Scorpius rising over a telescope and observers at the annual OzSky Star Party in Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia on April 5, 2016. Mars is the bright reddish object outshining Antares and to the left of Antares. Saturn is below Mars above the trees. This is a stack of 2 x 2 minute exposures at f/2.2 with the 35mm lens, both tracked on the iOptron Sky Tracker, plus a blend of another 2 minute exposure through the Kenko Softon A filter to add the star glows, plus a 2-minute untracked exposure for the sharp foreground illuminated only by starlight. All with the Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600. The camera and mount were set and polar aligned at this location for a 360° panorama and the difficulty of polar aligning down under prevented me from choosing a location with a better composition and foreground for this image. You don’t just grab the tripod and tracker to move it where you want and quickly re-align as in the north.
Scorpius rising in Australia, amid light cloud at left of the image. All of Scorpius has cleared the trees. Saturn is the bright object in Libra at upper left. Taken from the Warrumbungles Motel, near Coonabarabran, Australia, April 2, 2014. This is a stack of 3 images, each 3 minutes at f/2.8 with the 35mm lens and Canon 5D Mark II at ISO 1600.
The constellation of Scorpius with bright reddish Antares at top, with even brighter reddish Mars above it, and whie Saturn to the left of Antares. This shows all of Scorpius with Corona Australis and Ara below. This is a stack of 4 x 3-minute exppsures at f/2.8 with the 35mm lens and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600, plus a fifth exposure of the same settings but through the Kenko Softon A filter for the star glows. Taken from the Warrumbungles Motel grounds at the 2016 OzSky Star Party, near Coonabarabran, Australia. I present the image as a vertical portrait format image to depict the constellation as it is normally depicted, but in reality Scorpius was horizontal with the horizon off frame to the left here.
