Red Auroral Arc Panorama v2 (April 14, 2021)

A panorama of the auroral arc seen from home in southern Alberta (latitude 51° N) on April 14/15, 2021, showing a very red component above (to the south of?) the main green auroral arc low across the north. At right, it takes on a STEVE-like appearance. Is this an example of a SAR Arc -- a Sub-Auroral Red Arc? A brief sighting of a partial STEVE arc was reported this night but I missed it. The Kp level did go as high as 5 this night. This scene was about 12:30 am MDT April 15, 2021. By coincidence the arc of the Milky Way low across the north parallels the arc of the Northern Lights. Capella is at far left in the northwest; Vega is rising at right of centre in the northeast. This is a stitch of 4 segments, each untracked for 45 seconds at f/2.8 with the Sigma 24mm Art lens on the Nikon D750 at ISO 1600. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Red Auroral Arc Panorama v1 (April 14, 2021)

A panorama of the auroral arc seen from home in southern Alberta (latitude 51° N) on April 14/15, 2021, showing a very red component above (to the south of?) the main green auroral arc low across the north. At right, it takes on a STEVE-like appearance. Is this an example of a SAR Arc -- a Sub-Auroral Red Arc? A brief sighting of a partial STEVE arc was reported this night but I missed it. The Kp level did go as high as 5 this night. This scene was at about 12:15 am MDT on April 15. By coincidence the arc of the Milky Way low across the north parallels the arc of the Northern Lights. Capella is at far left in the northwest; Vega is rising at right of centre in the northeast. This is a stitch of 7 segments, each untracked for 30 seconds at f/2.5 with the Sigma 24mm Art lens on the Nikon D750 at ISO 800. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Auroral Arc Panorama (March 13, 2021)

An arc of aurora across the north, taken from home in southern Alberta March 13, 2021 on a night when the STEVE auroral arc appeared about 45 minutes after this was taken whren the main arc shown here had faded. This is a cropped stitch of 9 segments, each 30 seconds at f/2.8 with the Venus Optics 15mm lens and Sony a7III at ISO 1600. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Late Winter/Early Spring Sky Panorama with Aurora

A 360° panorama of the late winter and early spring sky with an arc of aurora, from a latitude of 51° N. This was March 13, 2021, from home in southern Alberta. This night there was a bright aurora across the northern sky, so I have oriented the view to place due north just right of centre. The Big Dipper is at right; Leo is rising at far right. The bright winter stars around Orion are at far left to the south. High clouds and haze, partly lit by light pollution here, add the natural glows to the stars, emphasizing the bright stars and constellation patterns. No filter was used here. The yellow arch at left is a band of cloud illuminated by light pollution. This was a test of new panorama gear, using an Acratech Pan Head on top of a Alyn Wallace/MSM Z-Plate mounted to a Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i tracker, to allow taking tracked segments for the panorama, to prevent star trailing. The Z-Plate allowed the Pan Head to mount and move horizontally and vertically in azimuth and altitude despite being on a polar aligned tracker. It worked! The ground is a stitch of 8 segments shot with the tracker motor off, then blended with a stitch of 20 segments for the sky, in 3 tiers of 8 + 6 + 6 segments, all with the Sigma 24mm lens at f/2.8 and for 1-minute with the Nikon D750 at ISO 1600 for all shots. Stitched with PTGui v12 which at last saves camera metadata when exporting PSD files. The original is 25,600 pixels wide.

Moonrise at Dinosaur Park Panorama

A 180° panorama of the rising Full Moon and twilight colours over the badlands of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta on December 29, 2020. This was the "Cold Winter" Moon of 2020. The view is overlooking the Red Deer River valley. I shot this panorama from the Park's entrance gate viewpoint. The image is a 14-segment panorama with the 50mm Sigma lens at f/4.5 and Canon EOS Ra at ISO 100, stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. The original is 34,000 pixels wide.

Jupiter & Saturn over Bow River Valley

The still close pairing of Jupiter and Saturn in the evening twilight over the Bow River Valley, in southern Alberta, taken from the Siksika First Nations land near Blackfoot Crossing on December 28, 2020. The night was very clear with brilliant twilight colours. The waxing Moon was providing some of the foreground illumination. This is an HDR panorama of 3 x 3 panels: 3 segments, each with 3 exposures of 2, 4, and 8 seconds, to retain the sky colours but bring out the landscape details. Merged with Adobe Camera Raw. Shot with the Sigma 50mm lens on the red-sensitive Canon EOS Ra camera at ISO 100.

