Aurora from Home (April 18, 2021) #2

A horizon aurora at Kp4 or so, from home in southern Alberta on April 18, 2021, with the waxing Moon providing the illumination. It had snowed the day before. A single 10-second shot at f/2 with the Venus Optics 15mm lens and Sony a7III at ISO 1600.

Aurora from Home (April 18, 2021) #1

A horizon aurora at Kp4 or so, from home in southern Alberta on April 18, 2021, with the waxing Moon providing the illumination. A single 6-second shot at f/2 with the Venus Optics 15mm lens and Sony a7III at ISO 1600.

Auroral Arc with Pink Pillars (April 16, 2021)

A classic arc of aurora borealis showing pink pillars and an upper red glow above the main arc. The Kp was 5 this night but with the Bz often north. Early in the evening the aurora appeared as a bright but mostly featureless arc and was visible even in the twilight. This shows the display just before midnight, as it brightened and danced with structure in a brief substorm outburst. A thin STEVE arc appeared shortly afterwards. This is a single 10-second untracked exposure with the TTArtisan 11mm full-frame fish-eye lens wide open at f/2.8 on the Canon EOS Ra camera at ISO 6400 (the lens is only for mirrorless cameras and does not transmit lens metadata to the camera).

Aurora with Camera Shooting (April 16, 2021)

Shooting the aurora during the display on April 16-17, 2021, with the Sony a7III and 15mm Laowa lens.

Aurora Selfie #2 (April 16, 2021)

An aurora selfie taken during the display on April 16-17, 2021, with the Sony a7III and 15mm Laowa lens. I am operating the Canon EOS Ra which was taking still images. I used the Sony this night mostly to do 4K movies.

Aurora Selfie #1 (April 16, 2021)

An aurora selfie taken during the display on April 16-17, 2021, with the Sony a7III and 15mm Laowa lens.

Auroral Arc with Blue Components (April 16, 2021)

A classic arc of aurora borealis showing upper level blue and magenta components to the arc and a blue ray at left (not to be confused with the reddish lens flare from the Moon just off frame at the upper left edge). The Kp was 5 this night but with the Bz often north. This was early in the evening when the aurora appeared as a bright but mostly featureless arc and was visible even in the twilight. It did brighten and dance with structure about midnight. This is a single 30-second untracked exposure with the TTArtisan 11mm full-frame fish-eye lens wide open at f/2.8 on the Canon EOS Ra camera at ISO 1600 (the lens is only for mirrorless cameras and does not transmit lens metadata to the camera).

Panorama of the Milky Way-less Spring Sky (with Labels)

A 360° all-sky panorama of the northern spring sky with the Milky Way as absent from the sky as it can get for the year and from my latitude of 51° N. I shot this April 14/15, 2021 about 12:30 to 1 am MDT with the North Galactic Pole (NGP) in Coma Berenices due south and as high as it gets. So we are looking up out of the plane of the Galaxy, placing the band of the Milky Way along the horizon, visible here only as an arc low across the north at top, where it is obscured by the glow of Northern Lights that appeared this night. South is at bottom; north at top. West is to the right; east to the left. Zenith is at centre. I have added labels to this version. The Big Dipper is directly overhead at the zenith in the centre of the image. Polaris is above centre high in the north, close to the North Celestial Pole (NCP). Arcturus is the brightest star in the spring skly, and is here below centre and below the handle of the Dipper. Spica is at bottom low in the south. Castor and Pollux in Gemini are low in the west, the last of the winter stars setting. Capella in Auriga is at top right in the northwest, circumpolar from my latitude. Regulus in Leo is at bottom right high in the southwest. Flanking Leo are the naked-eye star clusters Melotte 111 (east, left, of Leo) in Coma Berenices, and M44, the Beehive (west, right, of Leo) in Cancer. Vega and Deneb are rising in the east at left, heralding the arrival of the summer stars. The head of Scorpius is just rising low in the southeast at bottom left, but Antares had not yet risen. While the aurora is prominent there was very little airglow banding apparent this night. It was a very clear transparent night. I shot this for book illustrations. This is a multi-segment panorama made of 24 segments (3 tiers of 8 each) for the sky, all tracked on the Star Adventurer 2i tracker, blended with a tier of 8 segments, untracked for the ground, masked in and aligned to the tracked segments. All were 45-second exposures at f/2.8 with the Sigma 24mm Art lens on the Nikon D750 at ISO 1600. Stitching was with PTGui which required a lot of tedious manual assigning of control points in adjacent images to get sky segments to align. It did not perform well automatically for this scene. And finding matching stars was tough as the spring sky contains so few bright stars and notable patterns to match up. The original is 15,000 pixels square.

