Nightscapes - Alberta
Auroral Arc over Wheatfield (Aug 7, 2022)
An arc of a Kp-5 aurora over a wheatfield from home in southern Alberta. The panorama takes in the northern stars, from the Big Dipper and Ursa Major at left, to the W of Cassiopeia at top right of centre, with Perseus below Cassiopeia, and Andromeda and Pegasus at right. Moonlight from the waxing gibbous Moon low in the southwest illuminates the scene. Jupiter is rising at far right low in the southeast. This was taken when the display was at its most active. An hour later as it was fading STEVE appeared in a fabulous show. This is a panorama of 7 segments with the Canon R5 at ISO 800, and Canon RF15-35mm lens at 18mm and f/2.8 for 25 seconds each. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
Badlands formations in Dinosaur Provincial Park lit by the light from the July 2022 "supermoon" Full Moon off frame at right and behind the hill, on a very clear night. The stars of the northern sky are set in a deep blue sky. Arcturus is at far left; the Big Dipper is at left (distorted somewhat by the panorama projection); Polaris is left of centre at top; Cassiopeia is right of center; Andromeda and Pegasus are below the W of Cassiopeia, and at far right is the star Altair. The Full Moon was low in the sky to the south and so its light was "warm" in tone and subdued somewhat, allowing the stars to show up better than had it been a high Full Moon, as in winter. And it tints the sky blue, providing a nice contrast with the warm earth tones of the ground. This is a panorama cropped from 9 segments, each 20 seconds untracked, with the Canon RF15-35mm lens at 16mm and f/4, and Canon Ra at ISO 400, in landscape orientation. Stitched n Adobe Camera Raw. A mild Pro Contrast effect added to the ground with Nik Collection Color EFX and a mild Orton glow added to the sky with Luminar AI. The original is 14,000 pixels wide.
Autumn Constellations Rising in Super Moonlight
The northern autumn constellations rising on a moonlit summer night over the badlands formations at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, on July 12, 2022, just before local midnight. The image frames the stars of Cassiopeia (upper left), Perseus (at left), Andromeda (centre) and Pegasus (partly cut off at right). Light from the almost Full Moon, a supermoon this night and low in the south, illuminates the sky blue and foreground a warm colour. The Andromeda Galaxy is just visible in the bright sky at centre. This is a blend of a single 20-second untracked exposure for the sky with a stack of 4 x 20-second exposures for the ground, all with the Canon RF15-35mm lens at 23mm and f/4 and Canon Ra at ISO 400. A mild Pro Contrast filter applied to the ground with Nik Collection Color EFX.
A subtle and pastel aurora borealis (Northern Lights) in the northeast, above a prairie meadow at "Lone Tree Hill". The foreground and sky are lit by a bright waxing gibbous Moon, a day before Full, shining in the south. This was just after midnight on July 11/12, 2022. The auroral curtains exhibit the usual green band and rays, though with shades of green visible, perhaps from hydrogen-beta proton emission as well as oxygen electron emission, but also upper altitude reds and purples and a faint blue tint at the very tops where the aurora is lit by the Sun. The aurora was never bright this night (Kp Index was 3 or 4 at best) and even this level of intensity lasted only a couple of minutes. The stars of Perseus and Andromeda are framed here in the northeast. This is a single untracked exposure of 20 seconds, with the RF28-70mm lens at 35mm and f/4, and with the Canon R5 at ISO 800. Taken from near home in southern Alberta, Canada, latitude 51° N. Wind this night kept the mosquitoes off but did blur the foreground flowers. A mild Orton effect added selectively to the scene with Luminar AI.
An arc of modest aurora borealis (Northern Lights) across the northern horizon, above a prairie meadow in the light of a bright waxing gibbous Moon, a day before Full. This was just after midnight on July 11/12, 2022 when the sky was also still lit by summer twilight colours, and with a weak display of noctilucent clouds also visible low in the northwest at left. The auroral curtains exhibit the usual green band and rays, but also upper altitude reds and purples and a faint blue tint at the very tops where the aurora is lit by the Sun. The aurora was never bright this night (Kp Index was 3 or 4 at best) and even this level of intensity lasted only a couple of minutes, just enough time to shoot the panorama segments. The stars of Perseus and Andromeda are at right rising in the northeast; some stars of Ursa Major are at left in the northwest. Capella in Auriga shines at centre almost due north. This is a panorama of 6 segments, each 20 seconds, with the RF28-70mm lens at 35mm and f/4, and with the Canon R5 at ISO 800. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. Taken from near home in southern Alberta, Canada, latitude 51° N. Wind this night kept the mosquitoes off but did blur the foreground flowers. A mild Orton effect added to the entire scene with Luminar AI.