Jupiter and Saturn in Twilight Panorama

Jupiter and Saturn nearing their December 21, 2020 Great Conjunction, with this image taken December 14, 2020 from home in southern Alberta. This is a panorama stitch of two images, each a blend of 4 untracked images for the dark ground and stacked to smooth noise, plus a stack of 4 tracked images for the sky, all with the 85mm Rokinon lens at f/3.5 and Canon EOS Ra at ISO 400. The camera was on the Star Adventurer 2i tracker, only roughly polar aligned as Polaris was not readily visible amid clouds to the north and in the bright sky. Diffraction spikes added in Astronomy Tools actions. Stitched in Photoshop with Photomerge. Taken well past traditional "blue hour" but when there was still a lot of colour in the sky to the camera, yet the sky was dark enough to show other stars.

Planet Array in Twilight with Labels (Nov 20, 2020)

A panorama of the array of planets across the evening sky on November 20, 2020, with the waxing crescent Moon between the close pairing of Jupiter and Saturn in the southwest at right and Mars in the southeast at left. Uranus also just shows up, but not Neptune as it was too faint to record in the twilight. In this version I have added the labels and the constellation lines for the autumn constellations (which are patterns mostly associated with water), and the ecliptic line. This is a 5-section panorama with the 20mm Sigma Art lens at Nikon D750, stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. All 10 seconds at ISO 100 and f/2.8. Taken from home in southern Alberta.

Planet Array in Twilight (Nov 20, 2020)

A panorama of the array of planets across the evening sky on November 20, 2020, with the waxing crescent Moon between the close pairing of Jupiter and Saturn in the southwest at right and Mars in the southeast at left. Uranus also just shows up, but not Neptune as it was too faint to record in the twilight. This is a 5-section panorama with the 20mm Sigma Art lens at Nikon D750, stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. All 10 seconds at ISO 100 and f/2.8. Taken from home in southern Alberta.

Four Rocky Worlds at Dawn (with Labels)

This is a dawn scene with three of the inner solar system’s rocky or “terrestrial” worlds in one image — four if you count the Earth as well! In this version I have labelled the objects. This is a panorama of the waning crescent Moon above the two inner planets, Mercury and Venus, shining here as morning “stars” in the pre-dawn sky, Nov. 12, 2020. Mercury is lowest near the horizon and brighter Venus is higher, below the Moon. Mercury was two days past its greatest western elongation, placing it about as high as it gets and in a favourable elongation on an autumn morning, with the ecliptic angled up as high as it gets for the year in the dawn sky. Favourable evening elongations of Mercury in the western sky occur in spring. All the worlds were in Virgo, not to imply any astrological significance! The star Spica is between and to the right of the planets. At far right is the distinctive quadrilateral figure of the constellation of Corvus the crow just rising in the southeast. This is a panorama of 2 segments, each 10 seconds with the Sigma 50mm lens at f/2.8 and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 200. I blended in a shorter 2-second exposure for the Moon to prevent its disk from being too overexposed and to show the Earthshine. Stitched in Adobe Camera Raw. A mild Orton glow added with Luminar 4 to soften the image and brighten the colours.

Four Rocky Worlds at Dawn

This is a dawn scene with three of the inner solar system’s rocky or “terrestrial” worlds in one image — four if you count the Earth as well! This is a panorama of the waning crescent Moon above the two inner planets, Mercury and Venus, shining here as morning “stars” in the pre-dawn sky, Nov. 12, 2020. Mercury is lowest near the horizon and brighter Venus is higher, below the Moon. Mercury was two days past its greatest western elongation, placing it about as high as it gets and in a favourable elongation on an autumn morning, with the ecliptic angled up as high as it gets for the year in the dawn sky. Favourable evening elongations of Mercury in the western sky occur in spring. All the worlds were in Virgo, not to imply any astrological significance! The star Spica is between and to the right of the planets. At far right is the distinctive quadrilateral figure of the constellation of Corvus the crow just rising in the southeast. This is a panorama of 2 segments, each 10 seconds with the Sigma 50mm lens at f/2.8 and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 200. I blended in a shorter 2-second exposure for the Moon to prevent its disk from being too overexposed and to show the Earthshine. Stitched in Adobe Camera Raw. A mild Orton glow added with Luminar 4 to soften the image and brighten the colours.

