 5070. The Gamma Cygni nebulosity complex, IC 1318, is right of centre. The Veil Nebula supernova remnant, NGC 6960 and 6992-5, is at lower right. The small Cocoon Nebula, IC 5146, is at lower left. The Tulip Nebula, Sh2-101, is at upper right. Two obvious star clusters flank the scene: NGC 7209 in the lower left corner, and NGC 6940 in the lower right corner. The dark nebula Le Gentil 3, aka the Funnel Cloud Nebula, is at upper left. The dark Northern Coal Sack area is at centre. At top is the colourful "Patriotic Triple" stars of Omicron 1 and 2 Cygni. This is a stack of 8 x 4-minute exposures with the Canon RF28-70mm lens at 70mm and f/2.8, on the Canon EOS Ra camera at ISO 1600. The lens was equipped with the 95mm URTH Night light pollution rejecton filter to help enhance the nebulosity. I shot this from home August 5, 2022 on a very fine dark transparent night with the field straight overhead. The camera was on the Star Adventurer Mini tracker. I rejected about half the frames and used only the best 8 that had no trailing. That was enough to average our the satellites that appeared on some frames. All stacking and processing done in Photoshop. Curves and color grading applied in part using luminosity masks generated with TK8 Actions and Lumenzia. A mild Orton glow effect added with Luminar AI.

Cygnus and Cepheus Nebulosity and Starclouds

A framing of the major areas of bright and dark nebulosity in Cygnus and Cepheus, showing pink emission nebulas contrasting with dark dusty regions in the Cygnus and into the Perseus arms of the Milky Way. Cepheus is at upper left; northern Cygnus is at right, with the bright Cygnus starcloud right of centre. The reddening (or yellowing) effects of interstellar dust in the spiral arms of the Milky Way is apparent. The bright blue star Deneb is left of centre. Just below it and at centre is the North America Nebula, NGC 7000, and its adjacent companion Pelican Nebula, IC 5070. The Gamma Cygni nebulosity complex, IC 1318, is right of centre. The dark Funnel Cloud Nebula in northern Cygnus is at centre. The Veil Nebula supernova remnant, NGC 6960 and 6992-5, is at lower right. The small Cocoon Nebula, IC 5146, is below and left of centre. The Elephant Trunk Nebula, IC 1396, with the adjacent orange "Garnet Star" (aka Mu Cephei) in Cepheus is at upper left. The area is dotted with other smaller emission nebulas in southern Cepheus. This is a blend of: 14 x 4-minute exposures with the Canon RF28-70mm lens at 43mm and f/2.8 and with the camera at ISO 1600 -- blended with 14 x 4-minute exposures at ISO 3200 with the lens at f/2, with the set taken just prior with the Moon still up, but with an Astronomik 12nm H-Alpha clip-in filter in place, to pick up just the red H-Alpha nebulosity. The camera was the red-sensitive Canon EOS Ra. For the normal "non-H-Alpha" images, the lens was equipped with the 95mm URTH Night light pollution rejecton filter to help enhance the nebulosity even in the broadband images. The H-Alpha set brought out the faintest areas of nebulosity. I shot this from home August 5, 2022 on a very fine dark transparent night with the field straight overhead. The camera was on the Star Adventurer Mini tracker. All stacking, alignment, blending and processing done in Photoshop. The H-Alpha set was processed to be monochrome but was blended into the colour stack using a Lighten mode and colorized pinky red with a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. Curves and color grading applied to both sets in part using luminosity masks generated with TK8 Actions and Lumenzia. A mild Orton glow effect added with Luminar AI.

A Grand Display of Noctilucent Clouds

A superb and extensive display of noctilucent clouds at dawn on July 16, 2022, with the clouds reaching up to the zenith as the sky brightened. Capella is the star right of centre; Venus is rising at lower right. This is looking northeast to the dawn twilight. Taken from home in southern Alberta, in a single 3.2-second exposure at f/4 with the RF15-35mm lens at 15mm and Canon Ra at ISO 100.

