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Moon & Sun { 582 images } Created 19 Feb 2011

A gallery of images (both wide-angle nightscapes and telescopic close-ups) of our Moon and Sun. Included are shots of the Full Moon and Harvest Moon. Separate galleries are dedicated to Lunar and Solar Eclipses, and to Atmospheric Phenomena.

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$The Moon a half a day before Full is about to pass in front of Saturn, hiding it, in the occultation of September 17, 2024. This was from home in southern Alberta, with the Moon only 9° above the southwest horizon setting before dawn. This was at about 5:12 am MDT. Ingress was 1 minute later. But I missed it! (See below.) I processed the lunar disk for contrast to bring out the differences in the tones and colours of the lunar mare, and the bright rays such as from Tycho at bottom. With Saturn, while the rings are visible, and nearly edge on at this time, there's no detail on the planet. It was too low and my gear and techniques not up to the task of resolving fine detail on a planet. But at least you can tell it's Saturn! And it is distinctly different in colour from the Moon. Technical: This is a blend of two sets of exposures to accommodate the range in brightness between the nearly Full Moon and Saturn: - just a single 1/40-second exposure for the Moon, taken immediately after ... - a stack of seven 1/8-second exposures for Saturn, average blended to smooth out the rippling effects of seeing conditions. All with the Canon R5 at ISO 100 on the Askar APO 120 refractor at its f/7 focal ratio, so a focal length of 840mm. It was on the Sky-Watcher EQM-35 mount. The image is cropped in quite a bit from the original and re-sized to reduce pixelization. But the relative size of Saturn and the Moon have been retained and are accurate — I didn't magnify the disk of Saturn. I shot an 8K movie of the actual ingress/disappearance — or attempted to! — but by the time I got the camera going in movie mode (I thought taking only a few seconds) Saturn had already disappeared. It was closer to the Moon than I thought as there was a dark limb here that hid Saturn and made it hard to tell how far Saturn was from the lunar limb. Lunar occultations of planets are rare enough I don't have much experience shooting them. And I am not a planetary imager!$

The Moon Approaching Saturn (Sept 17...jpg
Rising Nearly Full Moon (September 1...jpg
$The Sun near solar maximum with a lot of sunspots on its disk, about as many as there can be at any one time, as this was August 25, 2024 near the time of solar maximum in the 11-year solar cycle. Though as of this date the time of solar max had not been determined yet. Also visible are bright regions called faculae and the fine-scale granulation on the solar disk. The edges of the Sun are darker than the main disk — an effect called limb darkening. The north pole of the Sun is at about the 11 o'clock position on the disk, so not straight up. The camera was oriented so up was sky north. The biggest group below centre is Sunspot #AR3799. This is a stack of 4 x 1/400th second exposures, taken with the Astro-Physics AP130 refractor with 2X Barlow for a focal length of 1560 mm and at f/12 and with the Canon R5 at ISO 100. The seeing was not particularly good this day. The filter was a Kendrick/Baader white-light Mylar filter. Colorization was in Camera Raw processing.$

Sun with Lots of Spots (August 25, 2...jpg
$The waning last quarter Moon rises in conjunction with the Pleiades star cluster, here coming out of a band of clouds just above the northeast horizon, with the Moon just a degree or two above the horizon. This was the evening of August 25, 2024. Earthshine is just visible on the "dark side of the Moon." And yes, the sky really was that colour, as this was so low with the field lit by moonlight reddened by atmospheric absorption. Technical: This is a blend of 8 exposures taken in quick succession, from 30 seconds for the stars and base sky, to as short as 1/8-second for the lunar disk, blended with Lights1 luminosity masks created with Lumenzia extension panel in Photoshop. The exposure blending results in an image that better resembles what the eye could see in the scene with such a high dynamic range in brightness. The Canon R5 was at ISO 1600 and on the Astro-Tech 90CFT refractor telescope at f/4.8 for a focal length of 430mm. It was on the Astro-Physics Mach1 mount tracking the sky at the sidereal rate. Thus the blurred clouds. Finishing touch glows and Orton-style effects added with Luminar Neo and Nik Color EFX.$

