Nebulas and Clusters in Gemini and Orion Mosaic

This is a two-panel mosaic of nebulas and clusters in southern Gemini and northern Orion. The Messier 35 star cluster is at top accompanied by the smaller cluster NGC 2158. At left near the orange star Eta Geminorum is the crescent-shaped Jellyfish Nebula, IC 443, a supernova remnant. The fainter, diffuse nebula at far left is IC 444. At bottom and over the border in Orion is the Monkeyhead Nebula, NGC 2174. The little round nebula above NGC 2174 is Sharpless 2-247. This is a mosaic of two segments for the northern and southern halves of the scene, with each half being a stack of 6 x 8-minute exposures at ISO 800 with no filter, plus a stack layered in of 6 x 8-minute exposures at ISO 3200 with an Optolong L-Enhance filter to bring out the faint red nebulosity. So this is a stack and blend of a total of 24 exposures. Alll were with the Canon EOS Ra camera on the SharpStar HNT150 Hyperbolic Newtonian astrograph at f/2.8.

The Orion and Running Man Nebulas

The Orion Nebula, aka Messier 42, at centre, with the blue Running Man Nebula (NGC 1973-5-7) above it. The smaller nebula attached to the top edge of M42 is M43. The blue star cluster at top above the Running Man is NGC 1981; the loose star cluster below M42 is NGC 1980. This is a stack of 8 x 5-minute exposures with the Canon EOS Ra mirrorless camera at ISO 800 unfiltered, blended with a stack of 6 x 8-minute exposures at ISO 1600 but through the dual-band Optolong L-Enhance filter that records the faint red nebulosity very well. Blending and masking the filtered with the unfiltered shots allows the faint red nebulosity to come through while retaining the blues, magentas and even subtle greens of the bright nebulosity and the blue of the hot stars as recorded by the “white-light” images. These two sets of long exposures are blended using luminosity masks with a set of 6 x 60-second exposures and 4 x 30-second exposures, both at ISO 400, for recording the bright core of M42 with its Trapezium stars that would otherwise be overexposed into a bright mass with only long exposures. The short exposures were all unfiltered. I applied a high-pass sharpening filter to snap up contrast in the dark lanes. All were through the SharpStar HNT150 Hyperbolic Newtonian Astrograph at its native fast focal ratio of f/2.8. for a focal length of 420mm. Taken from home January 28, 2020. All stacked, aligned and blended in Photoshop 2020. PS’s Auto-Align function aligned all 24 images in one fell swoop in less than a minute.

The Horsehead Nebula and Orion's Belt

This is the Belt of Orion with its three blue stars across the top of the frame (L to R: Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka), with the iconic Horsehead Nebula (aka B33) below Alnitak, with the dark Horsehead set against the bright nebula IC 434, aka Orion’s Dagger. The pinkish nebula above Alnitak is NGC 2024, the Flame Nebula. The small blue reflection nebula left of the Horsehead is NGC 2023, with smaller IC 435 to the left of it. The field is filled with the large open cluster Collinder 70. The multiple star at bottom left of centre is Sigma Orionis. Many other smaller bits of reflection nebulas populate the field in and around the Belt. This is a blend of 8 x 5-minute exposures at ISO 800 unfiltered with 6 x 10-minute exposures at ISO 1600 shot through an Optolong L-Enhance dual-band nebula enhancement filter (it lets through only Oxygen III blue-green and Hydrogen-alpha red to really enhance the nebulosity). The filtered shot is blended in with the unfiltered shot to retain the best of both worlds: the rich reds captured by the filtered images without losing the range of colours in the other nebulas such as the salmon pinks of the Flame and the blue reflection nebulas and stars. All exposures with the Canon EOS Ra mirrorless camera through the SharpStar HNT150 Hyperbolic Newtonian Astrograph at f/2.8, from home on a very clear moonless night January 27, 2020. All stacked, aligned and blended in Photoshop 2020.