Noctilucent Clouds Over Canola Field (July 10, 2022)
A panorama of noctilucent clouds to the northwest near midnight on the evening of July 10-11, 2022, over a ripening field of yellow canola in southern Alberta, Canada. This was later in the display when the NLCs had faded somewhat, but the sky colours were still prominent. Foreground illumination is from the bright waxing gibbous Moon to the south, making for a nice contrast of colours between earth and sky. Capella is the bright star at far right to the north. The bright blue-white NLCs at high altitude in our atmosphere near the edge of space also contrast with the dark and low tropospheric weather clouds seen in silhouette. As a bonus — can you spot the deer? It posed for a while during one of the long exposures. This is a crop from 9 segments with the RF24-105mm lens at 105mm and f/4, and Canon R5 at ISO 800, and all 10 seconds. The original cropped panorama is 32,500 pixels wide. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. Shot from near home in Alberta.
Noctilucent Clouds Over Hill and Road (July 10, 2022)
A panorama of noctilucent clouds to the northwest just before midnight on the evening of July 10-11, 2022, over a hill and red farm road in southern Alberta, Canada. Foreground illumination is from the bright waxing gibbous Moon to the south, making for a nice contrast of colours between earth and sky. Capella is the bright star at right to the north down the farm road. At far right are the stars of Perseus in the northeast. This is an uncropped panorama from 9 segments with the RF24-105mm lens at 105mm and f/4, and Canon R5 at ISO 400, and all 10 seconds. The original panorama is 24,200 pixels wide. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. Shot from near home in Alberta.
Autumn Constellations Over Moonlit Hoodoos
The northern autumn constellations of Pegasus (partially seen at right), Andromeda (across the centre), Perseus (at lower left) and Cassiopeia (at upper left) rising over moonlit formations at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. Illumination is from the waxing gibbous Moon, setting in the southwest so it is providing a warm "bronze-hour" light. The Andromeda Galaxy, M31, is at centre. The star clusters NGC 752, M34 and the Double Cluster are at left, as well as the Perseus OB Association of stars. Some of the small star clusters in Cassiopeia are resolved as well. Some green bands of airglow also tint the sky, otherwise lit blue by the moonlight. The scene provides a nice contrast of warm earth and cool sky tones. Taken July 8, 2022, this is a blend of tracked (for the sky) and untracked (for the ground) exposures — a stack of 2 for the ground but only one for the sky: 2 minutes at f/5.6 and ISO 800 for the ground and 1 minute at f/2.8 and ISO 400 for the sky, all with the RF28-70mm lens at 28mm and Canon R5. A mild Pro Contrast effect filter added to the ground with Nik Collection 5 and a mild Orton glow added to the sky with Luminar AI. The tracker was the Star Adventurer Mini. Noise reduction applied to the single sky image using RC-Astro Noise XTerminator. I didn't take any more sky shots as the Moon was fast setting and disappearing into clouds, so the light for the ground shots taken after the sky shot would be going away soon. Plus clouds were moving into the frame. The mosquitoes enjoyed my presence here this warm July night!
Big Dipper Over Moonlit Hoodoos
The Big Dipper and Ursa Major over moonlit formations at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. Illumination is from the waxing gibbous Moon, setting in the southwest so it is providing a warm "bronze-hour" light. The scene provides a nice contrast of warm earth and cool sky tones. Taken July 8, 2022, this is a blend of tracked (for the sky) and untracked (for the ground) exposures — a stack of 2 for the ground and 2 for the sky: 2 minutes at f/5.6 and ISO 800 for the ground and 1 minute at f/2.8 and ISO 400 for the sky, all with the RF28-70mm lens at 28mm and Canon R5. A mild Pro Contrast effect filter added to the ground with Nik Collection 5 and a mild Orton glow added to the sky with Luminar AI. The tracker was the Star Adventurer Mini. The mosquitoes enjoyed my presence here this warm July night!