Moonrise with Pleiades in Clouds (Au...jpg
$The waning last quarter Moon rises in conjunction with the Pleiades star cluster, aka Messier 45. here just having risen out of a band of clouds at the bottom of the frame that was just above the northeast horizon. The Moon was only 2 or 3 degrees above the horizon when I shot this. This was the evening of August 25, 2024. Earthshine is just visible on the "dark side of the Moon." And yes, the sky really was this colour, as this field was so low and it was lit by moonlight reddened by atmospheric absorption. Taken from home in Alberta at latitude 51° N. Technical: This is a blend of 10 exposures taken in quick succession, from 15 seconds for the stars and base sky, to as short as 1/30-second for the lunar disk, blended with Lights1 luminosity masks created with Lumenzia extension panel in Photoshop. The exposure blending results in an image that better resembles what the eye could see in the scene with such a high dynamic range in brightness. The Canon R5 was at ISO 1600 and on the Astro-Tech 90CFT refractor telescope at f/4.8 for a focal length of 430mm. It was on the Astro-Physics Mach1 mount tracking the sky at the sidereal rate. Thus the blurred clouds. Finishing-touch Orton-style glow and stellar diffraction spikes added with Nik Color EFX and AstronomyTools actions.$

Moonrise with Pleiades (Aug 25, 2024...jpg
Moonset over Stutfield Glacier (28-7...jpg
Waxing Moon over Stutfield Glacier (...jpg
Waxing Moon Over Mistaya Valley (28-...jpg
Smoky Full Moon - July 20, 2024 (70-...jpg
Waxing Moon in Prairie Sunset (July ...jpg
Waxing Moon and Mercury at Sunset (J...jpg
Waxing Crescent Moon in Sunset Cloud...jpg
Summer Solstice Moonrise Panorama (J...jpg
$The July 13, 2024 occultation of the bright star Spica by the first quarter Moon, which from my location in Alberta occurred in daylight. The reappearance of the star was just at sunset at 9:41 p.m. MDT. Here the star has reappeared from behind the bright limb of the Moon only seconds before. This is a single 1/60-second exposure with the Canon R5 at ISO 100 on the Askar V80mm refractor with its 1.2x Extender for 600mm focal length at f/7.5. On the Star Adventurer GTi for tracking. The image has been cropped in from the full frame.$

Occultation of Spica Reappearance v2...jpg
$The July 13, 2024 occultation of the bright star Spica by the first quarter Moon, which from my location in Alberta occurred in daylight. The reappearance of the star was just at sunset at 9:41 p.m. MDT. Here the star has reappeared from behind the bright limb of the Moon only seconds before. This is a single 1/60-second exposure with the Canon R5 at ISO 100 on the Askar V80mm refractor with its 1.2x Extender for 600mm focal length at f/7.5. On the Star Adventurer GTi for tracking. The image has been cropped in from the full frame.$

Occultation of Spica Reappearance (J...jpg
Low Moon in June Time-Lapse (14mm R5...jpg
Rising "Pink" Full Moon (A...jpg
$The Moon rising a day after Full, on November 28, 2023, over the flat prairie horizon near home in southern Alberta. This shows the flattening and distortion of the lunar disk from atmospheric refraction effects. This is a single image with the Canon RF100-400mm lens at 400mm on the Canon R5 camera.$

Refracted Moonrise (Nov 28, 2023).jpg
Rising Moon with Jupiter at Oppositi...jpg
$This is the Moon one day after full, rising over my local prairie horizon, with atmospheric refraction flattening the disk and adding a faint green rim to the top limb. This serves to illustrate the effect of refraction distorting objects on the horizon and absorption reddening objects when they are low in the sky. This is a single shot taken October 29, 2023 from near home in southern Alberta, with the RF70-200mm lens at 200mm on the Canon R5.$

