Atmospheric - Noctilucent Clouds
Panorama of Comet NEOWISE Over Prince of Wales Hotel (July 14, 2020)
A once-in-a-lifetime scene — A panorama of the dawn sky at 4 am on July 14, 2020 from Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada with Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) over the iconic Prince of Wales Hotel. Noctilucent clouds glow below the comet in the dawn twilight. Venus is rising right of centre paired with Aldebaran and the Hyades star cluster, while the Pleiades cluster shine above. The waning quarter Moon shines above the Vimy Peak at far right. The Big Dipper is partly visible above the mountain at far left. Capella and the stars of Auriga are at centre. This is an 8-segment panorama with the 35mm Canon lens at f/2.5 for 15 seconds each at ISO 100 with the Canon 6D MkII and stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
Comet NEOWISE and NLCs over Prince of Wales Hotel (July 14, 2020)
Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) with a small display of noctilucent clouds over Emerald Bay and the iconic Prince of Wales Hotel at Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, at dawn on July 14, 2020. This was from the new International Peace Park viewpoint near the marina. Capella is at upper right. This is a blend of a stack of four exposures for the ground and water to smooth noise, blended with a single short exposure for the sky, all 20 seconds at f/2.5 and ISO 400, plus an additional short 8 second exposure at ISO 100 blended in with a luminosity mask to reduce the intensity of just the hotel lights and prevent them from overexposing too much. All with the 35mm Canon lens and Canon 6D MkII camera. LENR employed on all shots to reduce thermal noise this warm summer night.
Comet NEOWISE over Red Deer River
Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) over the Red Deer River from Orkney Viewpoint north of Drumheller, Alberta, on the morning of July 11, 2020. The sky is brightening with dawn twilight and a small display of noctilucent clouds is on the horizon at right. The constellation of Auriga with the bright star Capella is at right. This is looking north toward the Bleriot Ferry terminal. Light from the waning gibbous Moon provides the illumination, plus twilight. Some ground fog lies in the valley below. This is a two-segment vertical panorama with the 35mm Canon lens at f/2.8 and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 200 for 13 seconds each. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw with Perspective geometry.
Comet NEOWISE over Red Deer River Panorama (July 11, 2020)
What a magical scene this was! This is Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) over the sweep of the Red Deer River and Badlands from Orkney Viewpoint north of Drumheller, Alberta, on the morning of July 11, 2020. The sky is brightening with dawn twilight and a small display of noctilucent clouds is on the horizon right of centre. Venus and and Pleiades are rising at right. Venus was close to the star Aldebaran and in the Hyades star cluster, both just visible right on the horizon. This is looking north toward the Bleriot Ferry terminal. Light from the waning gibbous Moon provides the illumination, plus twilight. This nicely shows the arch of the twilight colours. This is a 6-segment panorama with the 50mm Sigma lens at f/2.8 and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 400 for 13 seconds each. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. Topaz DeNoise AI and Sharpen AI applied.
Comet NEOWISE with NLCs Above Prairie Lake (July 10-11, 2020)
This is Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) over Deadhorse Lake near Hussar in southern Alberta, taken just after midnight on July 10-11, 2020 during its evening appearance. The comet shines just above low noctilucent clouds. The slight wind ruffled the waters enough to prevent the clean reflection I was after. This is a blend of nine exposures for the ground stacked to smooth noise and the water, with a single exposure for the sky, all 4 seconds with the 135mm Canon lens at f/2 and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 1600, with LENR employed on this warm night. Stacked and masked with Photoshop. Topaz DeNoise AI applied to the sky.
