Conjunction of Venus and Antares (Oct 16, 2021)

The conjunction of bright Venus (then approaching its greatest elongation from the Sun two weeks later) above dimmer redder Antares in Scorpius on the evening of October 16, 2021. The two objects were 1.5° apart this evening, but from my latitude of 51° N were low in the southwest embedded in the bright twilight. This is a single 1.3-second exposure with the 24-105mm lens and the Canon Ra in 1.6x cropped-frame mode for an effective focal length of 170mm. Shot from home in Alberta. Diffraction spikes added for artistic effect with Astronomy Tools actions.

Harvest Moonrise at Dinosaur Park

A telescopic close-up of the full Harvest Moon rising over the Badlands of Dinosaur Provincial Park on September 20, 2021. This is a single 0.8-second exposure taken as part of a time-lapse sequence, shot through a 76mm f/4.4 refractor telescope for an effective focal length of 335mm using the Canon R6 at ISO 100. Luminosity masks created with TKActions v8 applied to enhance the contrast of the foreground. A mild Orton glow added with Luminar AI.

Planets Rising in Badlands Twilight

Jupiter (brightest) and Saturn (at right) rising in the southeast in Capricornus, amid the deepening evening twilight over the Badlands of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, on August 29, 2021. This was from the Trail of the Fossil Hunters site. This is a blend of a stack of 4 x 25-second exposures, untracked, for the ground, and a single 25-second untracked exposure for the sky, all at f/6.3 and ISO 800 with the Canon EF 24mm lens and Canon R6 camera. A mild Orton glow added with Luminar AI. LENR used on all exposures.

Smoky Sunset over the Bow Valley

Blue hour twilight with a waxing crescent Moon, over the Bow Valley, Banff, Alberta, on an evening with the air filled with smoke from B.C. forest fires to the west, muting the colours and clarity. This is from the Hoodoos Viewpoint trail on Tunnel Mountain Drive, looking back toward Banff. The lights of the Banff Springs Hotel are in the distance at left. The Bow River winds below. Tunnel Mountain is at centre with Sulphur Mountain to the left and at far left a portion of Mt. Rundle. Cascade Mountain is at far right. This is a panorama from 7 segments with the Canon EOS Ra and 15-35mm RF lens.

Smoky Moon over the Bow Valley

Blue hour twilight with a waxing crescent Moon, over the Bow Valley, Banff, Alberta, on an evening with the air filled with smoke from B.C. forest fires to the west, muting the colours and clarity. This is from the Hoodoos Viewpoint trail on Tunnel Mountain Drive, looking back toward Banff. The lights of the Banff Springs Hotel are in the distance at left. The Bow River winds below. Tunnel Mountain is at centre with Sulphur Mountain to the left. The Hoodoos are at the bottom of the frame. This is a single image with the Canon EOS Ra and 15-35mm RF lens at 20mm.

Smoky Sunset Panorama over the Bow Valley

A 180° panorama taken in blue hour twilight with a waxing crescent Moon, over the Bow Valley, Banff, Alberta. This evening the air was filled with smoke from B.C. forest fires to the west, muting the colours and clarity. This is from the Hoodoos Viewpoint trail on Tunnel Mountain Drive, looking back toward Banff. The lights of the Banff Springs Hotel are in the distance at left. The Bow River winds below. Tunnel Mountain is at centre with Sulphur Mountain to the left and at far left is Mt. Rundle. Cascade Mountain is at far right. This is a panorama from 6 segments with the Canon EOS Ra and 15-35mm RF lens at 22mm.

Smoky Sunset at Vermilion Lakes

Sunset at Vermilion Lakes, Banff, Alberta, over Mt. Rundle reflected in the still waters, on an evening with a smoke-filled sky from B.C. forest fires. This is a single shot with the Canon EOS Ra and 15-35mm RF lens.

Venus, Mars and the Moon (July 11, 2021)

The conjunction of bright Venus with much dimmer Mars (to the left of Venus), with the waxing crescent Moon nearby, above the mountains of the Continental Divide at Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, on July 11, 2021. Mars was very dim and showed up on camera but was not visible to the naked eye or even readily in binoculars. This is a single shot with the 200mm Canon lens on the Canon EOS Ra, a red-sensitive camera that picks up more of the sunset reds in such twilight scenes.

Noctilucent Clouds in Twilight (July 8, 2021)

A mix of noctilucent clouds with tropospheric clouds in the twilight over a ripening canola field, July 8, 2021. This is a single exposure with the Canon 15-35mm L series lens on the Canon R6 camera at ISO 100.

Circumpolar Star Trails with Noctilucent Clouds

An extensive display of noctilucent clouds blended with a star trail sequence of the circumpolar stars of the northern sky. This is a stack of thirty 30-second exposures taken at the end of a sequence of 450 shots, taken when the sky was darkest with the most stars visible, blended with a shorter exposure taken earlier in the night when the noctilucent clouds were more extensive across the twilight sky. So this is a "time-blend" of frames taken from a set shot for a time-lapse. All with the TTArtisan 11mm full-frame fish-eye lens at f/2.8 and on the Canon R6.

