Solar System - Zodiacal Light
The Winter Stars and Zodiacal Light at Dinosaur Park
Orion and the winter stars setting on a spring evening at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, with the Zodiacal Light rising out the urban sky glow from distant Calgary. Sirius is at far left, with Orion setting behind the badlands hill, while the Pleiades is in the Zodiacal Light band at right, with Mars just below the Pleiades. High haze and aircraft contrails add the natural star glows. The ugly yellow glow of light pollution contrasts with the delicate natural glows of the Zodiacal Light and Milky Way. This is a panorama stitched from 3 segments, all with the 24mm Sigma Art lens and Nikon D750, for 20 seconds at f/2.2 and ISO 4000. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
Winter Sky Setting at Dinosaur Park Panorama
A wide panorama of Orion and the winter stars setting on a spring evening at Dinosaur Provincial Park, with the Zodiacal Light rising out of the twilight and distant yellow sky glow to the west at centre. Sirius is at left to the southwest, with Orion setting behind the badlands hill, while the Pleiades is in the Zodiacal Light band at centre, with Mars just below the Pleiades. Perseus, Cassiopeia, and the Andromeda Galaxy are setting at right in the northwest. High haze and aircraft contrails (one at centre) add the natural star glows. The lingering twilight adds the sky colour. This is a 240° panorama stitched from 17 segments, all with the 24mm Sigma Art lens and Nikon D750 in portrait orientation, each segment 20 seconds at f/1.4 and ISO 3200. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. A mild Orton glow effect was added to the landscape with Luminar 3 plugin.
The ISS, Airglow, and Zodiacal Light
A pass of the International Space Station with Canadian astronaut David St. Jacques on board, on the evening of January 26, 2019. I started the sequence just before 7 pm MST. The ISS is moving from right to left, southwest to southeast. The ISS faded and reddened naturally into sunset at top left in Taurus. Just before it did that it passed through the Hyades star cluster and just missed Aldebaran. Interestingly, the ISS seemed to track along the ecliptic here, made somewhat visible by the faint arc of the Zodiacal Light reaching up from the horizon at right and stretching across the sky to the upper left. The ISS coincidentally travelled parallel to, but just below the Zodiacal Light, which follows the ecliptic. Some red streaks of airglow are also visible, and I emphasized those in the colour correction to make a more colourful sky. I did the opposite to the light polluted clouds! But their yellow remains. Pity. I shot this from home, with the oft-photographed old farm rake as a foreground element. This is a stack of 8 x 30 second exposures, but with the ISS trails masked and blended with Lighten mode onto a single 30-second exposure taken just before the first ISS image. This yields a background sky with minimum star trailing. However, the ISS is trailed over the 4 minutes it traversed the sky from southwest (right) to southeast (left). All were with the 15mm Canon full-frame fish-eye lens at f/2.8 and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 3200. I added small cloned ISS trail bits to fill the gaps between the exposures caused by the 1-second interval, to make a continuous trail, despite it being from 8 exposures.
The watery constellations of Aquarius (occupying the majority of the frame) and Piscis Austrinus, at bottom right, marked by the bright star Fomalhaut. Part of Capricornus is at far right. The southern circlet of Pisces is at upper left, so the frame contains bits of many of the watery constellations of the southern sky. The Y-shaped “Steering Wheel” asterism in Aquarius is at top of the frame. The Zodiacal Light brightens the sky across the top along the ecliptic, as these constellations were in the southwest evening sky setting when I took this shot. This is a stack of 2 x 2-minute exposures with the 35mm Canon lens at f/2.5 and Canon 5D Mark II at ISO 1600. Taken from Quailway Cottage in southeast Arizona.
Sky Dust - Interplanetary and Interstellar
Depictions of two kinds of dust in space: At left the pyramid-shaped glow of Zodiacal Light caused by sunlight reflecting off interplanetary dust in the inner solar system from comets and meteoroids, while at right is the band of the bright Milky Way, made of stars in our galaxy. But along it lie dark lanes of interstellar dust made of carbon compounds made in the atmospheres of stars and dispersed into the Galaxy. This is from the Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona, on December 14, 2017, looking west to the Chiricahua Mountains of southeast Arizona. The Summer Triangle stars are setting into the west with Deneb at top, while Vega is at right. Altair is lowest at centre. The sky is a single 30-second exposure, while the ground is a mean combined stack of 8 30-second exposures to smooth noise, all at f/2.5 with the 14mm lens and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 6400. Not tracked — these were part of a 350-frame time-lapse.
