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.

Ursa Major over Old Farmstead at Eastend

The Big Dipper and all of Ursa Major in the deep twilight of an August evening, at Eastend, Saskatchewan, with an old farmstead building in the foreground. Shot August 28, 2019. This is a blend of a single long 5-minute exposure at ISO 400 for the dark ground, and a single short 30-second exposure at ISO 1600 for the bright sky. Both with the 24mm Sigma Art lens and Nikon D750. LENR not applied (by mistake — I forgot!) to the long ground exposure, so I had to employ a Dust and Scratches filter in post to eliminate all the hot pixels on this warm night. Serves as a good demo of why you should use LENR. A mild Orton glow added to the sky, and a mild application of a “Dramatic Landscape” filter added to the ground, both with Luminar Flex.

The Galactic Centre at Grasslands (with Labels)

The core of the Milky Way in Sagittarius low in the south over the Frenchman River valley at Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan. This is from the 76 Ranch Corral site. Grasslands is a Dark Sky Preserve. The frame takes in the openj star clusters M6 and M7 just above the horizon in Scorpius, on up through the Sagittarius Starcloud and galactic core, then up past the red nebulas M8 and M20, the Small Sagittarius Starcloud M24 flanked by the clusters M23 and M25, then the nebulas M17 and M16 at top in Serpens. The globular cluster M55 is visible at far left. Jupiter is bright at right above reddish Antares, Saturn is dimmer at left, to the left of the globular cluster M22. I shot this August 27, 2019. This is a stack of 5 x 3-minute tracked exposures for the sky (to avoid star trails) blended with a stack of 5 x 3-minute untracked exposures for the ground, all with the 35mm Canon lens at f/2.8 and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII camera at ISO 1600. The tracker was the Star Adventurer.

The Galactic Centre at Grasslands

The core of the Milky Way in Sagittarius low in the south over the Frenchman River valley at Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan. This is from the 76 Ranch Corral site. Grasslands is a Dark Sky Preserve. The frame takes in the openj star clusters M6 and M7 just above the horizon in Scorpius, on up through the Sagittarius Starcloud and galactic core, then up past the red nebulas M8 and M20, the Small Sagittarius Starcloud M24 flanked by the clusters M23 and M25, then the nebulas M17 and M16 at top in Serpens. The globular cluster M55 is visible at far left. Jupiter is bright at right above reddish Antares, Saturn is dimmer at left, to the left of the globular cluster M22. I shot this August 27, 2019. This is a stack of 5 x 3-minute tracked exposures for the sky (to avoid star trails) blended with a stack of 5 x 3-minute untracked exposures for the ground, all with the 35mm Canon lens at f/2.8 and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII camera at ISO 1600. The tracker was the Star Adventurer.

Four Planets Along the Ecliptic at Great Sandhills

A panorama of four planets in the twilight across the twilight sky, tracing the visible ecliptic in the sky. I shot this from the Great Sandhills, Saskatchewan, on August 13, 2018. From left (southeast) to right (southwest) they are: Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, and Venus, below the waxing crescent Moon this evening. The line of planets nicely defines the arc of the ecliptic across the south, mirrored in the dark arc of blue caused by a band of smoke across the south, and the shadow of a crepuscular ray cast by the smoke, and also the blue arc of Earth’s shadow rising to the southeast near Mars. However, the arc of the ecliptic drawn by the Moon and planets isn’t perfect as the Moon was well above the ecliptic while Mars was well below the ecliptic. Venus, Jupiter and Saturn were all close to the ecliptic. Mars was just over two weeks past opposition, so it was rising in the twilight as Venus was setting, putting both above the horizon at once, with Jupiter and Saturn also well-placed to the south. However, the window of opportunity to shoot the panorama was only a few minutes long, between the time was dark enough to show faintest Saturn and before Venus set. It’s unusual to get such a line of bright planets across the sky at once. The Moon is a bonus! The location is the top of the major sand dune accessible at Great Sandhills in western Saskatchewan near Leader. This is a panorama cropped from 7 segments, each with the 35mm lens and Canon 6D MkII. Stitching was with Adobe Camera Raw. PTGui worked OK as well, but still left some slight bright banding between segments. ACR did better here.

