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Panoramas & All-Skies { 331 images } Created 13 Jan 2013

A collection of panoramas and planetarium "all-skies" of the night sky and landscapes, including: horizontal horizon panoramas (partial or 360°), Milky Way panoramas (full and partial), and 360° circular fish-eye images suitable for projection in a digital planetarium.
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  • A fish-eye 360° image of the entire southern sky, taken from Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia, December 13/14, 2012, using an 8mm Sigma fish-eye lens and Canon 5D MkII camera for a stack of 4 x 8 minute exposures at f/4 and ISO 800. The ground silhouette is from just one frame to minimize blurring of the horizon - all images were tracked. Orion and Jupiter are at left (west), Sirius, Canis Major, Puppis and Vela are near centre in the Milky Way, while Crux and Carina are rising at right (east). South is at top over the cottage, north at bottom over Timor Rock. The Magellanic Clouds are at top right over the cottage. The large Gum Nebula is at centre in Vela; Barnard's Loop on Orion is at left.
    360° Southern Sky - December 2012 (8...jpg
  • A 5-section 180° panorama of the 70 Mile Butte area of Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan, with the Milky Way at left and right. Some green bands of airglow are also visible. I shot this with the 14mm Rokinon lens in landscape orientation, with the pan segments stitched with PTGui software. Each segment was an 80-second untracked exposure at f/2.8 and ISO 3200 with the Canon 6D.
    70 Mile Butte by Night.jpg
  • The Alberta Star Party scene in the Starland County Recreation area campground in the Red Deer River valley, September 15, 2012. A panorama of the scene at sunset.
    Alberta Star Party Panorama.jpg
  • An all-sky aurora from Feb 19, 2015 from Churchill, Manitoba, taken with a fish-eye lens as part of a time-lapse sequence for projection in digital planetariums. The aurora became quite bright at times despite the activity level reading only 1 or 2. Brightenings started near the horizon to the northeast and moved up and overhead of us. This is a 15-second exposure at f/3.5 with the 8mm lens and Canon 6D at ISO 4000. Taken from the Churchill Northern Studies Centre.
    All-Sky Aurora #1 (Feb 19, 2015).jpg
  • A frame from a 300-frame time-lapse taken June 28, 2013 during an all-sky aurora display seen widely over North America. This was taken from the Wintering Hills Wind Farm on Highway 56 south of Drumheller, Alberta. It is a 25-second exposure at f/3.5 with the 8mm Sigma lens and Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600. The waning quarter Moon is just rising at left, with the auroral sub-storm beginning to peak.
    All-Sky Aurora #1 (June 28, 2013).jpg
  • A frame from a 300-frame time-lapse taken June 28, 2013 during an all-sky aurora display seen widely over North America. This was taken from the Wintering Hills Wind Farm on Highway 56 south of Drumheller, Alberta. It is a 25-second exposure at f/3.5 with the 8mm Sigma lens and Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600. The waning quarter Moon is just rising at left, with the auroral sub-storm beginning to peak.
    All-Sky Aurora #1 (June 28, 2013).jpg
  • An all-sky aurora from Feb 19, 2015 from Churchill, Manitoba, taken with a fish-eye lens as part of a time-lapse sequence for projection in digital planetariums. The aurora became quite bright at times despite the activity level reading only 1 or 2. Brightenings started near the horizon to the northeast and moved up and overhead of us. This is a 15-second exposure at f/3.5 with the 8mm lens and Canon 6D at ISO 4000. Taken from the Churchill Northern Studies Centre.
    All-Sky Aurora #2 (Feb 19, 2015).jpg
  • A frame from a 300-frame time-lapse taken June 28, 2013 during an all-sky aurora display seen widely over North America. This was taken from the Wintering Hills Wind Farm on Highway 56 south of Drumheller, Alberta. It is a 25-second exposure at f/3.5 with the 8mm Sigma lens and Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600. The waning quarter Moon is just rising at left, with the auroral sub-storm beginning to subside from its peak.
