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2013-17 New Mexico { 181 images } Created 21 Mar 2013

Images taken in March and December 2013 and April-May 2014, from the Painted Pony Resort in southwest New Mexico, and other sites around New Mexico and Arizona.
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  • The constellation of Orion the Hunter, at right, and his two Hunting Dogs and their brightest stars: Procyon in Canis Minor (at left) and Sirius in Canis Major (at bottom).<br />
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The winter Milky Way runs from top to bottom through Monoceros and Canis Major.<br />
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The red arc is Barnard’s Loop, an interstellar bubble blown by hot stellar winds from young stars in the Orion complex. The red patch at upper centre is the Rosette Nebula in Monoceros. The Orion Nebula is overexposed right of centre. <br />
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This is a stack of 3 x 2-minute exposures with the 35mm lens at f/2.5 and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600, on the Star Adventurer Mini tracker. <br />
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A 4th exposure through the Kenko Softon A filter adds the star glows for accentuating colour and the visibility of the brightest stars.<br />
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Shot from Quailway Cottage in southeast Arizona, December 15, 2017.
    Orion and His Dog Stars (35mm 5DII).jpg
  • The dark lanes of interstellar dust in Taurus known as the Taurus Dark Clouds, here in an image framing Taurus and Auriga, with some stars of Perseus at top. <br />
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The area is filled wuth star clusters and nebulas, notably the California Nebula at top. <br />
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This is a median-combined stack (to eliminate some satellite trails) of 7 exposures, each 2.5-minute at f/2.8 with the 35mm Canon lens and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600. Tracked on the Star Adventurer Mini, and shot from the Quailway Cottage in SE Arizona, December 15, 2017. <br />
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Another exposure through the Kenko Softon A filter and blended in with Lighten mode adds the star glows accentuating the colours of the stars and the prominence of the bright stars.
    Taurus Dark Clouds (35mm 5DII).jpg
  • Orion and Sirius rising over the Peloncillo Mountains of southwest New Mexico, on a clear night in December in the early evening. The Belt stars of Orion point down to Sirius, the Dog Star. <br />
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The long tracked exposures and the filter-modified camera brings out the red nebulsity in the area, such as Barnard’s Loop, the Lambda Orionis bubble at top, the Horsehead Nebula area near the Belt, the very bright Orion Nebula, and the intense Rosette Nebula at left. <br />
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Airglow add some bands of red and green toward the horizon. <br />
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This is a mean-combined stack of 5 tracked exposures for the sky, each 2.5 minutes at ISO 1600, and 3 short 30-second but also tracked exposures for the ground at ISO 6400, again mean combined to smooth noise. As the ground exposures were also tracked, the ground is blurred slightly. <br />
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An additional short exposure taken through a Kenko Softon A filter blended in with Lighten mode adds the star glows for accentuating star colours and the prominence of bright stars. <br />
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All with the 35mm Canon L-series lens at f/2.5 and Canon 5D MkII camera, on the Star Adventurer Mini tracker, and shot from the Quailway Cottage in SE Arizona.
    Orion & Sirius Rising over Pelon...jpg
  • The large winding constellation of Hydra the serpent at right, below Leo the lion rising in the east from Arizona on a mid-December evening. Cancer is at top. All three constellations are related to Hercules as all are creatures Hercules had to defeat as part of his “Labours.” The star cluster M44, the Beehive, is at top in Cancer.<br />
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This is a stack of 2 x 2-minute exposures with the 35mm lens at f/2.5 and Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600, with an additional exposure through the Kenko Softon filter layered in to add the star glows. <br />
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Bands of airglow add the colouration to the sky toward the horizon.
    Leo and Hydra Rising (35mm 5DII).jpg
  • The constellation of Canis Major, the large hunting dog of Orion the hunter. The binocular open star cluster Messier 41 is at centre below Sirius. The pair of star clusters, M46 and M47, are at left. The bright star is of course the Dog Star, Sirius.<br />
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This is a stack of 2 x 2-minute exposures with the 50mm Sigma lens at f/2.5 and Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600, plus an additional exposure through the Kenko Softon filter layered in to add the star glows. <br />
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Taken from Quailway Cottage in Arizona, with the Star Adventurer Mini tracker.
    Canis Major (50mm 5DII).jpg
  • 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. <br />
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This is from the Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona, on December 14, 2017, looking west to the Chiricahua Mountains of southeast Arizona. <br />
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The Summer Triangle stars are setting into the west with Deneb at top, while Vega is at right. Altair is lowest at centre.<br />
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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 & Milky Way over ...jpg
  • A trio of Geminid meteors over the Chiricahua Mountains in southeast Arizona, with Orion and the winter stars setting. I shot this at the end of the night of December 13/14, 2017 with the rising waxing crescent Moon providing some ground illumination. <br />
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This is a stack of one image for the ground and two fainter meteors, and another image with the bright meteor. The camera was on a Star Adventurer Mini tracker so the stars are not trailed, though the ground will be slightly blurred. <br />
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Orion is at centre, going down. Sirius is at left and the Pleiades and Hyades at right.<br />
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All were 30-second exposures at f/2.8 with the 24mm Canon lens and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 5000.<br />
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Taken from the Quailway Cottage.
    Geminid Meteors over the Chiricahuas.jpg
  • The rising of the waning crescent Moon on the morning of the peak night of the Geminid meteor shower, December 13/14, 2017. Mars is above and Spica higher still along the ecliptic at dawn. Arcturus is at upper left. The scene is over the Peloncillo Mountains of New Mexico. <br />
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This is a blend of two exposures: a long 30-second one for the sky and a short one for the Moon’s disk. With the 24mm lens and Canon 5D MkII.
    Moonrise on Geminid Meteor Night.jpg
  • A composite of the 2017 Geminid meteor shower, from the peak night of December 13, with the radiant in Gemini, at top, high overhead. So meteors appear to be raining down to the horizon. This was certainly the visual impression.<br />
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At least one meteor, at left, is not a Geminid, as it does not point back to the radiant. <br />
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The Milky Way runs diagonally across the frame, from Puppis at lower left, to Auriga at upper right. Orion is at centre. Gemini is at top. <br />
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This is a stack of 24 images, some with 2 or 3 meteors per frame, each a 30-second exposure at f/2.5 with the Rokinon 14mm SP lens and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 6400. The images are the 24 frames with meteors out of 171 taken over 94 minutes from 2:05 am to 3:39 am MST. <br />
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The ground is a stack of 8 images, mean combined to smooth noise. The background base-image sky is from one exposure. <br />
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The camera was on a fixed tripod, not tracking the sky. I rotated and moved each image in relation to a base image in order to place each meteor at approximately the correct position in relation to the background stars, to preserve the effect of the meteors streaking from the radiant near Castor at top of the frame. <br />
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Taken from Quailway Cottage, near the Arizona Sky Village in southeast Arizona, with a view looking southwest toward the Chiricahua Mountains. From this latitude, Canopus appears low above the southern horizon at left.
    Geminids (Dec 13, 2017 - Southwest).jpg
  • The Geminid meteor shower of December 13, 2017 in a view framing the winter Milky Way from Auriga (at top) to Puppis (at bottom) with Gemini itself, the radiant of the shower at left, and Orion at right. <br />
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The view is looking southeast to the Peloncillo Mountains in New Mexico though the site at Quailway Cottage is in Arizona, near Portal. <br />
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This is a composite stack of one base image with the brightest meteor, then 20 other images layered in each with a meteor. The camera was not tracking the sky, so I rotated and moved each of the layered-in frames so that their stars mroe or less aligned with the base layer, to ensure the meteor streak ended up in the correct location with respect to the stars and to the radiant point, illustrating the radiant in Gemini above Castor. <br />
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The images for this composite were taken over 107 minutes starting at 11:18 pm MST, with 22 images containing meteors picked from 196 images in total over that time.<br />
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Each exposure was 30 seconds with the Rokinon 14mm SP lens at f/2.5 and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 6400.
