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 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.

Aurora from Home Panorama (April 27, 2022)

A 150° panorama of the auroral arc across the northern sky, shot from home in Alberta on April 27, 2022. The camera picked up the blue colour at the top of the curtains at left in the northwest from high-altitude sunlight illuminating the tops of the curtains. Otherwise, oxygen reds and greens dominate this fairly quiet display. Coincidentally, the arc of the aurora nicely follows the arc of the Milky Way across the north, then at its lowest for the year in the spring sky. The winter stars Castor, Pollux and Capella are setting at left; Perseus and Cassiopeia are left of centre; Cygnus (with Deneb) is rising in the northeast right of centre; Vega in Lyra is at upper right, as the summer stars rise in the northeast. Some of the lights in the distance are from farmers in the area preparing the fields for the spring seeding. This is a stitch of 7 segments, each 30 seconds with the RF15-35mm lens at f/2.8 and 24mm, on the Canon EOS Ra at ISO 3200. The camera was on the Star Adventurer tracker, so these are all tracked, but the exposures are short enough that the ground is not blurred too badly, yet the stars are not trailed. Stitched in Camera Raw.

Lunar Halo Complex Panorama

A complex of halo phenomena on the evening of April 15, 2022, Good Friday of the 2022 Easter weekend, around the almost Full Moon. Ice crystals in the high cloud created the halos and arcs, set in the spring night sky, with the Big Dipper at top, Arcturus to the left, and Regulus and Leo at right of centre. The colours of the arcs and sundogs were just visible to the unaided eye. Visible are: — The main and common 22° halo. — A large partial halo that looks like a 46° halo but is actually a supralateral arc. — A pair of paraselene (called parhelia when they are around the Sun) or colourful "moondogs" sit on either side of the Moon just outside the 22° halo. — The top of the 22° halo has a colourful upper tangent arc plus a faint Parry arc. — Tangent to the supralateral arc is a rainbow-hued circumzenithal arc. — A paraselenic (?) circle (called a parhelic circle when it is created by the Sun) runs parallel to the horizon through the moondogs and Moon. — Far to the west is a rare 120° paraselene, another moondog. Had their been more haze to the east there would have been another 120° paraselene to the left for a more symmetrical display. This is a stitch of 7 exposures all 30 seconds with the 11mm TTArtisan full-frame fish-eye lens at f/4 and Canon R6 at ISO 100. Segments stitched with PTGui with full-frame fisheye projection.

Auroral Oval Panorama from CNSC (Mar 1, 2022)

A 180° panorama of the classic arc of the auroral oval across the northern sky, shot at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, Churchill, Manitoba, March 1, 2022. From this longitude the auroral oval is usually centred due north, as it is here. Guests from the Learning Vacations aurora group are outside taking in the display, which was fairly weak this night, with this arc being almost the best it appeared. It shows the classic colours, with the main oxygen green topped by weaker oxygen reds. The arc turns more yellow toward the horizon due to atmospheric absorption. Polaris is just left of centre at top, and marks due north. Capella is at top left; Vega is a right of centre above the trees; Arcturus is at far right. The Milky Way runs across the sky at left in the west. Wind chills were about -40° this night. This is a 3-section panorama with the TTArtisan 11mm fish-eye lens at f/2.8 for 30 seconds each with the Canon R6 at ISO 1600. Stitched with PTGui.

Red Aurora Panorama (Feb 26, 2022)

A 300° panorama of an aurora from the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, in Churchill, Manitoba on February 26, 2022. This aurora was at Kp1 level (very low) and appeared only as featureless grey arcs to the eye. But the camera picked up unusual red colouration, and even some yellow-oranges, along with the more normal greens. The reds are odd for such a low-level aurora as the oxygen reds typically appear only when the aurora gets very active and energetic. The display did brighten more later this night when it took on the more classic green arcs, with occasional lower fringes of nitrogen pinks. But at the start of the night the reds dominated. Orion is at far left (southwest) while Leo is at far right (east). The winter Milky Way arches over the Studies Centre. This is a panorama of 6 segments with the TTArtisan 11mm full-frame fish-eye lens at f/2.8 for 30 seconds each with the Canon Ra at ISO 3200. Stitched with PTGui.

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.