    All-Sky Aurora #2 (June 28, 2013).jpg
  • A frame from a 300-frame time-lapse taken June 28, 2013 during an all-sky aurora display seen widely over North America. This was taken from the Wintering Hills Wind Farm on Highway 56 south of Drumheller, Alberta. It is a 25-second exposure at f/3.5 with the 8mm Sigma lens and Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600. The waning quarter Moon is just rising at left, with the auroral sub-storm beginning to subside from its peak.
    All-Sky Aurora #2 (June 28, 2013).jpg
  • An all-sky aurora from Feb 19, 2015 from Churchill, Manitoba, taken with a fish-eye lens as part of a time-lapse sequence for projection in digital planetariums. The aurora became quite bright at times despite the activity level reading only 1 or 2. Brightenings started near the horizon to the northeast and moved up and overhead of us. This is a 15-second exposure at f/3.5 with the 8mm lens and Canon 6D at ISO 4000. Taken from the Churchill Northern Studies Centre.
    All-Sky Aurora #3 (Feb 19, 2015).jpg
  • A frame from a 300-frame time-lapse taken June 28, 2013 during an all-sky aurora display seen widely over North America. This was taken from the Wintering Hills Wind Farm on Highway 56 south of Drumheller, Alberta. It is a 25-second exposure at f/3.5 with the 8mm Sigma lens and Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600. The waning quarter Moon is rising at left, with the auroral sub-storm beginning to subside and break up.
    All-Sky Aurora #3 (June 28, 2013).jpg
  • A frame from a 300-frame time-lapse taken June 28, 2013 during an all-sky aurora display seen widely over North America. This was taken from the Wintering Hills Wind Farm on Highway 56 south of Drumheller, Alberta. It is a 25-second exposure at f/3.5 with the 8mm Sigma lens and Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600. The waning quarter Moon is rising at left, with the auroral sub-storm beginning to subside and break up.
    All-Sky Aurora #3 (June 28, 2013).jpg
  • An all-sky aurora from Feb 19, 2015 from Churchill, Manitoba, taken with a fish-eye lens as part of a time-lapse sequence for projection in digital planetariums. The aurora became quite bright at times despite the activity level reading only 1 or 2. Brightenings started near the horizon to the northeast and moved up and overhead of us. This is a 15-second exposure at f/3.5 with the 8mm lens and Canon 6D at ISO 4000. Taken from the Churchill Northern Studies Centre.
    All-Sky Aurora #4 (Feb 19, 2015).jpg
  • An all-sky aurora from Feb 19, 2015 from Churchill, Manitoba, taken with a fish-eye lens as part of a time-lapse sequence for projection in digital planetariums. The aurora became quite bright at times despite the activity level reading only 1 or 2. Brightenings started near the horizon to the northeast and moved up and overhead of us. This is a 15-second exposure at f/3.5 with the 8mm lens and Canon 6D at ISO 4000. Taken from the Churchill Northern Studies Centre.
    All-Sky Aurora #5 (Feb 19, 2015).jpg
  • A 360° fish-eye view of the Northern Lights over Prelude Lake near Yellowknife, NWT, Canada, on September 9, 2019.  Polaris is near the centre; the Big Dipper and Ursa Major are at lower left; Cassiopeia is at upper right. Andromeda and Pegasus are rising at far right. Arcturus is setting at far left.<br />
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This is a single shot with the 8mm Sigma lens at f/3.5 on the Sony a7III for 20 seconds at ISO 1000. Moonlight also provides some of the illumination. Accent AI filter applied to the ground with Topaz Studio 2.0
    All-Sky Aurora at Prelude Lake (Sept...jpg
  • A fish-eye view of an aurora display peaking in activity on January 29, 2017 at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, Churchill, Manitoba. For a few minutes the aurora formed a bright curl overnhead.<br />
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Taken with the Sigma 8mm fish-eye lens at f/3.5 for 5 seconds at ISO 6400 with the Canon 6D. Taken as part of a 1100-frame time-lapse sequence suitable for projection in a planetarium dome.
