Solar System - Moon
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.
The Rising of the Cold Winter Moon
A composite image of the rising of the December 29, 2020 "Cold" Full Moon into a very clear evening twilight sky, here over the Badlands of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. The Moon rose with the Sun still up and lighting the landscape in warm tones, contrasting with the cool blues of the snowy landscape and sky. The pink Belt of Venus glow lights the lower sky near the horizon. It is not often we get a Full Moon (it was only 4 hours before being officially Full this night) rising with the Sun still up and illuminating the landscape. This is a layered blend of 13 exposures taken at 5-minute intervals, from moonrise just before sunset, to the Moon high in a dark sky more than an hour later. The ground and sky near the horizon is a blend of the first four exposures while the upper sky is from the last two exposures to place the now bright Moon into a darker sky as it actually appeared. The Moon moves its own diameter in about 2 minutes, so picking shots taken 5 minutes apart provides a good spacing for a shot with this field of view. Shots with longer telephoto lenses would be better with Moons taken every 3 to 4 minutes. These frames were taken as past of an 800-frame time lapse with the camera on auto exposure to ensure each frame was well exposed for the ground and sky. But as the Moon brightens as it rises that inevitably overexposes the Moon's disk — the exposure sequence I used here works for the time-lapse but is not so ideal for a composite still image like this. Had I wanted this to be shot taken just for a still image composite I would have had to fix the exposure at more or less what it was at mid-sequence here, to keep the lunar disk at that brightness and detail. So be it! All were with the Rokinon 85mm lens and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 100. It was about -10° C this evening.
Moonrise at Dinosaur Park Panorama
A 180° panorama of the rising Full Moon and twilight colours over the badlands of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta on December 29, 2020. This was the "Cold Winter" Moon of 2020. The view is overlooking the Red Deer River valley. I shot this panorama from the Park's entrance gate viewpoint. The image is a 14-segment panorama with the 50mm Sigma lens at f/4.5 and Canon EOS Ra at ISO 100, stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. The original is 34,000 pixels wide.
Cold Moonrise over Snowy Dinosaur Park
The Full "Cold" Moon of December 29, 2020 rising over the Badlands of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, on the Red Deer River. The last light of the setting Sun was breaking through briefly, illuminating the far river bank, as the Moon rose into the dark shadow of the Earth and pink "Belt of Venus" glow in the upper atmosphere. Despite being full, the Moon rose this night about 30 minutes before sunset, allowing this lighting. The Moon was about 4 hours before being officially Full at this time. This is a single image with the Rokinon 85mm lens on the Canon 6D MkII taken as part of an 800-frame time-lapse.
Cold Moon Rising over Dinosaur Park
The Full "Cold" Moon of December 29, 2020 rising over the Badlands of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, on the Red Deer River, here at left. The last light of the setting Sun was breaking through briefly, illuminating the far river bank, as the Moon rose into the dark shadow of the Earth and pink "Belt of Venus" glow in the upper atmosphere. Despite being full, the Moon rose this night about 30 minutes before sunset, allowing this lighting. The Moon was about 4 hours before being officially Full at this time. This is a single image with the Sigma 50mm lens on the Canon EOS Ra taken as part of a 500-frame time-lapse.
Harvest Moonrise over Country Road
The Harvest Moon (the Full Moon of October 1, 2020) rising almost due east at the end of a country road in southern Alberta, near home. The horizon was smoky or dusty, so the Moon was very red as it rose, and looking almost like a totally eclipsed Moon. This is a blend of 6 exposures, all 1/2-second with the A&M 80mm f/6 apo refractor (for 480mm focal length) and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 400, taken as part of a 460-frame time-lapse sequence, with shots every 2 seconds. For this composite I choose 6 images at 2-minute intervals, so the Moon rose its own diameter between frames. The ground comes from the first image in the sequence when the lighting was brightest. The Moon rose at 7:35 pm this night, about 30 minutes after sunset. A mild Orton glow effect added to the ground with Luminar 4.
Harvest Moonrise Composite (Sept 30, 2020)
The rising of the nearly Full Moon, the Harvest Moon of 2020, on September 30, from a site near home in Alberta, looking just south of due east this night. Refraction distorts the disk and atmospheric absorption reddens the disk toward the horizon. This is a multiple exposure composite of 6 images with the Canon 6D MkII through the 80mm A&M apo refractor at f/6 without field flattener. Taken as part of a time-lapse sequence with images every 2 seconds. The frames for this blend were taken 2 minutes apart, so selected from every 60 frames out of the sequence. All were at 1/8 second at ISO 100. Images stacked in Photoshop and blended with Lighten mode. The ground comes from the first image.
The last rays of the setting Sun catch the peaks around the Columbia Icefields in Jasper National Park, Alberta, on July 27, 2020. The waxing quarter Moon shines over Mount Andromeda and sunlight illuminates the glacier on Mount Athabasca at left. The famous Athabasca Glacier itself is at centre. Snow Dome Glacier is at right. The meltwater lake in the middle distance is Sunwapta Lake. This is a panorama cropped in from the original 10 segments, each with the 35mm lens and Canon EOS Ra camera, all at ISO 100 and 1/25 sec at f/8. Stitched in Adobe Camera Raw. Shot from the moraine at the start of the access road across the forefield.