    Geminids (Dec 13, 2017 - South).jpg
  • A composite showing the 2017 Geminid meteors streaking from the radiant point in Gemini at upper left, above the blue-white star Castor. 2 or 3 meteors are not Geminids as their paths do not project back to the radiant, but I have left them in regardless, as an illustration. <br />
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This also illustrates how the meteor paths are shorter closer to the radiant and lengthen away from the radiant. <br />
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This is a stack of 43 exposures, each 1-minute with the 24mm Canon lens at f/2.5 and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII camera at ISO 6400, set fast to pick up the fainter meteors. These were 43 exposures with meteors (some with 2 or 3 per frame) out of 455 taken over 5 hours. <br />
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Orion and its red nebulas are at right. The Beehive star cluster, M44, is at lower left. Sirius is the bright star at lower right.<br />
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The camera was on a Star Adventurer Mini tracking unit, so all the frames more or less aligned when stacked with the meteors in the correct relative position. The background sky comes from just one of the exposures. All the other frames are masked to show just the meteor.<br />
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Taken December 13/14, 2017 during the very active 2017 Geminid meteor shower, and shot from Quailway Cottage in southeast Arizona, near Portal.
    Geminid Meteors 2017 (Tracked Compos...jpg
  • A composite of the 2017 Geminid meteor shower, from the peak night of December 13, with the radiant in Gemini, at centre, rising in the northeast at the beginning of the night. Meteors are streaking from the radiant point above Castor in Gemini, with meteor streaks longer the farther they were from the radiant point.<br />
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The Milky Way runs diagonally across the frame, from Auriga, at top, to Canis Minor, at bottom.<br />
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This is a stack of 40 images, each a 30-second exposure at f/2.5 with the Rokinon 14mm SP lens and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 6400. The images are the 40 frames with meteors out of 357 taken over 3 hours and 16 minutes from 7:54 pm to 11:10 pm MST. <br />
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The ground is a stack of 8 images, mean combined to smooth noise. The background base-image sky is from one exposure. <br />
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The camera was on a fixed tripod, not tracking the sky. I rotated and moved each image in relation to a base image and around Polaris at upper left, in order to place each meteor at approximately the correct position in relation to the background stars, to preserve the effect of the meteors streaking from the radiant near Castor at centre of the frame. <br />
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Taken from Quailway Cottage, near the Arizona Sky Village in southeast Arizona, with a view looking northeast, toward the nearby towns of Lordsburg and Deming, NM adding the sky glows.
    Geminids (Dec 13, 2017 - Northeast).jpg
  • A single Geminid meteor shoots through the Sword of Orion on the peak night of the Geminid meteor shower, December 13/14, 2017. <br />
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At bottom is Sirius and Canis Major. Gemini itself is at left, while Cancer and the Beehive star cluster are at lower left. Procyon and Canis Minor is at lower centre. <br />
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This is a stack of 3 exposures: one for the meteor and two for the yellow smoke train it left though it is subtle. The camera was on a Star Adventurer Mini tracker. Exposures were 1-minute each, with the Canon 24mm lens at f/2.5 and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 6400. Taken from Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona.
    Geminid through Orion.jpg
  • A portrait of the two groups of half-sisters related in mythology as daughters of Atlas: the Hyades, at left, and the blue Pleiades, at right, two nearby open star clusters in Taurus. The bright star is Aldebaran, the eye of Taurus.<br />
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This area of the sky is filled with dust which colours the sky in shades of brown and blue. <br />
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This is a stack of 4 x 2-minute exposures with the 85mm manual Rokinon lens at f/2 and Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600, on the Star Adventurer Mini tracker. <br />
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An additional exposure through the Kenko Softon A filter added the star glows for accentuated star colour. <br />
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Shot from Quailway Cottage in southwest Arizona, December 15, 2017.
    Hyades and Pleiades in Taurus (85mm ...jpg
  • The small northern autumn constellations of Aries the ram (bottom right) and Triangulum (top left), with the galaxy M33 also in frame at top. The bright yellow star at bottom is Hamal.<br />
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This is a stack of 2 x 2-minute exposures with the 85mm Rokinon lens at f/2 and Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600, plus an additonal exposure through the Kenko Softon A filter to add the star glows.
    Aries and Triangulum (85mm 5DII).jpg
  • A 270° panorama of the northern hemisphere winter Milky Way, from Puppis at left, to Perseus at right, with Orion and Taurus at centre. Canopus is just above the horizon at left of centre. The Milky Way is marked with many dark clouds of interstellar dust, especially in Taurus at centre.<br />
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I shot this from the Quailway Cottage in southeastern Arizona at a latitude of 31° N. on December 12, 2017. It is a stitch of 8 segments, each with the 14mm Rokinon SP lens at f/2.5 and modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 6400, for 45 seconds each. The camera was oriented portrait. Stitching was with PTGui, using the Full-Frame Fish-eye projection to avoid distortion to the sky overhead, but creating the “wrap-around” effect at the sides.
    Winter Sky Panorama (Full Frame Fish...jpg
  • A 360° fish-eye panorama of the northern hemisphere winter sky and Milky Way, from Puppis at bottom, to Perseus at top, with Orion and Taurus at lower centre. Canopus is just above the horizon at bottom. The Milky Way is marked with many dark clouds of interstellar dust, especially in Taurus at left of centre.<br />
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A very faint trace of the Zodiacal Band is at left. <br />
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I shot this from the Quailway Cottage in southeastern Arizona at a latitude of 31° N. on December 12, 2017. It is a stitch of 8 segments, each with the 14mm Rokinon SP lens at f/2.5 and modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 6400, for 45 seconds each. The camera was oriented portrait. Stitching was with PTGui, using the Spherical Fish-Eye projection to create the round fish-eye framing.
    Winter Sky Panorama (Spherical Fish-...jpg
  • A single bright meteor from the Geminid meteor shower of December 2017, dropping toward the horizon in Ursa Major. Gemini itself and the radiant of the shower is at top centre. Leo is just rising at bottom centre. Procyon is at upper right. <br />
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I shot this from the Quailway Cottage in southeastern Arizona, on December 12, 2017. It is one frame from a 700-frame sequence for stacking and time-lapses. The ground is a mean stack of 8 frames to smooth noise. Exposures were 30 seconds at ISO 6400 with the Rokinon 14mm lens at f/2.5 and Canon 6D MkII.
    Bright Geminid on December 12, 2017.jpg
  • A lone random meteor streaks across the winter Milky Way, and through Auriga and Taurus toward Orion, on December 12, 2017. While this was the night before the peak of the annual Geminid meteor shower, this was not a Geminid – it was going the wrong way! <br />
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This is a stack of 7 exposures, each 1 minute at f/2 with the Canon 24mm lens and Canon 5D MkII at ISO 6400 on the Star Adventurer Mini tracker. One exposure contained the meteor streak; the others contained the fading and dispersing meteor “smoke” train. Taken from the Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona.
    Lone Meteor in Winter Sky.jpg
  • The constellation of Cassiopeia the Queen, framed with the 85mm lens and including many star clusters: M52 at right, the Double Cluster at left, and M103 and NGC 457 on the left side of the W of five stars that marks Cassiopeia. The Heart Nebula, IC 1805, is at upper left, and the Pacman Nebula, NGC 281, is at lower centre.<br />
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This is a stack of 4 x 2-minute exposures at f/2 with the 85mm Rokinon lens, and modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600. A final exposure taken through the Kenko Softon A diffusion filter adds the star glows. Taken December 11, 2017 at the Quailway Cottage in southeastern Arizona near Portal.