Aurora and Mars

A 180° panorama of a display of Northern Lights to the northeast, the first in many weeks for us in a Kp4 level display, with bright Mars amid clouds to the southeast, at right. Mars was near opposition and so nearly at its brightest at this time. The Big and Little Dippers are at left to the north; the Pleiades is right of centre to the east. Moonlight from the low gibbous Moon off frame to the southeast provides the illumination. Taken from home, Sept 25-26, 2020, in a stitch of 6 segments, all 20 seconds at f/2.8 and ISO 1600 with the Sigma Art 14mm lens and Nikon D750. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Zodiacal Light with Venus and Mars

The Zodiacal Light before dawn on September 21, 2020 with Venus bright in the Zodiacal Light at left of centre, and Mars bright at far right. Orion and the winter stars are at centre. The Big Dipper is at far left/ This is a panorama of 6 segments, each untracked for 25 seconds at f/2 with the 14mm Sigma Art lens on the Nikon D750 at ISO 1600, and stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Comet over the Columbia Icefields at Moonset

Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) on July 27, 2020, at right, over the Columbia Icefields with the Moon still lighting the peaks in a warm “bronze hour” light for a lunar alpenglow. The Moon is behind Snowdome Peak at centre and is also still lighting the sky a deep blue. The Milky Way is at left over Mount Andromeda. Arcturus is the bright star at top centre. This was more or less my parting shot of the comet, as it was fading rapidly at this time receding from Earth, though it was still naked eye. Plus the waxing Moon was going to be lighting the sky much more in the following week. So this was the night! Shooting a week earlier when the comet was brighter and larger would have been nice, but clouds would have got in the way. This was shot during a run of unusually clear nights at the Icefields, the first good clear nights according to the locals. I shot this during the brief “bronze hour” interval immediately after the Moon had disappeared behind Snowdome but was still lighting the peaks. So to be clear — the peaks are lit by the setting Moon, not by the Sun. This is not a composite of day and night shots; it is a well-timed and planned panorama shot as quickly as possible over a few minutes before the lighting changed. Lingering twilight lights the horizon down the Sunwapta Valley at right. The famous Athabasca Glacier is just left of centre; Snowdome Glacier is right of centre, with the glacial Sunwapta Lake in the foreground. Mount Athabasca is at far left with its glacier. This is a 17-segment (!) panorama with the 35mm Canon lens at f/2.5 and Canon EOS Ra camera at ISO 1600, for 20 seconds each, untracked. The overlap was more than is normally needed but the segments stitched perfectly with Adobe Camera Raw, which is not always the case with such scenes. LENR employed on all segments when shooting on this warm night. Dodging and burning applied to accentuate highlights and shadows. Topaz Sharpen AI applied. The original is over 27,000 pixels wide.

Alpenglow at the Icefields

The last rays of the setting Sun catch the peaks around the Columbia Icefields in Jasper National Park, Alberta, on July 27, 2020. The waxing quarter Moon shines over Mount Andromeda and sunlight illuminates the glacier on Mount Athabasca at left. The famous Athabasca Glacier itself is at centre. Snow Dome Glacier is at right. The meltwater lake in the middle distance is Sunwapta Lake. This is a panorama cropped in from the original 10 segments, each with the 35mm lens and Canon EOS Ra camera, all at ISO 100 and 1/25 sec at f/8. Stitched in Adobe Camera Raw. Shot from the moraine at the start of the access road across the forefield.

Panorama of Comet NEOWISE Over Prince of Wales Hotel (July 14, 2020)

A once-in-a-lifetime scene — A panorama of the dawn sky at 4 am on July 14, 2020 from Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada with Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) over the iconic Prince of Wales Hotel. Noctilucent clouds glow below the comet in the dawn twilight. Venus is rising right of centre paired with Aldebaran and the Hyades star cluster, while the Pleiades cluster shine above. The waning quarter Moon shines above the Vimy Peak at far right. The Big Dipper is partly visible above the mountain at far left. Capella and the stars of Auriga are at centre. This is an 8-segment panorama with the 35mm Canon lens at f/2.5 for 15 seconds each at ISO 100 with the Canon 6D MkII and stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Comet NEOWISE and Aurora Panorama (July 13, 2020)

Another amazing sky scene — A panorama of the late night sky just before midnight on July 13, 2020 from Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada with Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) over the front range of the Rocky Mountains and an arc of aurora across the north. Earlier, noctilucent clouds were also visible. Quite the show! This was taken from the Bison Compound access road. This is an 6-segment panorama with the 35mm Canon lens at f/2.2 for 25 seconds each at ISO 800 with the Canon 6D MkII and stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Comet NEOWISE over Red Deer River

Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) over the Red Deer River from Orkney Viewpoint north of Drumheller, Alberta, on the morning of July 11, 2020. The sky is brightening with dawn twilight and a small display of noctilucent clouds is on the horizon at right. The constellation of Auriga with the bright star Capella is at right. This is looking north toward the Bleriot Ferry terminal. Light from the waning gibbous Moon provides the illumination, plus twilight. Some ground fog lies in the valley below. This is a two-segment vertical panorama with the 35mm Canon lens at f/2.8 and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 200 for 13 seconds each. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw with Perspective geometry.