The Prismatic Colours of Noctilucent Clouds

A superb showing of noctilucent clouds (NLCs) on June 27, 2021, with the colours very prominent, even to the eye. The colours transition from the red and oranges of the solstice twilight, through to yellows and even greens above (these were obvious to the eye), then to the cyan and electric blue of the clouds themselves. The tops of the clouds fade to a deep red as they are being illuminated there by the setting Sun at their altitude and latitude and so appear red, with that red edge decreasing in altitude as the evening progressed as the Sun set lower below the horizon. A widespread area of very clear sky locally and far to the north may have contributed to the better visibility of the colours as the light from the Sun had a clearer path through the atmosphere. This was June 27-28, 2021, in a particularly widespread display that started the evening with the clouds filling the northern half of the sky,. This was from home and is a panorama stitched from 9 segments, each with the 24-105mm f/4 RF lens at 67mm, and Canon R6 camera.

Noctilucent Clouds With Red Rimmed Top (June 27, 2021)

An extensive display of noctilucent clouds starting the evening nearly up to the zenith and covering all of the northern half of the sky on June 27, 2021. This frame is from later in the evening and shows the tops of the clouds starting to turn red as they enter into Earth's shadow and are illuminated only by the red light of the setting Sun as seen from that high altitude in the atmosphere. I shot this from home in southern Alberta, as part of a time-lapse sequence. The camera is aimed almost due north here. Polaris is at upper centre. This is a single shot with the TTArtisan 11mm full-frame fish-eye lens at f/2.8 and on the Canon R6.

Noctilucent Clouds Over the Northern Sky (June 27, 2021)

An extensive display of noctilucent clouds nearly up to the zenith and covering all of the northern half of the sky on June 27, 2021, shot from home in southern Alberta. The camera is aimed almost due north here. This is a single shot with the TTArtisan 11mm full-frame fish-eye lens at f/5.6 and on the Canon R6.

Noctilucent Clouds in Deep Twilight at Crawling Lake

A panorama of noctilucent clouds in the waning stages of a great display, as they retreated to a low but bright band across the northwest and northern horizon, here over the wind-rippled waters of Crawling Valley Reservoir near home in southern Alberta. The wind prevented the ideal reflection. This was June 20, 2021, the evening of summer solstice this year. So this was the shortest night of the year with the Sun the least distance below the horizon it would get for us at my latitude of 51° N. The colours blend the blue, yellow and orange of the solstice twilight with the blue-white of the NLCs, with a slight reddish tinge at the tops of the clouds where the Sun is setting. This is a 5-section panorama with the 85mm Samyang lens and Canon R6, stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Fragment of Bright NLCs (June 20, 2021)

A short panorama taking in the brightest central portion of the noctilucent clouds display of June 20, 2021 in the deepening colours of solstice twilight. This is over the wind-rippled waters of Crawling Valley Reservoir near home in southern Alberta. The wind prevented the ideal reflection. This was June 20, 2021, the evening of summer solstice this year. So this was the shortest night of the year with the Sun the least distance below the horizon it would get for my latitude of 51° N. The colours blend the blue, yellow and orange of the solstice twilight with the blue-white of the NLCs. But some greens always show up in such images. This is an 3-section panorama with the 85mm Samyang lens and Canon R6 oriented in landscape mode (i.e. horizontally), stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Noctilucent Clouds Panorama at Crawling Lake

A 150° panorama showing the full sweep of the noctilucent clouds display of June 20, 2021, in its later stages, as the clouds retreated to a low but bright band across the northwest and northern horizon, here over the wind-rippled waters of Crawling Valley Reservoir near home in southern Alberta. The wind prevented the ideal reflection. This was June 20, 2021, the evening of summer solstice this year. So this was the shortest night of the year with the Sun the least distance below the horizon it would get for us at my latitude of 51° N. The colours blend the blue, yellow and orange of the solstice twilight with the blue-white of the NLCs, with a slight reddish tinge at the tops of the clouds where the Sun is setting. This is an 11-section panorama with the 85mm Samyang lens and Canon R6 oriented in landscape mode (i.e. horizontally), stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. There is a version shot just before this one with the camera min portrait mode, and that takes in more sky.