The Cone Nebula and Christmas Tree Cluster of Monoceros

This is the nebula rich region in the constellation of Monoceros the Unicorn with the dark Cone Nebula (left of centre) and the small V-shaped and bright Hubble’s Variable Nebula at bottom, a reflection nebula that varies in form and brightness. Above the Cone Nebula is the triangular Christmas Tree Cluster, NGC 2264, here upside down as the bright blue star 15 Mon is the base of the tree. The large region of nebulosity is Sharpless 2-273. The V-shaped dark nebula above centre is LDN 1603. Near 15 Mon is a blue reflection nebula. Another blue reflection nebula IC 2169 and associated star cluster Collinder 95 is at left — I framed the field to contain this nebula. Other bits of reflection nebulosity surround it - clockwise: NGC 2245, NGC 2247 and IC 446 above the main nebula. The rich faint cluster near centre is Trumpler 5. This is a blend of 8 x 5-minute exposures at ISO 800 unfiltered with 6 x 8-minute exposures at ISO 1600 shot through an Optolong L-Enhance dual-band nebula enhancement filter (it lets through only Oxygen III blue-green and Hydrogen-alpha red to really enhance the nebulosity). All exposures with the Canon EOS Ra mirrorless camera through the SharpStar HNT150 Hyperbolic Newtonian Astrograph at f/2.8, from home on a very clear moonless night January 26, 2020. All stacked, aligned and blended in Photoshop 2020.

Messier 38 and the Flaming Star Nebula in Auriga

This is the rich region in the centre of the constellation of Auriga with the Flaming Star Nebula, IC 405 at right, and the roundish IC 410 at bottom with the cluster NGC 1893. At top left is the star cluster Messier 38, with small NGC 1907 below it. The small nebula at left is IC 417 around the loose cluster Stock 8. The large elongated nebula at top is Sharpless 2-230. The colourful asterism of stars between IC 405 and IC 410 is the Leaping Minnow or Little Fish, aka Mel 31. This is a blend of 8 x 4-minute exposures at ISO 800 unfiltered with 8 x 8-minute exposures at ISO 2000 shot through an Optolong L-Enhance dual-band nebula enhancement filter (it lets through only Oxygen III blue-green and Hydrogen-alpha red to really enhance the nebulosity). Blending the exposures adds the extensive red nebulosity recorded by the filtered images without turning the whole field — and stars — red and losing the blue reflection nebulas and subtle colour variations even in the red Ha nebulas. All exposures with the Canon EOS Ra mirrorless camera through the SharpStar HNT150 Hyperbolic Newtonian Astrograph at f/2.8, from home on a very clear moonless night January 24, 2020. All stacked, aligned and blended in Photoshop 2020. High pass sharpening applied as well as a very selective use of frequency separation sharpening with WOW Freq Equalizer extension.

Star Clusters and Nebulas in Auriga

A collection of bright star clusters and colourful nebulas in central Auriga. Messier 36, aka the Pinwheel Cluster, is at far left. Messier 38, aka the Starfish Cluster, is at top left, with the small cluster NGC 1907 below it. The large nebula at right is IC 405, the Flaming Star Nebula surrounding and extending from the star AE Aurigae. The part of the nebula around the star is blue reflection nebulosity. The large nebula at bottom is IC 410 surrounding a loose star cluster NGC 1893. The small nebula left of centre is IC 417. The smaller nebula between IC 417 and Messier 36 is NGC 1931. The colourful group of stars between IC 405 and 410 at right is the Little Fish asterism. This is a stack of 8 x 8-minute exposures through the Borg 77mm f/4 astrograph and with the Canon EOS Ra red-sensitive mirrorless camera, at ISO 800. Stacked, aligned and processed in Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop 2020. No nebula or light pollution reduction filter was employed in taking the images. I shot this from home November 25, 2019 on a very fine if frosty autumn night. The Dew Destroyer heater coil from David Lane wrapped around the front objective nicely kept off the frost. As the temperature was -10° C, I did not employ Long Exposure Noise Reduction or take and apply dark frames.

