The “river of stars” – the Milky Way – arching over the scenic bend of the Red Deer River, Alberta, from the Orkney Viewpoint overlooking the Badlands and river valley, in a 270° panorama. To the north at left, a weak aurora shines along the horizon. Bands of airglow also colour the sky to the east at centre, and perpetual twilight lights the sky at far left. To the south at right, the Milky Way becomes lost amid the light pollution from Drumheller, Alberta, made more obvious by some clouds drifting through. So this is a study in skyglows: aurora, twilight, airglow, Milky Way and urban skyglow, and of the contrast between the natural sky and light polluted sky. And of course, I like the way the curve of the Milky Way is mirrored in the curve of the river, which is why I picked this spot and this night in spring, when the Milky Way is still arching across the east and not overhead as it is later in summer. The most prominent stars reflected in the still waters of the rive are the stars of Delphinus the Dolphin, but there are no dolphins in this river! Only ones made of stars. This is a stitch of 8 segments with the Sigma 20mm Art lens, in portrait mode, and Nikon D750. Each 30 seconds at f/2 and ISO 3200. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. Taken on a mild and moonless night, May 20, 2017.
The lone curtain of purple and blue aurora appears briefly amid a broader band of green aurora over the sweeping Red Deer River and Badlands of southern Alberta. From Orkney Viewpoint looking north over the valley. The Bleriot Ferry crossing is in the distance at the lights. Cassiopeia is just above the purple curtain. The river reflects the aurora light. This is a stack of 84 x 15-second exposures for the ground to smooth noise, and one 15-second exposure for the sky, all with the 20mm Sigma lens at f/2.8 and Nikon D750 at ISO 3200. They were part of a 250-frame time-lapse.
A horizon-to-zenith panorama of the winter consellations on a March evening as they set into the southwest. Orion is at bottom centre, with his Belt pointing down to Canis Major and up to Taurus. Gemini and Auriga are at top, in this case near the zenith overhead. The bright star clusters, M44, the Beehive, (at left) and M45, the Pleiades, (at right) flank the Milky Way. M45 is embedded in the Zodiacal Light. The star clusters M35 in Gemini and M41 in Canis Major are also visible as diffuse spots, as are several other star clusters. A couple of satellite trails are visible. Taken from home Match 19, 2017, for use as a book illustration. This is a panorama of 5 panels, each with the 20mm Sigma Art lens at f/2, and Nikon D750 at ISO 3200, for 25 seconds each. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