    Cassiopeia (85mm 5DII).jpg
  • A 160° panorama showing: <br />
- the Zodiacal Light (at right in the west)<br />
- the Milky Way (up from the centre, in the south, to the upper right)<br />
- the Zodiacal Band (faintly visible running across the frame at top)<br />
- the Gegenschein (a brightening of the Zodiacal Band at left of frame in the east in Leo)<br />
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Along the Milky Way are dark lanes of interstellar dust, aprticularly in Taurus above and to the right of Orion. Red nebulas of glowing gas also lie along the Milky Way, such as Barnard’s Loop around Orion.<br />
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The Zodiacal Light, Band and Gegenschein all lie along the ecliptic, as do Mars, Venus and Jupiter shown here. <br />
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Orion is at centre, in the south, with Canis Major and the bright star Sirius below and to the left of Orion. Canopus is just setting on the southern horizon at centre. <br />
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To the right of Orion is Taurus and the Pleiader star cluster at the top of the Zodiacal Light pyramid. <br />
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Venus is the bright object in the Zodiacal Light at right, in the west, while fainter Mars is below Venus. <br />
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At far right at the frame edge, in the northwest, is the Andromeda Galaxy, M31. <br />
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Jupiter is the bright object at upper left, in the east, in the Zodiacal Band, and near the Beehive star cluster. <br />
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The Zodiacal Light, Band and Gegenschein are caused by sunlight reflecting off cometary and meteoric dust in the inner solar system. The Gegenschein, or “counterglow,” can be seen with the naked eye but is a subtle and diffuse brightening of the sky in the spot opposite the Sun. It is caused by sunlight reflecting directly back from comet dust, with the effect greatest at the point opposite the Sun. <br />
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Glows like the Zodiacal Light require reasonably dark skies, but the fainter Zodiacal Band and Gegenschein require very dark skies.<br />
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Glows on the horizon are from distant SIlver City, Las Cruces and El Paso. The brighter sky at right is from the last vestiges of evening twilight. Some green and red airglow bands also permeate the sky.<br />
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I shot this March 10, 2015 from the summit
    Zodiacal Light & Milky Way Panor...jpg
  • The Geminid meteor shower over the Very Large Array radio telescope near Magdalena, New Mexico, on the evening of Sunday, December 13, 2015. The VLA was in its most compact “D” formation with the 27 dishes clustered most closely together. Lights from the control building illuminate the dishes to the left. Glows from Santa Fe and Albuquerque illuminate the horizon. This was a dark moonless night. One bright meteor left a long-lasting train the provided the fuzzy “smoke” trail at right. <br />
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This is a stack of more than two dozen images, one providing the ground and sky and one bright meteor early in the shoot, and the rest providing additional meteors (22) captured over the 3-hour-long shoot from 8 pm to 11 pm. A total of 334 frames were shot, of which about 30 had meteors: not all are included here - some were very faint or at the edge of the frame, or overlapped other meteors, or were sporadics. <br />
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I’ve made mo attempt to position the meteors so they all emanate from the radiant point’s position at the time the base sky image was taken. Over the 3 hours of the shoot the radiant in Gemini, off frame at right here, rose higher, causing the meteors to appear at a steeper angle. Thus, those meteors more parallel to the ground are from early in the shoot, while those at an angle more perpendicular to the ground are from later in the evening. <br />
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One bright meteor right of centre appears on two frames (the shutter closed and re-opened while it was still going). This meteor left a long-lasting train that persisted on several frames that are layered in here to add the drifting “smoke” trail. It actually lasted over 30 frames. <br />
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Each frame was a 32-second exposure at f/2 with the 35mm lens and with the Canon 6D at ISO 3200. The camera was not tracking the sky – the view is looking northwest toward the setting sky, a direction dictated by the viewing location to get the dishes in the scene. So had the camera tracked the sky the camera would have turned down to th
    Geminids over the VLA (Dec 2015).jpg
  • Trails of the circumpolar stars around Polaris, in the New Mexico sky over the Very Large Array radio telescope on the Plains of San Agustin. I shot this December 13, 2015 as part of sequence to capture Geminid meteors. <br />
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This is a stack of 70 exposures, each 45 seconds at f/2.8 with the 15mm lens and Canon 5D MkII at ISO 4000. Stacked with Advanced Stacker Actions with Streaks mode.
    Circumpolar Stars over VLA.jpg
  • The waxing crescent Moon setting over the dishes of the Very Large Array Radio Telescope in New Mexico, on December 13, 2015, night of the Geminid meteor shower. I thought the curving horns of the crescent Moon made a nice coincidental match for the orientation of the 27 antennas of the VLA. I caught this scene on the road down to the VLA to set up for the meteor shower sequences.<br />
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I shot this with the 135mm telephoto lens and Canon 5D MkII. It is a composite of a long 15s tracked exposure for the sky and Moon, with a long untracked 15s exposure for the ground, with the camera on the iOptron Sky-Tracker. A third short tracked exposure added detail in the Moon to avoid it being over exposed.
    Moonset over the VLA.jpg
  • The Big and Little Dippers over Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona, as the Big Dipper rises in the northeast, with all but the end star of the handle visible. Polaris is at upper left, and the Little Dipper hangs down from it. Airglow adds the green streaks at right. <br />
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This is a blend of 4 tracked exposures for the sky and 4 untracked exposures for the ground, blended along the tree line, as a sharp mask dividing earth and sky was not possible. In fact for the ground shots the camera was moved down to include more of the ground, as the 35mm lens used here wasn’t quite wide enough to include all the scene in one frame. So this is a small vertical panorama. Each exposure was 2 minutes at f/2 and at ISO 1600. Plus an additional shot taken thru the Kenko Softon filter was layered in for the star glows. Shot Dec 10, on the last clear night of a fine week-long run of shooting.
    The Dippers over Quailway Cottage.jpg
  • The constellations of Leo and Hydra rising in the east on a mid-December night from southern Arizona at about midnight. Leo is partly risen at left and Hydra at right with the head of Hydra at top right. At top centre is the Beehive Cluster, M44, and small M67 below it, both in Cancer. The cluster at far right is M48. Regulus is at lower left and the bright star at lower right in Alphard in Hydra.<br />
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This is a stack of 5 x 2 minute exposures at f/2.5 with the 35mm lens and Canon 5DMkII at ISO 1600, plus a sixth frame shot thru the Kenko Softon filter for the star glows. Shot for use in SkyNews as an illustration.
    Leo & Hydra Rising.jpg
  • The autumn Milky Way over the Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona, on a slightly hazy December evening, adding the star glows. We are looking due north here with Polaris just below centre. Cassiopeia is overhead at top. Cygnus is at left in the west; Auriga is at right in the east. This is with the 15mm full-frame fish-eye lens, and so takes in a wide 180° view of the sky, and from horizon to zenith. <br />
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This is a stack of 4 x 3-minute exposures for the sky at f/4 and ISO 1600, with the camera tracking the sky, and 2 x 3-minute exposures for the ground at f/2.8 and ISO 1600 but with the camera not tracking, to avoid blurring the ground. There is some blurring in the trees, which I think looks fine. The tracker was the iOptron Sky-Tracker, the camera the Canon 6D.
    Milky Way over Quailway Cottage.jpg
  • 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.<br />
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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.
    Iridium Flare and Zodiacal Light.jpg
  • Orion and the star Sirius, at left, setting in the dawn sky over the Chiricahuas on the morning of December 9, 2015. The orange star is Betelgeuse. Light from the eastern dawn illuminates the landscape. Haze added the natural star glows — no filter used here. <br />
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The sky is a stack of 5 x 90 second exposures at f/2.5 with the 35mm lens and Canon 5D MkII at ISO1600, with the camera on the iOptron Sky-Tracker to keep stars from trailing. The ground is from another set of 5 similar exposures with the tracker motor off, the eliminate blurring from the camera tracker motion.
    Orion Setting over Chiricahuas.jpg
  • Sunrise clouds over the Peloncillo Mountains of SW New Mexico, on December 9, 2015, with the thin waning crescent Moon and Venus in the dawn sky. Earthshine lights the dark side of the Moon. I shot this from Quailway Cottage just over the border into Arizona.<br />
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This is with the 35mm lens and Canon 5D MkII camera.
    Desert Sunrise over New Mexico.jpg
  • Comet Catalina, C/2013 US10, near Venus at right, on December 9, 2015, as seen and shot from Arizona, at the Quailway Cottage near Portal. The blue ion tail is visible stretching back several degrees pointing away from the Sun, while the short dust tail extends to the lower right following along the comet’s orbit. <br />
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This is a stack of 5 x 90-second exposures, taken with the 135mm telephoto and 1.4x extender for a focal length of 190mm, at f/2.8 and with the Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600, tracked on the iOptron Sky-Tracker. Two other exposures, of 15s and 1s were blended in with luminosity masks to reduce the glare of Venus to a smaller size.
    Comet Catalina (C2013 US10) Dec 9, 2...jpg
  • A stack of 450 or so images taken during the last half of the night, from a dusk-to-dawn shoot on December 8/9, 2015, of the seasonal stars turning moving across the southern sky from Arizona, from the Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona. Orion is at upper right. Jupiter is the bright object at left.<br />
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The ground comes an average stack of 8 of the last frames. Stacking performed with the Advanced Stacker Plus actions (using Long Streaks) in Photoshop. Each exposure was 45 seconds at f/2.8 with the 15mm full-frame fish-eye, and Canon 6D at ISO 3200.