Refracted Moonrise (Oct 29, 2023).jpg
$The Full Hunter's Moon of October 28, 2023, with contrast enhanced to bring out the differences in shading and colours on the lunar disk, and the bright rays from craters such as Tycho at bottom, and also the surrounding deep blue moonlit sky. The Moon was a few hours past full at this time, after a partial lunar eclipse earlier in the day that was visible from Europe and the Eastern Hemisphere, but not from my location. Even the penumbral eclipse was over by the time I shot this early in my evening in clearing skies. This is a single image with the Askar APO120 refractor and its 1.0x Flattener for 840mm focal length and with the Canon R5, here with the full frame.$

Hunter's Full Moon (Oct 28, 202...jpg
Super Blue Moon Panorama (Aug 30, 20...jpg
Sunset over Harvested Field.jpg
Rising Blue SuperMoon (Aug 30, 2023).jpg
Full Moon over Harvested Field (Aug ...jpg
Moon and Harvester (Sept 2, 2023).jpg
Moon and Antares Conjunction (Aug 24...jpg
Full Moon in Blue Sky (Aug 29, 2023).jpg
Moonrise over Bow River (Aug 1, 2023...jpg
Moonrise over Bow River (Aug 1, 2023...jpg
Supermoon Rise (July 31, 2023) #1.jpg
Supermoon Rise (July 31, 2023) #2.jpg
Smoky Sunset (July 18, 2023).jpg
Crescent Moon and Venus (July 20, 20...jpg
Crescent Moon in Sunset Colors.jpg
Crescent Moon and Venus with Close-U...jpg
$This is the active Sun on July 9, 2023, with numerous sunspot groups across the disk, including the very large region AR3363 at lower left that had just turned into view. At top is the pair of spots comprising AR3361, and at lower right another pair AR3366. Bright faculae are visible on the darker limbs of the Sun as well as the general fine granulation across the surface. North is approximately up here. This is a single image, selected from nearly 350 taken within the space of a few seconds using the Canon R5 in high-speed continuous burst mode at about 20 fps, with purely electronic shutter and with the camera in crop-frame mode to reduce the frame size and crop into the solar disk. This was through the Astro-Physics 130mm refractor with a 2X Barlow lens for f/12 and 1600mm focal length, and for 1/250 second at ISO 100. The scope had a full aperture Kendrick/Baader Mylar filter on it. The yellow coloration was added in processing. Taken as part of practising and testing for the upcoming solar eclipses.$

Sun and Sunspots (July 9, 2023).jpg
$This is the active Sun on July 8, 2023, with numerous sunspot groups across the disk, including the very large region AR3363 at lower left that had just turned into view. At top is the pair of spots comprising AR3361, and at lower right another pair AR3366. Bright faculae are visible on the darker limbs of the Sun, as well as the general fine granulation across the surface. North is approximately up here. This is a single image, selected from nearly 350 taken within the space of a few seconds using the Canon R5 in high-speed continuous burst mode at about 20 fps, with purely electronic shutter and with the camera in crop-frame mode to reduce the frame size and crop into the solar disk. This was through the Astro-Physics 130mm refractor with a 2X Barlow lens for f/12 and 1600mm focal length, and for 1/400 second at ISO 100. The scope had a full aperture Kendrick/Baader Mylar filter on it. The yellow coloration was added in processing. Taken as part of practising and testing for the upcoming solar eclipses.$

Sun and Sunspots (July 8, 2023).jpg
Moon, Venus and Mars (June 21, 2023).jpg
Moon & Venus in Twilight (200mm).jpg
Moon & Venus in Twilight (300mm).jpg
Moonrise over Red Deer River.jpg
Moonrise over Red Deer River (May 5,...jpg
Easter Full Moonrise (April 5, 2023).jpg
$The conjunction of the waxing 4-day-old crescent Moon below the Pleiades, and set in a slightly hazy sky on March 25, 2023. The haze adds the colourful "lunar corona" halo around the bright crescent of the Moon from diffraction effects in the high icy clouds. Shot before the sky got dark, the remaining twilight adds the blue to the background sky. Earthshine is visible on the dark side of the Moon. This is a blend of 9 exposures, from 1/160 second to 6 seconds, to retain the bright crescent while recording the faint stars and Earthshine. All at ISO 400 with the Canon R5 and through the SharpStar 76mm EDPH refractor at f/4.5 for a focal length of 340mm. The field of view is similar to 10x binoculars. Exposures were blended not with HDR or luminosity masks but with Blend If settings applied with the Blake Rudis f64 Blend-If extension panel in Photoshop, which makes it easier to apply and adjust the blend points and feathering of the blends. Diffraction spikes added for artistic effect to make the stars "sparkle" using the Astronomy Tools actions. A mild Orton Glow added with Luminar Neo to make the overall scene "pop."$