Twilight on the Sand Dune at Great Sandhills

A panorama of twilight with the waxing Moon, Venus (below the Moon) and Jupiter (at left) in the evening sky, with a band of forest fire smoke darkening the sky. This was from Great Sandhills, Saskatchewan, from the main viewing access area south of Leader and Sceptre. This is a panorama of 4 segments, each segment an HDR blend of 7 exposures, all with Adobe Camera Raw. Shot with the 35mm lens and Canon 6D MkII. ON1 Dynamic Contrast filter applied to the ground.

Perseids over Star Party (August 10, 2018)

The Perseid meteor shower over the Saskatchewan Summer Star Party, on August 10, 2018, with an aurora as a bonus. The view is looking north with Polaris at top centre, and the Big Dipper at lower left. The radiant point in Perseus is at upper right. The sky also has bands of green airglow, which was more prominent in images taken earlier before the short-lived aurora kicked up. The aurora was not obvious to the naked eye. However, the northern sky was bright all night with the airglow and faint aurora. This is a composite of 10 images, one for the base sky with the aurora and two faint Perseids, and 9 other images, each with Perseids taken over a 3.3 hour period, being the best 9 frames with meteors out of 360. Each exposure was 30 seconds at f/2 with the 15mm Laoawa lens and Sony a7III at ISO 4000. I rotated all the additional meteor image frames around Polaris to align the frames to the base sky image, so that the added meteors appear in the sky in the correct place with respect to the background stars, retaining the proper perspective of the radiant point.

Perseid Meteor and Observers at Star Party

A Perseid meteor streaks down the Milky Way over the Saskatchewan Summer Star Party in the Cypress Hills of southwest Saskatchewan, at Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, a Dark Sky Preserve. The Milky Way shines to the south. About 350 stargazers attend the SSSP every year. Observers enjoy their views of the sky at left while an astrophotographer attends to his camera control computer at right. This is a single exposure, 25 seconds, with the Laowa 15mm lens at f/2 and Sony a7III camera at ISO 3200.

Stargazer Under the Milky Way at Star Party

An observer gazes skyward with his Dobsonian reflector telescope at the Saskatchewan Summer Star Party on August 9, 2018, in the Cypress Hills of southwest Saskatchewan, at the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, a Dark Sky Preserve. The Milky Way shines to the south. Smoke in the sky obscures the horizon somewhat. About 350 stargazers attend the SSSP every year. This is a single 25-second exposure with the Loawa 15mm lens at f/2 and Sony a7III at ISO 3200.

Gazing at the Milky Way in Grasslands National Park (Portait)

A Park interpreter poses for a scene in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan, of stargazing with binoculars under the Milky Way on a dark moonless night. Grasslands is perfect for stargazing as it is a Dark Sky Preserve and the horizon is vast and unobstructed. Mars is bright to the left and the galactic centre is to the south at right. The view is overlooking the Frenchman River Valley. This is a stack of 4 exposures for the ground and one untracked exposure for the sky, all 30 seconds at f/2.8 with the 20mm Sigma lens and Nikon D750 at ISO 6400. LENR was on.

Gazing at the Milky Way in Grasslands National Park

A Park interpreter poses for a scene in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan, of stargazing with binoculars under the Milky Way on a dark moonless night. Grasslands is perfect for stargazing as it is a Dark Sky Preserve and the horizon is vast and unobstructed. Mars is bright to the left and the galactic centre is to the south at right. The view is overlooking the Frenchman River Valley. This is a stack of 4 exposures for the ground and one untracked exposure for the sky, all 30 seconds at f/2.8 with the 20mm Sigma lens and Nikon D750 at ISO 6400. LENR was on.