Panorama of Comet NEOWISE Over Prince of Wales Hotel (July 14, 2020)
A once-in-a-lifetime scene — A panorama of the dawn sky at 4 am on July 14, 2020 from Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada with Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) over the iconic Prince of Wales Hotel. Noctilucent clouds glow below the comet in the dawn twilight. Venus is rising right of centre paired with Aldebaran and the Hyades star cluster, while the Pleiades cluster shine above. The waning quarter Moon shines above the Vimy Peak at far right. The Big Dipper is partly visible above the mountain at far left. Capella and the stars of Auriga are at centre. This is an 8-segment panorama with the 35mm Canon lens at f/2.5 for 15 seconds each at ISO 100 with the Canon 6D MkII and stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
Aurora at Home Panorama with Milky Way (May 29, 2020)
A 300° panorama of the sky on the night of May 29/30, 2020 with a modest aurora display underway across the north at centre. To the south at right is the summer Milky Way with bright Jupiter rising east of the Milky Way and Antares and Scorpius to the west of the Milky Way. To the west at left over my house is the waxing quarter Moon setting. Cassiopeia and Perseus are at centre. This is a panorama of 11 segments, each 20 seconds at f/2.8 and ISO 800 with the Sigma 24mm Art lens and Nikon D750. Stitched with PTGui.
Along the Terminator of an 8-Day Moon
A panorama along the terminator of an 8-day-old gibbous Moon. Mare Imbrium at top is well-illuminated with the crater Plato at top and Copernicus at centre, and the lunar Appenines and Alps mountain ranges along the east shore of Imbrium. To the bottom are the rugged Southern Highlands with craters Clavius and Tycho well lit. I shot this with the Celestron C9.25-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain, 2X Barlow, and Canon 60Da cropped-frame camera. Shot May 1, 2020. This is a stitch of 3 segments (top, centre and bottom), each 1/20 sec exposure at ISO 200 and at an effective f/20. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. Topaz Sharpen AI (using Stabilize option) and DeNoise AI applied.
6.5-Day Moon with Lunar X and V (60Da Vertical)
The 6.5-day-old Moon (approximately) with the Lunar X (below centre) and V (above centre) formations well lit on the terminator. This phase has an incredible amount of detail and variety of features visible along the terminator. I shot this with the Astro-Physics 130mm refractor, 2X Barlow, and Canon 60Da cropped-frame camera. Shot April 29, 2020. Thin cloud added some sky glow. Topaz Sharpen AI and DeNoise AI applied to sharpen fine detail and smooth noise in the sky. This is a single 1/30 sec exposure at ISO 100 and at f/12. There is a matching version in landscape format with the Moon just squeezing into the frame.
14-Day-Old Moon with South Polar Region Close-up
The 13.7-day-old Moon (a day before Full) with the south polar region tipped toward us in a favourable libration for viewing the southern regions and features. This was April 6, 2020. The large crater, Bailly, is on the southern limb, better seen here than at most similar phases, due to the favourable southern libration. This is a single image with the Canon EOS Ra through the Celestron C9.25-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain with a 2X Barlow for a focal length of 5,600mm. Exposure was 1/100-second at ISO 400. The seeing was poor this night. The image is processed for higher contrast and saturation to bring out the tonal differences in the maria and the rays from craters such as Tycho at right of centre.
14-Day-Old Moon with South Polar Region in View
The 13.7-day-old Moon (a day before Full) with the south polar region tipped toward us in a favourable libration for viewing the southern regions and features. This was April 6, 2020. The large crater, Bailly, is on the southern limb, better seen here than at most similar phases, due to the favourable southern libration. This is a panorama of 2 segments, each with the Canon EOS Ra through the Celestron C9.25-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain with a 1.4x Extender for a focal length of 3,300mm. Exposures were 1/100-second at ISO 400. Merged in Camera Raw. The seeing was poor this night. The image is processed for higher contrast and saturation to bring out the tonal differences in the maria and the rays from craters such as Tycho at bottom.
Moon, Venus and Orion over the Old Shed
The evening scene on March 26, 2020 of the setting waxing crescent Moon below Venus which is below the Pleiades star cluster. At top centre is the Hyades star cluster and Aldebaran in Taurus. At left is Orion sinking into the twilight of a spring evening. The setting is the old farmstead near home. This is a stack of 7 exposures for the ground to smooth noise, and one for the sky, all 10 seconds at f/2.8 with the 24mm Sigma lens and Nikon D750 at ISO 400.
The waxing crescent Moon with Earthshine and (above) Venus shine in the evening twilight sky over an icy pond near home, on March 26, 2020. Venus was just past greatest elongation from the Sun, and being spring with the high angle of the ecliptic, Venus was as high as it can get this year in an evening apparition. The Pleiades is at very top. This is a stack of 7 exposures for the ground to smooth noise and one for the sky, all 2.5 seconds at f.4 with the Sigma 24mm lens and Nikon D750 at ISO 200.