Panorama of the Milky Way-less Spring Sky

A 360° all-sky panorama of the northern spring sky with the Milky Way as absent from the sky as it can get for the year and from my latitude of 51° N. I shot this April 14/15, 2021 about 12:30 to 1 am MDT with the North Galactic Pole (NGP) in Coma Berenices due south and as high as it gets. So we are looking up out of the plane of the Galaxy, placing the band of the Milky Way along the horizon, visible here only as an arc low across the north at top, where it is obscured by the glow of Northern Lights that appeared this night. South is at bottom; north at top. West is to the right; east to the left. Zenith is at centre. The Big Dipper is directly overhead at the zenith in the centre of the image. Polaris is above centre high in the north, close to the North Celestial Pole (NCP). Arcturus is the brightest star in the spring skly, and is here below centre and below the handle of the Dipper. Spica is at bottom low in the south. Castor and Pollux in Gemini are low in the west, the last of the winter stars setting. Capella in Auriga is at top right in the northwest, circumpolar from my latitude. Regulus in Leo is at bottom right high in the southwest. Flanking Leo are the naked-eye star clusters Melotte 111 (east, left, of Leo) in Coma Berenices, and M44, the Beehive (west, right, of Leo) in Cancer. Vega and Deneb are rising in the east at left, heralding the arrival of the summer stars. The head of Scorpius is just rising low in the southeast at bottom left, but Antares had not yet risen. While the aurora is prominent there was very little airglow banding apparent this night. It was a very clear transparent night. I shot this for book illustrations. This is a multi-segment panorama made of 24 segments (3 tiers of 8 each) for the sky, all tracked on the Star Adventurer 2i tracker, blended with a tier of 8 segments, untracked for the ground, masked in and aligned to the tracked segments. All were 45-second exposures at f/2.8 with the Sigma 24mm Art lens on the Nikon D750 at ISO 1600. Stitching was with PTGui which required a lot of tedious manual assigning of control points in adjacent images to get sky segments to align. It did not perform well automatically for this scene. And finding matching stars was tough as the spring sky contains so few bright stars and notable patterns to match up. The original is 15,000 pixels square.

Red Auroral Arc Panorama v2 (April 14, 2021)

A panorama of the auroral arc seen from home in southern Alberta (latitude 51° N) on April 14/15, 2021, showing a very red component above (to the south of?) the main green auroral arc low across the north. At right, it takes on a STEVE-like appearance. Is this an example of a SAR Arc -- a Sub-Auroral Red Arc? A brief sighting of a partial STEVE arc was reported this night but I missed it. The Kp level did go as high as 5 this night. This scene was about 12:30 am MDT April 15, 2021. By coincidence the arc of the Milky Way low across the north parallels the arc of the Northern Lights. Capella is at far left in the northwest; Vega is rising at right of centre in the northeast. This is a stitch of 4 segments, each untracked for 45 seconds at f/2.8 with the Sigma 24mm Art lens on the Nikon D750 at ISO 1600. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Red Auroral Arc Panorama v1 (April 14, 2021)

A panorama of the auroral arc seen from home in southern Alberta (latitude 51° N) on April 14/15, 2021, showing a very red component above (to the south of?) the main green auroral arc low across the north. At right, it takes on a STEVE-like appearance. Is this an example of a SAR Arc -- a Sub-Auroral Red Arc? A brief sighting of a partial STEVE arc was reported this night but I missed it. The Kp level did go as high as 5 this night. This scene was at about 12:15 am MDT on April 15. By coincidence the arc of the Milky Way low across the north parallels the arc of the Northern Lights. Capella is at far left in the northwest; Vega is rising at right of centre in the northeast. This is a stitch of 7 segments, each untracked for 30 seconds at f/2.5 with the Sigma 24mm Art lens on the Nikon D750 at ISO 800. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Auroral Arc Panorama (March 13, 2021)

An arc of aurora across the north, taken from home in southern Alberta March 13, 2021 on a night when the STEVE auroral arc appeared about 45 minutes after this was taken whren the main arc shown here had faded. This is a cropped stitch of 9 segments, each 30 seconds at f/2.8 with the Venus Optics 15mm lens and Sony a7III at ISO 1600. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Late Winter/Early Spring Sky Panorama with Aurora