Panorama of a Grand Display of Noctilucent Clouds

A superb and extensive "grand display" of noctilucent clouds at dawn on July 16, 2022, with the clouds eventually reaching up to the zenith as the sky brightened. Many ripples and wave structures are visible in the clouds. Capella is the star right of top centre; Venus is rising at lower right; Mars is at upper right. This is looking northeast to the dawn twilight. Taken from home from southern Alberta, at about 4:20 am July 16, 2022, in a panorama of 7 segments, each 1.3-second exposures at f/2.8 with the RF28-70mm lens at 28mm and Canon R5 at ISO 100. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. The original is 19,500 pixels wide.

Noctilucent Cloud Arc over Canola Field (Later Panorama)

A panorama of an arc of noctilucent clouds over a ripening field of yellow canola, on July 14, 2022 from southern Alberta near Hussar. This was about 11:35 pm MDT with the NLCs beginning to diminish in height. The top edge is showing a red rim from red light from the setting sun illuminating the edge of the clouds at their great height, some 80 km up. The waxing gibbous Moon was rising in the southeast opposite this view but was providing only slight warm illumination. The ground is illuminated mostly by twilight, and I have brightened it to bring out the canola colours and the colour contrast between earth and sky, and to compress the naturally high dynamic range in the scene. There is a panorama version of this scene taken 15 minutes earlier showing the NLCs with a greater vertical height set into a brighter sky. Capella is the bright star at right of centre. This is a panorama cropped from 9 segments, each 25 second at f/5.6 with the Canon RF24-105mm lens at 56mm, and Canon R5 at ISO 400. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Noctilucent Cloud Arc over Canola Field (Early Panorama)

A panorama of an arc of noctilucent clouds over a ripening field of yellow canola, on July 14, 2022 from southern Alberta near Hussar. This was about 11:20 pm MDT with the NLCs near their peak. They reached a little higher when they first appeared a few minutes earlier in the brighter sky, but capturing them is always a balance between getting them at their maximum height vs. the darkness of the sky background to make the fainter structures stand out. The foreground is illuminated mostly by twilight, and I have brightened it to bring out the canola colours and the colour contrast between earth and sky, and to compress the naturally high dynamic range in the scene. Capella is the bright star at right of centre. This is a panorama cropped from 10 segments, each 10 second at f/4 with the Canon RF24-105mm lens at 56mm, and Canon R5 at ISO 200. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Badlands by Super Moonlight

Badlands formations in Dinosaur Provincial Park lit by the light from the July 2022 "supermoon" Full Moon off frame at right and behind the hill, on a very clear night. The stars of the northern sky are set in a deep blue sky. Arcturus is at far left; the Big Dipper is at left (distorted somewhat by the panorama projection); Polaris is left of centre at top; Cassiopeia is right of center; Andromeda and Pegasus are below the W of Cassiopeia, and at far right is the star Altair. The Full Moon was low in the sky to the south and so its light was "warm" in tone and subdued somewhat, allowing the stars to show up better than had it been a high Full Moon, as in winter. And it tints the sky blue, providing a nice contrast with the warm earth tones of the ground. This is a panorama cropped from 9 segments, each 20 seconds untracked, with the Canon RF15-35mm lens at 16mm and f/4, and Canon Ra at ISO 400, in landscape orientation. Stitched n Adobe Camera Raw. A mild Pro Contrast effect added to the ground with Nik Collection Color EFX and a mild Orton glow added to the sky with Luminar AI. The original is 14,000 pixels wide.

Autumn Constellations Rising in Super Moonlight

The northern autumn constellations rising on a moonlit summer night over the badlands formations at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, on July 12, 2022, just before local midnight. The image frames the stars of Cassiopeia (upper left), Perseus (at left), Andromeda (centre) and Pegasus (partly cut off at right). Light from the almost Full Moon, a supermoon this night and low in the south, illuminates the sky blue and foreground a warm colour. The Andromeda Galaxy is just visible in the bright sky at centre. This is a blend of a single 20-second untracked exposure for the sky with a stack of 4 x 20-second exposures for the ground, all with the Canon RF15-35mm lens at 23mm and f/4 and Canon Ra at ISO 400. A mild Pro Contrast filter applied to the ground with Nik Collection Color EFX.