    Arizona - South Seasonal (Long).jpg
  • 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.<br />
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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. <br />
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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 from A...jpg
  • The Milky Way in the December sky from southern Arizona (latitude 32° N), extending from overhead in Perseus and Auriga, down past Taurus, Gemini and Orion, then to Canis Major and Puppis near the southern horizon. Canopus is the bright star on the horizon; Sirius is the bright star below centre - the two brightest stars in the sky. The Milky Way is prominent but so are bands of green and red airglow, from atmospheric molecules combining at night and giving off light after being energized by day by sunlight. <br />
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This is a stack of 5 x 3 minute exposures at f/3.5 with the 15mm full-frame fish-eye lens and with the Canon 5D MkII camera on the iOptron Sky-Tracker. Thus the ground is blurred.
    Arizona Winter Milky Way with Airglo...jpg
  • Sirius and Canopus, the two brightest stars in the night sky, together in the Arizona winter sky, with Canopus just clearing the horizon low in the south. Sirius is in Canis Major, while Canopus is in Carina, formerly part of Argo Navis. I shot this December 7, 2015 from the Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona, at a latitude of +32° N. Airglow adds the green bands. The open cluster M41 is visible just below Sirius. Several other star clusters in Puppis just show up as well below Canis Major.<br />
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This is a stack of 5 x 2-minute exposures at f/2.8 with the 35mm lens and Canon 5D MkII at ISO 2500, on the iOptron Sky-Tracker.
    Sirius and Canopus.jpg
  • A mosaic of the Sword and Belt region of Orion the Hunter, showing the diverse array of colourful nebulas in the area, including: curving Barnard’s Loop, the Horsehead Nebula below the left star of the Belt, Alnitak, and the Orion Nebula itself as the bright region in the Sword. <br />
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Also in the field are numerous faint blue reflection nebulas. The reflection nebula M78 is at top embedded in a dark nebula, and the pinkish NGC 2024 or Flame Nebula is above Alnitak. The bright orange-red star at far right is W Orionis, a type M4 long-period variable star.<br />
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This is a 4-panel mosaic with each panel made of 5 x 2.5-minute exposures with the 135mm Canon L-series telephoto wide open at f/2 and the filter-modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1250. The night was somewhat hazy which added natural glows on the stars. No filter was employed here. The camera was on the iOptron Sky-Tracker for tracking but no guiding. Shot from outside Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona, Dec 7, 2015. All stacking and stitching performed in Photoshop CC 2015. Stacking done with median combine stack mode to eliminate geosat trails through the fields.
    Orion Belt & Sword Mosaic.jpg
  • The Hyades open star cluster in Taurus with the bright star Aldebaran, not a part of the cluster iteslf. The smaller and more distant cluster NGC 1647 is at left. <br />
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This is a telephoto lens image taking in a field similar to binoculars, and is a stack of 5 x 2.5-minute exposures with the 135mm lens at f/2 and Canon 5D MkII camera at ISO 800, plus two other exposures taken through the Kenko Softon filter to add the star glows. Taken from Quailway Cottage on Dec 7, 2015 using the iOptron Sky-Tracker.
    The Hyades & Aldebaran.jpg
  • A stack of 400 or so images taken during the first half of the night, on December 7, 2015, of the autumn stars setting from Arizona, from the Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona. The mountains to the west in the distance are the Chiricahuas in SW Arizona. <br />
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The ground comes an average stack of 7 of the last frames. Stacking performed with the Advanced Stacker Plus actions in Photoshop using Long Streaks. Each exposure was 45 seconds at f/2.8 with the 15mm full-frame fish-eye, and Canon 6D at ISO 3200.
    Arizona - West Setting Star Trail (L...jpg
  • The waning crescent Moon and Venus in a close conjunction at dawn in the desert skies of Arizona, but here looking east toward New Mexico. This was December 7, 2015 when later in the morning the Moon occulted Venus in a daytime event for North America. I shot this from the Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona. Spica is to the right and Mars is at top of frame.<br />
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This is a stack of 7 exposures from 10 seconds to 0.3 seconds at 1 stop intervals and blended with luminosity masks, to compress the huge range in brightness from the bright Moon and Venus, plus horizon sky, and the darker sky and sunrise clouds. All with the 35mm lens and Canon 6D.
    Moon & Venus Conjunction at Sunr...jpg
  • A stack of 400 or so images taken during the first half of the night, on December 6, 2015, of the winter stars rising from Arizona, from the Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona. The mountains to the east in the distance are in New Mexico. The brightest streak at right is from Sirius. Orion is at upper right. <br />
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The ground comes an average stack of 7 of the last frames. Some cloud reflected light pollution from towns to the north. Aircraft added the other trails. Stacking performed with the Advanced Stacker Plus actions in Photoshop using Long Streaks. Each exposure was 45 seconds at f/2.8 with the 15mm full-frame fish-eye, and Canon 6D at ISO 3200.
    Arizona - East Rising Star Trail (Lo...jpg
  • 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.<br />
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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 Morning Zodiacal Light from A...jpg
  • Orion and the northern winter constellations and Milky Way setting at dawn over the Chiricahua Mountains of southwest Arizona, near Portal, AZ. The waning crescent Moon in the west provided the illumination in this dawn shot from December 6, 2015. Orion is just above the main peak at centre, with Sirius, in Canis Major, to the left and Aldebaran, in Taurus, to the right. The Pleiades are setting at right. The star cluster at top is the Beehive, M44, in Cancer. Bands of airglow add the red streaks.<br />
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The site is the Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona. <br />
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This is a stack of 4 x 2 minute exposures, tracked, at f/3.5 with the 15mm full-frame fish-eye lens and Canon 6D at ISO 1250, for the sky, and the same specs for 4 exposures, untracked for the ground. Each set was mean-combined stacked to reduce noise.
    Winter Sky Setting over Chiricahuas.jpg
  • Comet Catalina (C/2013 US10) in the pre-dawn sky, near Venus, on December 6, 2015 as shot from the Quailway Cottage near Portal Arizona, with the comet and Venus over the Peloncillo Mountains of New Mexico. The comet was just visible in small binoculars as a fuzzy spot. Here, in the photo, its two tails, ion and dust tail, are just visible in the bright moonlit sky (the waning crescent Moon was well above Venus this morning). Still, the comet is not as bright nor obvious, even in binoculars as one hoped! <br />
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The field of view here is a little more than would appear in binoculars. <br />
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This is a stack of 7 x 30 second tracked exposures with the ground coming from one of the exposures. All at ISO 1600 and f/3.2 with the 135mm telephoto lens and Canon 6D. The lens iris blades provided the diffraction spikes on Venus.
    Comet Catalina (C2013 US10) Dec 6, 2...jpg
  • A mosaic of the northern winter Milky Way and brilliant stars and constellations in and around Orion the Hunter. The Milky Way extends here from Perseus in the north to Canis Major in the south. <br />
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Throughout the scene are numerous dark lanes and dust clouds such as the Taurus Dark Clouds at upper right. The Milky Way is dotted with numerous red “hydrogen-alpha” regions of emission nebulosity, such as the bright Rosette Nebula at lower left and the California Nebula at upper right. The curving arc of Barnard’s Loop surrounds the east side of Orion. <br />
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Orion is below centre, with Sirius at lower left. Taurus is at upper right and Gemini at upper left. Auriga is at top and Perseus at upper right. I shot the segments for this on a very clear night on December 5, 2015 from the Quailway Cottage at Portal, Arizona. <br />
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This is a mosaic of 8 segments, in two columns of 4 rows, with generous overlap. Each segment was made of 4 x 2.5-minute exposures stacked with mean combine stack mode to reduce noise, plus 2 x 2.5-minute exposures taken through the Kenko Softon filter layered in with Lighten belnd mode to add the star glows. Each segment was shot at f/2.8 with the original 35mm Canon L-series lens and the filter-modified (by Hutech) Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600, riding on the iOptron Sky-Tracker. All stacking and stitching in Photoshop CC 2015. The soft diffusion filter helps bring out the star colors in this area of sky rich in brilliant giant stars.