The Northern Milky Way from Auriga to Aquila

This is a 140° panorama of the northernmost section of the Milky Way, from Auriga at left to Aquila at right. Perseus, Cassiopeia, Cepheus and Cygnus are across the centre. This northern section of the Milky Way stretches high across the sky on autumn nights as seen from the northern hemisphere, as it was this night, October 30, 2021. The Milky Way is laced with many dark lanes of interstellar dust which extend off the main band of the Milky Way, as at centre. The dust colours the Milky Way and sky with a yellow-brown tint. Punctuating the Milky Way are red and magenta emission nebulas, the most prominent being the North America Nebula in Cygnus (right of centre) and the California Nebula (at far left) in Perseus. At right are the three stars of the Summer Triangle (R to L: Altair, Vega and Deneb); at left is Capella in Auriga. At centre is the W of stars of Cassiopeia. This is a stitch of 4 segments, each a stack of 8 x 4-minute expsures at ISO 800 with the Canon Ra and with the RF 28-70mm lens at 28mm and f/2.8. It was on the Star Adventurer Mini tracker. Another panorama of 4 segments taken through a Kase StarGlow filter and layered in added the glows on the bright stars. All stacking, stitching and alignment was in Photoshop. Taken from home on a very clear night October 30, 2021. A bright Kp 6 to 7 aurora was forecast for this night but never materialized. Bands of reddish airglow drifted through the fields during the exposures but the stacking and averaging helped smooth out the discolouration.

Nebulas of the Northern Milky Way

This is a 140° panorama of the northernmost section of the Milky Way, from Auriga at left to Aquila at right. Perseus, Cassiopeia, Cepheus and Cygnus are across the centre. I added in labels on the mosaic for the constellations, and major nebulas and star clusters. Surrounding the panorama is a collage of close-up images of the major emission nebulas (and one dark nebula) pointing to the area in the wide-field mosaic. The close-ups were shot with various astrographic telescopes such as the William Optics RedCat 51mm and Sharpstar 61, 76 and 94mm refractors, usually employing filters such as the Optolong L-eNhance and IDAS NBX. The background panorama was shot on October 30, 2021, but the close-ups were shot on various nights over two years from 2019 to 2021. The panorama is a stitch of 4 segments, each a stack of 8 x 4-minute expsures at ISO 800 with the Canon Ra and with the RF 28-70mm lens at 28mm and f/2.8. It was on the Star Adventurer Mini tracker. Another panorama of 4 segments taken through a Kase StarGlow filter and layered in added the glows on the bright stars.

Panorama of the Auroral Storm of October 11, 2021

A 120° panorama of the initial arc of Northern Lights at the start of an evening of aurora during a G2 storm on October 11/12, 2021, Thanksgiving Day in Canada. This was from home in southern Alberta, Canada. Moonlight from the waxing crescent Moon tints the sky. Note the subtle shades of red and variations of green in the arc. The panorama shows off the classic auroral oval centred on the direction of the north magnetic pole, to the northeast of true north at my longitude in western Canada. The Big Dipper is at left and its Pointer stars in the bowl point up to true north (Polaris is off the frame). This is a panorama of 13 segments at 15° spacings, with the RF 28-70mm lens at 28mm and at f/2 on the Canon R6 at ISO 1600 for 4 seconds each. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Smoky Sunset over the Bow Valley

Blue hour twilight with a waxing crescent Moon, over the Bow Valley, Banff, Alberta, on an evening with the air filled with smoke from B.C. forest fires to the west, muting the colours and clarity. This is from the Hoodoos Viewpoint trail on Tunnel Mountain Drive, looking back toward Banff. The lights of the Banff Springs Hotel are in the distance at left. The Bow River winds below. Tunnel Mountain is at centre with Sulphur Mountain to the left and at far left a portion of Mt. Rundle. Cascade Mountain is at far right. This is a panorama from 7 segments with the Canon EOS Ra and 15-35mm RF lens.

Smoky Sunset Panorama over the Bow Valley

A 180° panorama taken in blue hour twilight with a waxing crescent Moon, over the Bow Valley, Banff, Alberta. This evening the air was filled with smoke from B.C. forest fires to the west, muting the colours and clarity. This is from the Hoodoos Viewpoint trail on Tunnel Mountain Drive, looking back toward Banff. The lights of the Banff Springs Hotel are in the distance at left. The Bow River winds below. Tunnel Mountain is at centre with Sulphur Mountain to the left and at far left is Mt. Rundle. Cascade Mountain is at far right. This is a panorama from 6 segments with the Canon EOS Ra and 15-35mm RF lens at 22mm.

The Prismatic Colours of Noctilucent Clouds

A superb showing of noctilucent clouds (NLCs) on June 27, 2021, with the colours very prominent, even to the eye. The colours transition from the red and oranges of the solstice twilight, through to yellows and even greens above (these were obvious to the eye), then to the cyan and electric blue of the clouds themselves. The tops of the clouds fade to a deep red as they are being illuminated there by the setting Sun at their altitude and latitude and so appear red, with that red edge decreasing in altitude as the evening progressed as the Sun set lower below the horizon. A widespread area of very clear sky locally and far to the north may have contributed to the better visibility of the colours as the light from the Sun had a clearer path through the atmosphere. This was June 27-28, 2021, in a particularly widespread display that started the evening with the clouds filling the northern half of the sky,. This was from home and is a panorama stitched from 9 segments, each with the 24-105mm f/4 RF lens at 67mm, and Canon R6 camera.

