A 360° panorama taken at the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory on August 30, 2014 at one of the annual Milky Way Nights, a public stargazing session which, this night, attracted about 400 people. The Observatory is just southwest of the city do the city lights illuminate the northern sky to the left behind the 16-inch Dome. The Milky Way arches overhead and to the south at right. People gather on the plaza to look through portable telescopes set up by members of the Calgary Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Blurred people also line up to go inside and look though the large observatory telescopes. Other people lie back on the lawn to gaze skyward. This is an 8-segment panorama with the 15mm full-frame fisheye lens at f/3.2 for 30 seconds each at ISO 1600. Stitched with PTGui.
A 360° panorama of the OzSky Star Safari 2014, at the Warrumbungles Mountain Motel near Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia, taken March 31, 2014. This is a 12-section panorama with the Canon 60Da at ISO 3200 and 30 second exposures, untracked, with the 15mm full-frame fish-eye lens at f/2.8. Lighting and movement between segments produces some blending issues. But PTGui spliced the frames together very well and effortlessly. Photoshop failed to blend these.
The spectacular southern Milky Way arching over the OzSky 2016 star party near Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia, in a roughly 240° panorama from southeast to northwest. The Milky Way extends from Canis Major just setting in the west (at far right), across the sky through Puppis and Vela (at upper right), through Carina, Crux and Centaurus (top), and down into Scorpius and Sagittarius rising in the east (at left), with the bulge of the galactic centre rising. The panorama takes in the complete extent of the southern hemisphere Milky Way. The Large Magellanic Cloud, the southern sky’s other great sight, is above the trees right of lower centre. The Southern Cross is at its highest due south at centre here. The huge bubble of the Gum Nebula in Vela is visible at right. Mars and Saturn are in Scorpius/Ophiuchus at left, with reddish Mars to the left of Antares. The telescopes and observers are with the annual OzSky star party held on this site in the austral autumn months, and organized by the Three Rivers Foundation in Australia. About 40 people attended this year, and attendance is limited. This is a stitch of 7 panels, each a 2.5-minute exposure at f/2.8 with the Rokinon 14mm lens mounted vertically and Canon 5D MkII at ISO 4000. The panels were spaced at 45° intervals. The camera was on the iOptron Sky Tracker so the sky is not trailed but the ground is, but minimally at this focal length. Stitched with PTGui using fish-eye projection.