    Winter Sky Mosaic.jpg
  • Circumpolar star trails from latitude +32° from southern Arizona, December 2015, from the Quailway Cottage. This is a stack of 300 exposures, each 45s at f/2.8 with the 15mm full-frame fish-eye lens, and at ISO 2500 with the Canon 6D. Taken as part of a time-lapse sequence. Stacked with Advanced Stacker Plus actions with the Elastic Stars effect. The ground is from an average stack of 8 exposures at the end of the sequence.
    Circumpolar Star Trails from Arizona.jpg
  • 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. <br />
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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 A...jpg
  • Orion and Taurus rising above the Peloncillo Mountains in southwest New Mexico, as shot from Arizona near Portal. The red nebulosity in and around Orion shows up despite the low altitude due to the clarity of the desert air, though there is some discoloration from airglow and light pollution. <br />
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This is a stack of 5 x 2.5-minute exposures at ISO 1600 and f/2.8 with the 35mm lens and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII, on the iOptron Sky-Tracker, with the ground coming from just one image to minimize blurring. An additional two exposures through the Kenko Softon filter added additional glows around the stars.
    Orion and Taurus Rising.jpg
  • The northern autumn Milky Way from Cassiopeia (at top) to Perseus (at bottom), running along the left, with Andromeda and the Andromeda Galaxy at upper right, and the Pleiades in Taurus ar lower right. The red streak is the California Nebula, NGC 1499, in Perseus. The Milky Way here is rife with dark lanes and dust clouds. The star cluster below the Andromeda Galaxy is NGC 752. <br />
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This is a stack of 5 x 2.5-minute exposures at f/2.8 and ISO 1600 with the 35mm lens and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII, plus two other exposures taken through a Kenko Softon filter to add the star glows. Taken from the Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona.
    Andromeda to Pleiades.jpg
  • A stack of 450 or so images taken during the first half of the night, on December 5, 2015, of the winter stars turning about the North Celestial Pole from Arizona, from the Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona. Polaris is near centre.<br />
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The ground comes an average stack of 8 of the last frames. Stacking performed with the Advanced Stacker Plus actions (using UltraStreaks) in Photoshop. Each exposure was 45 seconds at f/2.8 with the 15mm full-frame fish-eye, and Canon 6D at ISO 2500.
    Arizona - North Circumpolar (Ultra).jpg
  • Orion rising over mountains, as in the Robert Frost poem “The Star-Splitter.” Orion is coming up over the Peloncillo Mountains in New Mexico with Taurus above him. <br />
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This is a stack of 4 x 90 second exposures with the 35mm lens at f/2.2 and Canon 6D at ISO 1000, plus a stack of 2 exposures, same specs, with the Kenko Softon filter to add the star glows, with the ground coming from one image to minimize blurring. All shots taken with the iOptron Sky-Tracker. Shot from the Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona.
    Orion Rising over Mountains.jpg
  • The arch of the Milky Way in the northern autumn and early winter sky, from Arizona on December 5, 2015. The Milky Way extends from Aquila to the left, in the southwest to Cassiopeia at top right, to Perseus and Auriga at far right, in the northeast. I shot this from the Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona, latitude +32° N. The view is looking north toward the celestial pole. Polaris is just right of lower centre.<br />
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This is a stack of 8 tracked exposures, each 3 minutes at f/2.8 with the 15mm lens and Canon 6D at ISO 1600, with the ground coming from one exposure to minimize blurring. The camera was on the iOptron Sky-Tracker.
    Arch of the Autumn Milky Way.jpg
  • A classic 22° ice crystal halo around the waning crescent Moon, here overexposed, with the Moon between Jupiter and Mars in the morning sky on December 5, 2015. Seeing a halo around a crescent Moon is somewhat rare as they usually require the brighter light of the Full Moon.<br />
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Venus is the brightest object at bottom closest to the horizon. The three planets, along with the stars Spica (above Venus) and Regulus (at top of frame) define the line of the ecliptic here in the dawn late autumn / early winter sky. I captured this scene from southeast Arizona near the Arizona Sky Village at Portal. <br />
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This is a stack of 4 exposures from long to short (8s to 1/2s) to encompass the great range in brightness and not overexpose the crescent Moon too much. Images were layered in Photoshop and masked with luminosity masks. Automatic HDR techniques did not work well as the shortest image was too dark for ACR to find content to register in Merge ot HDR, and in Photoshop the HDR Pro module left visible edge artifacts. <br />
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The camera was on the iOptron Sky Tracker to follow the sky and register the sky for all the exposures, thus the slightly blurred ground. Taken with the Canon 6D and 15mm full-frame fish-eye lens.
    Arizona-Lunar Halo & Ecliptic.jpg
  • Orion and his foe, Taurus, with the star clusters the Hyades, and Pleiades. Many red nebulas are also visible in this area of the northern winter Milky Way, such as the Rosette Nebula at left. The Orion Nebula, M42, is below the Belt of Orion in Orion’s Sword.<br />
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This is a stack of 4 x 5 minute exposures at f/2.8 and ISO 800 with the 35mm lens and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII, plus 2 x 2.5-minute exposures at ISO 1600 with the Kenko Softon filter for added star glows. However, haze this night added natural star glows. Taken from Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona, December 5, 2015.
    Orion and Taurus.jpg
  • Orion and the Dog Star, Sirius (bottom), in Canis Major. Many red nebulas are also visible in this area of the northern winter Milky Way, such as the Rosette Nebula at upper left, as well as star clusters such as M41 below Sirius. The Orion Nebula, M42, is below the Belt of Orion in Orion’s Sword.<br />
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This is a stack of 5 x 5 minute exposures at f/2.8 and ISO 800 with the 35mm lens and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII, plus 2 x 2.5-minute exposures at ISO 1600 with the Kenko Softon filter for added star glows. However, haze this night added natural star glows. Taken from Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona, December 5, 2015.
    Orion and Canis Major.jpg
  • Orion and his Dog Stars, Sirius (bottom) and Procyon (left), in Canis Major and Canis Minor. Many red nebulas are also visible in this area of the northern winter Milky Way, as well as star clusters such as M41 below Sirius, and M50 at far left. The Orion Nebula, M42, is below the Belt of Orion in Orion’s Sword. Betelgeuse, Procyon and Sirius form the “Winter Triangle.” <br />
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This is a stack of 5 x 5 minute exposures at f/2.8 and ISO 800 with the 35mm lens and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII, plus 2 x 2.5-minute exposures at ISO 1600 with the Kenko Softon filter for added star glows. However, haze this night added natural star glows. Taken from Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona, December 5, 2015.
    Orion and His Dog Stars.jpg
  • Saturn, at top right, off Beta Scorpii in the head of Scorpius, March 2015. Antares is the yellow star at lower left. The field is rich in colourful blue & yellow reflection and red & magentia emission nebulas. I shot this the morning of March 28, 2015 from Silver City, New Mexico, with the 135mm telephoto at f/2.2 for a stack of 4 x 1.5-minute exposures with the Canon 5D MkII at ISO 800, plus two additional exposures of the same length taken through the Kenko Softon A filter and layered in Photoshop to add the star glows.
    Saturn in Scorpius (135mm).jpg
  • Nova Sagittarii on the morning of March 28, 2015, from New Mexico, as the nova was reported to have brightened to magnitude +5. The focal length nicely frames the Teapot asterism of Sagittarius.<br />
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I shot this with the 135mm telephoto at f/2.2 for a stack of 5 x 1.5 minute exposures at ISO 800 with the Canon 5D MkII, plus one exposure of the same length but taken thru the Kenko Softon filter and layered in Photoshop to add the star glows and bring out the nova more. Camera on the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer tracker.
    Nova Sagittarii (March 28, 2015).jpg
  • Saturn, the bright object at upper right, in the head of Scorpius in March 2015. Antares is the bright yellow star below, just right of centre. The centre of the Milky Way is at left, with the bright star clouds of Sagittarius above the star clusters Messiers 6 and 7. The reddish Lagoon Nebula, M8, is above centre at left. The “Dark Horse” made of dark dust lanes is left of centre. <br />
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This is a stack of 4 x 2 minute exposures in the dawn twilight, March 26, 2015, with the 50mm lens at f/2.8 and Canon 6D at ISO 800, tracked on the Star Adventurer.