Zodiacal Light over the Tetons at Dawn
The morning Zodiacal Light over the hills and peaks of the Grand Tetons in Wyoming, at dawn on August 20, 2017, the day before the solar eclipse. Venus is the bright object below, the Pleiades is at top, Orion at right amid cloud. This was taken from the Idaho side. Lights on the Tetons are likely from climbers on the peaks, there to watch the eclipse the next day. This is with the Canon 6D and Rokinon 14mm lens. It is a single exposure of 25 seconds at f/2.5 and ISO 6400.
Milky Way Rising #2 - With Dark Emu
The southern Milky Way and galactic centre rising on an April night in Australia, with the Dark Emu rising and now cleared the trees with hsi head, neck and body visible. Scorpius has risen. The faint glow at left is the Zodiacal Band. While it looks like the Milky Way is casting light across the ground, the bright ground is from lights from a nearby house on briefly for a few seconds. This is a stack of 8 x 45-second exposures for the ground, mean combined to smooth noise, and one 45-second untracked exposure for the sky, all with the Rokinon 14m lens at f/2.5 and Canon 6D at ISO 3200. Taken as part of a 500-frame time-lapse sequence.
Panorama of the Winter Sky in March
A horizon-to-zenith panorama of the winter consellations on a March evening as they set into the southwest. Orion is at bottom centre, with his Belt pointing down to Canis Major and up to Taurus. Gemini and Auriga are at top, in this case near the zenith overhead. The bright star clusters, M44, the Beehive, (at left) and M45, the Pleiades, (at right) flank the Milky Way. M45 is embedded in the Zodiacal Light. The star clusters M35 in Gemini and M41 in Canis Major are also visible as diffuse spots, as are several other star clusters. A couple of satellite trails are visible. Taken from home Match 19, 2017, for use as a book illustration. This is a panorama of 5 panels, each with the 20mm Sigma Art lens at f/2, and Nikon D750 at ISO 3200, for 25 seconds each. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
Panorama of the Winter Sky in March-B&W Naked Eye View
A horizon-to-zenith panorama of the winter consellations on a March evening as they set into the southwest. Orion is at bottom centre, with his Belt pointing down to Canis Major and up to Taurus. Gemini and Auriga are at top, in this case near the zenith overhead. The bright star clusters, M44, the Beehive, (at left) and M45, the Pleiades, (at right) flank the Milky Way. M45 is embedded in the Zodiacal Light. The star clusters M35 in Gemini and M41 in Canis Major are also visible as diffuse spots, as are several other star clusters. A couple of satellite trails are visible. Taken from home Match 19, 2017, for use as a book illustration. This is a panorama of 5 panels, each with the 20mm Sigma Art lens at f/2, and Nikon D750 at ISO 3200, for 25 seconds each. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
Panorama of the Winter Sky in March (with Labels)
A horizon-to-zenith panorama of the winter consellations on a March evening as they set into the southwest. Orion is at bottom centre, with his Belt pointing down to Canis Major and up to Taurus. Gemini and Auriga are at top, in this case near the zenith overhead. The bright star clusters, M44, the Beehive, (at left) and M45, the Pleiades, (at right) flank the Milky Way. M45 is embedded in the Zodiacal Light. The star clusters M35 in Gemini and M41 in Canis Major are also visible as diffuse spots, as are several other star clusters. A couple of satellite trails are visible. Taken from home Match 19, 2017, for use as a book illustration. This is a panorama of 5 panels, each with the 20mm Sigma Art lens at f/2, and Nikon D750 at ISO 3200, for 25 seconds each. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
Orion and the Winter Milky Way over the grand old barn near home. Sirius and Canis Major are at left, Aldebaran and Taurus, with the Pleiades at upper right. A glow of Zodiacal Light shines to the west at right. Taken March 18, 2017 on a very clear night but with a gale force wind blowing from a Chinook wind, and with the warm day the fields were muddy and soft. As were the side roads. This is a stack of 8 x 30 second exposures for the ground (mean combined to smooth noise) and a single 30-second exposure for the sky. All at f/2.5 with the new Rokinon 14mm SP lens. And with the Canon 6D at ISO 3200.
