A lone observer gazes skyward at the start of a wonderful aurora display on March 6, 2016, as the curtains begin to appear and dance in the deep blue twilight. This was at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, Churchill, Manitoba.
Orion rising behind the iconic Hoodoos on Highway 10 east of Drumheller, Alberta, near East Coulee, on a moonless January night, with illumination by starlight and by a nearby yardlight providing some shadows and warmer illumination. Clouds are beginning to move in and are providing the natural star glows. This is a stack of 10 x 10-second exposures for the ground, mean combined to smooth noise, plus one 10-second exposure for the sky to minimize trailing. All at f/2.8 with the 24mm Sigma Art lens and Nikon D750 at ISO 3200. Taken January 10, 2016.
A horizon to past-the-zenith mosaic and panorama of the northern autumn sky and the related Greek mythological constellations: from the watery constellations of Aquarius, Pisces, and Cetus at the bottom near the horizon, up to Pegasus and Aries in mid-frame, on up to Andromeda and Pegasus at upper left, and Cassiopeia and Cepheus at top of frame in the Milky Way overhead. The Andromeda Galaxy is just above centre. Most of these constellations are related in Greek mythology, with Andromeda being the daughter of Cassiopeia and Cepheus, who was rescued from the jaws of Cetus the Sea Monster by Perseus, who rode on Pegasus in some accounts. Zodiacal Light brightens the sky at bottom right in Aquarius, and angles across the frame to the left. I shot this from home on a very clear night January 2, 2016 with the Zodiacal Light plainly visible to the naked eye. This is a mosaic of 5 panels, each a stack of 5 x 2 minute exposures, plus each panel having another stack of 2 x 2 minute exposures blended in, and taken through the Kenko Softon filter to add the fuzzy star glows to make the constellations stand out. All were shot with the 24mm Canon lens at f/2.8 and Canon 5DMkII at ISO 1600. All tracked on the AP Mach One mount. All stacking and stitching in Photoshop CC 2015. Final image size is 8500 x 5500 pixels and 3.6 gigabytes for the layered master.