Big Dipper over Tipi at Grasslands

The Big Dipper and Arcturus (at left) over a single tipi at the Two Trees site at Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan, August 6, 2018. This is a stack of 10 exposures, mean combined to smooth noise, for the ground, and one untracked exposure for the sky, all 30 seconds at f/2.8 with the 20mm Sigma lens and Nikon D750 at ISO 6400. Light cloud passing through added the natural star glows, enlarging the stars and making the pattern stand out. No soft focus filter was employed, and illumination is from starlight. No light painting was employed. Some airglow and aurora colour the sky. A Glow filter from ON1 Photo Raw applied to the sky to further soften the sky.

Mars and Milky Way over Tipis at Grasslands

Mars and the Milky Way over the tipis at Two Trees area in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan on August 6, 2018. Some light cloud added the haze and glows to the planets and stars. Illumination is by starlight. No light painting was employed here. This is a stack of 8 exposures for the ground, mean combined to smooth noise, and a single untracked exposure for the sky, all 30 seconds at f/2.8 with the Sigma 20mm lens, and Nikon D750 at ISO 6400 with LENR on.

Mars and Milky Way over Tipi at Grasslands

Mars (at left) and the Milky Way (at right) over a single tipi (with another under construction at back) at the Two Trees site at Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan, August 6, 2018. I placed a low-level warm LED light inside the tipi for the illumination. This is a stack of 6 exposures, mean combined to smooth noise, for the ground, and one untracked exposure for the sky, all 30 seconds at f/2.2 with the 20mm Sigma lens and Nikon D750 at ISO 3200.

Perseid Meteor Shower Looking North (2016)

The 2016 Perseid meteor shower, in a view looking north to the Big Dipper and with the radiant point in Perseus at upper right, the point where the meteors appear to be streaking from. I shot this on the peak night of the shower, August 11/12 after moonset so the sky was dark and in fact filled with bright airglow, appearing here as bands of green and yellow, mixed with a low-level aurora to the north as well. While it looks like the sky has artificial light pollution, the glows here are natural, from aurora and airglow. The Big Dipper is at bottom, pointing up to Polaris and the Little Dipper at upper centre. Perseus is at far upper right. This was from the Dark Sky Preserve of Grasslands National Park in southern Saskatchewan, from the trailhead parking lot of the 70 Mile Butte Road. This is a stack of 10 frames, shot over one hour from 1:38 a.m. to 2:37 a.m. CST. The camera was on the Star Adventurer tracker so all the sky frames aligned. The ground is from a stack of four frames, mean combined to smooth noise, and taken with the tracker motor off to minimize ground blurring, and taken at the start of the sequence. All exposures 40 seconds at f/3.2 with the 16-35mm lens and Canon 6D at ISO 6400.

Lone Perseid in the Moonlight

A lone Perseid meteor streaking down below the radiant point in Perseus, with the sky and landscape lit by the waxing gibbous Moon, August 11, 2016. Perseus is rising in the northeast, Andromeda is at right, with the Andromeda Galaxy right of centre. Cassiopeia is at top. Taken from the 70 Mile Butte trailhead in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan.

Aurora over Larson Ranch Cabins

A dim aurora to the north at Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan, at the Larson Ranch site and its rustic pioneer cabins. Taken August 8, 2016. This is looking northeast to Andromeda (the Andromeda Galaxy is above centre) and Perseus (the Double Cluster is left of centre). This Park is a Dark Sky Preserve. There are no lights visible. Illumination here is from starlight and the setting waxing crescent Moon to the southwest. This is a single exposure, 30 seconds untracked, with the Sigma 20mm lens at f/2 and Nikon D750 at ISO 3200, taken at the start of a time-lapse sequence. I cloned out the No Trespassing signs on the buildings.

