Nightscapes - Panoramas
The Winter Sky over the Badlands (with Labels)
The sparkling winter stars and constellations over the moonlit badlands of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta on Feb. 4, 2023. The waxing gibbous Moon is off frame at left providing the illumination on this very clear and mild night. Captured here in a vertical panorama from below the horizon to past the zenith. Orion is below centre, with his Belt pointing down to Sirius and up to Aldebaran. Above reddish Aldebaran is Mars, as it was on Feb 4, 2023. Above Mars is the blue Pleiades cluster. At top left is the bright star Capella in Auriga. Just above Capella is the tiny cyan-coloured fuzzy spot that is Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), again where it was this night as it was heading southward into Auriga and Taurus, after its closest approach to Earth 3 days earlier. It was nearly overhead this night and an easy sighting in binoculars. I could not frame Castor and Pollux in Gemini as the Moon was too close to that area. A better night for Moon position and lighting geometry would have been a week later with the rising waning Moon, but the clouds did not allow that. I took this night and made the best of it! This is a blend of seven 30-second exposures: one untracked for the ground and a stitch of 6 tracked for the sky, all with the RF28-70mm lens at f/4 and Canon R5 at ISO 200, on the Star Adventurer tracker. The camera was oriented in landscape format and moved upward in increments of 15° per segment. The panorama segments had to be stitched with PTGui, but even then with difficulty as it required adding a lot of manual alignment points for it to successfully stitch all segments. I used the Transverse Cylindrical projection to retain the straight horizon and rectangular image format. A mild Orton glow added with Luminar Neo and star diffraction spikes added with AstronomyTools actions for a "sparkling" effect. It was a perfect winter night, with the temperature only at 0° C and no wind. It was just me there that night, me and the howling coyotes echoing across the valley. This version has labels. A clean version is also available.
The Winter Sky over the Badlands
The sparkling winter stars and constellations over the moonlit badlands of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta on Feb. 4, 2023. The waxing gibbous Moon is off frame at left providing the illumination on this very clear and mild night. Captured here in a vertical panorama from below the horizon to past the zenith. Orion is below centre, with his Belt pointing down to Sirius and up to Aldebaran. Above reddish Aldebaran is Mars, as it was on Feb 4, 2023. Above Mars is the blue Pleiades cluster. At top left is the bright star Capella in Auriga. Just above Capella is the tiny cyan-coloured fuzzy spot that is Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), again where it was this night as it was heading southward into Auriga and Taurus, after its closest approach to Earth 3 days earlier. It was nearly overhead this night and an easy sighting in binoculars. I could not frame Castor and Pollux in Gemini as the Moon was too close to that area. A better night for Moon position and lighting geometry would have been a week later with the rising waning Moon, but the clouds did not allow that. I took this night and made the best of it! This is a blend of seven 30-second exposures: one untracked for the ground and a stitch of 6 tracked for the sky, all with the RF28-70mm lens at f/4 and Canon R5 at ISO 200, on the Star Adventurer tracker. The camera was oriented in landscape format and moved upward in increments of 15° per segment. The panorama segments had to be stitched with PTGui, but even then with difficulty as it required adding a lot of manual alignment points for it to successfully stitch all segments. I used the Transverse Cylindrical projection to retain the straight horizon and rectangular image format. A mild Orton glow added with Luminar Neo and star diffraction spikes added with AstronomyTools actions for a "sparkling" effect. It was a perfect winter night, with the temperature only at 0° C and no wind. It was just me there that night, me and the howling coyotes echoing across the valley.
Auroral Arc Between the Milky Ways
This is a 270° panorama of the auroral arc seen across the northern sky on January 14, 2023. It is framed between the setting summer Milky Way (at left in the northwest) and the rising winter Milky Way (at right in the southeast). To the west (right) of the winter Milky Way is Orion, with Sirius below, while above is Aldebaran, the Hyades, reddish Mars, and the blue Pleiades at upper right. The Big Dipper and Ursa Major are above the main arc of aurora to the north at centre. Polaris is at top, left of centre. Cygnus (with the star Deneb) and Lyra (with the star Vega) are setting at left above my house. The auroral arc shows the characteristic yellow-green colour but also upper altitude reds, both from oxygen atoms. The Kp index was about 4 this night, though peaking to Kp5 at times. Clouds rolling in later prevented me from catching more of the show later when it apparently got more active. Taken from home in southern Alberta (latitude 51° N) on January 14, 2023, in a 7-section panorama, each section with the Venus Optics 15mm lens at f/2 on the AstroGear filter-modified Canon R at ISO 800, for 20 seconds each. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. I was testing the Canon R camera this night.