Clusters and Nebulas on the Cassiopeia-Cepheus Border

A collection of bright star clusters and colourful nebulas on the border of Cassiopeia and Cepheus. The prominent star cluster at left is Messier 52. The emission nebula to the lower right of it is NGC 7635, aka the Bubble Nebula; above and to the right of it is the small but intense nebula NGC 7538. At upper right of the frame is Sharpless 2-155, aka the Cave Nebula. The diffuse nebula at bottom is Sharpless 2-157, aka the Lobster Claw Nebula, with the small star cluster NGC 7510 near the end of one of its claws. The small star cluster at lower right made yellow by interstellar dust absorption is NGC 7419. This is a stack of 8 x 8-minute exposures through the Borg 77mm f/4 astrograph and with the Canon EOS Ra red-sensitive mirrorless camera, at ISO 800. Stacked, aligned and processed in Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop 2020. No nebula or light pollution reduction filter was employed in taking the images. I shot this from home November 25, 2019 on a very fine if frosty autumn night. No special star masks were employed in processing to enhance star colours or process them separately.

Aurora Panorama from ms Trollfjord

A 180° panorama from the deck of the Hurtigruten ship the ms Trollfjord, looking northward toward the Northern Lights, as friends Dave and Christine at right gaze at the aurora. This was October 19, 2019, southbound from the coast of Norway north of Tromsø and south of Skjervøy. The Kp Index was 1 to 2 this night. The waning gibbous Moon is low in the southeast at right, lighting the seascape. The Big Dipper and due north is at centre. West is to the left; east to the right. This is a 9-segment panorama with the 15mm lens at f/2 and Sony a7III at ISO 6400 for 0.6 second each and stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Aurora over Cameron River with Autumn Colours

The Northern Lights in an arc across the northern sky over the Cameron River, downriver from the Ramparts Falls. This was September 8, 2019 with the trees turning in their fall colours. The Big Dipper at top centre. This is a two-segment panorama, each 25 seconds at f/2 with the Laowa 15mm lens and Sony a7III at ISO 800. Stitched with ACR.

Panorama of the Aurora Dancing over Yellowknife

This is a 300° panorama of the Northern Lights over Yellowknife, NWT on the night of Sept 6-7, 2019, during a sub-storm outbreak at 12:45 a.m. when the sky went wild with aurora. There were curtains and rays everywhere. The display soon subsided into a general wash over the sky. This is from Pilot’s Monument lookout in Old Town. South is left of centre; East is at far left; West is right of centre, and North is at far right, with the Big Dipper visible. Taurus and the Pleiades are rising at far left. This is a 9-segment panorama with the 15mm Laowa lens at f/2 and Sony a7III at ISO 800, for 10 seconds each. LENR employed in camera. Stitched with ACR.

Aurora Panorama from Grasslands (Aug 26, 2019)

A panorama of the arc of Northern Lights seen August 26, 2019 about 11:30 p.m. CST from Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan, from the Two Trees Road. This is looking northeast. The Big Dipper is at far left. Capella is the bright star above the arc, while Perseus is at upper right. The Pleiades are rising at right, above the silhouette of 70 Mile Butte. This was a diffuse grey arc to the eye but the camera picks up the green and red colours from the oxygen emission lines. This is a 5-segment panorama with the 24mm Sigma Art lens at f/2 and Nikon D750 at ISO 3200 for 20 seconds each. Stitched with Photoshop.