    Saturn in Scorpius (March 2015).jpg
  • Nova Sagittarii 2015 (arrowed) at magnitude +5 or so and fading, after peaking at mag 4 the previous week. The nova star is likely a white dwarf drawing material from a companion star and flaring into brilliance when the accumulated material erupts in a thermonuclear explosion. The nova is in the centre of the “teapot” configuration of Sagittarius the archer, with Scorpius at right in this frame, taken at dawn on March 26, 2015 from New Mexico, with the 50mm lens and Canon 6D for a stack of 3 x 2 minute exposures at f/2.8 and ISO 800. Numerous Messier objects are in the frame, notably the star clusters M6 and M7 just right of centre, and the nebula M8 above centre.
    Nova Sagittarii (March 26, 2015).jpg
  • The waxing crescent Moon near Venus on March 22, 2015, over the pond at the Inn of the Mountain Gods, near Ruidoso, New Mexico. The sky was getting quite dark at this point and some light clouds drifted in front of the Moon and Venus, throwing glows around them. <br />
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This is a composite of two exposures: a long 13-second exposure for the main scene and a shorter 3 second exposure for just the Moon and Venus to prevent them from getting too overexposed. Both with the 24mm lens and Canon 60Da.
    Moon & Venus Conjunction #2 (Mar...jpg
  • The Big Dipper over water and a fountain at the Inn of the Mountain Gods, near Ruidoso, New Mexico, taken on March 22, 2015. This is a two-image “panorama” to include more of the water, each shot with the 24mm lens and Canon 60Da.
    Big Dipper over Fountain.jpg
  • The waxing crescent Moon and Venus meet in conjunction over a pond on March 22, 2015. Earthshine is visible on the dark side of the Moon. Mars is below the Moon-Venus pairing. <br />
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I shot this from the grounds of the Inn of the Mountain Gods, near Ruidoso, in the mountains of central New Mexico. This is an HDR high dynamic range stack of 3 exposures to preserve the bright twilight while bringing out the darker foreground. Shot with the Canon 60Da and 24mm lens.
    Moon & Venus Conjunction #1 (Mar...jpg
  • The waning crescent Moon in the morning sky of March 16, 2015, taken from New Mexico. It shows the Earthshine illuminating the dark night side of the Moon as well as the sunlit crescent. To show both the dark and bright parts of the Moon I created this image from a high-dynamic range (HDR) stack of 6 exposures, from 1/160 sec to 6 seconds at 2-stop intervals, with the Canon 60Da at ISO 100 and with the TMB 92mm apo refractor at f/4.4.
    Waning Crescent Moon (March 16, 2015...jpg
  • Abell 21, the Medusa Nebula, a large but faint planetary nebula in Gemini. Above and to the right of it is a very loose open cluster NGC 2395.<br />
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This is a stack of 15 x 8-minute exposures at f/4.4 with the TMB apo refractor and Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600. Taken from the backyard of the Silver City, New Mexico, house, March 15, 2015.
    Abell 21, the Medusa Nebula (92mm 5D...jpg
  • A scene at the public "Parks 'n Stars" stargazing night, March 15, 2015, at the City of Rocks State Park, New Mexico, and at their Gene and Elizabeth Simons Observatory in the Orion group campground. Here observers are aiming their laser pointers at the position of Comet Lovejoy in Cassiopeia, just visible at top left. Observers are using the big binoculars to view the comet.
    Stargazing at City of Rocks, NM #3.jpg
  • A scene at the public "Parks 'n Stars" stargazing night, March 15, 2015, at the City of Rocks State Park, New Mexico, and at their Gene and Elizabeth Simons Observatory in the Orion group campground. Someone is looking thru the big binoculars at right while someone else is pointing out a target in the northern sky.
    Stargazing at City of Rocks, NM #2.jpg
  • A scene at the public "Parks 'n Stars" stargazing night, March 15, 2015, at the City of Rocks State Park, New Mexico, and at their Gene and Elizabeth Simons Observatory in the Orion group campground. Here I pose with the 14-inch Meade telescope in the Observatory.
    Stargazing at City of Rocks, NM #5.jpg
  • A scene at the public "Parks 'n Stars" stargazing night, March 15, 2015, at the City of Rocks State Park, New Mexico, and at their Gene and Elizabeth Simons Observatory in the Orion group campground. Here, I pose with the iPad set up on a tripod running Sky Safari, for people to use to move around the sky and identify constellations. The Big Dipper is in the sky to the east.
    Stargazing at City of Rocks, NM #4.jpg
  • A scene at the public "Parks 'n Stars" stargazing night, March 15, 2015, at the City of Rocks State Park, New Mexico, and at their Gene and Elizabeth Simons Observatory in the Orion group campground. Here Matt conducts a laser-guided tour of the constellations. The Andromeda Galaxy, M31, is at left, setting.
    Stargazing at City of Rocks, NM #1.jpg
  • A 180° panorama showing: <br />
- the Zodiacal Light (at right in the west)<br />
- the Milky Way (up from the centre, in the south, to the upper right)<br />
- the Zodiacal Band (faintly visible running across the frame at top)<br />
- the Gegenschein (a brightening of the Zodiacal Band at left of frame in the east in Leo)<br />
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Along the Milky Way are dark lanes of interstellar dust, aprticularly in Taurus above and to the right of Orion. Red nebulas of glowing gas also lie along the Milky Way, such as Barnard’s Loop around Orion.<br />
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The Zodiacal Light, Band and Gegenschein all lie along the ecliptic, as do Mars, Venus and Jupiter shown here. <br />
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Orion is at centre, in the south, with Canis Major and the bright star Sirius below and to the left of Orion. Canopus is just setting on the southern horizon at centre. <br />
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To the right of Orion is Taurus and the Pleiader star cluster at the top of the Zodiacal Light pyramid. <br />
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Venus is the bright object in the Zodiacal Light at right, in the west, while fainter Mars is below Venus. <br />
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At far right, in the northwest, is the Andromeda Galaxy, M31. <br />
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Jupiter is the bright object at upper left, in the east, in the Zodiacal Band, and near the Beehive star cluster. <br />
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The Zodiacal Light, Band and Gegenschein are caused by sunlight reflecting off cometary and meteoric dust in the inner solar system. The Gegenschein, or “counterglow,” can be seen with the naked eye but is a subtle and diffuse brightening of the sky in the spot opposite the Sun. It is caused by sunlight reflecting directly back from comet dust, with the effect greatest at the point opposite the Sun. <br />
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Glows like the Zodiacal Light require reasonably dark skies, but the fainter Zodiacal Band and Gegenschein require very dark skies.<br />
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Glows on the horizon are from distant SIlver City, Las Cruces and El Paso. The brighter sky at right is from the last vestiges of evening twilight. Some green and red airglow bands also permeate the sky.<br />
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I shot this March 10, 2015 from the summit of Highway 15 thr
    Zodiacal Light & Milky Way Panor...jpg
  • Orion and Canis Major, with Sirius, the Dog Star, at lower left. I shot this from New Mexico from the Gila Wilderness summit of Highway 15, on March 10, 2015. This is a tracked set of 4 x 3-minute exposures at f/2.8 with the 35mm lens and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600. Some airglow brightened the sky at lower right.
    Orion & Canis Major (New Mexico).jpg
  • A self-portrait of me standing under the dark skies of the Gila National Wilderness, in New Mexico, while taking images of the Milky Way, March 10, 2015. The northern winter Milky Way stretches from horizon to zenith. Orion is at centre, with Canis Major and Sirius below. The bright object at upper left is Jupiter near the Beehive star cluster in Cancer. Procyon is between Jupiter and Sirius, while Caster and Pollux in Gemini are at top. Some green bands of airglow are visible near the horizon.<br />
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This is a single 30-second exposure at f/2.8 with the 14mm Rokinon lens and Canon 6D at ISO 6400.