A 360° panorama of the late winter and early spring sky with an arc of aurora, from a latitude of 51° N. This was March 13, 2021, from home in southern Alberta. This night there was a bright aurora across the northern sky, so I have oriented the view to place due north just right of centre. The Big Dipper is at right; Leo is rising at far right. The bright winter stars around Orion are at far left to the south. High clouds and haze, partly lit by light pollution here, add the natural glows to the stars, emphasizing the bright stars and constellation patterns. No filter was used here. The yellow arch at left is a band of cloud illuminated by light pollution. This was a test of new panorama gear, using an Acratech Pan Head on top of a Alyn Wallace/MSM Z-Plate mounted to a Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i tracker, to allow taking tracked segments for the panorama, to prevent star trailing. The Z-Plate allowed the Pan Head to mount and move horizontally and vertically in azimuth and altitude despite being on a polar aligned tracker. It worked! The ground is a stitch of 8 segments shot with the tracker motor off, then blended with a stitch of 20 segments for the sky, in 3 tiers of 8 + 6 + 6 segments, all with the Sigma 24mm lens at f/2.8 and for 1-minute with the Nikon D750 at ISO 1600 for all shots. Stitched with PTGui v12 which at last saves camera metadata when exporting PSD files. The original is 25,600 pixels wide.

Auroral Arc in the Moonlight (Feb 28, 2021)

A panorama of an arc of Northern Lights, taken from home on February 28, 2021, with a Kp 4 to 6 level aurora and geomagnetic storm in progress. But it was fading by the time the sky cleared from home this night. I shot this about 11:05 pm. MST. To the eye the aurora looked colourless and was difficult to tell apart from the moonlit high clouds. But even in Live View, the camera distinctly showed the green auroral arc. The display never got very bright in the time I was watching and shooting. This is a panorama of 5 segments with the Rokinon SP 14mm lens at f/2.8 for 15 seconds each, and with the Canon EOS Ra at ISO 400, stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. I blended in an additional selfie segment taken right after the pan segments, to add me into the scene. A mild Orton Glow effect added to the foreground with Luminar AI.

Aurora from Home v2 (Feb 19, 2021)

An aurora from home in southern Alberta on February 19, 2021. The Kp index was up to 4 this night and produced superb shows from northern latitudes, and a nice photogenic horizon display from my latitude of 51° N. Illumination is from the waxing quarter Moon behind the camera in the west. This is looking northeast over the old farm rake. This is a single 15-second exposure at f/2.8 with the Laowa 15mm lens and Sony a7III at ISO 800.

Aurora from Home v1 (Feb 19, 2021)

An aurora from home in southern Alberta on February 19, 2021. The Kp index was up to 4 this night and produced superb shows from northern latitudes, and a nice photogenic horizon display from my latitude of 51° N. Illumination is from the waxing quarter Moon behind the camera in the west. This is looking northeast. This is a single 15-second exposure at f/2.8 with the Laowa 15mm lens and Sony a7III at ISO 800.

Introducing the Aurora (Feb 19, 2021)

An aurora selfie from home in southern Alberta on February 19, 2021, with me offering up views of the Northern Lights. The Kp index was up to 4 this night and produced superb shows from northern latitudes, and a nice photogenic horizon display from my latitude of 51° N. Illumination is from the waxing quarter Moon behind the camera in the west. This is looking northeast. This is a single 15-second exposure at f/2.8 with the Laowa 15mm lens and Sony a7III at ISO 800.

Watching the Aurora (Feb 19, 2021)

An aurora selfie from home in southern Alberta on February 19, 2021. The Kp index was up to 4 this night and produced superb shows from northern latitudes, and a nice photogenic horizon display from my latitude of 51° N. Illumination is from the waxing quarter Moon behind the camera in the west. This is looking northeast. This is a single 15-second exposure at f/2.8 with the Laowa 15mm lens and Sony a7III at ISO 800.

Auroral Arc with Big Dipper and Cassiopeia

A quiescent arc of Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, across the northern horizon from home on February 1, 2021. The W of Cassiopeia is at top left; the familiar Big Dipper is at top right. Polaris in the Little Dipper, or Ursa Minor, is above centre. Cassiopeia and the Big Dipper are nicely placed at this time on a February evening flanking Polaris at an equal altitude, in the northwest and in the northeast. The Milky Way runs down the left side of the frame This is a single 30-second untracked exposure with the Sony a7III at ISO 1600, and with the Venus Optics Laowa 15mm lens wide open at f/2.