Star Trails over Pioneer Homestead at Dusk

Circumpolar star trails at dawn over the historic Butala homestead at the Old Man on His Back Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area in southwest Saskatchewan, taken May 2015. This is a stack of 70 frames from a larger time-lapse sequence, from the start of the sequence in the dusk twilight, with some aurora active and adding green and magenta to the sky. Cassiopeia is at left over the house. Each exposure is 40 seconds with the 14mm lens at f/2.8 and Canon 60Da at ISO 1600. Stacked with Advanced Stacker Actions, Comet effect. The foreground comes from a stack of 8 of the first exposures, mean combined, to smooth noise.

Star Trails over Pioneer Homestead at Dawn

Circumpolar star trails at dawn over the historic Butala homestead at the Old Man on His Back Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area in southwest Saskatchewan, taken May 2015. This is a stack of 70 frames from a larger time-lapse sequence, from the end of the sequence in the dawn twilight. Each exposure is 40 seconds with the 14mm lens at f/2.8 and Canon 60Da at ISO 1600. Stacked with Advanced Stacker Actions. The foreground comes from a stack of 8 of the final exposures, mean combined, to smooth noise.

Aurora & Star Trails at Larson Ranch, Grasslands Park

A circumpolar star trail composite, shot at the old Larson Ranch site in the Frenchman Valley at Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan, August 27/28, 2014. The pioneer cabin was the home of the legendary western author and movie star Will James, born Ernest Dufault in Quebec. He lived in this cabin when he worked the ranches in the area. The aurora was excellent this night. This is a stack of 20 1-minute exposures at ISO 2500 with the 15mm full-frame fish-eye lens at f/3.2 and the Canon 6D. The foreground and point-like stars are from the first frame in the series.

Aurora over Pioneer Cabin, Grasslands National Park

The Northern Lights shot at the old Larson Ranch site in the Frenchman Valley at Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan, August 27/28, 2014. The pioneer cabin was the home of the legendary western author and movie star Will James, born Ernest Dufault in Quebec. He lived in this cabin when he worked the ranches in the area. The aurora was excellent this night. This is a single 1-minute exposures at ISO 2500 with the 15mm full-frame fish-eye lens at f/3.2 and the Canon 6D.

Milky Way over the 76 Ranch Corral

The Milky Way over the old corral at the site of the 76 Ranch in the Frenchman Valley in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan. I shot this Aug 26 on a perfect night, with aurora beginning to kick up but still low in brightness when I shot this so the sky was dark. The foreground is lit by starlight, by the aurora brightening in the north, and by the occasional flashes of spotlights from naturalists down the valley spotting for nocturnal ferrets. The green bands in the sky are from natural airglow. This is a composite stack of 5 images: 4 tracking the sky on the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer for the sky and 1 untracked shot with the motor off, which supplied the sharp ground. The blurred ground in the tracked shots was masked out in Photoshop. All images were 3 minutes at f/2.5 with the 24mm lens and Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600.

Mars, Saturn & Milky Way over Ranch Corral

Mars (bottom) and Saturn in conjunction at right, and the Milky Way at left, in deep blue twilight before the sky got filly dark, over the old corral of the 76 Ranch, in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan, August 27/28, 2014. Antares and Scorpius are just behind the corral gate at right, Sagittarius is at left in the Milky Way. M6 and M7 open cluster are visible at left. This is a composite of two images: one tracked (for the sky) and one untracked (for the ground) images, both 60 second expsosures at f/2.8 with the 24mm lens and Canon 5D MkII at ISO 2000. The tracker was the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer.

Tipi and Milky Way at Grasslands Park

A modern tipi at the Two Trees/Riverwalk picnic site at Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan, August 25, 2014, under the summer Milky Way. This is a single 60-second exposure at f/2.8 and ISO 4000 with the Canon 6D and 14mm Rokinon lens. I provided the interior illumination to the tipi.