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.
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.
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.