Winter Sky Setting at Dinosaur Park Panorama

A wide panorama of Orion and the winter stars setting on a spring evening at Dinosaur Provincial Park, with the Zodiacal Light rising out of the twilight and distant yellow sky glow to the west at centre. Sirius is at left to the southwest, with Orion setting behind the badlands hill, while the Pleiades is in the Zodiacal Light band at centre, with Mars just below the Pleiades. Perseus, Cassiopeia, and the Andromeda Galaxy are setting at right in the northwest. High haze and aircraft contrails (one at centre) add the natural star glows. The lingering twilight adds the sky colour. This is a 240° panorama stitched from 17 segments, all with the 24mm Sigma Art lens and Nikon D750 in portrait orientation, each segment 20 seconds at f/1.4 and ISO 3200. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. A mild Orton glow effect was added to the landscape with Luminar 3 plugin.

Orion Setting over Victoria Glacier

Orion setting over the iconic Victoria Glacier at Lake Louise, frozen here in March, and with the scene lit by the light of the waxing Moon. I shot this during the few minutes when the star Sirius had just appeared from behind Mount Fairview at left, and just moments before the star Rigel in Orion set behind Mount Victoria. The Hyades and Pleiades in Taurus are at right over Mt. St. Piran and the Beehive. I was several hundred metres out from shore on the frozen lake. This was March 19, 2019. This is a panorama of 3 segments stitched with Adobe Camera Raw, each segment 8 seconds at f/3.5 with the Sigma 24mm Art lens and Nikon D750 at ISO 800. Minor adjustments of tonal balance applied with luminosity masks from Lumenzia.

Lake Louise Panorama by Winter Moonlight

A panorama of Lake Louise in winter, in Banff National Park, Alberta, taken under the light of the waxing gibbous Moon, off frame here to the left. Orion and the winter stars are perfectly placed setting over Victoria Glacier at the end of the frozen lake to the southwest on the Continentral Divide. I was standing on the lake to shoot this, about 300 metres out from shore. Procyon is at left above Mt. Fairview; Aldebaran the Pleiades are at right over Mt. St. Piran and the Beehive. Perseus and Cassiopeia are at far right to the northwest. Cancer (with the Beehive star cluster) and the stars of Hydra are at far right to the south. So there are beehives on either side of the scene! This was March 19, 2019 and such a scene with this illumination and sky is possible only at a waxing gibbous Moon in March, so getting skies as clear as this on the right couple of nights is not common! I waited 30 years to re-capture this scene which I first shot in the later 1980s on 35mm and 6x7 film. But with digital it is now easy to shoot and assemble panoramas. This is a crop from the original 16-segment panorama, each segment with the 24mm Sigma Art lens and Nikon D750, oriented “portrait” fashion and turned at 15° increments for lots of overlap between segments. Each segment was 8 seconds at f/3.2 and ISO 800. Stitching was with Adobe Camera Raw. The sky gradient is natural — it is brighter to the left toward the Moon and to the right at the point opposite the Moon. It is darker at higher altitude toward the top of the frame. I have not added in an artificial gradient filter.

Orion Setting in the Moonlight at Vermilion Lakes

The winter stars of Orion (centre), Canis Major (left) and Taurus (right) setting at Vermilion Lakes in Banff National Park, on March 18, 2019. Illumination is from moonlight from the waxing gibbous Moon off frame to the left. Sirius and the stars of Orion are reflected in the nearby open water. This is a panorama cropped from a set of 11 images, all with the 24mm Sigma Art lens at f/3.2 for 10 seconds each and the Nikon D750 at ISO 800, in portrait orientation. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. I applied an Orton glow effect to the landscape using Luminar.

Parks Canada Red Chairs under the Winter Sky at Two Jack Lake

These are the iconic red chairs of Parks Canada, here at frozen Two Jack Lake, Banff National Park, and under the moonlit winter sky, with Orion and Canis Major over Mount Rundle to the south. Sirius is the bright star over Rundle. This was March 18, 2019, with the scene illuminated by the gibbous Moon just at the frame edge here. This is a panorama of 11-segments, each 10 seconds at f/4 with the Sigma 24mm Art lens and Nikon D750 at ISO 800. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. I added an Orton glow effect with Luminar 3. The chairs, being in shadow, I light painted briefly with a white LED light.