    All-Sky Aurora in Churchill #1 (Jan ...jpg
  • A fish-eye view of an aurora display peaking in activity on January 29, 2017 at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, Churchill, Manitoba. For a few minutes the aurora formed a bright band rippling across the sky overhead. <br />
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Taken with the Sigma 8mm fish-eye lens at f/3.5 for 5 seconds at ISO 6400 with the Canon 6D. Taken as part of a 1100-frame time-lapse sequence suitable for projection in a planetarium dome.
    All-Sky Aurora in Churchill #2 (Jan ...jpg
  • A fish-eye view of an aurora display peaking in activity on January 29, 2017 at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, Churchill, Manitoba. For a few minutes the aurora formed a bright band rippling across the sky overhead. <br />
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Taken with the Sigma 8mm fish-eye lens at f/3.5 for 5 seconds at ISO 6400 with the Canon 6D. Taken as part of a 1100-frame time-lapse sequence suitable for projection in a planetarium dome.
    All-Sky Aurora in Churchill #3 (Jan ...jpg
  • A fish-eye view of an aurora display peaking in activity on January 29, 2017 at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, Churchill, Manitoba. For a few minutes the aurora formed a bright band rippling across the sky overhead. <br />
<br />
Taken with the Sigma 8mm fish-eye lens at f/3.5 for 5 seconds at ISO 6400 with the Canon 6D. Taken as part of a 1100-frame time-lapse sequence suitable for projection in a planetarium dome.
    All-Sky Aurora in Churchill #4 (Jan ...jpg
  • The great aurora display of March 6, 2016 when the sky was filled with curtains right at twilight. Green and magenta curtains of Northern Lights dance in the blue twilight. The Big Dipper is at left, the Pleiades at right. Taken as part of a time-lapse sequence at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, for projection in digital planetariums.
    All-Sky Aurora in the Twilight (Mar ...jpg
  • The Northern Lights on February 18, 2015 as shot from the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, in Churchill, Manitoba, photographed with an 8mm fish-eye lens to capture most of the sky and multiple curtains of aurora from northeast (bottom) to west (at left). Note the faint aurora at top separated from the main bright curtains by a darker region, and with darker “holes” in this fainter background. This is a 15-second exposure at f/3.5 and ISO 4000 with the Canon 6D. It is one frame of a 500-frame time-lapse.
    All-Sky Auroral Curtains #1 (Feb 18,...jpg
  • The Northern Lights on February 18, 2015 as shot from the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, in Churchill, Manitoba, photographed with an 8mm fish-eye lens to capture most of the sky and multiple curtains of aurora from northeast (bottom) to west (at left). Note the faint aurora at top separated from the main bright curtains by a darker region, and with darker “holes” in this fainter background. This is a 15-second exposure at f/3.5 and ISO 4000 with the Canon 6D. It is one frame of a 500-frame time-lapse.
    All-Sky Auroral Curtains #2 (Feb 18,...jpg
  • The Northern Lights on February 18, 2015 as shot from the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, in Churchill, Manitoba, photographed with an 8mm fish-eye lens to capture most of the sky and multiple curving curtains of aurora from northeast (bottom) to west (at left). This is a 15-second exposure at f/3.5 and ISO 4000 with the Canon 6D. It is one frame of a 500-frame time-lapse.
    All-Sky Auroral Curtains #3 (Feb 18,...jpg
  • The Northern Lights on February 18, 2015 as shot from the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, in Churchill, Manitoba, photographed with an 8mm fish-eye lens to capture most of the sky and multiple curtains of aurora from northeast (bottom) to west (at left). This is a 15-second exposure at f/3.5 and ISO 4000 with the Canon 6D. It is one frame of a 500-frame time-lapse.
    All-Sky Auroral Curtains #4 (Feb 18,...jpg
  • An extensive aurora display, July 9, 2013, from home in Alberta. Taken with the 8mm fish-eye and Cann 5D MkII for 25 seconds at f/3.5 and ISO 2500.