Comet NEOWISE Over Prairie Lake (July 10-11, 2020)
This is Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) over Deadhorse Lake near Hussar in southern Alberta, taken just before midnight on July 10-11, 2020 during its evening appearance. The comet shines just above low noctilucent clouds. The slight wind ruffled the waters enough to prevent the clean reflection I was after. The foreground has “puffball” plants viewed in cultural legends and depicted on tipis by First Nations Blackfoot people as having come from shooting stars. Not comets per se, but the celestial connection and juxtapostion here is still a nice one. This is a blend of 13 exposures for the ground stacked to smooth noise, with a single exposure for the sky, with the 50mm Sigma lens for 15 to 30 seconds at f/5.6 for the ground and 8s at f/2.8 for the sky, all with Canon 6D MkII at ISO 400, with LENR employed on this warm night. Stacked and masked with Photoshop. Topaz DeNoise AI applied to the sky; Topaz Sharpen applied to the ground.
A selfie with me pointing at the comet, Comet NEOWISE, on the morning of July 10, 2020, taken from the backyard in rural Alberta on a partly cloudy morning. Some noctilucent clouds are visible in the northeast dawn sky below the comet. A single expsosure with the 50mm Sigma lens and Canon 6D MkII. Illumination is from moonlight and twilight.
Comet NEOWISE at Lone Tree Hill (July 9, 2020)
Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) with a lone tree on the Alberta prairie on the morning of July 9, 2020, with ground fog in the immediate foreground. Some wispy noctilucent clouds are visible closer to the horizon but did not obstruct the view of the comet this morning. Thus the comet was easily visible to the naked eye well into twilight. This is a stack of 14 exposures for the dark ground to smooth noise and one untracked exposure for the sky and clouds, all 5 seconds at f/2.8 with the 85mm Rokinon lens and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 400. Shot from “One Tree Hill” near home in southern Alberta. Moonlight from the waning gibbous Moon illuminates the foreground.
Comet NEOWISE at Dawn Panorama (July 9, 2020)
A panorama of the dawn sky to the northeast on July 9, 2020 with Comet NEOWISE at centre in Auriga in the twilight, and Venus and the Pleiades at right, with Venus just above Aldebaran in Taurus. Capella in Auriga is the bright star at top. Some wispy noctiliucent clouds are brightest at left of the lone tree. Luckily, the NLCs stayed away this morning allowing a clear sighting and shot of the comet! I shot this from “One Tree Hill” near home in southern Alberta. It was a very wet morning with lots of ground fog about including in the foreground. Moonlight from the waning gibbous Moon to the south behind the camera lights the foreground. This is a 7-segment panorama with the 50mm Sigma lens at f/4 for 10 seconds each at ISO 200 with the Canon 6D MkII and stitched with PTGui, which thoughtfully strips all the metadata from the image.
Venus and Noctilucent Clouds over Prairie Pond
A single image of bright noctilucent clouds in the dawn sky over a prairie pond near home in southern Alberta on July 7, 2020, with Venus bright as a “morning star” at right above Aldebaran. Comet NEOWISE was in the scene but hidden behind dark weather clouds here. This is a 1-second exposure at f/2.8 and ISO 100 with the 50mm Sigma lens and Canon 6D MkII.
Noctilucent Clouds in Dawn Sky Panorama (with Labels) (July 7, 2020)
A 120° panorama of the bright display of noctilucent clouds at dawn on July 7, 2020 from southern Alberta, with the bonus of Comet NEOWISE amid the clouds. Venus is at right, reflected in the slough. The NLCs appeared low on the horizon at first then expanded upwards as the Sun angle below the horizon decreased and more of the clouds lit up. They extended about as far up as shown here, so never reached very high, unlike two mornings earlier when they extended past the zenith. This is a panorama of 8 segments with the 50mm Sigma lens at f/2.8 for 2.5 seconds each and the Canon 6D MkII at ISO 100. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. I shot this from my favourite spiot near home I call Solstice Pond as I often shoot NLCs and solstice twilight scenes here. Though this morning it was more like Solstice Slough. There are some ducks in the distance.