Evening Zodiacal Light at Dinosaur Park
The late winter evening Zodiacal Light, as shot at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, February 28, 2017. The Light is the glow from sunlight reflecting off cometary dust particles in the inner solar system. It is not an effect of twilight. It is best visible in the evening from northern latitudes in late winter and spring. Venus is just setting above the badlands landscape. The Andromeda Galaxy is at right, the Pleiades at left. The Milky Way runs across the frame at top. This is a stack of 7 x 30-second exposures for the ground, mean combined for lower noise, plus one 30-second exposure for the sky, all at f/2 with the 20mm Sigma Art lens, and Nikon D750 at ISO 6400.
Evening Zodiacal Light at Dinosaur Park (with Labels)
The late winter evening Zodiacal Light, as shot at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, February 28, 2017. The Light is the glow from sunlight reflecting off cometary dust particles in the inner solar system. It is not an effect of twilight. It is best visible in the evening from northern latitudes in late winter and spring. Venus is just setting above the badlands landscape. The Andromeda Galaxy is at right, the Pleiades at left. The Milky Way runs across the frame at top. This is a stack of 7 x 30-second exposures for the ground, mean combined for lower noise, plus one 30-second exposure for the sky, all at f/2 with the 20mm Sigma Art lens, and Nikon D750 at ISO 6400.
A single-frame panorama with the 15mm ultrawide fish-eye lens of the autumn sky and constellations from horizon to zenith. The sky extends from Cetus at bottom up to Cassiopeia and Cepheus at top in the Milky Way. The Pleiades is at left, the Andromeda Galaxy above centre. Capella and Auriga are at upper left. The evening Zodiacal Light brightens the sky at lower right, plus haze is moving in and reflecting light pollution to the west. Taken from home in southern Alberta on Jan 3, 2016, with the 15mm full-frame fish-eye lens at f/3.2 and Canon 5D MkII at ISO 800 for a stack of 5 x 3-minute exposures, Median combined to eliminate satellite trails. The ground is from one exposure to minimize blurring from the camera tracking.
Mosaic of the Northern Autumn Constellations
A horizon to past-the-zenith mosaic and panorama of the northern autumn sky and the related Greek mythological constellations: from the watery constellations of Aquarius, Pisces, and Cetus at the bottom near the horizon, up to Pegasus and Aries in mid-frame, on up to Andromeda and Pegasus at upper left, and Cassiopeia and Cepheus at top of frame in the Milky Way overhead. The Andromeda Galaxy is just above centre. Most of these constellations are related in Greek mythology, with Andromeda being the daughter of Cassiopeia and Cepheus, who was rescued from the jaws of Cetus the Sea Monster by Perseus, who rode on Pegasus in some accounts. Zodiacal Light brightens the sky at bottom right in Aquarius, and angles across the frame to the left. I shot this from home on a very clear night January 2, 2016 with the Zodiacal Light plainly visible to the naked eye. This is a mosaic of 5 panels, each a stack of 5 x 2 minute exposures, plus each panel having another stack of 2 x 2 minute exposures blended in, and taken through the Kenko Softon filter to add the fuzzy star glows to make the constellations stand out. All were shot with the 24mm Canon lens at f/2.8 and Canon 5DMkII at ISO 1600. All tracked on the AP Mach One mount. All stacking and stitching in Photoshop CC 2015. Final image size is 8500 x 5500 pixels and 3.6 gigabytes for the layered master.
Mosaic of the Northern Autumn Constellations (with Labels)
A horizon to past-the-zenith mosaic and panorama of the northern autumn sky and the related Greek mythological constellations: from the watery constellations of Aquarius, Pisces, and Cetus at the bottom near the horizon, up to Pegasus and Aries in mid-frame, on up to Andromeda and Perseus at upper left, and Cassiopeia and Cepheus at top of frame in the Milky Way overhead. The Andromeda Galaxy is just above centre. Most of these constellations are related in Greek mythology, with Andromeda being the daughter of Cassiopeia and Cepheus, who was rescued from the jaws of Cetus the Sea Monster by Perseus, who rode on Pegasus in some accounts. Zodiacal Light brightens the sky at bottom right in Aquarius, and angles across the frame to the left. I shot this from home on a very clear night January 2, 2016 with the Zodiacal Light plainly visible to the naked eye. This is a mosaic of 5 panels, each a stack of 5 x 2 minute exposures, plus each panel having another stack of 2 x 2 minute exposures blended in, and taken through the Kenko Softon filter to add the fuzzy star glows to make the constellations stand out. All were shot with the 24mm Canon lens at f/2.8 and Canon 5DMkII at ISO 1600. All tracked on the AP Mach One mount. All stacking and stitching in Photoshop CC 2015. Final image size is 8500 x 5500 pixels and 3.6 gigabytes for the layered master.
