Mercury and Jupiter in Conjunction (March 4, 2021)

Mercury (above) and Jupiter in a close conjunction at dawn on March 4, 2021, when they were 35 arc minutes (a little more than half a degree) apart very low in the bright twilight. Mercury was not obvious even in binoculars but the camera picked up both planets well. Jupiter was magnitude -2 while Mercury was about magnitude 0.2. Taken from home at latitude +51° N. This is a single 1/10-second exposure with the 200mm lens at f/4 on the Canon 60Da at ISO 100.

Rising of the Full Snow Moon 2021

The rising Full Moon of February 27, 2021, the "Snow Moon" of the year. The Moon was technically fullest earlier in the day, some 16 hours before I shot this, and so was slightly past full when it rose for me this evening in southern Alberta. This is a composite stack of 9 short exposures for the Moon, blended with a single longer exposure for the ground and sky taken at the start of the moonrise sequence. But using the same exposure for the moons as I used for the sky would have resulted in vastly overexposed moons. As it was, I adjusted the exposures for the Moon from 0.6 seconds for the first (lowest) Moon to 1/30 second for the last (highest) Moon, to keep the moons properly exposed through the sequence, as it brightened as it rose. But it remained very yellow throughout due to atmospheric absorption of the blue wavelengths. The background exposure for the ground and sky was 2.5 seconds. The sky was much darker than the Moon, because it rose nearly 45 minutes after sunset this night, so the sky had darkened quite a bit by moonrise. All shots were through a SharpStar 76mm EDPH apo refractor with the matching SharpStar 0.8x field flattener/reducer, for an effective focal length of 335mm at f/4.4. The camera was the Canon EOS Ra at ISO 100. I shot images every 5 seconds, for possible use in a time-lapse. But having images spaced that closely together in time made it possible to select images with the Moon's disk just nicely separated to be touching. While the Moon moves its own diameter every 2 minutes due to Earth's rotation, the effect of atmospheric refraction will make it appear to rise at a different rate when it is closer to the horizon than when it is higher. Having lots of frames to pick from made it possible to pick just the right ones for the correct spacing. As it was, the time between the frames used for this composite was about 2 minutes.

Waxing Moon, Mercury and Jupiter (with Labels)

The line of the waxing crescent Moon (then 2 days old), above prominent Mercury (then approaching its greatest elongation away from the Sun on Jan. 23), and just-visible Jupiter at bottom right about to set (and then approaching its conjunction behind the Sun on Jan. 28). This is a single shot with the 135mm lens and Canon EOS Ra.

Waxing Moon, Mercury and Jupiter

The line of the waxing crescent Moon (then 2 days old), above prominent Mercury (then approaching its greatest elongation away from the Sun on Jan. 23), and just-visible Jupiter at bottom right about to set (and then approaching its conjunction behind the Sun on Jan. 28). This is a single shot with the 135mm lens and Canon EOS Ra.

Planet Trio in Twilight with Labels (January 10, 2021)

The trio of Jupiter (highest and brightest), Saturn (at lower right and dimmest), and Mercury (at lower left) in the evening twilight on January 10, 2021. Mercury was a magnitude and a half brighter than Saturn, and did appear so this night as it was higher than the night beforn. Jupiter was naked eye, and Mercury barely so but only knowing just where to look. But Saturn was a challenge even in binoculars, as it was in and out of view. This is a single exposure with the 200mm Canon lens and Canon EOS Ra. I shot this from home in Alberta at latitude 51° N, so the planets were very low. I added labels to this version.

Planet Trio in Twilight (January 10, 2021)

The trio of Jupiter (highest and brightest), Saturn (at lower right and dimmest), and Mercury (at lower left) in the evening twilight on January 10, 2021. Mercury was a magnitude and a half brighter than Saturn, and did appear so this night as it was higher than the night beforn. Jupiter was naked eye, and Mercury barely so but only knowing just where to look. But Saturn was a challenge even in binoculars, as it was in and out of view. This is a single exposure with the 200mm Canon lens and Canon EOS Ra. I shot this from home in Alberta at latitude 51° N, so the planets were very low.

Planet Trio in Twilight (with Labels)

The trio of Jupiter (highest and brightest), Saturn (in the middle and dimmest), and Mercury (lowest) in the evening twilight on January 9, 2021. Technically, Mercury was a magnitude and a half brighter than Saturn, but due to its lower altitude appears about the same brightness here as Saturn. Jupiter was naked eye but it took binoculars to show the other two planets. This is a single exposure with the 135mm Canon lens and Canon EOS Ra. I shot this from home in Alberta at latitude 51° N, so the planets were very low. I added labels to this version.