    All-Sky Auroral Curtains (July 9, 20...jpg
  • The great all-sky aurora display of March 6, 2016 over the Churchilll Northern Studies Centre, Churchill, Manitoba, in a view looking north. Here, the curtains have the characteristic green and red tint and converge to the zenith, with red dominating the sky at this point. This is one frame from a time-lapse sequence shot with the Sigma 8mm fish-eye lens and Canon 6D, intended for projection in digital planetarium theatres.
    All-Sky Aurora over CNSC #1 (Mar 6, ...jpg
  • The great all-sky aurora display of March 6, 2016 over the Churchilll Northern Studies Centre, Churchill, Manitoba, in a view looking north. Here, the green curtains swirl out of the northeast sky. This is one frame from a time-lapse sequence shot with the Sigma 8mm fish-eye lens and Canon 6D, intended for projection in digital planetarium theatres.
    All-Sky Aurora over CNSC #2 (Mar 6, ...jpg
  • The great all-sky aurora display of March 6, 2016 over the Churchilll Northern Studies Centre, Churchill, Manitoba, in a view looking north. Here, bands of green curtains take on a fine rippling pattern. This is one frame from a time-lapse sequence shot with the Sigma 8mm fish-eye lens and Canon 6D, intended for projection in digital planetarium theatres.
    All-Sky Aurora over CNSC #3 (Mar 6, ...jpg
  • A strange red/magenta auroral arc overhead across the sky, with a more normal green diffuse glow to the north, as seen on May 10, 2015, in a stack of 80 frames taken over 45 minutes. The Big Dipper is overhead in the centre of the frame, Jupiter is at left in the west and Arcturus is at top to the south. I shot this from home, using an 8mm fish-eye lens to take in most of the sky, with the camera looking north. The 80 exposures were stacked and blended with Advanced Stacker Actions from StarCircleAcademy.com using the Long Trails effect. Each exposure was 32 seconds at f/3.6 and ISO 3200 with the Canon 6D. An individual exposure adds the more point-like stars at the start of the tapered star trails, and add the blue from the last twilight glow still illuminating the sky at the start of the sequence.
    All-Sky Aurora & Star Trails (Ma...jpg
  • The last rays of the setting Sun catch the peaks around the Columbia Icefields in Jasper National Park, Alberta, on July 27, 2020. The waxing quarter Moon shines over Mount Andromeda and sunlight illuminates the glacier on Mount Athabasca at left. The famous Athabasca Glacier itself is at centre. Snow Dome Glacier is at right. The meltwater lake in the middle distance is Sunwapta Lake.<br />
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This is a panorama cropped in from the original 10 segments, each with the 35mm lens and Canon EOS Ra camera, all at ISO 100 and 1/25 sec at f/8. Stitched in Adobe Camera Raw. Shot from the moraine at the start of the access road across the forefield.
    Alpenglow at Icefields with Quarter ...jpg
  • A 150° panorama showing the full sweep and arc of the noctilucent cloud display of June 20, 2021, in its later stages, as the clouds retreated to a low but bright band across the northwest and northern horizon, here over the wind-rippled waters of Crawling Valley Reservoir near home in southern Alberta. The wind prevented the ideal reflection.<br />
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This was June 20, 2021, the evening of summer solstice this year. So this was the shortest night of the year with the Sun the least distance below the horizon it would get at my latitude of 51° N. The colours blend the blue, yellow and orange of the solstice twilight with the blue-white of the NLCs, with a slight reddish tinge at the tops of the clouds where the Sun is setting. <br />
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This is a crop of a 24-section panorama with the 85mm Samyang lens and Canon R6, in portrait orientation (moving the camera 10° between segments), stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
    Arc of Noctilucent Clouds Panorama (...jpg
  • The arc of the Northern Lights and auroral oval over Crawling Lake, Alberta, as well as the arch of the summer Milky Way, in a 360° panorama, on the night of June 24/25, 2017. The location was on the causeway on the dam at the south end of the reservoir/lake. <br />
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The sky is blue from the glow of all-night perpertual twilight at this time of year near solstice. <br />
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Arcturus and the Big Dipper are at left, with Jupiter just setting amid the clouds at far left. Polaris is just left of the peak of the auroral arc which is centred slightly east of north from my longitude. The Summer Triangle stars are at right over the roadway. The galactic centre is above the south horizon at far right. Saturn is amid the Dark Horse in the Milky Way at far right, low above the horizon. <br />
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This is a stitch of 8 segments with the 14mm Rokinon SP lens, mounted vertically, each 30 seconds at f/2.5 and ISO 3200 with the Canon 6D. Panning and shooting was done automatically with the SYRP Mini Genie in its panorama mode. Stitched with PTGui.