Andromeda Galaxy Over Moonlit Hoodoos
The Andromeda Galaxy (aka Messier 31) and the stars of Andromeda rising over moonlit formations at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. Illumination is from the waxing gibbous Moon, low in the southwest so it is providing a warm light. This is an example of a "deepscape" - a nightcape with a telephoto lens to also record a deep-sky object in the frame above the horizon. However, moonlight prevents the galaxy from showing up as well as it would in a dark sky. The sedimentary formations here are from the late Cretaceous, about 70 million years old, while the light from the Andromeda Galaxy is about 2.5 million years old, though the galaxy itself is much older — billions of years old, older than the Earth and Sun. The scene provides a nice contrast of warm earth and cool sky tones. Taken July 8, 2022, this is a blend of tracked (for the sky) and untracked (for the ground) exposures — a stack of 2 for the ground and 5 for the sky, all 1 minute at f/4 and ISO 400 with the RF28-70mm lens at 70mm and Canon R5. The blend of sky exposures blurred the moving clouds framing the galaxy. I added a mild Pro Contrast effect filter to the ground with Nik Collection 5, and added sharpening to the ground with Topaz Sharpen AI. The tracker was the Star Adventurer Mini.
Andromeda Rising Over Moonlit Hoodoos
The constellation of Andromeda, with Cassiopeia at upper left, and Pegasus at right, rising over moonlit formations at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. Illumination is from the waxing gibbous Moon, low in the southwest so it is providing a warm light. The faint (in the moonlit sky) fuzzy patch of the Andromeda Galaxy, Messier 31, is visible at centre. The scene provides a nice contrast of warm earth and cool sky tones. Taken July 8, 2022, this is a blend of tracked (for the sky) and untracked (for the ground) exposures — a stack of 3 for the ground and 2 for the sky, all 1 minute at f/4 and ISO 400 with the RF28-70mm lens at 28mm and Canon R5. A mild Pro Contrast effect filter added to the ground with Nik Collection 5 and a mild Orton glow added to the sky with Luminar AI. The tracker was the Star Adventurer Mini. The mosquitoes enjoyed my presence here this warm July night!
Andromeda Rising at Dinosaur Park
The constellation of Andromeda with the famous Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31) rising on an early summer night at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. This was June 30, 2022. The Square of Pegasus is at right. Several star clusters are at left: the Double Cluster at upper left, M34 below it, and NGC 752 to the right of M34. To the right of NGC 752 is the fuzzy patch of Messier 33, the Triangulum Galaxy. The main three stars of Triangulum are just rising above the hill at left. Green airglow tints the sky, as well as blue from the perpetual twilight at this time of year and latitude of 50° N. This is a blend of tracked exposures for the sky and untracked for the ground: all 2 minutes at f/2 with the RF28-70mm lens at 28mm and Canon R5 at ISO 800. The tracker was the Star Adventurer Mini. As the camera was aimed east to the rising sky, I took the static untracked shots first, followed by the tracked shots, so the ground would better cover the blurry horizon in the tracked shots -- i.e. the static horizon would be higher in the frame requiring less manual moving to cover the blurry horizon. LENR employed on all shots on this mild night. NoiseXTerminator applied to the sky.
Scorpius and Sagittarius at Dinosaur Park
The galactic centre area in Sagittarius (at left) and Scorpius (at right) low in the south on a summer night at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. This was June 30/July 1, 2022. Being just 10 days after summer solstice and at latitude +50° North, the sky even to the south still has a blue tint from all-night twilight. I made no attempt to neutralize the sky colouration. In addition, some haze from smoke discoloured the sky and reduced transparency and contrast low in the sky. Many of the nebulas and star clusters in this part of the Milky Way are visible, many of them showpiece Messier objects for binoculars and telescopes. The colourful area around the star Rho Ophiuchi above Antares is at right, though muted here by the smoke and haze. This is a blend of a single tracked 1-minute exposure at f/2 with the RF28-70mm lens and ISO 1600 for the sky, with a stack of two 6-minute untracked exposures at f/3.5 and ISO 800 for the ground, all with the Canon R5 on the Star Adventurer Mini tracker. A mild Orton glow effect added to the sky with Luminar AI and a mild dynamic Pro Contrast effect added to the ground with Nik Collection 5 Color EFX Pro. LENR in-camera dark frame subtraction employed on all frames on this mild night. Taken between 12:30 am and 1 am.