Noctilucent Clouds in Dawn Sky Panorama (July 7, 2020)
A 120° panorama of the bright display of noctilucent clouds at dawn on July 7, 2020 from southern Alberta, with the bonus of Comet NEOWISE amid the clouds. Venus is at right, reflected in the slough. The NLCs appeared low on the horizon at first then expanded upwards as the Sun angle below the horizon decreased and more of the clouds lit up. They extended about as far up as shown here, so never reached very high, unlike two mornings earlier when they extended past the zenith. This is a panorama of 8 segments with the 50mm Sigma lens at f/2.8 for 2.5 seconds each and the Canon 6D MkII at ISO 100. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. I shot this from my favourite spiot near home I call Solstice Pond as I often shoot NLCs and solstice twilight scenes here. Though this morning it was more like Solstice Slough. There are some ducks in the distance.
Comet NEOWISE And Noctilucent Clouds over Pond (July 7, 2020)
Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) low in the northeastern sky at dawn on July 7, 2020 with it amid bright noctilucent clouds this morning and over a prairie pond. Even so, the tail is visible. So this is a juxtaposition of an icy comet amid icy clouds. This is a stack of 6 exposures for the ground to smooth noise and a single 1-second untracked shot for the sky, all with the 135mm telephoto at f/2.8 and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 400
Comet NEOWISE Amid Noctilucent Clouds (July 7, 2020)
Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) low in the northeastern sky at dawn on July 7, 2020 with it amid bright noctilucent clouds this morning. Even so, the tail is visible. So this is a juxtaposition of an icy comet amid icy clouds. This is a single 3.2-second untracked shot with the 200mm telephoto and 1.4x extender for 280mm at f/4 and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 400
Noctilucent Cloud Panorama at Dawn (with Labels) (July 5, 2020)
A panorama of the grand display of noctilucent clouds in the dawn sky on July 5, 2020. They grew in illumination to cover the sky up to and beyond the zenith this morning. Venus is bright low above the horizon at right of centre; Mars is at far right at top. Comet NEOWISE is also in the scene but lost in the dawn twilight at this wide scale. Taken at 4:10 am MDT. This is a stitch of 9 segments, each 0.8 seconds with the 35mm lens and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 100, stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
Noctilucent Cloud Panorama at Dawn (July 5, 2020)
A panorama of the grand display of noctilucent clouds in the dawn sky on July 5, 2020. They grew in illumination to cover the sky up to and beyond the zenith this morning. Venus is bright low above the horizon at right of centre; Mars is at far right at top. Comet NEOWISE is also in the scene but lost in the dawn twilight at this wide scale. Taken at 4:10 am MDT. This is a stitch of 9 segments, each 0.8 seconds with the 35mm lens and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 100, stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
Comet NEOWISE with Noctilucent Clouds and ISS (with Labels) (July 5, 2020)
Bright Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) rising in the northeast into the dawn sky on July 5, 2020, visible here as the small spot left of centre in the bright twilight. The northeast sky was also filled with noctilucent clouds (NLCs) that grew even more extensive this morning as the Sun angle below the horizon decreased and the NLCs lit up more to cover much of the sky. Venus is bright to the right, with the Pleiades star cluster above Venus. Capella is the bright star at top left. The comet is in a line directly down from Capella and just above the orange band of twilight. And as if that were not enough, the International Space Station flew over and away to the east in the scene here to the right of Venus, fading as it flew away. In all, this was one of the most amazing morning sky scenes I have seen. This was from home in Alberta at about 4:00 am MDT under very clear skies. The comet had passed perihelion only a few days eariler and was emerging here into the dawn sky. This is a panorama of 4 segments at 1.6 seconds each with the 50mm Sigma lens and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 100. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
Comet NEOWISE with Noctilucent Clouds and ISS (July 5, 2020)