The rising of the Full Moon on March 9, 2020, (sometimes known as the Worm Moon) with a deer in the foreground, and in a composite of images of the Moon taken 3 minutes apart. The sky and foreground come from the first image with the Moon on the horizon. The Moon was into cloud for the last exposure. I shot this with the Canon 6D MkII at ISO 100 and through the SharpStar 76mm f/5.5 apo refractor.
Lunar X and Lunar V on the 6-Day Moon
The fleeting formations of light and shadow called the Lunar X (below centre on the terminator) and the Lunar V (above centre) on the 6-day-old Moon, on March 1, 2020. Can you see them? For a few hours during the 6-day-old waxing Moon the sunlight illuminates the rims of particular raters to give the impression of an X and a V on the boundary between light and dark—the terminator—where the Sun is rising. The X is formed by the confluence of the rims of craters Blanchinus, La Caille, and Purbach, while the Lunar V is formed by morning light illuminating the rim of Ukert crater. This is a single exposure with the Canon 6D MII at ISO 100 on the SharpStar 140PH triplet apo refractor with a 2X Barlow for f/12. Topaz Sharpen AI applied. Taken through light haze moving in.
Earthshine on the Waxing Moon with Stars
Earthshine lights the “dark side of the Moon” on the waxing crescent Moon of February 27, 2020. Stars surround the Moon in the deep twilight sky. The brightest star is 4.4-magnitude Nu Piscium. This is a blend of five exposures from short to long to preserve detail in the bright sunlit crescent while bringing out the faint blue Earthshine from light reflected off the Earth and lighting the nightside of the Moon. Exposures blended with luminosity masks. HDR and Mean Stacking routines produced edge artifacts, a very noisy sky, and no control over the mask edges and softness to better blend the exposures. All taken with the Canon 6D MkII at ISO 100 through the Astro-Physics 130mm apo refractor at f/6.
Full Moonrise of February with Deer
The rising Full Moon of February 8, 2020, over the Alberta prairie with deer wandering across the field in the distance. This night the Moon rose about 7 hours before the moment of actual Full Moon so it was rising well before sunset, with the Sun still well up the southwest but amid some cloud so it was not directly lighting the landscape. The brighter sky meant that a single exposure could capture the sky without overexposing the lunar disk. This is a panorama of 5 images with the 200mm lens and 1.4x teleconvertor on the Canon 6D MkII camera. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw,
The rising Full Moon of February 8, 2020, over the Alberta prairie. This night the Moon rose about 7 hours before the moment of actual Full Moon so it was rising well before sunset, with the Sun still well up the southwest but amid some cloud so it was not directly lighting the landscape. The brighter sky meant that a single exposure could capture the sky without overexposing the lunar disk. This is a single image with the 200mm lens and 1.4x teleconvertor on the Canon 6D MkII camera.
Mercury, Venus and the Waxing Quarter Moon (with Labels)
Here is the line of Mercury, Venus and the waxing quarter Moon across the evening sky on February 2, 2020. This illustrated version shows how the quarter Moon forms a 90° right angle with the Sun (here just below the horizon), which is why it is a quarter Moon phase. When the Moon is 90° from the Sun (either waxing or waning) we see half of its face illuminated by the Sun. When it is 180° away from the Sun we see 100% of its face illuminated in a Full Moon. Mercury and Venus always appear much closer to the Sun, with Mercury never more than about 18° from the Sun. Mercury was at its greatest elongation of 18° on Feb. 10 this year, just over a week after this image was taken. On this evening it was about 15° from the Sun. Venus never gets more than about 47° from the Sun, and its greatest elongation date this year in 2020 was March 24. On this date, Feb 2, it was 41° from the Sun. I’ve indicated those angles, though the actual measured angles on the image are less than those figures, as they should be measured from the camera not from a point in front of the camera as I’ve shown. This is just for illustration purposes! Put your protractors away! This is a single image with the 14mm Sigma lens and Nikon D750. Taken from home in Alberta from a latitude of 51° N.
Mercury, Venus and the Waxing Quarter Moon
Here is the line of Mercury, Venus and the waxing quarter Moon across the evening sky on February 2, 2020. This version shows how the quarter Moon forms a 90° right angle with the Sun (here just below the horizon), which is why it is a quarter Moon phase. When the Moon is 90° from the Sun (either waxing or waning) we see half of its face illuminated by the Sun. When it is 180° away from the Sun we see 100% of its face illuminated in a Full Moon. Mercury and Venus always appear much closer to the Sun, with Mercury never more than about 18° from the Sun. Mercury was at its greatest elongation of 18° on Feb. 10 this year, just over a week after this image was taken. On this evening it was about 15° from the Sun. Venus never gets more than about 47° from the Sun, and its greatest elongation date this year in 2020 was March 24. On this date, Feb 2, it was 41° from the Sun. This is a single image with the 14mm Sigma lens and Nikon D750. Taken from home in Alberta from a latitude of 51° N.