Planet Trio in Twilight

The trio of Jupiter (highest and brightest), Saturn (in the middle and dimmest), and Mercury (lowest) in the evening twilight on January 9, 2021. Technically, Mercury was a magnitude and a half brighter than Saturn, but due to its lower altitude appears about the same brightness here as Saturn. Jupiter was naked eye but it took binoculars to show the other two planets. This is a single exposure with the 135mm Canon lens and Canon EOS Ra. I shot this from home in Alberta at latitude 51° N, so the planets were very low.

Planet Trails of Jupiter and Saturn Setting

A star trail image with the main trails at centre of Jupiter (brightest) and below it dimmer Saturn setting together in the southwest twilight sky on January 3, 2021. Stars add the other trails above in the darker sky from the later frames in the sequence. This was more than 10 days after their very close Great Conjunction, though the two planets were still quite close in the evening sky. This is a stack of 950 frames taken over 45 minutes at 2-second intervals with manually increased exposure time throughout. All with the 85mm Rokinon lens at f/4 and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 100. Stacking was direct from the developed raw files with the now sadly discontinued Advanced Stacker Actions Plus action set. Processing was with LRTimelapse to equalize and ramp the settings to smooth the transitions for the purposes of a time-lapse movie. The ground and band of dark clouds are from a stack of 10 frames from early in the sequence when it was brighter, stacked to smooth noise.

The Rising of the Cold Winter Moon

A composite image of the rising of the December 29, 2020 "Cold" Full Moon into a very clear evening twilight sky, here over the Badlands of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. The Moon rose with the Sun still up and lighting the landscape in warm tones, contrasting with the cool blues of the snowy landscape and sky. The pink Belt of Venus glow lights the lower sky near the horizon. It is not often we get a Full Moon (it was only 4 hours before being officially Full this night) rising with the Sun still up and illuminating the landscape. This is a layered blend of 13 exposures taken at 5-minute intervals, from moonrise just before sunset, to the Moon high in a dark sky more than an hour later. The ground and sky near the horizon is a blend of the first four exposures while the upper sky is from the last two exposures to place the now bright Moon into a darker sky as it actually appeared. The Moon moves its own diameter in about 2 minutes, so picking shots taken 5 minutes apart provides a good spacing for a shot with this field of view. Shots with longer telephoto lenses would be better with Moons taken every 3 to 4 minutes. These frames were taken as past of an 800-frame time lapse with the camera on auto exposure to ensure each frame was well exposed for the ground and sky. But as the Moon brightens as it rises that inevitably overexposes the Moon's disk — the exposure sequence I used here works for the time-lapse but is not so ideal for a composite still image like this. Had I wanted this to be shot taken just for a still image composite I would have had to fix the exposure at more or less what it was at mid-sequence here, to keep the lunar disk at that brightness and detail. So be it! All were with the Rokinon 85mm lens and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 100. It was about -10° C this evening.

Moonrise at Dinosaur Park Panorama

A 180° panorama of the rising Full Moon and twilight colours over the badlands of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta on December 29, 2020. This was the "Cold Winter" Moon of 2020. The view is overlooking the Red Deer River valley. I shot this panorama from the Park's entrance gate viewpoint. The image is a 14-segment panorama with the 50mm Sigma lens at f/4.5 and Canon EOS Ra at ISO 100, stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. The original is 34,000 pixels wide.

Cold Moonrise over Snowy Dinosaur Park

The Full "Cold" Moon of December 29, 2020 rising over the Badlands of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, on the Red Deer River. The last light of the setting Sun was breaking through briefly, illuminating the far river bank, as the Moon rose into the dark shadow of the Earth and pink "Belt of Venus" glow in the upper atmosphere. Despite being full, the Moon rose this night about 30 minutes before sunset, allowing this lighting. The Moon was about 4 hours before being officially Full at this time. This is a single image with the Rokinon 85mm lens on the Canon 6D MkII taken as part of an 800-frame time-lapse.

Cold Moon Rising over Dinosaur Park

The Full "Cold" Moon of December 29, 2020 rising over the Badlands of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, on the Red Deer River, here at left. The last light of the setting Sun was breaking through briefly, illuminating the far river bank, as the Moon rose into the dark shadow of the Earth and pink "Belt of Venus" glow in the upper atmosphere. Despite being full, the Moon rose this night about 30 minutes before sunset, allowing this lighting. The Moon was about 4 hours before being officially Full at this time. This is a single image with the Sigma 50mm lens on the Canon EOS Ra taken as part of a 500-frame time-lapse.

