Mars Amid the Taurus Star Clusters

Orange Mars, at centre, between the blue Pleiades (at right) and the large Hyades (at left) star clusters, with orange Aldebaran adorning the Hyades (though it is not a member of the Hyades but a foreground star). The more distant and smaller cluster NGC 1647 is at top left, also in Taurus. This was March 11, 2021. This is a stack of 4 x 4-minute tracked exposures with the Samyang 85mm AF lens at f/2.8 on the Canon EOS Ra at ISO 800, with a single exposure of the same length blended in taken through the Kase/Alyn Wallace StarGlow filter to add the star glows! (Though haze moving in was starting to do the job naturally at this time.) The tracker was the Star Adventurer 2i.

Mercury and Jupiter in Conjunction (March 4, 2021)

Mercury (above) and Jupiter in a close conjunction at dawn on March 4, 2021, when they were 35 arc minutes (a little more than half a degree) apart very low in the bright twilight. Mercury was not obvious even in binoculars but the camera picked up both planets well. Jupiter was magnitude -2 while Mercury was about magnitude 0.2. Taken from home at latitude +51° N. This is a single 1/10-second exposure with the 200mm lens at f/4 on the Canon 60Da at ISO 100.

Red Planet Meets Blue Stars (March 3, 2021)

This is red Mars passing below the blue Pleiades star cluster (aka M45 and the Seven Sisters) on the evening of March 3, 2021. Taken on a night with some high cloud and haze adding the natural glows around Mars and the bright stars, accentuating their colours. This is a stack of 10 x 30-second tracked exposures with the Canon 200mm lens at f/2.8 and the Canon 6D MkII at ISO 1600, the Star Adventurer 2i tracker. Taken from home. The frame is cropped in to improve the composition and cut out some gradients.

Waxing Moon, Mercury and Jupiter (with Labels)

The line of the waxing crescent Moon (then 2 days old), above prominent Mercury (then approaching its greatest elongation away from the Sun on Jan. 23), and just-visible Jupiter at bottom right about to set (and then approaching its conjunction behind the Sun on Jan. 28). This is a single shot with the 135mm lens and Canon EOS Ra.

Waxing Moon, Mercury and Jupiter

The line of the waxing crescent Moon (then 2 days old), above prominent Mercury (then approaching its greatest elongation away from the Sun on Jan. 23), and just-visible Jupiter at bottom right about to set (and then approaching its conjunction behind the Sun on Jan. 28). This is a single shot with the 135mm lens and Canon EOS Ra.

Planet Trio in Twilight with Labels (January 10, 2021)

The trio of Jupiter (highest and brightest), Saturn (at lower right and dimmest), and Mercury (at lower left) in the evening twilight on January 10, 2021. Mercury was a magnitude and a half brighter than Saturn, and did appear so this night as it was higher than the night beforn. Jupiter was naked eye, and Mercury barely so but only knowing just where to look. But Saturn was a challenge even in binoculars, as it was in and out of view. This is a single exposure with the 200mm Canon lens and Canon EOS Ra. I shot this from home in Alberta at latitude 51° N, so the planets were very low. I added labels to this version.

Planet Trio in Twilight (January 10, 2021)

The trio of Jupiter (highest and brightest), Saturn (at lower right and dimmest), and Mercury (at lower left) in the evening twilight on January 10, 2021. Mercury was a magnitude and a half brighter than Saturn, and did appear so this night as it was higher than the night beforn. Jupiter was naked eye, and Mercury barely so but only knowing just where to look. But Saturn was a challenge even in binoculars, as it was in and out of view. This is a single exposure with the 200mm Canon lens and Canon EOS Ra. I shot this from home in Alberta at latitude 51° N, so the planets were very low.

Planet Trio in Twilight (with Labels)

The trio of Jupiter (highest and brightest), Saturn (in the middle and dimmest), and Mercury (lowest) in the evening twilight on January 9, 2021. Technically, Mercury was a magnitude and a half brighter than Saturn, but due to its lower altitude appears about the same brightness here as Saturn. Jupiter was naked eye but it took binoculars to show the other two planets. This is a single exposure with the 135mm Canon lens and Canon EOS Ra. I shot this from home in Alberta at latitude 51° N, so the planets were very low. I added labels to this version.

Planet Trio in Twilight

The trio of Jupiter (highest and brightest), Saturn (in the middle and dimmest), and Mercury (lowest) in the evening twilight on January 9, 2021. Technically, Mercury was a magnitude and a half brighter than Saturn, but due to its lower altitude appears about the same brightness here as Saturn. Jupiter was naked eye but it took binoculars to show the other two planets. This is a single exposure with the 135mm Canon lens and Canon EOS Ra. I shot this from home in Alberta at latitude 51° N, so the planets were very low.