Noctilucent Clouds in Deep Twilight at Crawling Lake

A panorama of noctilucent clouds in the waning stages of a great display, as they retreated to a low but bright band across the northwest and northern horizon, here over the wind-rippled waters of Crawling Valley Reservoir near home in southern Alberta. The wind prevented the ideal reflection. This was June 20, 2021, the evening of summer solstice this year. So this was the shortest night of the year with the Sun the least distance below the horizon it would get for us at my latitude of 51° N. The colours blend the blue, yellow and orange of the solstice twilight with the blue-white of the NLCs, with a slight reddish tinge at the tops of the clouds where the Sun is setting. This is a 5-section panorama with the 85mm Samyang lens and Canon R6, stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Noctilucent Clouds Panorama at Crawling Lake

A 150° panorama showing the full sweep of the noctilucent clouds display of June 20, 2021, in its later stages, as the clouds retreated to a low but bright band across the northwest and northern horizon, here over the wind-rippled waters of Crawling Valley Reservoir near home in southern Alberta. The wind prevented the ideal reflection. This was June 20, 2021, the evening of summer solstice this year. So this was the shortest night of the year with the Sun the least distance below the horizon it would get for us at my latitude of 51° N. The colours blend the blue, yellow and orange of the solstice twilight with the blue-white of the NLCs, with a slight reddish tinge at the tops of the clouds where the Sun is setting. This is an 11-section panorama with the 85mm Samyang lens and Canon R6 oriented in landscape mode (i.e. horizontally), stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. There is a version shot just before this one with the camera min portrait mode, and that takes in more sky.

Arc of Noctilucent Clouds (June 20, 2021)

A 150° panorama showing the full sweep and arc of the noctilucent cloud display of June 20, 2021, in its later stages, as the clouds retreated to a low but bright band across the northwest and northern horizon, here over the wind-rippled waters of Crawling Valley Reservoir near home in southern Alberta. The wind prevented the ideal reflection. This was June 20, 2021, the evening of summer solstice this year. So this was the shortest night of the year with the Sun the least distance below the horizon it would get at my latitude of 51° N. The colours blend the blue, yellow and orange of the solstice twilight with the blue-white of the NLCs, with a slight reddish tinge at the tops of the clouds where the Sun is setting. This is a crop of a 24-section panorama with the 85mm Samyang lens and Canon R6, in portrait orientation (moving the camera 10° between segments), stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Noctilucent Clouds Panorama at Crawling Lake with 50mm Lens

A 150° panorama showing the full sweep of the noctilucent clouds display of June 20, 2021, early in its appearance, with the clouds still high in the north, though 20 minutes or so before this the clouds reached up to the zenith in the brighter twilight sky. This is over the wind-rippled waters of Crawling Valley Reservoir near home in southern Alberta. The wind prevented the ideal reflection. This was June 20, 2021, the evening of summer solstice this year. So this was the shortest night of the year with the Sun the least distance below the horizon it would get for us at my latitude of 51° N. The colours blend the blue, yellow and orange of the solstice twilight with the blue-white of the NLCs. This is an 11-section panorama with the 50mm Sigma lens and Canon R6 oriented in landscape mode (i.e. horizontally), stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Noctilucent Clouds at Dawn (June 17, 2021)

A 180° panorama of the massive display of noctilucent clouds at dawn on June 17, 2021 from home in southern Alberta. This display was bright and extensive at dusk on June 16, and re-appeared over much of the northeastern sky at dawn. It reached up to the zenith as the sky brightened. This is a panorama of 11 segments with the 24mm lens and Canon R6, stitched with Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop.

Noctilucent Clouds at Dusk with 85mm Lens (June 16, 2021)

A 45° panorama of the massive "grand display" of noctilucent clouds at dusk on June 16, 2021 from "One Tree Hill" near home in southern Alberta. This display was bright and extensive at dusk on June 16, and re-appeared over much of the northeastern sky at dawn on June 17. Note the colours — with the NLCs having a reddish tinge at the top where sunlight is reddened as the Sun sets from that altitude and location of the clouds. The lower areas of NLCs often appear green as well. But the main colour of NLCs is electric blue, very much so this night when they were so bright. The sharp dark edge in the clouds at left is real; it is not a stitching artifact. Capella is the brightest star to the right of the lone tree. This is a panorama of 6 segments with the 85mm Samyang lens and Canon R6, stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Arc of Noctilucent Clouds (June 16, 2021)