Jupiter & Saturn over Bow River Valley

The still close pairing of Jupiter and Saturn in the evening twilight over the Bow River Valley, in southern Alberta, taken from the Siksika First Nations land near Blackfoot Crossing on December 28, 2020. The night was very clear with brilliant twilight colours. The waxing Moon was providing some of the foreground illumination. This is an HDR panorama of 3 x 3 panels: 3 segments, each with 3 exposures of 2, 4, and 8 seconds, to retain the sky colours but bring out the landscape details. Merged with Adobe Camera Raw. Shot with the Sigma 50mm lens on the red-sensitive Canon EOS Ra camera at ISO 100.

Jupiter and Saturn in the Fog (Dec 27, 2020)

The pairing of Jupiter and Saturn in the evening twilight, on December 27, 2020. This was from home, on a cold, frosty night as the ice fog began to move in for the night. Brighter Jupiter is to the left of Saturn and is pulling away from Saturn here, but they were still separated by 40 arc minutes this evening. The background image is a stack of 5 untracked exposures to smooth the motion of the clouds and add a softer effect, but the planets come from just one of the exposures, all being 4-second shots with the 50mm Sigma lens at f/3.5 and with the Canon EOS Ra at ISO 200. A mild Orton glow layer added to further soften the image.

Jupiter & Saturn in the Twilight with Closeup Inset (December 22, 2020)

The pairing of Jupiter and Saturn in the evening twilight, the day after their closest conjunction, taken here on December 22, 2020. This was from home, as a snowstorm in the previous 24 hours had made the roads too poor to travel. Brighter Jupiter is to the left of Saturn and is pulling away from Saturn here, but they were still separated by only 10 arc minutes this evening. The inset shows the view through a telescope with the Galilean moons of Jupiter visible and three of the moons of Saturn. Other points are field stars. The background image is a stack of 6 untracked exposures to smooth the motion of the clouds, but the planets come from just one of the exposures, all being 0.8-second shots with the 85mm Rokinon lens at f/4 and with the Canon 6D MkII at ISO 200. The closeup image is a stack of six 4-second exposures (to bring out the moons) taken about 5:45 pm local MST. All were through the Celestron SE6 Schmidt-Cassegrain at f/10 (so 1500mm focal length) on the Sky-Watcher EQM-35 mount tracking the sky but only roughly polar aligned, and through the Canon EOS Ra camera at ISO 800, and cropped in. The planets' low altitude blurred their images from poor seeing. Atmospheric dispersion adds to colour fringing.

Jupiter & Saturn in the Twilight (December 22, 2020)

The pairing of Jupiter and Saturn in the evening twilight, the day after their closest conjunction, taken here on December 22, 2020. This was from home, as a snowstorm in the previous 24 hours had made the roads too poor to travel. Brighter Jupiter is to the left of Saturn and is pulling away from Saturn here, but they were still separated by only 10 arc minutes this evening. This is a stack of 6 untracked exposures to smooth the motion of the clouds, but the planets come from just one of the exposures, all being 0.8-second shots with the 85mm Rokinon lens at f/4 and with the Canon 6D MkII at ISO 200.

Jupiter and Saturn in Conjunction at Dinosaur Park (Dec 20, 2020)

Jupiter and Saturn, on the eve of their rare "Great Conjunction," shot here on December 20, 2020 from Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. The two planets are very close here, only 8 arc minutes apart, just 2 arc minutes more than at closest approach the next night (which was cloudy!). Even so, they are resolved in this image with an 85mm lens, and were easily resolvable to the naked eye. Some of the moons of Jupiter are visible, particularly Callisto and Ganymede to the left of Jupiter. This was a superb night at the Park, with perfect skies and a mild temperature of only 0° C and no wind or frost. Illumination is from the twilight but also moonlight from the waxing quarter Moon off frame to the upper left. This is a blend of tracked (for the sky, to prevent star trailing) and untracked (for the ground) exposures: 7 x 30 second exposures for the ground (to bring out foreground detail) at f/2.8 and 5 x 8-second exposures for the sky at f/4, all at ISO 400 and with the Rokinon 85mm lens and Canon EOS Ra camera. The camera was on the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i tracker. Stacking the tracked shots blurred the moving clouds and smoothed noise. Stacking the ground reduced noise. I shot this well past traditional "blue hour" when there was still colour in the sky to the camera, but the sky was dark enough to show stars, and the ground was beginning to light up with moonlight, highlighting the snow and ice patches.