    Standing Under the Milky Way.jpg
  • A vertical sweep with a 15mm ultrawide lens from the horizon to past the zenith, taking in a large part of the northern winter Milky Way. <br />
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Orion is right of centre; Canis Major and Sirius (the night sky’s brightest star) are below and to the left of orion. The second brightest star in the night sky, Canopus, is just above the southern horizon at right. It just clears the horizon at 32° North latitude. <br />
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Jupiter is the bright object at left, just left of the Beehive star cluster, M44, in Cancer. The Pleiades star cluster, M45, is at upper right in Taurus. The larger Hyades star cluster is below it.<br />
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The small light dome on the horizon at left is from Las Cruces and El Paso. Otherwrise the site was perfectly dark and free of any man-made light sources. <br />
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I shot this March 10, 2015 from the summit of the Trail of the Mountain Spirits Highway, Hwy 15, in the Gila Wilderness of southern New Mexico, at an altitude of 7900 feet. I shot this in the last of the deepening twilight before the sky was completely black. Some twilight blue remains. The bright glow at upper right is from the top of the Zodiacal Light cone in the western sky - a natural form of “light pollution.”<br />
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The image is a stack of 4 x 3-minute tracked exposures, with the 15mm lens at f/3.5 and Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600. The camera was on the Star Adventurer tracker.
    Orion, Sirius & Canopus from New...jpg
  • The March 5 “mini-Moon,” the apogee Moon, the most distant Full Moon of 2015. I processed this image with greatly enhanced vibrance, saturation and contrast to exaggerate the subtle differences in colour in the lunar maria, due to differences in the mineral content of the lava flows that formed the mare ~3.5 to 4 billion years ago. The relatively new impact crater, Tycho, is the bright area at bottom (south) on the luanr disk with bright splash rays emanating from the crater. I shot this with a TMB 92mm refractor with a 2x Barlow lens for an effective f-ratio of about f/12. This is a 1/125th second exposure at ISO100 with the Canon 60Da.
    Apogee Full Moon (March 5, 2015).jpg
  • The March 5, 2015 “mini-Moon” rises over the Santa Rita Copper Mine, east of Silver City, New Mexico. This was the night of the farthest Full Moon of 2015, the apogee Moon. I caught the Moon as it was rising behind the Mine and the cliff formation known locally as the Kneeling Nun. <br />
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This is a composite of a long 1-second exposure for the ground and sky and a short 1/13-second exposure for the Moon to preserve details in its disk, with the two exposures layered and masked in Photoshop. No colour alteration was applied to the Moon, though a Highlight recovery was applied to the Moon to bring out the dark mare areas. Both exposures at ISO 100 with the Canon 60Da and at 135mm lens at f/4.
    Mini-Moon Rising (March 5, 2015).jpg
  • Orion rising behind the rock formations of City of Rocks State Park, New Mexico with a first quarter Moon providing the illumination. This is a single exposure, 30 seconds at f/2.8 with the 24mm lens and Canon 6D at ISO 800. It is one frame from 280 shot for a star trail and time-lapse sequence.
    Orion Rising in Moonlight at City of...jpg
  • Comet Lovejoy (C/2104 Q2) on the night of Dec. 27/28, 2014, as it was approaching the globular cluster M79 at upper right, in Lepus. This is a stack of 5 x 3 minute exposures at ISO 2500 with the Canon 5D MkII and TMB 92mm refractor at f/4.4. Taken from near Silver City, New Mexico.
    Comet Lovejoy (C2014 Q2) Dec 27, 201...jpg
  • Orion rising at the City of Rocks State Patk, New Mexico, on Christmas Eve, 2014. with light from the waxing crescent Moon providing the illumination. This is a single 35-second exposure at f/2.8 and ISO 3200 with the Canon 6D and 24mm lens.
    Orion Rising at City of Rocks (Xmas ...jpg
  • The 24-hour-old waxing crescent Moon north of Venus (at left), now emerging into the evening sky as a prominent “evening star.” Taken at 6 pm MST, Monday, December 22, 2014, the day after winter solstice, from just east of SIlver City, New Mexico, the lights below. Earthshine is visible on the dark side of the Moon. .Taken with the 135mm lens and Canon 60Da.
    Thin Moon & Venus (Dec 22, 2014).jpg
  • A mosaic of the region around the Small Sagittarius Starcloud and Dark Horse dark nebula complex. The field takes in the Milky Way from the Lagoon Nebula at bottom to the Eagle Nebula at top left. In between from top to bottom are the Swan Nebula (M17), and the Small Sagittarius Starcloud (M24). Flanking the bright M24 starcloud are the large open clusters M23 (right) and M25 (left). At bottom left is the M22 globular star cluster. The prominent dark nebula at right is the large Pipe Nebula (B78) with the small Snake Nebula (B72) above it. The whole complex is visible to the naked eye as the Dark Horse. <br />
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This is a mosaic of 4 panels, each a stack of 5 x 3 minute exposures with the 135mm lens at f/2.8, and with the filter-modified Canon 5D Mark II at ISO 1600 tracking the sky on the iOptron SkyTracker, with no guidind. Images were stacked and stitched in Photoshop CC. Taken from the Four Bar Cottages near Portal Arizona, May 4/5, 2014.
    Starfields and Dark Nebulas Mosaic.jpg
  • The region around the Pipe Nebula (B78), the main part of the naked-eye formation of dark nebulas called the Dark Horse. In photos it breaks up into patches of dark nebulosity, including the tiny Snake Nebula (B72) at centre in Ophiuchus.<br />
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I shot this the morning of May 5, 2014 from the Four Bar Cottages near the Arizona Sky Village near Portal, Arizona. This is a stack of 5 x 3 minute exposures with the 135mm telephoto lens at f/2.8 and filter modified Canon 5D Mark II at ISO 1600. It is one segment of a larger multi-panel mosaic.
    Dark Horse & Snake Nebulas (135m...jpg
  • The area around the head of Scorpius, including the bright star Antares at lower left of centre and the dark lanes leading to the star Rho Ophiuchi. The area is filled with colourful nebulosity, including yellow and blue reflection nebulas and magenta emission nebulas. To the right of Antares is the globular cluster Messier 4. The field is similar to what binoculars would take in.<br />
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I shot this the morning of May 5, 2014, from the Four Bar Cottages near the Arizona Sky Village, near Portal Arizona. This is a stack of 10 x 3 minute exposures at f/2.8 with the 135mm lens and Canon 5D Mark II (filter modified) at ISO 1600. The camera was tracking, but not guiding, on the iOptron SkyTracker. Stacked with Median combine to eliminate satellite trails.
    Scorpius Head & Antares v2 (135m...jpg
  • A mosaic of the region around the centre of the Milky Way in Sagittarius and Scorpius. The field takes in the Milky Way from the Cat's Paw Nebula at bottom edge to the Eagle Nebula at top left. In between from top to bottom are the Swan Nebula (M17), the Small Sagittarius Starcloud (M24), the Trifid and Lagoon Nebulas (M20 and M8) and the open clusters M6 and M7. The prominent dark nebula at right is the large Pipe Nebula (B78) with the small Snake Nebula (B72) above it. The whole complex is visible to the naked eye as the Dark Horse. <br />
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This is a mosaic of 6 panels, each a stack of 5 x 3 minute exposures with the 135mm lens at f/2.8, and with the filter-modified Canon 5D Mark II at ISO 1600 tracking the sky on the iOptron SkyTracker, with no guidind. Images were stacked and stitched in Photoshop CC. Taken from the Four Bar Cottages near Portal Arizona, May 4/5, 2014.
    Centre of the Galaxy Mosaic.jpg
  • A mosaic of the Milky Way around the Small Sagittarius Starcloud (M24). The field takes in the Milky Way from the Lagoon Nebula (M8) at bottom to the Eagle Nebula (m16) at top left. In between from top to bottom are the Swan Nebula (M17), and the Small Sagittarius Starcloud (M24). Flanking the bright M24 starcloud are the large open clusters M23 (right) and M25 (left). At bottom left is the M22 globular star cluster. <br />
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This is a mosaic of 2 panels, each a stack of 5 x 3 minute exposures with the 135mm lens at f/2.8, and with the filter-modified Canon 5D Mark II at ISO 1600 tracking the sky on the iOptron SkyTracker, with no guidind. Images were stacked and stitched in Photoshop CC. Taken from the Four Bar Cottages near Portal Arizona, May 4/5, 2014.