Galaxy and glacier! This is a vertical panorama of the Milky Way Galaxy over Lake Louise and Victoria Glacier in Banff National Park, Alberta. The Summer Triangle stars of Vega, Deneb and Altair are at centre. The Scutum Starcloud is just above and setting over Victoria Glacier. The dark lanes of interstellar dust — stardust! — weave among the bright star clouds of the Milky Way. I shot this on a fine night on October 17, 2022 from the usual lakeshore promenade. While a very iconic scene, it is a challenge to shoot at night as lights from the Chateau Lake Louise illuminate the foreground and even the distant wooded mountainsides. Some green and red airglow tints the sky along the horizon. This is a blend of three vertical panoramas: - the first is a set of three untracked 2-minute exposures for the ground at ISO 800 with the camera moved up by 15° from segment to segment; - the second shot immediately afterward is made of 7 x 1-minute tracked exposures at ISO 1600 for the sky, also moved 15° vertically from segment to segment; - elements of a third 3-section panorama taken about 90 minutes earlier during "blue hour" were blended in at a low level to provide better lighting on the distant peaks. All with the Canon RF15-35mm lens at f/2.8 and 20mm and Canon R5, and with the camera not moving between image sets, and on the Star Adventurer Mini tracker. The reflected stars are trailed as they come from the untracked ground shots. Tracking reflected stars is very tough as it requires re-aligning the tracker to turn around the reflected celestial pole, in my case 51° below the horizon, not very practical. Panoramas stitched in Adobe Camera Raw and blended and masked in Photoshop. A mild Orton glow effect added with Luminar Neo. Foreground and landscape enhanced with Radiant Photo plug-in.
Northern Stars over Lake Edith
A panorama of the northern stars in autumn over and reflected in the calm waters of Lake Edith in Jasper National Park, in the deep twilight. The Big Dipper and Ursa Major are at left, with Arcturus over Pyramid Mountain at far left. Capella is rising at right, and above it are the stars of Perseus and Cassiopeia. This was on a very clear mid-October night in 2022. This is a blend of two panoramas: a 4 x 1-minute tracked panorama for the sky at ISO 800, and a 4 x 2-minute untracked panorama taken immediately afterwards at ISO 1600, all with the Canon RF15-35mm lens at f/2.8 and 15mm, on the Canon R5. Stitched in Adobe Camera Raw. A mild Orton glow effect added with Luminar Neo. The tracker was the Star Adventurer Mini.
Northern Stars over Lake Edith in Twilight
A panorama of Lake Edith in Jasper National Park, Alberta, on a calm autumn night, looking north to the stars of Ursa Major, the Great Bear, and the Big Dipper in deep twilight. Arcturus is at far left setting in the northwest over Pyramid Mountain, while Capella in Auriga and the stars of Perseus are rising at right in the northeast. This was on a mid-October night when the Big Dipper rides low in the northern sky from this latitude of 53° N. This is a panorama of four segments, each 30 seconds untracked with the Canon RF15-35mm lens at 15mm and f/2.8 and Canon R5 at ISO 1000. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
Athabasca River at Moonrise Panorama
A panorama of the glacier-fed Athabasca River and peaks around Mount Fryatt in Jasper National Park, as the Milky Way is setting and the waning gibbous Moon rising, lighting the peaks of the Continental DIvide with lunar alpenglow. Mount Fryatt is at centre, while to the right is Mount Geraldine, and to the left are Brussels Peak and Mount Christie. Jasper is one of the world's largest Dark Sky Preserves. I shot this on a fine night on October 15, 2022 from the "Goats and Glaciers" Viewpoint on the Icefields Parkway. Jupiter, large and fuzzy in some thin cloud, is at far left, while Saturn is left of centre over Mount Christie. The bright area in the Milky Way over Mount Fryatt is the Scutum Starcloud. Altair is the bright star at top. Some green airglow tints the sky at left, while some red airglow or possibly low-level aurora tints the sky at right. The location is called Goats and Glaciers because mountain goats are often here enjoying the salt lick deposits. This is a blend of three 3-section panoramas: - the first taken with a Star Adventurer Mini for 3 x 2-minute tracked exposures for the sky at ISO 800; - the second immediately afterward with the tracker off for 3 x 3-minutes at ISO 800 for the ground; - and the third taken about an hour later as the Moon rose, lighting the peaks with warm light, for 3 x 2.5-minutes at ISO 1600. All with the Canon RF15-35mm lens at f/2.8 and 15mm and Canon R5, and with the camera not moving between image sets . So this is a time blend, combining frames taken an hour apart, to retain the dark sky with the Milky Way before moonrise, blended with the alpenglow at moonrise. However, most of the landscape comes from the earlier panorama lit only by starlight. Panoramas stitched in Adobe Camera Raw and blended and masked in Photoshop.