Jupiter, Saturn and the Waxing Moon at Dinosaur Park

This is the grouping of the 3-day-old waxing crescent Moon with the close pairing of Jupiter and Saturn on December 16, 2020, as seen from Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta on a mild winter evening with clouds parting just enough for the view. It waas nip and tuck getting any shots this night and getting a clear shot of both the Moon and the planets was tough! This is a stack of 7 tracked exposures for the sky, all 6 seconds at f/2.8 and ISO 200 blended with a stack of 4 untracked exposures for the ground, all 30 seconds at f/4.5 and ISO 400, with each set stacked with Mean stack mode to reduce noise. But stacking the sky blurred the cloud motions for a nice soft effect, while leaving the Moon and planets sharp as the camera was tracking the sky for those images. The longer static exposures for the ground brought out the foreground details and colours. A dodge and burn layer helped touch up the relative brightnesses of the ground elements. The camera was the Canon EOS Ra and lens the 35mm Canon L-series, on the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i tracker.

Jupiter and Saturn in Twilight Panorama

Jupiter and Saturn nearing their December 21, 2020 Great Conjunction, with this image taken December 14, 2020 from home in southern Alberta. This is a panorama stitch of two images, each a blend of 4 untracked images for the dark ground and stacked to smooth noise, plus a stack of 4 tracked images for the sky, all with the 85mm Rokinon lens at f/3.5 and Canon EOS Ra at ISO 400. The camera was on the Star Adventurer 2i tracker, only roughly polar aligned as Polaris was not readily visible amid clouds to the north and in the bright sky. Diffraction spikes added in Astronomy Tools actions. Stitched in Photoshop with Photomerge. Taken well past traditional "blue hour" but when there was still a lot of colour in the sky to the camera, yet the sky was dark enough to show other stars.

Jupiter and Saturn in Twilight #2

Jupiter and Saturn nearing their December 21, 2020 Great Conjunction, with this image taken December 14, 2020 from home in southern Alberta. This is a blend of 5 untracked images for the dark ground and stacked to smooth noise, for 10 seconds each, plus a stack of 4 tracked images for the sky for 6 seconds each, all with the 85mm Rokinon lens at f/3.5 and Canon EOS Ra at ISO 400. The camera was on the Star Adventurer 2i tracker, only roughly polar aligned as Polaris was not readily visible amid clouds to the north and in the bright sky. Diffraction spikes added in Astronomy Tools actions. Taken well past traditional "blue hour" but when there was still a lot of colour in the sky to the camera, yet the sky was dark enough to show other stars.

Jupiter and Saturn in Twilight #1

Jupiter and Saturn nearing their December 21, 2020 Great Conjunction, with this image taken December 14, 2020 from home in southern Alberta. This is a blend of 4 untracked images for the dark ground and stacked to smooth noise, for 4 seconds each, plus a stack of 4 tracked images for the sky for 2.5 seconds each, all with the 85mm Rokinon lens at f/3.5 and Canon EOS Ra at ISO 400. The camera was on the Star Adventurer 2i tracker, only roughly polar aligned as Polaris was not readily visible amid clouds to the north and in the bright sky. Diffraction spikes added in Astronomy Tools actions. Taken well past traditional "blue hour" but when there was still a lot of colour in the sky to the camera, yet the sky was dark enough to show other stars.

Jupiter and Saturn Over the Red Deer River Valley

Jupiter and Saturn nearing their December 21, 2020 Great Conjunction, with this image taken December 10, 2020 from Red Deer River valley, north of Drumheller, Alberta. This is a blend of 4 images for the dark ground, stacked to smooth noise, for 20 seconds each at f/5.6, and a single image for the sky for 5 seconds at f/2.8, all with the 35mm Canon lens and Canon EOS Ra at ISO 400. All untracked. A dodge and burn layer created by Lumenzia applied.

Jupiter, Saturn and the Milky Way

Jupiter and Saturn nearing their December 21, 2020 Great Conjunction, with this image taken December 3, 2020 from the Allen Bill flats area on the Elbow River in the Kananaskis Country southwest of Calgary, Alberta. This is a blend of 4 untracked images for the dark ground, stacked to smooth noise, for 2 minutes each at ISO 400, and two tracked images for the sky for 30 seconds at ISO 1600, all with the 35mm Canon lens at f/2.8 and Canon EOS Ra. A dodge and burn layer created by Lumenzia applied. The tracker was the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i. Taken before moonrise.