The Crowded Sky — All-Night Satellites (June 1-2, 2022)
This is a blend of exposures showing all the satellites (and a few aircraft) recorded by the camera on a late spring night (June 1-2, 2022) from latitude 51° North, from where and when satellites are illuminated all night long and can be seen all through the short night. This is looking almost due south. This illustrates the very crowded sky above us now. And likely none of these are SpaceX Starlink satellites, as most of those are now below naked-eye brightness when in their final orbits. The satellites recorded here would have mostly been visible to the naked-eye. Most of the brightest satellites are also polar-orbiting, in north-south paths here. The Space Station did not make any passes this night. A few trails (the colourful ones, made of lots of dots) are from aircraft. And some very short streaks are meteors, or perhaps flaring satellites. The inset shows a blow up of the central area, showing even more satellites, the fainter ones, visible at that greater scale. The field of view of the main image is 120° wide. This is a stack of 515 exposures taken over 3 hours 15 minutes from 11:23 pm to 2:38 am MDT on June 1-2, 2022, each 20 seconds long with the 11mm TTArtisan full-frame fish-eye lens at f/2.8 and the Canon R5 at ISOs from 1600 to 6400, shifted through the night. The camera was on a star tracker, the Star Adventurer Mini, to follow the sky and keep the stars more or less stationary. A slight drift in the tracking motion has made the stars trail slightly. But having the tracker follow the sky means the ground was blurred, as well as sky content such as clouds and light pollution glows. Thus the streaks in the sky. The ground image comes from a single exposure in the middle of the sequence, layered in and masked. Gaps in the satellite trails are from the 1-second interval between exposures. Stacked with the now-discontinued Advanced Stacker Plus actions.
The summer Milky Way in Cygnus, with the Summer Triangle stars rising over the Hoodoos formations on Highway 10 near Drumheller, Alberta. A low-level aurora display tints the sky magenta and blue at left, making for an unusually colourful sky. The bright stars are: Vega is at top, Deneb at centre and Altair at bottom right. This is a blend of a tracked 2-minute exposure for the sky at f/2.8 and ISO 1600, with a stack of 3 untracked 8-minute exposures for the ground at f/5.6 and ISO 800, all with the Canon RF28-70mm lens at 28mm and the red-sensitive Canon Ra. Some of the foreground illumination comes from a single distant sodium vapour light, thus the blue shadows. No light painting was used here. The tracker was the Star Adventurer Mini.
Twilight Panorama over the Red Deer River
A panorama of the Badlands and evening twilight sky over the curve of the Red Deer River, Alberta, from the Orkney Viewpoint on the west side of the river, overlooking the formations of the Horsethief Canyon area to the east. This was May 21, 2022. The pink Belt of Venus is obvious at right above the dark blue band at the horizon of Earth's shadow rising, making for some wonderful colours in the sky contrasting with the earth tones below. This is a panorama of 9 segments, with the RF28-70mm lens at f/5.6 and Canon R5 at ISO 100, for 1/10-second exposures for each segment. Stitched with Photoshop Photomerge as ACR did not want to stitch these segments at all. The original is 21,400 pixels wide.
Lunar Eclipse (May 15, 2022) — Near Totality
The eclipsed Full Moon rising over Reesor Lake in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, Alberta, on May 15, 2022. This was just before totality, with just a thin sliver of the Moon stlll illuminated by direct sunlight. From my location and longitude, the Moon rose in the late stages of the initial partial eclipse, but with the portion of the Moon's disk in the umbra glowing a dim red and just visible in the blue twilight sky. Shortly after this image, as totality began with the Moon entirely in the umbra, the Moon had moved up into the increasing clouds at top that were moving eastward, and obscured the Moon for the rest of totality. But for a while at moonrise the band of sky with the Moon low in the southeast was clear. It was a narrow band of photo opportunity, but at the right time for foreground lighting in the still bright twilight. This was from the west end of Reesor Lake near the Saskatchewan border. The lake is home in spring and summer to lots of white American pelicans seen dotting the lake here. It is named for the Reesor family who now in their fifth generation still ranch just up the road from here north of the Park. This is a single image with the Canon RF70-200mm lens at 124mm and f/4 and 0.3 seconds at ISO 200 with the red-sensitive Canon Ra camera. Location planning done with the aid of The Photographer's Ephemeris and TPE3D. However, this was a favourite spot that I had shot from several times before, but never a lunar eclipse! I chased here to avoid the worst of the clouds incoming from the west. Cloud cover matched predictions precisely this night.