Moon and Pleiades (March 25, 2023).jpg
Thin Moon and Jupiter Setting (March...jpg
$The setting Sun descending into a fog bank looking due west, on the evening of the vernal equinox, March 20, 2023. The fog dims and reddens the Sun, illustrating atmospheric absorption, and refraction as the solar disk is quite flattened. A couple of sunspots are just visible. The colour gradient is natural and comes from the blend of fog below and clearer twilight sky above. This is a single exposure with the RF100-400mm lens at 400mm on the Canon R5. Autofocused on the Sun.$

The Setting Sun in Fog.jpg
$The rising Full "Wolf" Moon of January 6, 2023 over the Badlands of Horseshoe Canyon, near Drumheller, Alberta. The sequence demonstrates the changes in colour of the rising Moon from atmospheric absorption, and changes in its shape from atmospheric refraction. This night the Moon was full almost at the same time as it rose from my location. However, the Moon's high northerly declination — it was about 4° north of the ecliptic — meant that it rose far to the northeast and some 30 minutes before the Sun set, despite the Moon being opposite the Sun. As such, even for the last shot, with the Moon several Moon diameters in altitude, the Sun was still up and lighting the landscape. In fact, at that time the Sun broke through clouds in the southwest to light the foreground with warm light. In this blend, the ground and majority of the sky comes from the final image with the highest Moon and warmest landscape lighting. For the earlier shots the Moon came up in a very bright sky. And so, to better represent the scene, some of the sky coloration — the magentas and cyans — comes from earlier exposures blended in with broad-brush masks. Dark anti-crepuscular rays also added subtle sky colouration and bands of darker blue. This is a sequence of 9 images at an interval of 2.5 minutes, extracted from a set of 80 frames taken every 15 seconds with the camera on automatic exposure, as the sky and ground remained bright enough for an accurate meter reading. The first 8 Moons are masked and layered in with a Lighten blend mode. All images were the Canon R5 at ISO 125 and Canon RF100-400mm lens at 281mm and f/8. Most processing in Adobe Camera Raw with ground and sky masks. Glow and dynamic contrast filters added with ON1 Effects plug-in.$

Winter Moonrise Sequence (R5 RF100-4...jpg
Winter Moonrise in Crepuscular Rays ...jpg
Winter Moonrise over Badlands (R5 10...jpg
$This is the waxing gibbous Moon (11.7 days old) near reddish Mars (above the Moon), and with reddish Aldebaran and the Hyades star cluster below. All are set in a swirl of clouds, looking like they are in an interstellar nebula. Diffraction from ice crystals in the clouds adds the colourful corona around the Moon. This was the Moon-Mars conjunction of January 3, 2023. Mars was then about a month past opposition. This is a blend of 8 exposures, from 8 seconds to 1/500th second, to compress the high dynamic range in brightness and recreate the view more as the eye saw it. Exposures blended with luminosity masks created with Lumenzia. All frames were with the Canon RF100-400mm lens at 100mm and f/5.6, and on the Canon R5 at ISO 400. The camera was on a tracking mount to prevent the stars from trailing. Diffraction spikes added for artistic effect with AstronomyTools Actions. A mild Orton Glow added with Nik Collection/Color EFX.$