Planet Trails of Jupiter and Saturn Setting

A star trail image with the main trails at centre of Jupiter (brightest) and below it dimmer Saturn setting together in the southwest twilight sky on January 3, 2021. Stars add the other trails above in the darker sky from the later frames in the sequence. This was more than 10 days after their very close Great Conjunction, though the two planets were still quite close in the evening sky. This is a stack of 950 frames taken over 45 minutes at 2-second intervals with manually increased exposure time throughout. All with the 85mm Rokinon lens at f/4 and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 100. Stacking was direct from the developed raw files with the now sadly discontinued Advanced Stacker Actions Plus action set. Processing was with LRTimelapse to equalize and ramp the settings to smooth the transitions for the purposes of a time-lapse movie. The ground and band of dark clouds are from a stack of 10 frames from early in the sequence when it was brighter, stacked to smooth noise.

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 the Fog (Dec 27, 2020)

The pairing of Jupiter and Saturn in the evening twilight, on December 27, 2020. This was from home, on a cold, frosty night as the ice fog began to move in for the night. Brighter Jupiter is to the left of Saturn and is pulling away from Saturn here, but they were still separated by 40 arc minutes this evening. The background image is a stack of 5 untracked exposures to smooth the motion of the clouds and add a softer effect, but the planets come from just one of the exposures, all being 4-second shots with the 50mm Sigma lens at f/3.5 and with the Canon EOS Ra at ISO 200. A mild Orton glow layer added to further soften the image.

Jupiter & Saturn Conjunction Closeup with Labels - December 22, 2020

A closeup of Jupiter and Saturn the night after their closest approach in their "Great Conjunction" of December 2020. This was the evening of December 22, with Jupiter just 10 arc minutes to the east of Saturn, with Jupiter's four Galilean moons visible and three of Saturn's moons, though just! The fainter objects in the field are stars. I added labels to this version. This is a stack of six 4-second exposures (to bring out the moons) taken about 5:45 pm local MST. All were through the Celestron SE6 Schmidt-Cassegrain at f/10 (so 1500mm focal length) on the Sky-Watcher EQM-35 mount tracking the sky but only roughly polar aligned, and through the Canon EOS Ra camera at ISO 800, and cropped in. The planets' low altitude blurred their images from poor seeing. Atmospheric dispersion adds to colour fringing.

Jupiter & Saturn Conjunction Closeup - December 22, 2020

A closeup of Jupiter and Saturn the night after their closest approach in their "Great Conjunction" of December 2020. This was the evening of December 22, with Jupiter just 10 arc minutes to the east of Saturn, with Jupiter's four Galilean moons visible and three of Saturn's moons, though just! The fainter objects in the field are stars. This is a stack of six 4-second exposures (to bring out the moons) taken about 5:45 pm local MST. All were through the Celestron SE6 Schmidt-Cassegrain at f/10 (so 1500mm focal length) on the Sky-Watcher EQM-35 mount tracking the sky but only roughly polar aligned, and through the Canon EOS Ra camera at ISO 800, and cropped in. The planets' low altitude blurred their images from poor seeing. Atmospheric dispersion adds to colour fringing.

Jupiter & Saturn in the Twilight with Closeup Inset (December 22, 2020)

The pairing of Jupiter and Saturn in the evening twilight, the day after their closest conjunction, taken here on December 22, 2020. This was from home, as a snowstorm in the previous 24 hours had made the roads too poor to travel. Brighter Jupiter is to the left of Saturn and is pulling away from Saturn here, but they were still separated by only 10 arc minutes this evening. The inset shows the view through a telescope with the Galilean moons of Jupiter visible and three of the moons of Saturn. Other points are field stars. The background image is a stack of 6 untracked exposures to smooth the motion of the clouds, but the planets come from just one of the exposures, all being 0.8-second shots with the 85mm Rokinon lens at f/4 and with the Canon 6D MkII at ISO 200. The closeup image is a stack of six 4-second exposures (to bring out the moons) taken about 5:45 pm local MST. All were through the Celestron SE6 Schmidt-Cassegrain at f/10 (so 1500mm focal length) on the Sky-Watcher EQM-35 mount tracking the sky but only roughly polar aligned, and through the Canon EOS Ra camera at ISO 800, and cropped in. The planets' low altitude blurred their images from poor seeing. Atmospheric dispersion adds to colour fringing.