Arc of Noctilucent Clouds (June 20, 2021)

A 150° panorama showing the full sweep and arc of the noctilucent cloud display of June 20, 2021, in its later stages, as the clouds retreated to a low but bright band across the northwest and northern horizon, here over the wind-rippled waters of Crawling Valley Reservoir near home in southern Alberta. The wind prevented the ideal reflection. This was June 20, 2021, the evening of summer solstice this year. So this was the shortest night of the year with the Sun the least distance below the horizon it would get at my latitude of 51° N. The colours blend the blue, yellow and orange of the solstice twilight with the blue-white of the NLCs, with a slight reddish tinge at the tops of the clouds where the Sun is setting. This is a crop of a 24-section panorama with the 85mm Samyang lens and Canon R6, in portrait orientation (moving the camera 10° between segments), stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Fish-Eye View of Noctilucent Clouds (June 20, 2021)

A single wide fish-eye view showing the full sweep of the noctilucent clouds display of June 20, 2021, in its later stages, as the clouds retreated to a low but bright band across the northwest and northern horizon, here over the wind-rippled waters of Crawling Valley Reservoir near home in southern Alberta. The wind prevented the ideal reflection. This was June 20, 2021, the evening of summer solstice this year. So this was the shortest night of the year with the Sun the least distance below the horizon it would get for us at my latitude of 51° N. The colours blend the blue, yellow and orange of the solstice twilight with the blue-white of the NLCs, with a slight reddish tinge at the tops of the clouds where the Sun is setting. This is a single image with the 11mm TTArtisan full-frame fish-eye lens and Canon R6.

Noctilucent Clouds Panorama at Crawling Lake with 50mm Lens

A 150° panorama showing the full sweep of the noctilucent clouds display of June 20, 2021, early in its appearance, with the clouds still high in the north, though 20 minutes or so before this the clouds reached up to the zenith in the brighter twilight sky. This is over the wind-rippled waters of Crawling Valley Reservoir near home in southern Alberta. The wind prevented the ideal reflection. This was June 20, 2021, the evening of summer solstice this year. So this was the shortest night of the year with the Sun the least distance below the horizon it would get for us at my latitude of 51° N. The colours blend the blue, yellow and orange of the solstice twilight with the blue-white of the NLCs. This is an 11-section panorama with the 50mm Sigma lens and Canon R6 oriented in landscape mode (i.e. horizontally), stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Noctilucent Clouds at Dawn (June 17, 2021)

A 180° panorama of the massive display of noctilucent clouds at dawn on June 17, 2021 from home in southern Alberta. This display was bright and extensive at dusk on June 16, and re-appeared over much of the northeastern sky at dawn. It reached up to the zenith as the sky brightened. This is a panorama of 11 segments with the 24mm lens and Canon R6, stitched with Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop.

Noctilucent Clouds at One Tree Hill (June 16, 2021)

A single image of the brightest section of the massive "grand display" of noctilucent clouds at dusk on June 16, 2021 from "One Tree Hill" (my name for it!) near home in southern Alberta. This display was bright and extensive at dusk on June 16, and re-appeared over much of the northeastern sky at dawn on June 17. Note the colours — with the NLCs having a reddish tinge at the top where sunlight is reddened as the Sun sets from that altitude and location of the clouds. The lower areas of NLCs often appear green as well. But the main colour of NLCs is electric blue, very much so this night when they were so bright. This is a single image with the 85mm Samyang lens and Canon R6.

Noctilucent Clouds at Dusk with 85mm Lens (June 16, 2021)

A 45° panorama of the massive "grand display" of noctilucent clouds at dusk on June 16, 2021 from "One Tree Hill" near home in southern Alberta. This display was bright and extensive at dusk on June 16, and re-appeared over much of the northeastern sky at dawn on June 17. Note the colours — with the NLCs having a reddish tinge at the top where sunlight is reddened as the Sun sets from that altitude and location of the clouds. The lower areas of NLCs often appear green as well. But the main colour of NLCs is electric blue, very much so this night when they were so bright. The sharp dark edge in the clouds at left is real; it is not a stitching artifact. Capella is the brightest star to the right of the lone tree. This is a panorama of 6 segments with the 85mm Samyang lens and Canon R6, stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Arc of Noctilucent Clouds (June 16, 2021)

A 90° panorama of the massive "grand display" of noctilucent clouds at dusk on June 16, 2021 from "One Tree Hill" near home in southern Alberta. This display was bright and extensive at dusk on June 16, and re-appeared over much of the northeastern sky at dawn on June 17. This shows the arc of the NLCs, defined at the top by the edge where sunlight is no longer illuminating the clouds, an edge that drops in altitude as the Sun itself drops farther below the horizon. Capella is at centre, Leo and Regulus at far left, and Perseus at right of centre. The main colour of NLCs is electric blue, very much so this night when they were so bright. This is a panorama of 10 segments with the 50mm Sigma lens and Canon R6, stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Brilliant Noctilucent Clouds at One Tree Hill (June 16, 2021)

A single image of the brightest section of the massive "grand display" of noctilucent clouds at dusk on June 16, 2021 from "One Tree Hill" (my name for it!) near home in southern Alberta. This display was bright and extensive at dusk on June 16, and re-appeared over much of the northeastern sky at dawn on June 17. This is a single image with the 50mm Sigma lens and Canon R6.