This is a panorama of Peyto Lake in Banff National Park, on the Icefields Parkway in Alberta, taken at moonrise on a very clear and mild mid-October evening. The glacier-fed lake appears its characteristic blue even when lit by starlight. It is not blended in from an earlier "blue hour" shot. To the southwest at left is the summer Milky Way over Peyto Glacier and Peyto Peak. To the west at centre is Arcturus setting over Caldron Peak, while to the north at left of centre are the stars of the Big Dipper and Ursa Major. At far right, in the blue moonlit sky, is Perseus and the autumn Milky Way. At far left over the walkway is Saturn in Capricornus. Magenta airglow tints the northern sky and nicely frames the peaks, which are lit by golden lunar alpenglow, warm light from the rising waning gibbous Moon behind the peaks at right to the east. This is an example of a "moonstrike" image; the timing was perfect this night to catch the mix of Milky Way and alpenglow. I was the only one there that night to enjoy the view, and occupy the prime spot at the end of the new viewpoint. This is a blend of two panoramas: the first of the sky taken at or just before moonrise with the camera on a star tracker to keep the stars pinpoint, and the second taken for the ground about 20 minutes later with the tracker off, when the Moon was up high enough to light the peaks of the Continental Divide west of Peyto Lake. Both pans were with the Canon RF15-35mm lens at 15mm and f/2.8, and Canon R5 at ISO 1600, with the sky pan being 6 segments for 1 minute each, and the untracked ground panorama being the same 6 segments for 2 minutes each, but with LENR on to subtract thermal noise hot pixels from the image, something the R5 is prone to. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw and masked and blended in Photoshop. Noise reduction was with ON1 NoNoise AI, and foreground enhancement with the Radiant Photo plug-in, plus with a mild Orton glow added mostly to the sky with Luminar Neo.
Panorama of a Colourful Aurora on August 28, 2022
A panorama of a colouful Kp4 level aurora on August 28, 2022, from home in southern Alberta (latitude 51° N). It shows the classic oxygen yellow-greens topped by oxygen reds, but with magentas and blues at left to the northwest where sunlight might still be interacting with the auroral curtains. In this panorama, the upper curtains also take on an orange hue. Above the main curtains are some blobs of pulsating green patches. The Big Dipper and Arcturus are at left. Cassiopeia, Perseus, Andromeda and Pegasus are at centre and at right. Jupiter is the bright object rising at right. Saturn is the dimmer object at far right. This is a panorama of 8 segments, each 10 seconds at f/2.8 with the RF15-35mm lens at 15mm and Canon R5 at ISO 1600. Stitched with PTGui as Camera Raw and Photoshop refused to either stitch all segments (ACR) or provided a distorted projection (PS Photomerge).
Auroral Arc on August 28, 2022
An arc of a Kp4 level aurora on August 28, 2022, from home in southern Alberta (latitude 51° N), showing the classic oxygen greens topped by oxygen reds, but with magentas and blues at left to the northwest where sunlight might still be interacting with the auroral curtains. The Big Dipper and Arcturus are at left. Cassiopeia, Perseus, Andromeda and Pegasus are at right. Jupiter is the bright object rising at far right. This is a panorama of 5 segments, each 20 seconds at f/2.8 with the RF15-35mm lens at 15mm and Canon R5 at ISO 1600. Stitched with PTGui as Camera Raw and Photoshop refused to either stitch all segments (ACR) or provided a distorted projection (PS Photomerge). PTGui did a good job but is still inconsistent in retaining all the EXIF image data.
Stargazing Under the Milky Way
A vertical panorama of the summer Milky Way over the observing field at the Saskatchewan Summer Star Party, held in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park in southwest Saskatchewan, Canada, at a latitude 49° N. The Park is a Dark Sky Preserve. This was August 26, 2022 on a perfect night of stargazing under very clear skies. The Milky Way extends from Sagittarius near the horizon, to Cygnus nearly overhead at this time, so a vertical sweep of 90°. I've left the satellite trails in for this scene. This is a panorama of 6 segments taken up the Milky Way with the camera on a tracker to prevent star trailing, blended with a set of 5 untracked exposures taken just prior with the tracker motor off for the ground, to prevent the foreground blurring. The ground segments were each 30 seconds at f/2 and ISO 3200, while the sky segments were each 1 minute at f/2.8 and ISO 1600, all with the Canon Ra and RF28-70mm lens, on the Star Adventurer Mini tracker. Each sky segment was a stack of two exposures. Stitched in PTGui, but blended in Photoshop. The original is 6500 x 10300 pixels.