Moon, Mars and Hyades (Jan 3, 2023).jpg
$This is the waxing gibbous Moon (11.7 days old) near reddish Mars (at upper right), both set in a swirl of clouds, looking like they are in an interstellar nebula. Diffraction from ice crystals in the clouds adds the colourful corona around the Moon. This was the Moon-Mars conjunction of January 3, 2023. Mars was then about a month past opposition. This is a blend of 6 exposures, from 5 seconds to 1/200th second, to compress the high dynamic range in brightness and recreate the view more as the eye saw it. Exposures blended with luminosity masks. All were with the Canon RF100-400mm lens at 300mm and f/8, and on the Canon R5 at ISO 400. The camera was on a tracking mount to prevent the stars from trailing. Diffraction spikes on Mars added for artistic effect with AstronomyTools Actions. A mild Orton Glow added with Luminar Neo.$

Moon and Mars (Jan 3, 2023).jpg
$The first quarter Moon near the planet Jupiter (at right) amid a hazy sky adding a colourful diffraction effect around the Moon — a lunar "corona." This is a blend of 6 exposures, from 8 seconds to 1/125th second, two stops apart, all at f/7.1 with the Canon RF100-400mm lens at 174mm and Canon R5 at ISO 400. Blended with luminosity masks to retain details on the disk of the Moon but with it set in the bright halo and moonlit sky. Jupiter at right mostly comes from the 2-second exposure, to minimize its trailing in this set of untracked camera-on-tripod exposures. The background sky and trailed stars come from the longest exposure. This was partly a test of this new lens as it was used here straight out of the box for the first time on this scene.$

Quarter Moon & Jupiter (Dec 29, ...jpg
$A close-up view of the reappearance of Mars from behind the disk of the Full Moon, during the December 7, 2022 occultation of Mars. Some of the dark mare areas covered in volcanic dust are visible on the disk of Mars, contrasting with the dark volcanic mare areas of the Moon. The region on the lunar limb that Mars is rising behind is the dark area called Mare Smythii. The main mare or "terra" region on Mars visible here is Mare Cimmerium. On the Moon's disk, Mare Crisium is at top, while below it is Mare Fecunditatis, with the prominent rayed crater Messier A. This is a crop in from a single frame, not a stack, grabbed from the 8K video file taken with a Canon R5 camera shooting through the Astro-Physics 130mm refractor with a 2X Barlow, for a focal length of 1560mm at f/12. This frame had the best sharpness of many, as the seeing conditions were quite blurry for most of the time. Colour grading of the Canon Log3 video file was with Pixelmator Pro's new video editing functions, which included doing the crop.$

Occultation of Mars Reappearance Clo...jpg
Mars Occultation Composite (Dec 7, 2...jpg
$Mars is about to be occulted by the Full Moon on December 7, 2022. This is ingress with the eastward moving (i.e. right to left here) Moon about to cover up Mars on the Moon's western limb. The sky had thin cloud adding the colourful halo, or "corona," around the Moon, so the sky is not black. Mars was at opposition this night and so was the Moon, so the Moon was full and Mars was at its brightest for this appearance in 2022. The size of the Martian disk was 17 arc seconds across this night and its magnitude was -1.8. Mars is twice the actual size of the Moon, but appears tiny here due to its greater distance — some 206 times farther away than the Moon. This night, the Moon was 397,000 kilometres away, near is apogee point, while Mars was 82 million kilometres away, a week after its closest approach. This is a single 1/80-second exposure — it is not an exposure blend or composite — with the Canon R5 camera at ISO 400 and on the Astro-Physics 130EDT refractor with a 2x Barlow for an effective focal length of 1560mm at f/12. I've processed the image for high contrast on the lunar disk (using a Subject mask in Camera Raw) to emphasize its lunar seas and bright ray structures, such as from the crater Tycho at bottom, a relatively recent impact. I also brought out the sky colours from the clouds for added effect.$

Full Moon and Mars at Occultation (D...jpg
Reflected Moonrise at Crawling Lake ...jpg
Reflected Moonrise at Crawling Lake ...jpg
Hunter's Moonrise (Oct 8, 2022).jpg
$The rising Full Moon of September 9, 2022, the Harvest Moon for 2022, coming up over a rolling harvested prairie field near home in southern Alberta, on a very clear evening. This is a composite of 11 exposures blended with Lighter Color mode onto the base layer exposure of the Moon just coming up and the sky and ground. The subsequent exposures were shot at increasingly shorter shutter speeds to preserve the colour and brightness of the Moon's disk (ie. exposing for the Moon not the sky or ground). Shot at 1 minute intervals, but exposures taken every 3 minutes were selected for the composite except at the start when atmospheric refraction makes the Moon rise faster than it does later in the sequence. All were shot with the Canon R5 and RF70-200mm lens at 200mm.$