Super Moonrise in the Arc of Earth's Shadow

The rising "supermoon" of July 12, 2022 embedded in the blue arc of Earth's shadow, rimmed by the pink Belt of Venus band of twilight colours, all over the badlands formations of Dinosaur Provincial Park on the Red Deer River in Alberta, Canada. The blue arc is the shadow of the Earth cast onto the atmosphere opposite the sunset point. The pink Belt of Venus is from red sunlight still illuminating the upper atmosphere, an effect that lasts only a few minutes at sunset or sunrise, and requires a very clear sky to show up, as it was this night. I shot this from the upper viewpoint at the Park entrance. You might think the Moon is rising over an Earthly "moonscape," but not so, as there is nothing like this landscape on the Moon. The Badlands here were formed by sedimentary rocks laid down in oceans and eroded by glacial runoff of water. None of that happened on the waterless Moon, where the landscape was formed by the flow of lava and the impact of asteroids. This was the evening before the official date of Full Moon, but the timing of the moonrise and placement of the Moon well below the ecliptic meant it rose on July 12 almost at sunset with the sky still well-tinted with twilight, rather than the Moon rising into a dark sky with too great a contrast to shoot, as it did the next night, July 13 when it was the official date of the Full Moon. This is a panorama of 11 segments, with the Canon RF70-200mm lens at 87mm and f/4, and Canon R5 at ISO 100. The original is a massive 48,900 pixels wide, so there is a lot of detail! Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Super Mooonrise over the Badlands

The rising "supermoon" of July 12, 2022 embedded in the blue arc of Earth's shadow, rimmed by the pink Belt of Venus band of twilight colours, all over the badlands formations of Dinosaur Provincial Park on the Red Deer River in Alberta, Canada. The blue band on the horizon is the shadow of the Earth cast onto the atmosphere opposite the sunset point. The pink Belt of Venus above the shadow is from red sunlight still illuminating the upper atmosphere, an effect that lasts only a few minutes at sunset or sunrise, and requires a very clear sky to show up, as it was this night. I shot this from the upper viewpoint at the Park entrance. You might think the Moon is rising over an Earthly "moonscape," but not so, as there is nothing like this landscape on the Moon. The Badlands here were formed by sedimentary rocks laid down in oceans and eroded by glacial runoff of water. None of that happened on the waterless Moon, where the landscape was formed by the flow of lava and the impact of asteroids. This was the evening before the official date of Full Moon, but the timing of the moonrise and placement of the Moon well below the ecliptic meant it rose on July 12 almost at sunset with the sky still well-tinted with twilight, rather than the Moon rising into a dark sky with too great a contrast to shoot, as it did the next night, July 13, when it was the official date of the Full Moon. This is a single image, with the Canon RF70-200mm lens at 200mm and f/4, and Canon R5 at ISO 100. There are also panorama versions of this scene.

Aurora at Lone Tree Hill

A subtle and pastel aurora borealis (Northern Lights) in the northeast, above a prairie meadow at "Lone Tree Hill". The foreground and sky are lit by a bright waxing gibbous Moon, a day before Full, shining in the south. This was just after midnight on July 11/12, 2022. The auroral curtains exhibit the usual green band and rays, though with shades of green visible, perhaps from hydrogen-beta proton emission as well as oxygen electron emission, but also upper altitude reds and purples and a faint blue tint at the very tops where the aurora is lit by the Sun. The aurora was never bright this night (Kp Index was 3 or 4 at best) and even this level of intensity lasted only a couple of minutes. The stars of Perseus and Andromeda are framed here in the northeast. This is a single untracked exposure of 20 seconds, with the RF28-70mm lens at 35mm and f/4, and with the Canon R5 at ISO 800. Taken from near home in southern Alberta, Canada, latitude 51° N. Wind this night kept the mosquitoes off but did blur the foreground flowers. A mild Orton effect added selectively to the scene with Luminar AI.