Jupiter & Saturn in the Twilight (December 22, 2020)

The pairing of Jupiter and Saturn in the evening twilight, the day after their closest conjunction, taken here on December 22, 2020. This was from home, as a snowstorm in the previous 24 hours had made the roads too poor to travel. Brighter Jupiter is to the left of Saturn and is pulling away from Saturn here, but they were still separated by only 10 arc minutes this evening. This is a stack of 6 untracked exposures to smooth the motion of the clouds, but the planets come from just one of the exposures, all being 0.8-second shots with the 85mm Rokinon lens at f/4 and with the Canon 6D MkII at ISO 200.

Jupiter and Saturn in Conjunction over Badlands (Dec 20, 2020)

Jupiter and Saturn, on the eve of their rare "Great Conjunction," shot here on December 20, 2020 from Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. The two planets are very close here, only 8 arc minutes apart, just 2 arc minutes more than at closest approach the next night (which was cloudy!). They are barely resolved in this image with a 35mm lens. This was a superb night at the Park, with perfect skies and a mild temperature of only 0° C and no wind or frost. Illumination is from moonlight from the waxing quarter Moon off frame to the upper left. This is a blend of a single 15-second untracked exposure for the sky and a stack of 4 x 30-second exposures for the ground to bring out the foreground details. All at f/2.5 and ISO 800 and with the Canon 35mm lens and Canon 6D MkII camera. I shot this well past twilight when the sky was now bright with moonlight. The planets were very low but I shot this set at the end of the evening as the lighting on the foreground looked good.

Jupiter and Saturn in Conjunction at Dinosaur Park (Dec 20, 2020)

Jupiter and Saturn, on the eve of their rare "Great Conjunction," shot here on December 20, 2020 from Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. The two planets are very close here, only 8 arc minutes apart, just 2 arc minutes more than at closest approach the next night (which was cloudy!). Even so, they are resolved in this image with an 85mm lens, and were easily resolvable to the naked eye. Some of the moons of Jupiter are visible, particularly Callisto and Ganymede to the left of Jupiter. This was a superb night at the Park, with perfect skies and a mild temperature of only 0° C and no wind or frost. Illumination is from the twilight but also moonlight from the waxing quarter Moon off frame to the upper left. This is a blend of tracked (for the sky, to prevent star trailing) and untracked (for the ground) exposures: 7 x 30 second exposures for the ground (to bring out foreground detail) at f/2.8 and 5 x 8-second exposures for the sky at f/4, all at ISO 400 and with the Rokinon 85mm lens and Canon EOS Ra camera. The camera was on the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i tracker. Stacking the tracked shots blurred the moving clouds and smoothed noise. Stacking the ground reduced noise. I shot this well past traditional "blue hour" when there was still colour in the sky to the camera, but the sky was dark enough to show stars, and the ground was beginning to light up with moonlight, highlighting the snow and ice patches.

Shooting the Great Conjunction with Closeup Inset (Dec 20, 2020)

A selfie shooting the "great conjunction" of Jupiter and Saturn on December 20, 2020, the night before the closest approach of the two planets, seen here in the distance over the peak. The inset shows the closeup view captured by the telescope a little earlier in the evening, with the two planets and their brightest moons labelled. The planets were less than 1/8 degree apart (8 arc minutes) this night, on a perfect night at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. They were 6 arc minutes apart the next night but clouds prevailed! I am shooting the planets with a Celestron SE6 tube assembly on the Sky-Watcher EQM-35 mount and with the Canon 60Da cropped frame camera, for maximum magnification. The background selfie is a blend of two exposures, one focused for the background and sky, and one focused for me and the telescope in the foreground, both single 1.3-second exposures at f/2.8 and with the Canon 35mm lens and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 400. Another camera for shooting tracked shots is in the distance at left. The closeup inset is a blend of short 0.5-second (for the planets) and long 3-second exposures (for the moons) with the scope at f/10 for 1,500mm focal length.

Shooting the Great Conjunction (Dec 20, 2020)

A selfie shooting the "great conjunction" of Jupiter and Saturn on December 20, 2020, the night before the closest approach of the two planets, seen here in the distance over the peak. The planets were less than 1/8 degree apart (8 arc minutes) this night, on a perfect night at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. I am shooting the planets with a Celestron SE6 tube assembly on the Sky-Watcher EQM-35 mount and with the Canon 60Da cropped frame camera, for maximum magnification. This selfie is a blend of two exposures, one focused for the background and sky, and one focused for me and the telescope in the foreground, both single 1.3-second exposures at f/2.8 and with the Canon 35mm lens and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 400. Another camera for shooting tracked shots is in the distance at left.