    Aurora and Milky Way Arches at Crawl...jpg
  • A fish-eye image of the aurora of Sept. 26/27, 2022, from home in Alberta, with the Milky Way across the sky from south to north, and a vey dim red SAR (Stable Auroral Red) arc crossing the sky from east to west overhead.<br />
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This is a single 30-second exposure with the TTArtisan 7.5mm lens at f/2 on the Canon R6 at ISO 2000. Taken as part of a time-lapse sequence to look for the development of a SAR arc or STEVE.
    Aurora and Milky Way (Sept. 26, 2022...jpg
  • A panorama sweeping over about 180° of an arc of auroral curtains to the south over the old Churchill Rocket Range at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, Manitoba. Orion is right of centre. <br />
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This was March 6, 2016 on a night with a Kp  Index of 6 to 7 for auroral activity. This is a stitch of 7 segments, each 3 seconds at f/2 with the Sigma 20mm lens and Nikon D750 at ISO 3200. Stitched in Adobe Camera Raw.
    Aurora Arc over the Churchill Rocket...jpg
  • A 180° panorama of the aurora borealis from the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, Churchill, Manitoba on March 18, 2020. The Kp Index did reach to 4 this night in a fairly active display that lasted all night, though with no very bright substorms. Some members of the Learning Vacations aurora group are out enjoying and shooting the show. Others are inside keeping warm observing in the aurora viewing dome and lounge. <br />
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This is an 8-segment panorama with the Sony a7III camera at ISO 1600 for 10 seconds each with the Venus Optics 15mm lens at f/2. Stitched with Photoshop.
    Aurora at CNSC Panorama #1 (March 18...jpg
  • A panorama of the auroral arc seen from home in southern Alberta (latitude 51° N) on April 14/15, 2021, showing a very red component above (to the south of?) the main green auroral arc low across the north. At right, it takes on a STEVE-like appearance. Is this an example of a SAR Arc -- a Sub-Auroral Red Arc? A brief sighting of a partial STEVE arc was reported this night but I missed it. The Kp level did go as high as 5 this night. This scene was at about 12:15 am MDT on April 15. <br />
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By coincidence the arc of the Milky Way low across the north parallels the arc of the Northern Lights. Capella is at far left in the northwest; Vega is rising at right of centre in the northeast.<br />
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This is a stitch of 7 segments, each untracked for 30 seconds at f/2.5 with the Sigma 24mm Art lens on the Nikon D750 at ISO 800. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
    Aurora from Home-April 14, 2021 Pano...jpg
  • A panorama of the auroral arc seen from home in southern Alberta (latitude 51° N) on April 14/15, 2021, showing a very red component above (to the south of?) the main green auroral arc low across the north. At right, it takes on a STEVE-like appearance. Is this an example of a SAR Arc -- a Sub-Auroral Red Arc? A brief sighting of a partial STEVE arc was reported this night but I missed it. The Kp level did go as high as 5 this night. This scene was about 12:30 am MDT April 15, 2021.<br />
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By coincidence the arc of the Milky Way low across the north parallels the arc of the Northern Lights. Capella is at far left in the northwest; Vega is rising at right of centre in the northeast.<br />
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This is a stitch of 4 segments, each untracked for 45 seconds at f/2.8 with the Sigma 24mm Art lens on the Nikon D750 at ISO 1600. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
    Aurora from Home-April 14, 2021 Pano...jpg
  • An arc of a Kp4 level aurora on August 28, 2022, from home in southern Alberta (latitude 51° N), showing the classic oxygen greens topped by oxygen reds, but with magentas and blues at left to the northwest where sunlight might still be interacting with the auroral curtains. <br />
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The Big Dipper and Arcturus are at left. Cassiopeia, Perseus, Andromeda and Pegasus are at right. Jupiter is the bright object rising at far right. <br />
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This is a panorama of 5 segments, each 20 seconds at f/2.8 with the RF15-35mm lens at 15mm and Canon R5 at ISO 1600. Stitched with PTGui as Camera Raw and Photoshop refused to either stitch all segments (ACR) or provided a distorted projection (PS Photomerge). PTGui did a good job but is still inconsistent in retaining all the EXIF image data.
