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.
The late winter evening Zodiacal Light, as shot at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, February 28, 2017. The Light is the glow from sunlight reflecting off cometary dust particles in the inner solar system. It is not an effect of twilight. It is best visible in the evening from northern latitudes in late winter and spring. Venus is just setting above the badlands landscape. The Andromeda Galaxy is at right, the Pleiades at left. The Milky Way runs across the frame at top. This is a stack of 7 x 30-second exposures for the ground, mean combined for lower noise, plus one 30-second exposure for the sky, all at f/2 with the 20mm Sigma Art lens, and Nikon D750 at ISO 6400.