Harvest Moonrise Composite (Sept 9, ...jpg
Harvest Moonrise (Sept 9, 2022).jpg
$The thin waning crescent Moon above Venus in the dawn sky on August 25, 2022, in a portrait oriented version. This is a single shot with the RF70-200mm lens at 110mm on the Canon R6. Diffraction spikes added with AstronomyTools actions.$

Waning Moon & Venus - Portrait (...jpg
Waning Moon & Venus - Landscape ...jpg
$The Full Moon rise of August 11, 2022 over the old grain elevator on Highway 10 at Dorothy, Alberta, in the Badlands of the Red Deer River valley. This was dubbed a "supermoon" and the "Sturgeon Moon" in the popular media. It just happened to rise at a location that placed it right down the south-east facing highway in the valley. I used The Photographer's Ephemeris to locate the spot to get the shot! This is a blend of two exposures: 6-second exposure for the ground and 1/4-second for the Moon, taken moments apart and both with the Canon R5 at ISO 800, on the William Optics 66mm f/7 apo refractor for a focal length of 460mm. I added a mild Orton glow effect to the ground with Luminar AI. Dodging and burning added with a neutral grey layer created with Lumenzia.$

Full Moonrise at Dorothy v2 (Aug 11,...jpg
$The Full Moon rise of August 11, 2022 over the old grain elevator on Highway 10 at Dorothy, Alberta, in the Badlands of the Red Deer River valley. This was dubbed a "supermoon" and the "Sturgeon Moon" in the popular media. It just happened to rise at a location that placed it right down the south-east facing highway in the valley. I used The Photographer's Ephemeris app to locate the spot to get the shot! This is a single 1.6-second exposure with the Canon R5 at ISO 800, on the William Optics 66mm f/7 apo refractor for a focal length of 460mm. However, an unending stream of cars coming down the hill and then toward me as the Moon rose made it impossible to get a shot free of headlights. And yet, in the 20 minutes prior waiting for the Moon to rise, not a car was to be seen. I added a mild Orton glow effect to the ground with Luminar AI. Dodging and burning added with a neutral grey layer created with Lumenzia.$

Full Moonrise at Dorothy v1 (Aug 11,...jpg
Super Moonrise Over Badlands Panoram...jpg
Super Moonrise Over Badlands.jpg
Super Moonrise in Earth's Shado...jpg
Crescent Moon Setting at Dinosaur Pa...jpg
Crescent Moon over Red Deer River.jpg
Conjunction of Moon and Venus Close-...jpg
Conjunction of Moon and Venus in Twi...jpg
Conjunction of Moon and Venus (June ...jpg
Moon, Venus and Pleiades (June 26, 2...jpg
Sunset Over Harvest Field (Aug 31, 2...jpg
Harvest Moon & Windmill #2 (Sept...jpg
Harvest Moon & Windmill #1 (Sept...jpg
Moonrise (Sept 1, 2012).jpg
Full Moon Over Harvest (August 31, 2...jpg
Blue Moonrise (August 31, 2012).jpg
Moon Over Banff Townsite (July 29, 2...jpg
Athabasca Moon (July 2012).jpg
$The Sun, on June 16, 2012 with a sizable sunspot group, AR 1504. Taken with the 130mm Astro-Physics refractor at f/12 with a 2x Barlow lens and Canon 60Da camera at ISO 100 and 1/250 second. Through a Baader filter with color added in Photoshop.$

Sun & Sunspot (June 16, 2012).jpg
$The rising waning crescent Moon on the morning of June 16, 2012, taken from home through the 130mm apo refractor at f/6 and with the Canon 60Da.$