Iridium Flare and Zodiacal Light
An Iridium flare, albeit partly obscured by cloud, in a wide-angle shot of the southern sky on an early evening on a December night from southeast Arizona. The Zodiacal Light is prominent across the sky from the southwest to high i the south, despite the thin cloud. Fomalhaut is the bright star right of lower centre, and Diphda the star above the Iridium flare. I shot this December 10 from the Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona. This is a stack of 3 2.5-minute tracked exposures to smooth noise plus one more exposure for the Iridium flare itself and that added the ground. All with the 15mm lens at f/2.8 and Canon 6D at ISO 1600.
Zodiacal Light at Dawn with Planet Lineup
The dawn Zodiacal Light in autumn/early winter from Arizona, with a line of the Moon and planets defining the ecliptic across the eastern sky, tipped up at a high angle here, and showing how the Zodiacal Light lies along the ecliptic. The Zodiacal Light appears as the diffuse tower of light in the dawn sky and is caused by sunlight reflecting off cometary dust particles in the inner solar system. From bottom to top the worlds are: the waning crescent Moon (overexposed), Venus (bright), Mars (faint), then Jupiter (above centre). The star Regulus in Leo is at very top, and Spica in Virgo is just off the ecliptic line to the right of Mars and Venus. Bands of red airglow appear at left with some green airglow at right. This is a stack of 4 x 2.5-minute tracked exposures for the sky, and 2 x 2.5-minute exposures for the ground, but untracked to maintain sharpness. All at f/3.5 with the 15mm full-frame fish-eye lens, and Canon 6D at ISO 1000. The camera was on the iOptron Sky-Tracker. Taken from the field at Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona looking east to New Mexico.
Zodiacal Light at Dawn with Planet Lineup (with Labels)
The dawn Zodiacal Light in autumn/early winter from Arizona, with a line of the Moon and planets defining the ecliptic across the eastern sky, tipped up at a high angle here, and showing how the Zodiacal Light lies along the ecliptic. The Zodiacal Light appears as the diffuse tower of light in the dawn sky and is caused by sunlight reflecting off cometary dust particles in the inner solar system. From bottom to top the worlds are: the waning crescent Moon (overexposed), Venus (bright), Mars (faint), then Jupiter (above centre). The star Regulus in Leo is at very top, and Spica in Virgo is just off the ecliptic line to the right of Mars and Venus. Bands of red airglow appear at left with some green airglow at right. This is a stack of 4 x 2.5-minute tracked exposures for the sky, and 2 x 2.5-minute exposures for the ground, but untracked to maintain sharpness. All at f/3.5 with the 15mm full-frame fish-eye lens, and Canon 6D at ISO 1000. The camera was on the iOptron Sky-Tracker. Taken from the field at Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona looking east to New Mexico.
Autumn Morning Zodiacal Light with Moon
The Zodiacal Light of a late autumn/early winter morning faintly visible amid the moonlight from the waning crescent Moon, at centre here as the brightest object, flaked by three planets: Venus the brightest below, Mars, just above the Moon, and Jupiter, the bright object at top. The Moon and three planets define the morning ecliptic line and the angle of the Zodiacal Light which follows the ecliptic. Taken from Quailway Cottage on Dec 6, 2015 when shooting Comet Catalina, from Arizona but here looking east to New Mexico. Airglow adds the bands of red colour. Spica lies just below and to the right of the Moon. This is a stack of 3 x 2 minute exposures, tracked, for the sky and 2 x 2 minute exposures, untracked, for the ground. All at f/4 with the 15mm lens and ISO 1250 with the Canon 6D. A short exposure was blended in for the Moon to reduce its overexposure.