Auroral Arc in the Moonlight

An arc of modest aurora borealis (Northern Lights) across the northern horizon, above a prairie meadow in the light of a bright waxing gibbous Moon, a day before Full. This was just after midnight on July 11/12, 2022 when the sky was also still lit by summer twilight colours, and with a weak display of noctilucent clouds also visible low in the northwest at left. The auroral curtains exhibit the usual green band and rays, but also upper altitude reds and purples and a faint blue tint at the very tops where the aurora is lit by the Sun. The aurora was never bright this night (Kp Index was 3 or 4 at best) and even this level of intensity lasted only a couple of minutes, just enough time to shoot the panorama segments. The stars of Perseus and Andromeda are at right rising in the northeast; some stars of Ursa Major are at left in the northwest. Capella in Auriga shines at centre almost due north. This is a panorama of 6 segments, each 20 seconds, with the RF28-70mm lens at 35mm and f/4, and with the Canon R5 at ISO 800. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. Taken from near home in southern Alberta, Canada, latitude 51° N. Wind this night kept the mosquitoes off but did blur the foreground flowers. A mild Orton effect added to the entire scene with Luminar AI.

Noctilucent Clouds Over Canola Field (July 10, 2022)

A panorama of noctilucent clouds to the northwest near midnight on the evening of July 10-11, 2022, over a ripening field of yellow canola in southern Alberta, Canada. This was later in the display when the NLCs had faded somewhat, but the sky colours were still prominent. Foreground illumination is from the bright waxing gibbous Moon to the south, making for a nice contrast of colours between earth and sky. Capella is the bright star at far right to the north. The bright blue-white NLCs at high altitude in our atmosphere near the edge of space also contrast with the dark and low tropospheric weather clouds seen in silhouette. As a bonus — can you spot the deer? It posed for a while during one of the long exposures. This is a crop from 9 segments with the RF24-105mm lens at 105mm and f/4, and Canon R5 at ISO 800, and all 10 seconds. The original cropped panorama is 32,500 pixels wide. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. Shot from near home in Alberta.

Noctilucent Clouds Over Hill and Road (July 10, 2022)

A panorama of noctilucent clouds to the northwest just before midnight on the evening of July 10-11, 2022, over a hill and red farm road in southern Alberta, Canada. Foreground illumination is from the bright waxing gibbous Moon to the south, making for a nice contrast of colours between earth and sky. Capella is the bright star at right to the north down the farm road. At far right are the stars of Perseus in the northeast. This is an uncropped panorama from 9 segments with the RF24-105mm lens at 105mm and f/4, and Canon R5 at ISO 400, and all 10 seconds. The original panorama is 24,200 pixels wide. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. Shot from near home in Alberta.

Autumn Constellations Over Moonlit Hoodoos

The northern autumn constellations of Pegasus (partially seen at right), Andromeda (across the centre), Perseus (at lower left) and Cassiopeia (at upper left) rising over moonlit formations at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. Illumination is from the waxing gibbous Moon, setting in the southwest so it is providing a warm "bronze-hour" light. The Andromeda Galaxy, M31, is at centre. The star clusters NGC 752, M34 and the Double Cluster are at left, as well as the Perseus OB Association of stars. Some of the small star clusters in Cassiopeia are resolved as well. Some green bands of airglow also tint the sky, otherwise lit blue by the moonlight. The scene provides a nice contrast of warm earth and cool sky tones. Taken July 8, 2022, this is a blend of tracked (for the sky) and untracked (for the ground) exposures — a stack of 2 for the ground but only one for the sky: 2 minutes at f/5.6 and ISO 800 for the ground and 1 minute at f/2.8 and ISO 400 for the sky, all with the RF28-70mm lens at 28mm and Canon R5. A mild Pro Contrast effect filter added to the ground with Nik Collection 5 and a mild Orton glow added to the sky with Luminar AI. The tracker was the Star Adventurer Mini. Noise reduction applied to the single sky image using RC-Astro Noise XTerminator. I didn't take any more sky shots as the Moon was fast setting and disappearing into clouds, so the light for the ground shots taken after the sky shot would be going away soon. Plus clouds were moving into the frame. The mosquitoes enjoyed my presence here this warm July night!

