Observers and Star Parties
Selfie Observing Mars (Sept 11, 2020)
A selfie observing Mars at about 2 am on the night of Sept 11/12, 2020. I’m using the Sky-Watcher 8-inch Flextube Dobsonian and 6mm Delos eyepiece on my back deck. The seeing was pretty good this night with good definition of the Mare Sirenum and Mare Cimmerium regions. This is a single 30-second exposure at f/3.5 and ISO 3200 with the Canon 6D MkII and 35mm Canon lens, focused for the foreground. Moonlight provides some of the illumination as well as my red flashlight off camera.
A trio of beginner refractor telescopes in moonlight: The Explore Scientific FirstLight 80mm, the Meade StarPro 90mm, and the Orion VersaGo E 90mm, as examples of the decent starter scopes on alt-azimuth mounts, and with 80mm to 90mm apertures. They are all looking at Jupiter. Taken for book illustrations, Sept 3, 2020 in the moonlight, blending in a shot with red light also lighting the scopes
Beginner Refractor Trio in Moonlight
A trio of beginner refractor telescopes in moonlight: The Explore Scientific FirstLight 80mm, the Meade StarPro 90mm, and the Orion VersaGo E 90mm, as examples of the decent starter scopes on alt-azimuth mounts, and with 80mm to 90mm apertures. Taken for book illustrations, August 28, 2020 from home under the light of a waxing gibbous Moon.
Beginner Refractor Trio at Sunset
A trio of beginner refractor telescopes in moonlight: The Explore Scientific FirstLight 80mm, the Meade StarPro 90mm, and the Orion VersaGo E 90mm, as examples of the decent starter scopes on alt-azimuth mounts, and with 80mm to 90mm apertures. Taken for book illustrations, August 28, 2020 from home at sunset on a partly cloudy evening.
Telescope Trio in Moonlight v2
A trio of telescope types in moonlight: The Celestron NexStar 6SE Schmidt-Cassegrain, the Sky-Watcher 8-inch Flextube Dobsonian, and the SharpStar 76mm EDPH on the Sky-Watcher HEQ5 mount, as examples of the three main optical systems: catadioptric, reflector and refractor; and three main mounting systems: fork, Dobsonian and German equatorial. Also showing telescopes for visual use (on the left) and the refractor for photographic use, with camera. Also showing computerized GoTo with the Celestron and HEQ5 mount vs basic manual with the Dobsonian. Taken for book illustrations, August 27, 2020 from home under the light of a waxing gibbous Moon.
Telescope Trio in Moonlight v1
A trio of telescope types in moonlight: The Celestron NexStar 6SE Schmidt-Cassegrain, the Sky-Watcher 8-inch Flextube Dobsonian, and the SharpStar 76mm EDPH on the Sky-Watcher HEQ5 mount, as examples of the three main optical systems: catadioptric, reflector and refractor; and three main mounting systems: fork, Dobsonian and German equatorial. Also showing telescopes for visual use (on the left) and the refractor for photographic use, with camera. Also showing computerized GoTo with the Celestron and HEQ5 mount vs basic manual with the Dobsonian. Taken for book illustrations, August 27, 2020 from home under the light of a waxing gibbous Moon.
A trio of telescope types in twilight: The Celestron NexStar 6SE Schmidt-Cassegrain, the Sky-Watcher 8-inch Flextube Dobsonian, and the SharpStar 76mm EDPH on the Sky-Watcher HEQ5 mount, as examples of the three main optical systems: catadioptric, reflector and refractor; and three main mounting systems: fork, Dobsonian and German equatorial. Also showing telescopes for visual use (on the left) and the refractor for photographic use, with camera. Also showing computerized GoTo with the Celestron and HEQ5 mount vs basic manual with the Dobsonian. Taken for book illustrations, August 27, 2020 from home at twilight.
A selfie using the Meade ETX90 Observer telescope in the backyardunder moonlight night, August 6, 2020. I am pointing at M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, M31, and the telescope is pointed at it, too. A single exposure with the Nikon D750 and 24mm Sigma lens. I am illuminated only by the red LED light on the ETX control panel and on the hand controller.
Selfie wth Meade ETX90 Telescope
A selfie using the Meade ETX90 Observer telescope in the backyard under moonlight night, August 6, 2020. Illumination is from the low waning gibbous Moon. A single exposure with the Nikon D750 and 24mm Sigma lens. I am illuminated by the red LED hand controller.
Selfie with Orion StarSeeker Telescope with Hand Controller
A selfie using the Orion StarSeeker IV GoTo Telescope (the 130mm Newtonian model) in the backyard on a bright Moon night, August 5, 2020. I am using the hand controller to locate objects. Taken for book illustrations.
Selfie with Orion StarSeeker Telescope (Wide-Angle)
A selfie using the Orion StarSeeker IV GoTo Telescope in the backyard on a bright Moon night, August 5, 2020. The waning gibbous Moon is rising at left. Taken for book illustrations. Shot with the Rokinon 12mm full-frame fish-eye lens on the Nikon D750. I am looking at Jupiter.
Selfie with Orion StarSeeker Telescope with App
A selfie using the Orion StarSeeker IV GoTo Telescope in the backyard on a full Moon night, August 2, 2020. I’m using the app on the phone to control the telescope. Taken for book illustrations. Jupiter and Saturn are at right of the overexposed Moon. A stack and blend of multiple exposures with the Nikon D750 and 24mm Sigma lens.