    Aurora from Home Panorama 1 (Aug 28,...jpg
  • A panorama of a colouful Kp4 level aurora on August 28, 2022, from home in southern Alberta (latitude 51° N). It shows the classic oxygen yellow-greens topped by oxygen reds, but with magentas and blues at left to the northwest where sunlight might still be interacting with the auroral curtains. In this panorama, the upper curtains also take on an orange hue. Above the main curtains are some blobs of pulsating green patches. <br />
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The Big Dipper and Arcturus are at left. Cassiopeia, Perseus, Andromeda and Pegasus are at centre and at right. Jupiter is the bright object rising at right. Saturn is the dimmer object at far right. <br />
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This is a panorama of 8 segments, each 10 seconds at f/2.8 with the RF15-35mm lens at 15mm and Canon R5 at ISO 1600. Stitched with PTGui as Camera Raw and Photoshop refused to either stitch all segments (ACR) or provided a distorted projection (PS Photomerge).
    Aurora from Home Panorama 2 (Aug 28,...jpg
  • A panorama of an arc of Northern Lights, taken from home on February 28, 2021, with a Kp 4 to 6 level aurora and geomagnetic storm in progress. But it was fading by the time the sky cleared from home this night. I shot this about 11:05 pm. MST. To the eye the aurora looked colourless and was difficult to tell apart from the moonlit high clouds. But even in Live View, the camera distinctly showed the green auroral arc. The display never got very bright in the time I was watching and shooting. <br />
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This is a panorama of 5 segments with the Rokinon SP 14mm lens at f/2.8 for 15 seconds each, and with the Canon EOS Ra at ISO 400, stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. I blended in an additional selfie segment taken right after the pan segments, to add me into the scene. A mild Orton Glow effect added to the foreground with Luminar AI.
    Aurora from Home Panorama (Feb 28, 2...jpg
  • A panorama of the arc of the Northern Lights across the northern sky at right, from home in southern Alberta on November 21, 2019.  At far left is the summer Milky Way setting while in between is the urban glow from cities to the west (notably Calgary) with the skyglow now blue-white from LEDs lights — it used to be yellow from sodium vapour lights.  So this is a study in sky glows, both natural and artificial. <br />
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The Big Dipper and Polaris are at centre over my house.. Capella in Auriga, Aldebaran and the Pleiades in Taurus, and the stars of Perseus are at right rising in the northeast. Altair and Aquila are at far left, setting in the southwest.<br />
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This is a 6-segment panorama with the 15mm Venus Optics lens at f/2 on the Sony a7III for 20 seconds each at ISO 1600, stitched with ACR.
    Auroral Arc and Milky Way Panorama (...jpg
  • A panorama of the arc of the Northern Lights across the northern sky, from home in southern Alberta on November 21, 2019. The display started out as a bright arc early in the evening but faded. <br />
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The Big Dipper and Polaris are left of centre.. Capella in Auriga, Aldebaran and the Pleiades in Taurus, and the stars of Perseus are at right in the northeast.<br />
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This is a 4-segment panorama with the 15mm Venus Optics lens at f/2 on the Sony a7III for 20 seconds each, stitched with ACR.
    Auroral Arc Panorama (Nov 21, 2019).jpg
  • An all-sky aurora display on Friday August 5, 2011, well predicted from CME observations and widely seen. This is one frame of 254 taken as part of a time-lapse movie, with the Canon 5D MkII and 8mm fish-eye lens, for 30 seconds at f/3.5 and ISO1600.
