A 360° panorama of the summer solstice sky, taken from home at latitude 51° North, at 1:00 a.m. on the night of June 22/23, 2017, with an abundance of sky glows: - The yellow and blue glow to the north, at centre, of perpetual twilight (the sky never gets astronomically dark) - A minor display of northern lights adding green and magenta to the north - Some faint green bands of airglow to the west (far left) and east (right of centre) - And the Milky Way arching across the sky from NE to SW. - Light pollution lights the clouds yellow from sodium vapour lamps. However, there were no noctilucent clouds this night, which would have addded another form of solstice skyglow. Highlights include: - The Big Dipper and Arcturus are at far left - a satellite pierces the handle of the Big Dipper - Polaris is left of centre - the Summer Triangle stars are at right of centre straddling the Milky Way - Saturn is at far right above the horizon in the Milky Way - the Galactic Centre is in the south at far right low on the horizon as it is from this latitude - the Andromeda Galaxy is rising in the NE at centre. This is a stitch of 6 segments, each with the 12mm Rokinon full-frame fish-eye lens, horizontally framed, on the Nikon D750, all 40 seconds at f/2.8 and ISO 3200. Stitched with PTGui. Shot from home in southern Alberta.
Reesor Ranch 360° night sky panorama, taken July 16, 2013 with the Moon still up and lighting up the sky but behind the trees and about to set. This is an 8-segment panorama taken with the 8mm fish-eye, at 45° spacing, and each segment 80 seconds at f/3.5 and the Canon 5D MkII at ISO 3200. North is just left of centre. Two cameras are at left shooting time-lapses.
A 360° night panorama, lit by moonlight, taken from the boardwalk out to Pryamid Island on Pyramid Lake in Jasper National Park. Contructed in the 1930s, the Boardwalk takes you to a popular picnic spot, Pyramid Island at the north end of Pyramid Lake. The view across the water to the surrounding mountains is wonderful by day and by night. By night, this is a fabulous place for stargazing in this Dark Sky Preserve. Here, south is at left, toward Mt. Edith Cavell. To the southwest, the waxing gibbous Moon is setting. At right of centre, the Boardwalk leads to Pyramid Island itself, with Pyramid Mountain behind it. Right of the island is the Big Dipper. To the right of the image, to the northeast, there’s a weak aurora display. The Milky Way is faintly visible in the moonlit sky overhead. This an 8-segement panorama, taken with the 15mm full-frame fisheye lens and Canon 6D. Each segment was a 32-second exposure at f/2.8 and ISO 1250, stitched with PTGui.