The Wonders of the Waxing Moon

A collage of images of the waxing Moon, taken each night over 5 consecutive nights, from a slightly less than 7-day-old first quarter Moon on March 13, 2019, at right, to an 11-day-old gibbous Moon on March 17, 2019, at far left. Yes, I know the sequence isn’t going in chronological order from left to right, as might be the convention, but rather from right to left. That’s because I have placed the moon disks to reflect the Moon’s orbital motion across the sky, from west to east, or right to left as it waxes from crescent to quarter to gibbous. Each waxing phase appears a little farther to the left, east, in the sky each night. That’s the order that makes most sense to me. Each Moon image shows the full disk and extent of incredible detail along the terminator, the dividing line between the day and night sides of the Moon where the Sun is rising as seen from the surface of the Moon. Clouds earlier in the week prevented me from capturing the 2- to 6-day-old crescent Moons. Next month! I have boosted the colour saturation and contrast somewhat to bring out the colour differences of the lave flows between and among the lunar seas. TECHNICAL: Each Moon is mosaic of three to ten images, taken through a Celestron C9.25-inch SCT telescope but also with a Canon 1.4x telextender to increase the effective focal lengh even more to 3300mm at f/14. Each segment is a single exposure at ISO 100 to 250 of 1/20 to 1/80 second with the Sony a7III. Stitching was with Adobe Camera Raw using Perspective projection.

Eclipsed Moon Beside the Beehive

The Moon in mid-total eclipse, on January 20, 2019, with it shining beside the Beehive star cluster, Messier 44, in Cancer. This was the unique sight at this eclipse as it can happen only during total lunar eclipses that occur in late January. There was one on January 31, 2018 but the next will not be until 2037. This view tries to emulate the visual scene through binoculars, though the camera picks up more stars and makes the Moon more vivid than it appears to the eye. However, creating a view that looks even close to what the eye can see in this case takes a blend of exposures: a 1-minute exposure at ISO 800 and f/2.8 for the stars, which inevitably overexposes the Moon. So I’ve blended in three shorter exposures for the Moon, taken immediately after the long “star” exposure. These were 8, 4 and 2 seconds at ISO 400 and f/4, and all with the Canon 200mm telephoto on a Fornax Lightrack II tracking mount to follow the stars. At this eclipse the Moon passed across the northern half of the umbra, leaving the top of the Moon bright, even at mid-totality as it was here. These were taken from a site near Lloydminster, in Saskatchewan, where skies proved clear all night, better than the prospects back at home 500 km farther south in Alberta. It was worth the drive north the day before the eclipse.

