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.
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 (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.