Autumn Evening Zodiacal Light from Arizona
The Zodiacal Light in the the late autumn evening sky from Arizona, overlooking the Chiricahua Mountains near Portal, AZ. The Zodiacal Light exends up from the horizon to the angled following the ecliptic. The summer Milky Way setting into the southwest extends up from the horizon to the right, running through the middle of the Summer Triangle stars. A satellite streaks across the Zodiacal Light, in a flaring path. I shot this from the field at Quailway Cottage. This is a stack of 7 x 2-minute exposures at f/2.8 with the 15mm full-frame fish-eye lens and Canon 6D at ISO 1250. All exposures were tracked on the iOptron Sky-Tracker. The ground came from one exposure to minimize blurring.
Autumn Evening Zodiacal Light from Arizona - B&W Naked Eye View
The Zodiacal Light in the the late autumn evening sky from Arizona, overlooking the Chiricahua Mountains near Portal, AZ. The Zodiacal Light exends up from the horizon to the angled following the ecliptic. The summer Milky Way setting into the southwest extends up from the horizon to the right, running through the middle of the Summer Triangle stars. A satellite streaks across the Zodiacal Light, in a flaring path. I shot this from the field at Quailway Cottage. This is a stack of 7 x 2-minute exposures at f/2.8 with the 15mm full-frame fish-eye lens and Canon 6D at ISO 1250. All exposures were tracked on the iOptron Sky-Tracker. The ground came from one exposure to minimize blurring.
Planets and Stars over Lake Annette
A panorama of roughly 180° showing a star- and planet-filled sky in the pre-dawn hours over Lake Annette in Jasper National Park, Alberta, on the morning of October 25, 2015. At left, to the east, are the two bright planets, Venus (brightest) and Jupiter in a close conjunction 1° apart (and here almost merging into one glow), plus reddish Mars below them, all in Leo, with the bright star Regulus above them. At centre, to the south, is Orion and Canis Major, with the bright star Sirius low in the south. At upper right are the stars of Taurus, including Aldebaran and the Pleiades star cluster. Venus was near greatest elongation on this morning. The Milky Way runs vertically at centre, between Sirius and Procyon, the bright star above centre. The faint glow of morning Zodiacal Light rises in a diagonal band at left in the east through the planets and stars of Leo and into Cancer and the Beehive Cluster at top left. No special filter was employed here — the hazy planets and stars and colourful star images comes naturally from a high haze over the sky this morning. It bloats the images of Venus and Jupiter so they almost merge. The stars are partly reflected in the waters with wind distorting some of the reflections. Some green airglow appears in the south as well. Distant Whistler peak below Orion is lit by lights from the Jasper Townsite. The site is the shore of Lake Annette near the Jasper Park Lodge and site to the annual star party held as part of the Jasper Dark Sky Festival. I shot this scene the morning after the 2015 Festival. This is a panorama of 12 segments, shot with the 24mm lens mounted vertically (portrait), each for 30 seconds at f/2.8 with the Canon 6D at ISO 3200. Stitched with Photoshop, with some vertical scaling to reduce the distortion introduced by the pan mapping process.
The Milky Way, Venus, and the Zodiacal Light - B&W Naked Eye View
Venus shines brightly, and nearly at its brightest at magnitude -4.7, in the dawn sky on a very frosty morning at 5 am, on September 17, 2015, from home in southern Alberta. Venus appears amid the faint glow of the Zodiacal Light, sometimes called the “False Dawn,” stretching vertically from the dawn horizon in the east, up and to the right, and reaching the Milky Way that runs down the frame from top centre to bottom right. Orion and the winter stars shine in the Milky Way, with Sirius above the trees at lower right. The Beehive Cluster, M44, appears as the small group of stars above Venus. The Pleiades, M45, is at top right. Mars is the brightest object left of Venus, with the bright star Regulus just below it and rising in the east. The stars of the Big Dipper are at far left at the edge of the frame. The sky is beginning to brighten with the real glow of morning. This is a stack of 4 x 2-minute exposures, tracked and mean combine stacked, for the sky and 2 x 2-minute exposures, untracked and stacked, for the ground to minimize blurring in the starlit ground. The Canon 6D was on the iOptron Sky-Tracker, shooting at ISO 1250 with the 15mm full-frame fish-eye lens at f/3.5. The stacking with a mean combine stack mode smooths noise in both sky and ground.