Bright Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) rising in the northeast into the dawn sky on July 5, 2020, visible here as the small spot left of centre in the bright twilight. The northeast sky was also filled with noctilucent clouds (NLCs) that grew even more extensive this morning as the Sun angle below the horizon decreased and the NLCs lit up more to cover much of the sky. Venus is bright to the right, with the Pleiades star cluster above Venus. Capella is the bright star at top left. The comet is in a line directly down from Capella and just above the orange band of twilight. And as if that were not enough, the International Space Station flew over and away to the east in the scene here to the right of Venus, fading as it flew away. In all, this was one of the most amazing morning sky scenes I have seen. This was from home in Alberta at about 4:00 am MDT under very clear skies. The comet had passed perihelion only a few days eariler and was emerging here into the dawn sky. This is a panorama of 4 segments at 1.6 seconds each with the 50mm Sigma lens and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 100. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
Comet NEOWISE at Dawn with Noctilucent Clouds (with Labels) (July 5, 2020)
Bright Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) rising in the northeast into the dawn sky on July 5, 2020, visible here as the small spot left of centre in the bright twilight. The northeast sky was also filled with noctilucent clouds (NLCs) that grew even more extensive this morning as the Sun angle below the horizon decreased and the NLCs lit up more to cover much of the sky. Venus is bright to the right, with the Pleiades start cluster above Venus. Capella is the bright star at top left. The comet is in a line directly down from Capella and just above the orange band of twilight. In all, this was one of the most amazing morning sky scenes I have seen. What’s more, just after I took this series, the International Space Station flew over. Another image captures that scene. This was from home in Alberta at about 3:57 am MDT under very clear skies. The comet had passed perihelion only a few days eariler and was emerging here into the dawn sky. This is a panorama of 4 segments at 1.6 seconds each with the 50mm Sigma lens and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 100. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
Comet NEOWISE at Dawn with Noctilucent Clouds (July 5, 2020)
Bright Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) rising in the northeast into the dawn sky on July 5, 2020, visible here as the small spot left of centre in the bright twilight. The northeast sky was also filled with noctilucent clouds (NLCs) that grew even more extensive this morning as the Sun angle below the horizon decreased and the NLCs lit up more to cover much of the sky. Venus is bright to the right, with the Pleiades start cluster above Venus. Capella is the bright star at top left. The comet is in a line directly down from Capella and just above the orange band of twilight. In all, this was one of the most amazing morning sky scenes I have seen. What’s more, just after I took this series, the International Space Station flew over. Another image captures that scene. This was from home in Alberta at about 3:57 am MDT under very clear skies. The comet had passed perihelion only a few days eariler and was emerging here into the dawn sky. This is a panorama of 4 segments at 1.6 seconds each with the 50mm Sigma lens and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 100. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
Noctilucent Clouds in Evening Sky Panorama (July 4, 2020)
A panorama of noctilucent clouds (NLCs) in the evening sky at 11:30 pm MDT on July 4, 2020. They faded over the next hour but returned for a spectacular all-sky display at dawn at 4 am. Capella is left of centre; Perseus is right of centre. This is a panorama of 5 segments, each 6 seconds at f/4 with the 50mm Sigma lens and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 200. Stitched with ACR.
Four Planets Across the Dawn Sky with Labels (July 4, 2020)
Four naked-eye planets arrayed across the dawn sky on July 4, 2020: Venus to the left, Mars at centre, and the pairing of Saturn and Jupiter at right above the old house. Noctilucent clouds light northeastern sky at left, while normal clouds are at right. Mercury was too close to the Sun to see at this time. This is a panorama of 12 segments with the 35mm lens and Canon 6D MkII stitched in two parts with Adobe Camera Raw.
Four Planets Across the Dawn Sky (July 4, 2020)
Four naked-eye planets arrayed across the dawn sky on July 4, 2020: Venus to the left, Mars at centre, and the pairing of Saturn and Jupiter at right above the old house. Noctilucent clouds light northeastern sky at left, while normal clouds are at right. Mercury was too close to the Sun to see at this time. This is a panorama of 12 segments with the 35mm lens and Canon 6D MkII stitched in two parts with Adobe Camera Raw.
Noctilucent Clouds at Dawn Panorama (July 4, 2020)
A likely display of noctilucent clouds at dawn on July 4, 2020 from home in a panorama of 6 segments with the 35mm lens and Canon 6D MkII. Venus has just appeared above the cloudline at centre.