The Northern Stars at Moonrise at Dinosaur Park
This captures a panorama of the northern sky over the foreground landscape of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, with the waning Moon rising, and an arc of Northern Lights above the northern horizon. A Kp6 show was forecast for this night but nothing spectacular materialized -- we had just a quiescent arc across the north. This was on the night of August 17-18, 2022. The Moon rising at right is the last quarter Moon. Jupiter is the bright object at far right. The Big Dipper and Arcturus are at left; Polaris is at upper left of centre; Cassiopeia and Perseus are at right of centre; while Andromeda and Pegasus are at right. The Andromeda Galaxy is above the Moon. This is a panorama of a blend of 6 tracked (for the sky) and 6 untracked (for the ground) exposures: 2 minutes at f/2.8 and ISO 1600 for the ground and shadow detail, and 1 minute at f/2.8 and ISO 800 for the sky, all with the stock Canon R5 and RF15-35mm lens set at 19mm and the camera turned in portrait orientation. Spacing of the segments was at 30° intervals. The panorama segments for the ground and sky were stitched with Adobe Camera Raw into two panoramas using the same settings, then masked and blended with Photoshop. An additional short exposure of the segment with the Moon in it was blended in to reduce the bright Moon glare. The camera was on the Star Adventurer Mini tracker. The AstroPanel v6 extension panel and its excellent Hot Pixel removal action was used to suppress the abundance of hot pixels in the ground image, resulting from this being a very warm night, and my need to take the image set fast before the Moon rose too high -- so I did not use in-camera Long Exposure Noise Reduction, though I should have! I added a mild Orton effect glow with Luminar AI. The original is 18,800 by 6,500 pixels.
The Summer Milky Way at Dinosaur Park
This captures the vertical sweep of the summer Milky Way over the foreground landscape of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. The image serves as a good illustration of the richness of objects, dark dust lanes and bright starfields along the Milky Way, from Sagittarius low in the south at bottom, to Cygnus at top. In between are Aquila and Scutum, with part of Ophiuchus at right. This was from latitude 50.5° North, where Sagittarius and the galactic centre are low in sky. The Summer Triangle stars of Deneb, Vega and Altair are at top. This is a vertical panorama (a "vertorama"), made of a blend of tracked (for the sky) and untracked (for the ground) exposures: 5 x 2-minutes at f/2.8 and ISO 1600 for the ground, and 5 segments panning up the Milky Way, each 2 x 2-minutes at f/2.8 and ISO 800, all with the stock Canon R5 and RF15-35mm lens set at 28mm. The panorama segments for the sky were stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. The ground stack was masked and blended in with Photoshop. The camera was on the Star Adventurer Mini tracker. No filters were employed. The ground images were taken at the start of the sequence when the sky was fairly dark, not earlier in the evening in "blue hour." Illumination is therefore from starlight and some moonlight in the sky. This was on the night of August 17-18, 2022. The last quarter Moon was rising, and present in the sky off camera at left by the time I took the upper sky segments, so I have left in the slight blue tint from moonlight in the sky, to contrast with the green and earth tones of the ground. The AstroPanel v6 extension panel and its excellent Hot Pixel removal action was used to suppress the abundance of hot pixels in the ground image, resulting from this being a very warm night, and my need to take the image set fast before the Moon rose too high -- so I did not use in-camera Long Exposure Noise Reduction, though I should have! I added a mild Orton effect glow to the scene with Luminar AI. The original is 8,500 by 12,100 pixels.
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.
Panorama of a Grand Display of Noctilucent Clouds
A superb and extensive "grand display" of noctilucent clouds at dawn on July 16, 2022, with the clouds eventually reaching up to the zenith as the sky brightened. Many ripples and wave structures are visible in the clouds. Capella is the star right of top centre; Venus is rising at lower right; Mars is at upper right. This is looking northeast to the dawn twilight. Taken from home from southern Alberta, at about 4:20 am July 16, 2022, in a panorama of 7 segments, each 1.3-second exposures at f/2.8 with the RF28-70mm lens at 28mm and Canon R5 at ISO 100. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. The original is 19,500 pixels wide.