    Lagoon to Eagle Nebula Mosaic.jpg
  • An Eta Aquarid meteor streaks out of Aquarius at left toward the Milky Way at right. Note the chnages in colour as the meteor travels from left to right and descends into our atmosphere.<br />
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This is one frame from a set of 600 frames taken as part of a time-lapse of the Milky Way rising, shot from near Portal, Arizona, May 4/5, 2014. This is a 36-second exposure at f/2.5 with the 24mm lens and Canon 6D at ISO 3200.
    Eta Aquarid Meteor (May 5, 2014).jpg
  • The region around the Pipe Nebula (B78), the main part of the naked-eye formation of dark nebulas called the Dark Horse. In photos it breaks up into patches of dark nebulosity, including the tiny Snake Nebula (B72) at centre in Ophiuchus. The Lagoon and Trifid Nebulas are at far left.<br />
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I shot this the morning of May 4, 2014 from the Four Bar Cottages near the Arizona Sky Village near Portal, Arizona. This is a stack of 5 x 4 minute exposures with the 135mm telephoto lens at f/2.8 and filter modified Canon 5D Mark II at ISO 1600. The camera was on the iOptron SkyTracker.
    Dark Horse and Snake Nebulas (135mm ...jpg
  • The area around the head of Scorpius, including the bright star Antares at lower left of centre and the dark lanes leading to the star Rho Ophiuchi. The area is filled with colourful nebulosity, including yellow and blue reflection nebulas and magenta emission nebulas. To the right of Antares is the globular cluster Messier 4. The field is similar to what binoculars would take in.<br />
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I shot this the morning of May 4, 2014, from the Four Bar Cottages near the Arizona Sky Village, near Portal Arizona. This is a stack of 10 x 4 minute exposures at f/2.8 with the 135mm lens and Canon 5D Mark II (filter modified) at ISO 1600. This overexposed the frames but gave enough signal to bring out the faint dark nebulas without introducing a lot of noise. Even so, I forgot to turn on Long Exposure Noise Reduction so no dark frames were applied to these images. The camera was tracking, but not guiding, on the iOptron SkyTracker. Stacked with Median combine to eliminate satellite trails.
    Scorpius Head & Antares v1 (135m...jpg
  • The MIlky Way in Scorpius (right) and Sagittarius (centre) toward the centre of the Galaxy as seen from southwest Arizona, from the Four Bar Cottages near the Arizona Sky Village at Portal, Arizona. <br />
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I shot this the morning of May 4, using the Canon 6D at ISO 1600 and a stack of 4 x 3 minute exposures with the 24mm lens at f/2.8.
    Sagittarius and Scorpius from Arizon...jpg
  • Mars (upper right of centre), Saturn (lower left) and the stars Spica (below reddish Mars) and Arcturus (upper left) in the spring sky, May 3, 2014. <br />
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I shot this May 3, 2014 from the Four Bar Cottages near Portal Arizona using the Canon 6D and 24mm lens for a stack of 4 x 2m15s exposures at f/2.8 and ISO 800 in moonlight from a waxing crescent Moon.
    Arcturus, Spica, Mars & Saturn (...jpg
  • A swath of the northern spring sky from Bootes and Arcturus at top, down to Spica in Virgo at centre with red Mars to the right (west) of Spica. Below in the quadrilateral figure of Corvus. At upper right is the Coma Berenices open star cluster.<br />
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I shot this from the Four Bar Cottages near Portal, Arizona, May 3, 2014. This is a stack of 4 x 2m15s exposures with the 24mm lens at f/2.8 and the Canon 6D at ISO 800 in moonlight from the crescent Moon. Additional exposures through the Kenko Softon filter added the star glows. Camera was on the iOptron SkyTracker.
    Arcturus, Spica & Mars (May 2014...jpg
  • The constellations of Leo (right) and Coma Berenices (left) at top with reddish Mars in Virgo at bottom left. <br />
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I shot this May 3 from the Four Bar Cottages near the Arizona Sky Village near Portal Arizona, using the 24mm lens at f/2.8 and Canon 6D at ISO 800 for a stack of 4 x 2 minute exposures in moonlight with a waxing crescent Moon off frame at right. The star glows from from another 2 exposures shot through the Kenko Softon filter.
    Leo, Coma Berenices and Mars (May 20...jpg
  • The winter sky with the waxing Moon, here overexposed, and Jupiter above it, setting in the west over the Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona, from a site near the Arizona Sky Village. Orion and Taurus are just setting behind the mountain ridge.<br />
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This is a stack of 4 x 45 second exposures at f/2.8 with the 24mm lens and Canon 6D at ISO 800. The ground is from one image.
    Winter Sky Setting over Chiricahuas ...jpg
  • The waxing crescent Moon with Earthshine, in the deep twilight sky, May 2, 2014, with Orion and the winter stars setting, with Jupiter in Gemini at top, all setting over the City of Rocks State Park, south of Silver City, New Mexico. <br />
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This is a high dynamic range HDR stack of 7 exposures at 2/3rds stop intervals from 1 second to 13 seconds, with the 14mm Rokinon lens at f/2.8 and Canon 5D MkII at ISO 800. Taken at the end of an evening of sunset and twilight shooting. Stacked in Photoshop CC HDR Pro then tone-mapped in Adobe Camera Raw 32 bit mode.
    Twilight over City of Rocks (May 2, ...jpg
  • The blue of Earth's shadow and the pink rim of the Belt of Venus opposite the setting Sun in the east at twilight, at City of Rocks State Park, New Mexico. Dark anti-crepuscular rays - cloud shadows - converge to the anti-solar point on the eastern horizon.<br />
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This is a single exposure with the 14mm Rokinon lens and Canon 5D MkII. Metered at ISO 100.
    Twilight Colours at City of Rocks (M...jpg
  • Sunset at the City of Rocks State Park, New Mexico on May 2, 2014. The waxing crescent Moon is at top.<br />
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This is a 7-exposure high dynamic range stack to capture both the bright sky and darker foreground detail in one image, as the eye saw it. I used the 14mm Rokinon lens and the Canon 5D MkII.
    Sunset at City of Rocks (May 2, 2014...jpg
  • The waxing crescent Moon with Earthshine, in the deep twilight sky, May 2, 2014, with Orion and the winter stars setting over the City of Rocks State Park, south of Silver City, New Mexico. This is a single 5 second exposure at f/4 and ISO 400 with the Canon 6D and 24mm lens. Taken as part of a 150-frame sunset to twilight time-lapse.
    Waxing Moon over City of Rocks State...jpg
  • The waxing crescent Moon, just over a day old, in the evening spring sky as seen from New Mexico, near Silver City, April 30, 2014. The sky was quite dark by the time I took this set, revealing the stars as well as the illuminated Earthshine on the dark side of the Moon. Aldebaran and the Hyades are at left, and the Pleiades at right of the Moon. The sky was also quite hazy from wind-borne dust earlier in the day. In this case, headlights from an approaching car lit the trees. Very handy!<br />
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This is a high dynamic range stack of 6 images at 2/3 stop intervals from 2 to 20 seconds at f/2.8 and ISO 800 with the 35mm lens and Canon 6D. Stacked in Photoshop HDR Pro and tone mapped in Adobe Camera Raw 32 bit mode.
    New Mexico New Moon (April 30, 2014).jpg
  • Sunset on April 30, 2014 from near Silver City, New Mexico, on a hazy evening with a lot of obscuring dust from high winds earlier in the day. Shot with the 135mm lens and Canon 6D.
    Sunset from Silver City, New Mexico ...jpg
  • The northern winter constellations setting in the west and the Zodiacal Light in the western evening sky, shot from Chiricahua National Monument, at Massai Point, 6800 feet, in southeastern Arizona, April 29, 2014. Orion is setting at left of centre, and Sirius is at the left edge. The Pleiades are just going down behind the ridge at right, while Aldebaran and the Hyades sit amid the spring evening Zodiacal Light. I shot this as part of a 300-frame day-to-night time-lapse sequence using the Canon 6D and 24mm lens. This is a 30-second exposure at f/4 and ISO 3200.
    Winter Sky Setting & Zodiacal Li...jpg
  • Sunset twilight colours and the waxing gibbous Moon over the Chiricahua Mountains in southeast Arizona, south of Willcox. Taken December 15, 2013 on Highway 186. Taken with the 24mm lens and Canon 5D MkII. Some dark crepuscular rays are visible converging to the anti-solar point.
    Moon over the Chiricahuas (Dec 15, 2...jpg
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