Selfie Observing Comet NEOWISE (July 15, 2020)
A selfie observing Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) with binoculars on the dark moonless night of July 14/15, 2020 from Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. A faint aurora colours the sky green and magenta. The faint blue ion tail of the comet is visible in addition to its brighter dust tail. The ground is illuminated by starlight and aurora light only. This is a blend of 6 exposures stacked for the ground (except me) to smooth noise, and one exposure for the sky and me, all 13 seconds at f/2.5 with the 35mm lens and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 6400. Topazs DeNoise AI applied.
Observing with Sky-Watcher Dobsonian Telescope
A selfie of me observing with the 20cm Sky-Watcher Dobsonian telescope on a June night in the backyard. Shot for a book illustration of accessories and observing. The sky is blue from solstice twilight as this was June 18, 2020. The galactic core is at centre; Jupiter is rising at left. This is a blend of a single exposure for the sky, a stack of six exposures for the ground to smooth noise, and a separate single exposure for me. All 15 seconds at ISO 3200 with the Canon 6D MkII and 35mm lens at f/2.8 focused for the foreground. This can be exported in a version without me in it, with just the telescope!
May I Present the Northern Lights!
A selfie with me pointing out the Northern Lights display on the night ogf May 29-30, 2020 from home in Alberta. This was a modest Kp3 - 4 display but even that low-level display has been rare lately. Illumination is from the waxing quarter Moon behind the camera. A single shot with the 24mm Sigma Art lens and Nikon D750.
Selfie Watching the Northern Lights v1
A selfie with me looking at the Northern Lights display on the night of May 29-30, 2020 from home in Alberta. This was a modest Kp3 - 4 display but even that low-level display has been rare lately. Illumination is from the waxing quarter Moon behind the camera. A single shot with the 24mm Sigma Art lens and Nikon D750.
Selfie with Telescope Observing Venus
A single shot of a selfie with me and the SharpStar 76mm telescope on the Sky-Watcher AZ5 mount setup for viewing Venus in the evening sky, May 17, 2020. With the Nikon D750 and Sigma 24mm lens.
A single shot of the SharpStar 76mm telescope on the Sky-Watcher AZ5 mount setup for viewing Venus in the evening sky, May 17, 2020.
A selfie of me observing spring sky galaxies on April 9, 2020, with the SharpStar 140mm apo refractor which was on loan for testing, and mounted on my Astro-Physics Mach1 mount. The view is looking easy toward Corona Borealis, Bootes and Canes Venatici. This version is with low red illumination, taken as the sky was brightening at moonrise. This is a single 20 second exposure with the Sigma 24mm Art lens at f/2.8 and Nikon D750 at ISO 3200. Tpoaz Denoise AI applied
A selfie of me observing spring sky galaxies on April 9, 2020, with the SharpStar 140mm apo refractor which was on loan for testing, and mounted on my Astro-Physics Mach1 mount. The view is looking east toward Corona Borealis, Bootes and Canes Venatici. This is a single 20 second exposure with the Sigma 24mm Art lens at f/2.8 and Nikon D750 at ISO 3200. Topaz Denoise AI applied.
A selfie of me observing spring sky galaxies on April 9, 2020, with the SharpStar 140mm apo refractor which was on loan for testing, and mounted on my Astro-Physics Mach1 mount. The view is looking east toward Corona Borealis, Bootes and Canes Venatici. This is a single 20 second exposure with the Sigma 24mm Art lens at f/2.8 and Nikon D750 at ISO 3200. Topaz Denoise AI added.
Viewing Venus & Pleiades with Tripod-Mounted Binoculars
A selfie of me viewing the close approach of Venus to the Pleiades star cluster on April 1, 2020, using 10x56 Maven binoculars mounted on a tripod, as a demo photo. Orion is left of centre; Sirius is at far left; the Hyades is at centre. The waxing gibbous Moon provided the illumination. This is a stack of 4 images for the ground to smooth noise and 1 image for the sky to minimize trailing, all 13 seconds at f/5.6 with the Sigma 24mm lens and Nikon D750 at ISO 1600. Topaz Sharpen AI and DeNoise AI applied.
Viewing Venus & Pleiades with Big Binoculars
A selfie of me viewing the close approach of Venus to the Pleiades star cluster on April 1, 2020, using big 15x70 Celestron SkyMaster Pro binoculars mounted on a Canadian-built Starlight Innovations binocular mount, a parallelogram-style mount that allows viewing up high and with the binocular at different heights without losing its pointing position. Orion is over my left shoulder; the Hyades is at centre above the mount. The waxing gibbous Moon provided the illumination. This is a stack of 4 images for the ground to smooth noise and 1 image for the sky to minimize trailing, all 13 seconds at f/5.6 with the Sigma 24mm lens and Nikon D750 at ISO 1600. Topaz Sharpen AI and DeNoise AI applied.
Watching the Equinox Aurora (March 20, 2020)
A selfie of me watching the aurora on March 20/21, 2020 from my rural backyard. This was the spring equinox and auroras often park in activity around the equinoxes. This was the first display seen locally for some time though the Kp Index was low, no more than 2 or 3. This was about 12:30 am MDT. The night before I had been shooting aurora selfies from Churchill, Manitoba. I had just got home from the evening flight from Winnipeg and unpacked the camera to shoot this. Cassiopeia is at left, Vega is the bright star at right. This is a single 15-second exposure with the Sony a7III at ISO 1600 and Venus Optics 15mm at f/2.