Eclipsed Moon and Umbral Shadow

The Moon in total eclipse, on January 20, 2019, in a multiple exposure composite showing the Moon moving from right to left (west to east) through the Earth’s umbral shadow. The middle image is from just after mid-totality at about 10:21 pm MST, while the partial eclipse shadow ingress image set is from 9:15 pm and the partial eclipse shadow egress image set is from 11:15 pm. I added in two images at either end taken at the very start and end of the umbral eclipse to add a more complete sequence of the lunar motion. However, on those images the lunar disk is darkened mostly by the penumbra. All images are with the Canon 6D MkII on a Fornax Lightrack II tracking mount to follow the stars at the sidereal rate, to keep the stars fixed and let the Moon drift from right to left against the background stars. Thus, the Moon images are where they were in relation to the background stars and therefore show the Moon’s motion through the umbral shadow, with the shadow edge on the partially eclipsed Moons defining the shape of the large and circular umbral shadow of the Earth, approximately three times bigger than the Moon. At this eclipse the Moon moved across the north edge of the umbral so we are seeing the top of the shadow circle drawn here in the sky. At this eclipse the Moon was also shining beside the Beehive star cluster, Messier 44, in Cancer. This was the unique sight at this eclipse as it can happen only during total lunar eclipses that occur in late January. There was one on January 31, 2018 but the next will not be until 2037. The central image of totality includes a 1-minute exposure at ISO 800 and f/2.8 for the stars, which inevitably overexposes the Moon. So I’ve blended in three shorter exposures for the Moon, taken immediately after the long “star” exposure. These were 8, 4 and 2 seconds at ISO 400 and f/4, and all with the Canon 200mm telephoto. The two partial eclipse phases are stacks of 7 exposures each, from very short for the bright portion of the lunar disk, to long for the shadowed portion. They are blended with luminosity masks created with ADP Pro v3 panel for Photoshop, but modified with feathering to blend the images smoothly. This sort of “HDR” blending is necessary to depict the eclipsed Moon as your eye saw it, as while the eye can encompass the great range of brightness across the eclipsed Moon’s disk the camera cannot. Even the totality image is a blend of exposures, as the top part of the Moon was quite bright at this eclipse due to the Moon’s path across the northern half of the umbra. The timing of the partial eclipse images about 1 hour before and 1 hour after the central image places the lunar disk against the stars so those disks don’t overlap. But …. ….The images aren’t quite symmetrical for shadow placement and phase, because as luck would have it, the drive of the Fornax tracker, which has a limited travel, decided to run out of travel right at mid-eclipse at 10:15. All is needed was another 10 minutes of travel, but no! This required resetting the drive, then reaiming and reframing the camera right at the worst time, and taking time. So the timing and orientation of the latter images were compromised, requiring a little fudging on my part to place the egress set. However, the overall placement of the Moon and shadow is close to reality and the composite serves to illustrate the concept. These were taken from a site near Lloydminster, in Saskatchewan, where skies proved clear all night, better than the prospects back at home 500 km farther south in Alberta. It was worth the drive north the day before the eclipse.

The Winter Sky and its Brightest Stars

A collage of the northern hemisphere winter sky, with a background mosaic of the sky, surrounded by telescopic close-ups of the brightest stars in that sky. The background mosaic is made of 8 segments, in two columns of 4 rows, with generous overlap. Each segment was made of 4 x 2.5-minute exposures stacked with mean combine stack mode to reduce noise, plus 2 x 2.5-minute exposures taken through the Kenko Softon filter layered in with Lighten belnd mode to add the star glows. Each segment was shot at f/2.8 with the original 35mm Canon L-series lens and the filter-modified (by Hutech) Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600, riding on the iOptron Sky-Tracker. All stacking and stitching in Photoshop CC 2015. The soft diffusion filter helps bring out the star colours in this area of sky rich in brilliant giant stars. I shot the segments on a very clear night on December 5, 2015 from the Quailway Cottage at Portal, Arizona. The close-ups are each stacks of 2-minute and 30-second exposures with a 130mm f/6 apo refractor and Canon 6D Mark II at ISO 800. taken November 19, 2018 from home. A waxing gibbous Moon provided the blue background sky.

Aurora over Houseboats on Yellowknife Bay

A curtain of aurora sweeps over the houseboats moored on Yellowknife Bay in Yellowknife, NWT, on September 11, 2018. The Pleiades and Hyades star clusters in Taurus are rising at left. This is a mean-combined stack of 8 images to smooth noise for the ground and water, and a single exposure for the sky and houseboats themselves (as they were moving slightly from exposure to exposure). Each was 13 seconds at f/2 with the Venus Optics 15mm lens and Sony a7III at ISO 3200.

Auroral Arc over Tibbitt Lake

A bright arc of aurora over the still waters of Tibbitt Lake, at the end of the Ingraham Trail all-weather road east of Yellowknife, NWT. This was the night of September 8/9, 2018 during a very fine display. Vega and Altair and the Milky Way are at left. The Big Dipper and Polaris are at right. This is a single exposure for the sky, and a mean-stacked blend of 5 exposures for the ground and water to smooth noise. All are 6 seconds at f/2.8 with the Rokinon 12mm full-frame fish-eye lens on the Nikon D750 at ISO 6400.