    Aurora on Aug 5, 2011 (frame #1834) ...jpg
  • An all-sky aurora display on Friday August 5, 2011, well predicted from CME observations and widely seen. This is one frame of 254 taken as part of a time-lapse movie, with the Canon 5D MkII and 8mm fish-eye lens, for 30 seconds at f/3.5 and ISO1600.
    Aurora on Aug 5, 2011 (frame #1843) ...jpg
  • An all-sky aurora display on Friday August 5, 2011, well predicted from CME observations and widely seen. This is one frame of 255 taken as part of a time-lapse movie, with the Canon 5D MkII and 8mm fish-eye lens, for 30 seconds at f/3.5 and ISO1600.
    Aurora on Aug 5, 2011 (frame #1872) ...jpg
  • This is a 300° panorama of the Northern Lights over Yellowknife, NWT on the night of Sept 6-7, 2019, during a sub-storm outbreak at 12:45 a.m. when the sky went wild with aurora. There were curtains and rays everywhere. The display soon subsided into a general wash over the sky. <br />
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This is from Pilot’s Monument lookout in Old Town. South is left of centre; East is at far left; West is right of centre, and North is at far right, with the Big Dipper visible. Taurus and the Pleiades are rising at far left. <br />
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This is a 9-segment panorama with the 15mm Laowa lens at f/2 and Sony a7III at ISO 800, for 10 seconds each. LENR employed in camera. Stitched with ACR.
    Aurora over Yellowknife Panorama (Se...jpg
  • A 210° panorama from southwest to northeast taking in the full sweep of the auroral arcs this night, January 29, 2017 at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, on the shore of Hudson Bay in Churchill, Manitoba. Orion is at far left. The Pleiades is over CNSC. Arcturus is at right amid a bit of an isolated arc to the east.<br />
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This is a stitch of 9 segments, each 15 seconds at f/2 with the Sigma 20mm Art lens and Nikon D750 at ISO 3200. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
    Aurora Panorama from CNSC #1 (Jan 29...jpg
  • A 210° panorama from southwest to northeast taking in the full sweep of the auroral arcs this night, January 29, 2017 at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, on the shore of Hudson Bay in Churchill, Manitoba. Orion is at far left. The Pleiades is over CNSC. Arcturus is at right amid a bit of an isolated arc to the east.<br />
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This is a stitch of 9 segments, each 15 seconds at f/2 with the Sigma 20mm Art lens and Nikon D750 at ISO 3200. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
    Aurora Panorama from CNSC #2 (Jan 29...jpg
  • A 270° panorama from southwest to northeast taking in the full sweep of the auroral arcs this night, January 29, 2017 at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, on the shore of Hudson Bay in Churchill, Manitoba. Sirius and Orion are at far left. The Pleiades is over CNSC. Arcturus is at far right. A lone aurora observer stands at left. Someone is also on the second floor deck. A bit of an isolated arc is at right to the east. <br />
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This is a stitch of 11 segments, each 10 seconds at f/2 with the Sigma 20mm Art lens and Nikon D750 at ISO 3200. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
    Aurora Panorama from CNSC #3 (Jan 29...jpg
  • A panorama of a dual-arc auroral oval across the north, shot from home about 8:07 pm MST on Nov. 28, 2021. The Kp got up to 4 this night. The Big Dipper is left of centre; Orion is rising at right. <br />
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This is an 11-section panorama, each at 15s at ISO 3200 and f/2.8 with the TTArtisan 21mm lens and Canon R6. Stitched with ACR.
    Aurora Panorama from Home #1 (Nov. 2...jpg
  • A panorama of a dual-arc auroral oval across the north, shot from home about 8:30 pm MST on Nov. 28, 2021. The Kp got up to 4 this night. The Big Dipper is left of centre; Orion is rising at right. <br />
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This is an 7-section panorama, each at 15s at ISO 3200 and f/2.8 with the TTArtisan 21mm lens and Canon R6. Stitched with ACR.