Rising Waning Crescent Moon (June 16...jpg
Rising Full Snow Moon over TELUS Spa...jpg
$Rising Full Moon on January 8, 2012, with the Moon rising nearly synchronous with the setting Sun for good lighting. Taken with 200mm lens and 1.4x Extender and Canon 7D camera. Pink Belt of Venus twilight glow is prominent here. Some green rim visible on top limb of the Moon with the Moon's disk squashed from refraction. Taken from home in southern Alberta.$

Full Moonrise (Jan 8, 2012) #1.jpg
Moon and Three Planets at Dawn (Marc...jpg
Rising Moon at Equinox (March 18, 20...jpg
$This is the wide conjunction of the 1.5-day-old crescent Moon below Jupiter in the southwest evening sky of February 2, 2022. The two worlds appeared 4.5° apart at this time. Earthshine is visible on the "dark side of the Moon." Taken from home in southern Alberta on an evening with the temperature at -20° C and a brisk wind! This is a single 1.6-second exposure with the Canon 70-200mm f/4 RF lens at f/4 and 84mm focal length, and with the Canon Ra camera at ISO 100. Diffraction spikes on Jupiter added with Astronomy Tools actions.$

Waxing Moon and Jupiter (Feb 2, 2022...jpg
Rising Cold Winter Moon v1 (Dec 19, ...jpg
Rising Cold Winter Moon v2 (Dec 19, ...jpg
Hunter's Moonrise (Oct 20, 2021...jpg
$A telescopic close-up of the full Harvest Moon rising over the Badlands of Dinosaur Provincial Park on September 20, 2021. This is a single 0.8-second exposure taken as part of a time-lapse sequence, shot through a 76mm f/4.4 refractor telescope for an effective focal length of 335mm using the Canon R6 at ISO 100. Luminosity masks created with TKActions v8 applied to enhance the contrast of the foreground. A mild Orton glow added with Luminar AI.$

Harvest Moon at Dinosaur Park (SS76 ...jpg
Equinox Sunset (Sept 22, 2021).jpg
Equinox Moonrise (Sept 21, 2021).jpg
Equinox Sunset (Sept 21, 2021).jpg
Harvest Moonrise over Badlands (105m...jpg
Smoky Full Moon of July 2021.jpg
$A comparison of the Sun with Earth at perihelion (closest to the Sun) on January 5, 2020 vs. the Sun with Earth near aphelion (farthest from the Sun) on July 8, 2021, showing the slight difference in size of the Sun's disk due to Earth's changing distance from the Sun through the year. For this version I superimposed both images and split them down the middle. Earth was 152,100,527 kilometres from the Sun on the actual day of aphelion, July 5 (which was cloudy!) and 147,091,144 km from the Sun on January 5, 2020. On January 5, 2020 the Sun was at the closest perihelion of the 21st century (though by only a tiny margin), making for the largest solar disk we will see. So that made this a “supersun!” The disk was virtually spotless both days. I shot both with the same equipmment — the Astro-Physics Traveler 105mm refractor, with AP 2X Barlow for f/12 and with the Canon 60Da at ISO 100. The filter was the glass Thousand Oaks metal-on-glass filter which imparts a yellow tone to the image.$

Sun at Perihelion & Aphelion Com...jpg
$A comparison of the Sun with Earth at perihelion (closest to the Sun) on January 5, 2020 vs. the Sun with Earth near aphelion (farthest from the Sun) on July 8, 2021, showing the slight difference in size of the Sun's disk due to Earth's changing distance from the Sun through the year. Earth was 152,100,527 kilometres from the Sun on the actual day of aphelion, July 5 (which was cloudy!), and 147,091,144 km from the Sun on January 5, 2020. On January 5, 2020 the Earth was at its closest perihelion of the 21st century (though by only a tiny margin), making for the largest solar disk we will see. So that made this a “supersun!” The disk was virtually spotless both days. I shot both with the same equipment — the Astro-Physics Traveler 105mm refractor, with AP 2X Barlow for f/12 and with the Canon 60Da at ISO 100. The filter was the glass Thousand Oaks metal-on-glass filter which imparts a yellow tone to the image.$

Sun at Perihelion & Aphelion Com...jpg