Comet NEOWISE over Red Deer River Panorama (July 11, 2020)

What a magical scene this was! This is Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) over the sweep of the Red Deer River and Badlands from Orkney Viewpoint north of Drumheller, Alberta, on the morning of July 11, 2020. The sky is brightening with dawn twilight and a small display of noctilucent clouds is on the horizon right of centre. Venus and and Pleiades are rising at right. Venus was close to the star Aldebaran and in the Hyades star cluster, both just visible right on the horizon. This is looking north toward the Bleriot Ferry terminal. Light from the waning gibbous Moon provides the illumination, plus twilight. This nicely shows the arch of the twilight colours. This is a 6-segment panorama with the 50mm Sigma lens at f/2.8 and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 400 for 13 seconds each. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. Topaz DeNoise AI and Sharpen AI applied.

Comet NEOWISE at Dawn Panorama (July 9, 2020)

A panorama of the dawn sky to the northeast on July 9, 2020 with Comet NEOWISE at centre in Auriga in the twilight, and Venus and the Pleiades at right, with Venus just above Aldebaran in Taurus. Capella in Auriga is the bright star at top. Some wispy noctiliucent clouds are brightest at left of the lone tree. Luckily, the NLCs stayed away this morning allowing a clear sighting and shot of the comet! I shot this from “One Tree Hill” near home in southern Alberta. It was a very wet morning with lots of ground fog about including in the foreground. Moonlight from the waning gibbous Moon to the south behind the camera lights the foreground. This is a 7-segment panorama with the 50mm Sigma lens at f/4 for 10 seconds each at ISO 200 with the Canon 6D MkII and stitched with PTGui, which thoughtfully strips all the metadata from the image.

Noctilucent Clouds in Dawn Sky Panorama (with Labels) (July 7, 2020)

A 120° panorama of the bright display of noctilucent clouds at dawn on July 7, 2020 from southern Alberta, with the bonus of Comet NEOWISE amid the clouds. Venus is at right, reflected in the slough. The NLCs appeared low on the horizon at first then expanded upwards as the Sun angle below the horizon decreased and more of the clouds lit up. They extended about as far up as shown here, so never reached very high, unlike two mornings earlier when they extended past the zenith. This is a panorama of 8 segments with the 50mm Sigma lens at f/2.8 for 2.5 seconds each and the Canon 6D MkII at ISO 100. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. I shot this from my favourite spiot near home I call Solstice Pond as I often shoot NLCs and solstice twilight scenes here. Though this morning it was more like Solstice Slough. There are some ducks in the distance.

Noctilucent Clouds in Dawn Sky Panorama (July 7, 2020)

A 120° panorama of the bright display of noctilucent clouds at dawn on July 7, 2020 from southern Alberta, with the bonus of Comet NEOWISE amid the clouds. Venus is at right, reflected in the slough. The NLCs appeared low on the horizon at first then expanded upwards as the Sun angle below the horizon decreased and more of the clouds lit up. They extended about as far up as shown here, so never reached very high, unlike two mornings earlier when they extended past the zenith. This is a panorama of 8 segments with the 50mm Sigma lens at f/2.8 for 2.5 seconds each and the Canon 6D MkII at ISO 100. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. I shot this from my favourite spiot near home I call Solstice Pond as I often shoot NLCs and solstice twilight scenes here. Though this morning it was more like Solstice Slough. There are some ducks in the distance.

Noctilucent Cloud Panorama at Dawn (with Labels) (July 5, 2020)

A panorama of the grand display of noctilucent clouds in the dawn sky on July 5, 2020. They grew in illumination to cover the sky up to and beyond the zenith this morning. Venus is bright low above the horizon at right of centre; Mars is at far right at top. Comet NEOWISE is also in the scene but lost in the dawn twilight at this wide scale. Taken at 4:10 am MDT. This is a stitch of 9 segments, each 0.8 seconds with the 35mm lens and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 100, stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Noctilucent Cloud Panorama at Dawn (July 5, 2020)

A panorama of the grand display of noctilucent clouds in the dawn sky on July 5, 2020. They grew in illumination to cover the sky up to and beyond the zenith this morning. Venus is bright low above the horizon at right of centre; Mars is at far right at top. Comet NEOWISE is also in the scene but lost in the dawn twilight at this wide scale. Taken at 4:10 am MDT. This is a stitch of 9 segments, each 0.8 seconds with the 35mm lens and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 100, stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.