Aurora and Mars

A 180° panorama of a display of Northern Lights to the northeast, the first in many weeks for us in a Kp4 level display, with bright Mars amid clouds to the southeast, at right. Mars was near opposition and so nearly at its brightest at this time. The Big and Little Dippers are at left to the north; the Pleiades is right of centre to the east. Moonlight from the low gibbous Moon off frame to the southeast provides the illumination. Taken from home, Sept 25-26, 2020, in a stitch of 6 segments, all 20 seconds at f/2.8 and ISO 1600 with the Sigma Art 14mm lens and Nikon D750. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Aurora from Home (Sept 25, 2020)

A display of Northern Lights to the northeast, the first in many weeks for us in a Kp4 level display. The Big and Little Dippers are at left to the north. Capella is the bright star at right. Moonlight from the low gibbous Moon off frame to the southeast provides the illumination. Taken from home, Sept 25-26, 2020. This is a stack of 4 exposures for the ground to smooth noise, and one for the sky, all 10 seconds at f/2 and ISO 1600 with the Sigma Art 14mm lens and Nikon D750.

Comet NEOWISE Reflection (July 20, 2020)

Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) reflected in the still waters this night of Crawling Lake in southern Alberta. A dim aurora at right colours the sky magenta. Lingering twilight colours the sky blue. A meteor or more likely a flaring satellite appears at right and is also reflected in the water. Even in this short exposure, the two tails — dust and ion — are visible. This was July 20, 2020. The main image content is a single untracked exposure of 25 seconds at f/2.8 and ISO 3200 with the 35mm Canon lens and Canon 6D MkII. The distant clouds, horizon, and water in the distance and in the immediate foreground without stars is from an average stack of 7 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.

Selfie Observing Comet NEOWISE (July 15, 2020)

A selfie observing Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) with binoculars on the dark moonless night of July 14/15, 2020 from Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. A faint aurora colours the sky green and magenta. The faint blue ion tail of the comet is visible in addition to its brighter dust tail. The ground is illuminated by starlight and aurora light only. This is a blend of 6 exposures stacked for the ground (except me) to smooth noise, and one exposure for the sky and me, all 13 seconds at f/2.5 with the 35mm lens and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 6400. Topazs DeNoise AI applied.

Comet NEOWISE Over Dinosaur Park (July 15, 2020)

This is Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) over the badlands and formations of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, on the night of July 14-15, 2020, at about 12:30 am local time with it nearly due north and as low as it got for the night at this latitude of 51° N. A green and magenta aurora colours the northern sky also blue with perpetual summer twilight. Capella is at far right. The comet’s dim blue ion tail is visible here extending some 18° to the top of the frame; the whitish curving dust tail extends about 12° though it becomes lost in the sky still bright with twilight and the aurora this night. This is a classic comet! Very much the dimmer twin of Comet Hale-Bopp from April 1997. This is a blend of 6 exposures for the ground stacked to smooth noise, with a single exposure for the sky, with the 35mm Canon lens and Canon 6D MkII. The ground exposures are 1- and 2-minutes at ISO 1600 and f/2.8, while the single untracked sky exposure was 20 seconds at ISO 3200 and f/2.5. There was no Moon, thus the need to take very long exposures for the ground to reveal details in the landscape here illuminated by just starlight and the faint aurora that was to the north and that was barely visible to the eye. Otherwise the ground would have been a featureless silhouette. So, yes, this image shows much more than the eye could see unaided due to the long exposures, but that’s the point and attraction of astrophotography — to record celestial objects and scenes with more detail than the eye can see. Indeed, any exposure longer than a second is bound to show more than the eye can detect. However, in binoculars the ion tail was barely visible, helped by knowing it was there. But the dust tail could be see to this extent, but in binoculars! However, the comet was still a fine sight naked eye, with an obvious tail about 5° to 6° long to the eye, despite the bright midnight sky. LENR employed in camera on all shots this warm night to remove thermal speckling and colour casts the 6D MkII is prone to. Stacked and masked with Photoshop. Topaz DeNoise AI applied to the sky; Topaz Sharpen applied to the ground, plus a mild touch of ON1 Photo RAW Dynamic Contrast.