A 90° panorama of the massive "grand display" of noctilucent clouds at dusk on June 16, 2021 from "One Tree Hill" near home in southern Alberta. This display was bright and extensive at dusk on June 16, and re-appeared over much of the northeastern sky at dawn on June 17. This shows the arc of the NLCs, defined at the top by the edge where sunlight is no longer illuminating the clouds, an edge that drops in altitude as the Sun itself drops farther below the horizon. Capella is at centre, Leo and Regulus at far left, and Perseus at right of centre. The main colour of NLCs is electric blue, very much so this night when they were so bright. This is a panorama of 10 segments with the 50mm Sigma lens and Canon R6, stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Noctilucent Clouds Wide-Angle Panorama (June 16, 2021)

A wide 90° panorama of the massive "grand display" of noctilucent clouds at dusk on June 16, 2021 from "One Tree Hill" (my name for it!) near home in southern Alberta. This display was bright and extensive at dusk on June 16, and re-appeared over much of the northeastern sky at dawn on June 17. The waxing Moon in Leo is at far left, Capella is right of centre, and Cassiopeia is at upper right. This is a panorama of 5 segments with the 24mm Canon lens and Canon R6, stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.

Night Panorama of Waterton Lakeshore

A 180° panorama from Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, of the scene in the Waterton townsite looking across the Upper Waterton Lake to Vimy Ridge and the Milky Way rising in the east. To the south, at right, the galactic core area is rising down the lake but is obscured here by clouds moving in. The bright star over Vimy at centre is Altair. The north, at left, are bands of green airglow prominent this night to the camera. Those glows are not aurora. Haze adds the natural star glows. The yellow sky glow in the far distance at right must be urban glow from Whitefish and Kalispell, Montana. I shot this June 3, 2021. This is a blend of two 6-segment panoramas: one for the ground shot without the tracker motor on and one for the sky with the tracker motor on. The exposures for the ground were 2 minutes at ISO 3200, and for the sky were 1 minute at ISO 3200, all with the Sigma 20mm lens at f/2.8 adapted to the Canon EOS Ra camera, on the Move-Shoot-Move MSM tracker. As is the MSM's habit, it stopped tracking for one of the segments. It is not a reliable device to use for critical time-sensitive shoots.

Milky Way Arch in Moonlight over Dinosaur Park

This is a 160°-wide panorama of the Milky Way arching over the Badlands formations at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, taken on a moonlit night in May. The waxing crescent Moon is low and off frame at left and is providing the warm illumination. Capella is the bright star at far left. The Summer Triangle stars are right of centre, with bright Vega at top. Cassiopeia and Perseus are at left; Cygnus is at centre. Haze in the sky adds the natural star glows but also mutes the contrast in the Milky Way and adds the horizon glows. However, a weak aurora adds a green and magenta glow to the northern horizon at centre. This is a blend of a 6-segment panorama framed for the sky, with a matching 6-segment panorama framed for the ground, layered, masked and blended in Photoshop. Segments were spaced 30° apart with the camera in landscape orientation. The sky segments are untracked, each 20 seconds at f/2.8 with the Sigma 24mm Art lens. The ground segments are each 30 seconds also at f/2.8. All were with the Canon R6 at ISO 3200. I should have used 1 to 2 minutes each for the ground panorama, shot at a lower ISO, but it was late! Stitching was with Adobe Camera Raw. I applied a mild Orton glow effect using Luminar AI. Shot May 16, 2021.

Earth and Sky at Dinosaur Park

This is a 160°-wide panorama of the Milky Way arching over the late Cretaceous Badlands formations at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, taken on a moonlit night in May, juxtaposing the dramatic earth tones with the bluish sky above. The waxing crescent Moon is low and off frame at left and is providing the warm illumination. Capella is the bright star at far left. The Summer Triangle stars are right of centre, with bright Vega at top. Cassiopeia and Perseus are at left; Cygnus is at centre. Haze in the sky adds the natural star glows but also mutes the contrast in the Milky Way and adds the horizon glows. However, a weak aurora adds a green and magenta glow to the northern horizon at centre. This is a blend of a 6-segment panorama framed for the sky, with a matching 6-segment panorama framed for the ground, layered, masked and blended in Photoshop. Segments were spaced 30° apart with the camera in landscape orientation. The sky segments are untracked, each 20 seconds at f/2.8 with the Sigma 24mm Art lens. The ground segments are each 30 seconds also at f/2.8. All were with the Canon R6 at ISO 3200. I should have used 1 to 2 minutes each for the ground panorama, shot at a lower ISO, but it was late! Stitching was with Adobe Camera Raw. I applied a Dynamic Contrast filter to the ground using ON1 Effects, and a mild Orton glow effect using Luminar AI. Shot May 16, 2021.