Jupiter, Saturn and the Milky Way in Twilight

Jupiter (the brightest object) and Saturn to the left, close together east of the Milky Way in the deep evening twilight, October 17, 2020. At this time they were heading toward a very close “grand conjunction” on December 21, 2020 when they would be much lower in the twilight. This is looking southwest. We had just received our first snow of the season. This is from home and with the Nikon D750 and Sigma 24mm lens for a stack of 8 x 15-second exposures for the ground to smooth noise and a single 15-second untracked exposure for the sky, all at f/2.8 and ISO 3200. A mild Orton Glow effect added with Luminar 4.

Harvest Moonrise over Country Road

The Harvest Moon (the Full Moon of October 1, 2020) rising almost due east at the end of a country road in southern Alberta, near home. The horizon was smoky or dusty, so the Moon was very red as it rose, and looking almost like a totally eclipsed Moon. This is a blend of 6 exposures, all 1/2-second with the A&M 80mm f/6 apo refractor (for 480mm focal length) and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 400, taken as part of a 460-frame time-lapse sequence, with shots every 2 seconds. For this composite I choose 6 images at 2-minute intervals, so the Moon rose its own diameter between frames. The ground comes from the first image in the sequence when the lighting was brightest. The Moon rose at 7:35 pm this night, about 30 minutes after sunset. A mild Orton glow effect added to the ground with Luminar 4.

Winter Stars Rising at Dawn in August

The stars of the northern winter sky rising at dawn on the morning of August 14, 2020, from home in southern Alberta. The waning crescent Moon is overexposed here, shining above bright Venus , then in southern Gemini as a bright “morning star” in the east. Mars is also bright and reddish, to the south at upper right. Orion is rising over the ripening wheatfield at centre. Above Orion is Taurus with the Hyades and Pleiades star clusters. The bright star to the left and above the Moon is Capella in Auriga. Castor and Pollux are rising at far left. This is a stack of 4 images for the ground to smooth noise and 1 image for the sky, all with the 14mm Sigma Art lens at f/2.5 and Nikon D750 at ISO 800 for 25 seconds each. I added a mild Orton Glow effect with Luminar Flex.

Alpenglow at the Icefields

The last rays of the setting Sun catch the peaks around the Columbia Icefields in Jasper National Park, Alberta, on July 27, 2020. The waxing quarter Moon shines over Mount Andromeda and sunlight illuminates the glacier on Mount Athabasca at left. The famous Athabasca Glacier itself is at centre. Snow Dome Glacier is at right. The meltwater lake in the middle distance is Sunwapta Lake. This is a panorama cropped in from the original 10 segments, each with the 35mm lens and Canon EOS Ra camera, all at ISO 100 and 1/25 sec at f/8. Stitched in Adobe Camera Raw. Shot from the moraine at the start of the access road across the forefield.

Comet NEOWISE at Saskatchewan River Crosssing (July 26, 2020)

Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) on July 26, 2020 from the area of Saskatchewan River Crossing in Banff National Park, Alberta. It was from near here that scientist and explorer James Hector, member of the 1858-59 Palliser Expediton, observed Comet Donati on September 10, 1858 as they made their way up the valleys of the Bow, Mistaya, Howse and Saskatchewan Rivers, as part of a British scientific expedition to map the area and much of southern Alberta. Mount Wilson at right is lit in part by the setting Moon out of sight behind the foreground hill and by lingering summer twilight lighting the horizon over the Saskatchewan River valley at centre. This is an exposure blend of a stack of 4 x 2-minute untracked exposures for the ground at ISO 200, with 3 x 1-minute tracked and stacked exposures at ISO 400 for the sky. Stacking the images smooths noise. Tracking the sky prevents star trailing in the long exposures needed to reveal lots of stars and the fading comet well. The camera was on the iOptron SkyGuider Pro tracker. For the ground shots I simply turned the tracker motor off. All with the 35mm Canon Art lens at f/2.8 and Canon EOS Ra. Topaz Sharpen AI applied to the ground. In camera LENR employed on all shots on this warm night.

Comet NEOWISE and Big Dipper (July 20, 2020)

Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) over the still waters this night of Crawling Lake in southern Alberta. The Big Dipper is at top. Even in this short exposure, the two tails — dust and ion — are visible. This was July 20, 2020. The blue ion tail is extending up into the Bowl of the Big Dipper, for some 20° in length. Very impressive! The main image content is a single untracked exposure of 20 seconds at f/2.2 and ISO 3200 with the 35mm Canon lens and Canon 6D MkII. The distant clouds, horizon, and water in the distance and in the immedate foregound without stars is from an average stack of 6 exposures, all at the above settings, to smooth noise. I shot this from Crawling Lake in southern Alberta on a near perfect night, though distant clouds are lit by yellow light pollution.

Comet NEOWISE in Twilight over Lake (July 20, 2020)

Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) over the still waters this night of Crawling Lake in southern Alberta. This was early in the evening with the sky still brightly coloured with twilight. The comet was in the southern part of Ursa Major between the pairs of stars called Tania and Talitha. The clouds that were present nicely framed the scene and reflected in the water as well. The comet was too high to be visible as a reflection at this time. The main image content is a single untracked exposure of 20 seconds at f/2.8 and ISO 640 with the 35mm Canon lens and Canon 6D MkII. The distant clouds, horizon, and water in the distance and in the immedate foregound without stars is from an average stack of 6 exposures, all at the above settings, to smooth noise. I shot this from Crawling Lake in southern Alberta on a near perfect night.

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 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.

Comet NEOWISE Close-Up (July 10, 2020)

A telescopic close-up of Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) on the morning of July 10, 2020 with it in blue dawn twilight. The yellowish dust tail is promiment but a fine blue gas tail is just barely visible. Clouds prevented shooting earlier when it would have been in a darker sky and even so I was shooting through breaks in the scattered clouds. This is a median combine stack of 6 x 45-second tracked but unguided exposures with the SharpStar 76mm apo refractor at f/4.5 for 340mm focal length and the Canon EOS Ra at ISO 800.

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 Above the Clouds (July 9, 2020)

Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) above the distant horizon clouds and valley fog on the morning of July 9, 2020, with the distant lights of the Wintering Hills Windfarm towers shining above the ground fog. The clouds have an interesting pattern of Helmholtz waves as well. The comet was easily visible to the naked eye. This is a stack of 7 exposures for the ground to smooth noise and one untracked exposure for the sky and cloudtops, all 3.2 seconds at f/2.2 with the 135mm lens and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 1250. Shot from the wheatfield at home.

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 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.