Lunar Eclipse (May 15, 2022) — Deep Partial
The eclipsed Full Moon rising over Reesor Lake in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, Alberta, on May 15, 2022. This was in the last stages of the partial eclipse, with a portion of the Moon's disk stlll illuminated by direct sunlight, but the rest in the red umbral shadow. From my location and longitude, the Moon rose in the late stages of the initial partial eclipse, but with the portion of the Moon's disk in the umbra glowing a dim red and just visible in the blue twilight sky. Later, as totality began with the Moon entirely in the umbra, the Moon had moved up into the increasing clouds at top that were moving eastward, and obscured the Moon for the rest of totality. But for a while at moonrise the band of sky with the Moon low in the southeast was clear. It was a narrow band of photo opportunity, but at the right time for foreground lighting in the still bright twilight. This was from the west end of Reesor Lake near the Saskatchewan border. The lake is home in spring and summer to lots of white American pelicans seen dotting the lake here. It is named for the Reesor family who now in their fifth generation still ranch just up the road from here north of the Park. This is a single image with the Canon RF70-200mm lens at 135mm and f/4 and 0.6 seconds at ISO 100 with the red-sensitive Canon Ra camera. Location planning done with the aid of The Photographer's Ephemeris and TPE3D. However, this was a favourite spot that I had shot from several times before, but never a lunar eclipse! I chased here to avoid the worst of the clouds incoming from the west. Cloud cover matched predictions precisely this night.
Lunar Eclipse Panorama at Reesor Lake
A panorama of the eclipsed Full Moon rising over Reesor Lake in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, Alberta, on May 15, 2022. This was the much-publicized "Super Flower Blood Moon" eclipse. From my location and longitude, the Moon rose in the late stages of the initial partial eclipse shown here, but with the portion of the Moon's disk in the umbra glowing a dim red and just visible in the blue twilight sky. Shortly after this, as totality began with the Moon entirely in the umbra, the Moon had moved up into the increasing clouds at top that were moving eastward, and obscured the Moon for the rest of totality. But for a while at moonrise the band of sky with the Moon low in the southeast was clear. It was a narrow band of photo opportunity, but at the right time for foreground lighting in the still bright twilight. This was from the west end of Reesor Lake near the Saskatchewan border. The lake is home in spring and summer to lots of white American pelicans seen dotting the lake here. It is named for the Reesor family who now in their fifth generation still ranch just up the road from here north of the Park. This is a stitch of three segments with the Canon RF70-200mm lens at 86mm and f/5 and 0.8 seconds at ISO 100 with the red-sensitive Canon Ra camera. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw with most processing in ACR with sky and ground masks. Location planning done with the aid of The Photographer's Ephemeris and TPE3D. However, this was a favourite spot that I had shot from several times before, but never a lunar eclipse! I chased here to avoid the worst of the clouds incoming from the west. Cloud cover matched predictions precisely this night.
Rising Moon at Equinox (March 18, 2022)
The nearly Full Moon rising on March 18 near the date of the March equinox (March 20 this year) , so it rose nearly due east this night. This March Moon is also popularly called the Worm Moon. The Moon was a day past Full this night, and clouds hid the Moon at moonrise. By the time it appeared from behind the cloud bank it was a little south of due east and the east-west prairie road. This is a 7-exposure blend to retain detail in the lunar disk while bringing out the ground. Exposures ranged from 1/10 second to 25 seconds, all with the RF70-200mm lens at f/8 and Canon Ra at ISO 400. Blended with ADP Pro luminosity masking panel. Taken from near home in southern Alberta.
Venus in Twilight Panorama (December 20, 2021)
Venus as an "evening star" in the deepening twilight of solstice eve on December 20, 2021. This is a 2-section panorama to show off the sweep of the horizon colours. Diffraction spikes added for artistic effect with AstronomyTools actions.
Venus in Twilight (December 20, 2021)
Venus as an "evening star" in the deepening twilight of solstice eve on December 20, 2021. This is a single image with the Canon 28-70mm RF lens and Canon Ra. Diffraction spikes added for photogenic effect with AstronomyTools actions.
The rising nearly Full Moon of December 19, 2021, above a snowy prairie scene with a lone tree, and with the cold blue twilight lighting the snow, contrasting with the pink of the Belt of Venus above. This is a two-exposure blend: a 0.5-second image for all, except for a 1/8-second exposure for the Moon itself to preserve the colour of the lunar disk. Blended with BlendIf in Photoshop. Exposures taken moments apart with the 24-105mm RF lens at 105mm and f/8 and Canon Ra at ISO 100.
Cold Winter Moonrise and Lone Tree
The rising nearly Full Moon of December 19, 2021, above a snowy prairie scene with a lone tree, and the cold blue twilight lighting the snow, contrasting with the pink of the Belt of Venus above. The Moon is partly in a narrow band of cloud and is exhibiting a slight green flash phenomenon on its distorted upper edge, and red limb on its lower edge from atmospheric dispersion. This is a single 0.3-second exposure with the 24-105mm RF lens at 105mm and f/8 and red-sensitive Canon Ra at ISO 100.