Big Dipper Over Moonlit Hoodoos

The Big Dipper and Ursa Major over moonlit formations at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. Illumination is from the waxing gibbous Moon, setting in the southwest so it is providing a warm "bronze-hour" light. The scene provides a nice contrast of warm earth and cool sky tones. Taken July 8, 2022, this is a blend of tracked (for the sky) and untracked (for the ground) exposures — a stack of 2 for the ground and 2 for the sky: 2 minutes at f/5.6 and ISO 800 for the ground and 1 minute at f/2.8 and ISO 400 for the sky, all with the RF28-70mm lens at 28mm and Canon R5. A mild Pro Contrast effect filter added to the ground with Nik Collection 5 and a mild Orton glow added to the sky with Luminar AI. The tracker was the Star Adventurer Mini. The mosquitoes enjoyed my presence here this warm July night!

Andromeda Galaxy Over Moonlit Hoodoos

The Andromeda Galaxy (aka Messier 31) and the stars of Andromeda rising over moonlit formations at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. Illumination is from the waxing gibbous Moon, low in the southwest so it is providing a warm light. This is an example of a "deepscape" - a nightcape with a telephoto lens to also record a deep-sky object in the frame above the horizon. However, moonlight prevents the galaxy from showing up as well as it would in a dark sky. The sedimentary formations here are from the late Cretaceous, about 70 million years old, while the light from the Andromeda Galaxy is about 2.5 million years old, though the galaxy itself is much older — billions of years old, older than the Earth and Sun. The scene provides a nice contrast of warm earth and cool sky tones. Taken July 8, 2022, this is a blend of tracked (for the sky) and untracked (for the ground) exposures — a stack of 2 for the ground and 5 for the sky, all 1 minute at f/4 and ISO 400 with the RF28-70mm lens at 70mm and Canon R5. The blend of sky exposures blurred the moving clouds framing the galaxy. I added a mild Pro Contrast effect filter to the ground with Nik Collection 5, and added sharpening to the ground with Topaz Sharpen AI. The tracker was the Star Adventurer Mini.

Andromeda Rising Over Moonlit Hoodoos

The constellation of Andromeda, with Cassiopeia at upper left, and Pegasus at right, rising over moonlit formations at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. Illumination is from the waxing gibbous Moon, low in the southwest so it is providing a warm light. The faint (in the moonlit sky) fuzzy patch of the Andromeda Galaxy, Messier 31, is visible at centre. The scene provides a nice contrast of warm earth and cool sky tones. Taken July 8, 2022, this is a blend of tracked (for the sky) and untracked (for the ground) exposures — a stack of 3 for the ground and 2 for the sky, all 1 minute at f/4 and ISO 400 with the RF28-70mm lens at 28mm and Canon R5. A mild Pro Contrast effect filter added to the ground with Nik Collection 5 and a mild Orton glow added to the sky with Luminar AI. The tracker was the Star Adventurer Mini. The mosquitoes enjoyed my presence here this warm July night!

Noctilucent Clouds Over Prairie Field - Wide-Angle View (July 7, 2022)

A panorama of a fairly bright display of noctilucent clouds to the northwest early in the evening on July 7, 2022. Even so, this was about 11:50 pm MDT. The bright NLCs contrast with the dark silhouettes of the closer and lower tropospheric clouds. A gibbous Moon lights the foreground. This is a 3-segment panorama with the RF24-105mm lens at 43mm and f/4, and Canon R5 at ISO 400. All 15-second exposures. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. There is a version of this shot earlier with the lens at 76mm for a more close-up view but with a wider horizontal coverage with more segments.

Noctilucent Clouds Over Prairie Field (July 7, 2022)

A panorama of a fairly bright display of noctilucent clouds to the northwest early in the evening on July 7, 2022. Even so, this was about 11:45 pm MDT. Capella is the bright star due north down the north-south range road at right. The bright NLCs contrast with the dark silhouettes of the closer and lower tropospheric clouds. A gibbous Moon lights the foreground. This is a crop from a 10-segment panorama with the RF24-105mm lens at 76mm and f/4, and Canon R5 at ISO 400. All 15-second exposures. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. There is a version of this shot a little later but with the lens zoomed out to 43mm for a wider view vertically, but not as wide horizontally.