Noctilucent Cloud Arc over Canola Field (Later Panorama)
A panorama of an arc of noctilucent clouds over a ripening field of yellow canola, on July 14, 2022 from southern Alberta near Hussar. This was about 11:35 pm MDT with the NLCs beginning to diminish in height. The top edge is showing a red rim from red light from the setting sun illuminating the edge of the clouds at their great height, some 80 km up. The waxing gibbous Moon was rising in the southeast opposite this view but was providing only slight warm illumination. The ground is illuminated mostly by twilight, and I have brightened it to bring out the canola colours and the colour contrast between earth and sky, and to compress the naturally high dynamic range in the scene. There is a panorama version of this scene taken 15 minutes earlier showing the NLCs with a greater vertical height set into a brighter sky. Capella is the bright star at right of centre. This is a panorama cropped from 9 segments, each 25 second at f/5.6 with the Canon RF24-105mm lens at 56mm, and Canon R5 at ISO 400. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
Noctilucent Cloud Arc over Canola Field (Early Panorama)
A panorama of an arc of noctilucent clouds over a ripening field of yellow canola, on July 14, 2022 from southern Alberta near Hussar. This was about 11:20 pm MDT with the NLCs near their peak. They reached a little higher when they first appeared a few minutes earlier in the brighter sky, but capturing them is always a balance between getting them at their maximum height vs. the darkness of the sky background to make the fainter structures stand out. The foreground is illuminated mostly by twilight, and I have brightened it to bring out the canola colours and the colour contrast between earth and sky, and to compress the naturally high dynamic range in the scene. Capella is the bright star at right of centre. This is a panorama cropped from 10 segments, each 10 second at f/4 with the Canon RF24-105mm lens at 56mm, and Canon R5 at ISO 200. 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.
Super Moonrise in the Arc of Earth's Shadow
The rising "supermoon" of July 12, 2022 embedded in the blue arc of Earth's shadow, rimmed by the pink Belt of Venus band of twilight colours, all over the badlands formations of Dinosaur Provincial Park on the Red Deer River in Alberta, Canada. The blue arc is the shadow of the Earth cast onto the atmosphere opposite the sunset point. The pink Belt of Venus is from red sunlight still illuminating the upper atmosphere, an effect that lasts only a few minutes at sunset or sunrise, and requires a very clear sky to show up, as it was this night. I shot this from the upper viewpoint at the Park entrance. You might think the Moon is rising over an Earthly "moonscape," but not so, as there is nothing like this landscape on the Moon. The Badlands here were formed by sedimentary rocks laid down in oceans and eroded by glacial runoff of water. None of that happened on the waterless Moon, where the landscape was formed by the flow of lava and the impact of asteroids. This was the evening before the official date of Full Moon, but the timing of the moonrise and placement of the Moon well below the ecliptic meant it rose on July 12 almost at sunset with the sky still well-tinted with twilight, rather than the Moon rising into a dark sky with too great a contrast to shoot, as it did the next night, July 13 when it was the official date of the Full Moon. This is a panorama of 11 segments, with the Canon RF70-200mm lens at 87mm and f/4, and Canon R5 at ISO 100. The original is a massive 48,900 pixels wide, so there is a lot of detail! Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
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.
Noctilucent Clouds Over Prairie Field - Wide-Angle View (July 7, 2022)
A panorama of a fairly bright display of noctilucent clouds to the northwest early in the evening on July 7, 2022. Even so, this was about 11:50 pm MDT. The bright NLCs contrast with the dark silhouettes of the closer and lower tropospheric clouds. A gibbous Moon lights the foreground. This is a 3-segment panorama with the RF24-105mm lens at 43mm and f/4, and Canon R5 at ISO 400. All 15-second exposures. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. There is a version of this shot earlier with the lens at 76mm for a more close-up view but with a wider horizontal coverage with more segments.
Noctilucent Clouds Over Prairie Field (July 7, 2022)
A panorama of a fairly bright display of noctilucent clouds to the northwest early in the evening on July 7, 2022. Even so, this was about 11:45 pm MDT. Capella is the bright star due north down the north-south range road at right. The bright NLCs contrast with the dark silhouettes of the closer and lower tropospheric clouds. A gibbous Moon lights the foreground. This is a crop from a 10-segment panorama with the RF24-105mm lens at 76mm and f/4, and Canon R5 at ISO 400. All 15-second exposures. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. There is a version of this shot a little later but with the lens zoomed out to 43mm for a wider view vertically, but not as wide horizontally.