Jupiter & Saturn Conjunction Closeup with Labels - December 20, 2020

A closeup of Juper and Saturn the night before their closest approach in their "Great Conjunction" of December 2020. This was the evening of December 20, with Jupiter just 8 arc minutes below Saturn, with Jupiter's four Galilean moons visible and three of Saturn's moons, though just! The fainter object in the line of Jupiter's moons is an interloper star not another moon. I added labels to this version. This is a blend of a stack of three short 0.5 second exposures to prevent the planet disks from blowing out too much (so you can still see the rings of Saturn as somewhat distinct!), with a stack of five 3-second exposures to bring out the moons better, taken about 5:25 pm local MST. All with through the Celestron SE6 Schmidt-Cassegrain at f/10 (so 1500mm focal length) on the Sky-Watcher EQM-35 mount tracking the sky but only roughly polar aligned, and through the Canon 60Da camera at ISO 100 for the short shots and ISO 400 for the long shots. The planets' low altitude blurred their images from poor seeing. However, I was glad to get the shot, on this very clear night.

Jupiter & Saturn Conjunction Closeup - December 20, 2020

A closeup of Juper and Saturn the night before their closest approach in their "Great Conjunction" of December 2020. This was the evening of December 20, with Jupiter just 8 arc minutes below Saturn, with Jupiter's four Galilean moons visible and three of Saturn's moons, though just! The fainter object in the line of Jupiter's moons is an interloper star not another moon. This is a blend of a stack of three short 0.5 second exposures to prevent the planet disks from blowing out too much (so you can still see the rings of Saturn as somewhat distinct!), with a stack of five 3-second exposures to bring out the moons better, taken about 5:25 pm local MST. All with through the Celestron SE6 Schmidt-Cassegrain at f/10 (so 1500mm focal length) on the Sky-Watcher EQM-35 mount tracking the sky but only roughly polar aligned, and through the Canon 60Da camera at ISO 100 for the short shots and ISO 400 for the long shots. The planets' low altitude blurred their images from poor seeing. However, I was glad to get the shot, on this very clear night.

Shooting the Great Conjunction with Close-Up View (Dec 19, 2020)

A selfie shooting the "great conjunction" of Jupiter and Saturn on December 19, 2020, two nights before the closest approach of the two planets. The inset shows the image I took a few minutes earlier through the telescope at left. By the time I took this selfie the planets had dropped into the clouds again and only Jupiter was visible to the camera, and here it is out of focus in the distance at lower right, as I focused for the foreground. So the planets were low! The planets were less than 1/4 degree apart (13 arc minutes) this night, but with the clouds I was lucky to capture them at all. Only the Galiliean moons of Jupiter showed up, and fuzzy, but not any of the moons of Saturn. I am shooting the planets with a Celestron SE6 tube assembly on the Sky-Watcher EQM-35 mount and with the Canon 60Da cropped frame camera, for maximum magnification. I placed the scope at the end of my driveway so I could get a clear shot to the southwest. The inset shows the image I shot through the telescope a few minutes earlier (before I shot the selfie) when the planets were a little higher up in the clear break visible here. The closeup inset is a stack of 4 x 4-second exposures with the Canon 60Da at ISO 800, and at the f/10 prime focus of the scope, so at 1,500mm focal length. The bright glow at upper left of the main image is the waxing crescent Moon in clouds, and it is creating a refraction-effect "moondog" in the clouds at right. The main selfie image is a single 15-second exposure at f/2.8 and with the Canon 35mm lens and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 1600.

Shooting the Great Conjunction (Dec 19, 2020)

A selfie shooting the "great conjunction" of Jupiter and Saturn on December 19, 2020, two nights before the closest approach of the two planets. By the time I took this selfie the planets had dropped into the clouds again and only Jupiter was visible to the camera, and here it is out of focus in the distance at lower right, as I focused for the foreground. So the planets were low! The planets were less than 1/4 degree apart (13 arc minutes) this night, but with the clouds I was lucky to capture them at all. I am shooting the planets with a Celestron SE6 tube assembly on the Sky-Watcher EQM-35 mount and with the Canon 60Da cropped frame camera, for maximum magnification. I placed the scope at the end of my driveway so I could get a clear shot to the southwest. The bright glow at upper left of the main image is the waxing crescent Moon in clouds, and it is creating a refraction-effect "moondog" in the clouds at right. The main selfie image is a single 15-second exposure at f/2.8 and with the Canon 35mm lens and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 1600.