    Aurora Panorama from Home #2 (Nov. 2...jpg
  • This is a 270° panorama of the auroral arc seen across the northern sky on January 14, 2023. It is framed between the setting summer Milky Way (at left in the northwest) and the rising winter Milky Way (at right in the southeast). <br />
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To the west (right) of the winter Milky Way is Orion, with Sirius below, while above is Aldebaran, the Hyades, reddish Mars, and the blue Pleiades at upper right. The Big Dipper and Ursa Major are above the main arc of aurora to the north at centre. Polaris is at top, left of centre. Cygnus (with the star Deneb) and Lyra (with the star Vega) are setting at left above my house. <br />
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The auroral arc shows the characteristic yellow-green colour but also upper altitude reds, both from oxygen atoms. The Kp index was about 4 this night, though peaking to Kp5 at times. Clouds rolling in later prevented me from catching more of the show later when it apparently got more active. <br />
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Taken from home in southern Alberta (latitude 51° N) on January 14, 2023, in a 7-section panorama, each section with the Venus Optics 15mm lens at f/2 on the AstroGear filter-modified Canon R at ISO 800, for 20 seconds each. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. I was testing the Canon R camera this night.
    Aurora Panorama from Home (Jan 14, 2...jpg
  • The early stages of a G3 solar storm and aurora show on Nov. 3/4, 2021, with the aurora as a bright glow across the north amid cloud reflecting light pollution. Orion is rising at right. Vega is setting at left. The Big Dipper is at centre. Capella is bright at upper right, to the left of the Pleiades. <br />
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This is a stitch of 6 segments with the 15-35mm RF lens at 15mm on the Canon R6, each 30s at f/2.8 and ISO 1600. Stitched with ACR.
    Aurora Panorama from Home (Nov 3, 20...jpg
  • A 360° panorama of an arc of auroral curtains to the east, south and west over the old Churchill Rocket Range and the new Churchill Northern Studies Centre, Manitoba. <br />
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This was March 6, 2016 on a night with a Kp  Index of 6 to 7 for auroral activity. This is a stitch of 13 segments, each 3 seconds at f/2 with the Sigma 20mm lens and Nikon D750 at ISO 3200. Stitched in Adobe Camera Raw.
    Aurora Panorama over Northern Studie...jpg
  • A 360° fish-eye view of the Northern Lights over Prelude Lake near Yellowknife, NWT, Canada, on September 9, 2019, with photographers in the foreground shooting the Lights from the viewpoint above the lake.  Polaris is near the centre; the Big Dipper and Ursa Major are at lower left; Cassiopeia is at upper right. Andromeda and Pegasus are rising at far right. Arcturus is setting at far left.<br />
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This is a single shot with the 8mm Sigma lens at f/3.5 on the Sony a7III for 10 seconds at ISO 3200. Moonlight also provides some of the illumination. Accent AI filter applied to the ground with Topaz Studio 2.0
    Aurora Photographers at Prelude Lake...jpg
  • A panorama of the Kp5-level aurora on May 27, 2022, from home, with the aurora displaying prominent magenta rays, created by the red oxygen emission blending with illumination from blue scattered sunlight at high altitudes, common around the summer solstice when the high atmosphere is lit all night long. As a bonus, a dim STEVE arc is forming at far right, to the south of the main auroral oval where STEVE normally appears. STEVE faded, then returned to become more strong and visible across the sky from east to west as the main aurora to the north faded.<br />
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Orange Antares in Scorpius is rising at far right low in the southeast. The Summer Triangle stars are right of centre. <br />
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This is a panorama of 9 segments, each 10 seconds with the 21mm TTArtisan lens at f/2 and the Canon R5 at ISO 1600. Stitched with Photoshop's Photomerge. The original is 28,400 pixels wide.
    Aurora & STEVE Panorama (May 27,...jpg
  • A 360° panorama of the entire sky on a northern autumn night in November 2019. The Milky Way runs across the sky from east (left) to west (right), with south at bottom and due north at top. The Summer Triangle stars are setting in the west at right while Orion and the winter stars are rising in the east at left. Overhead at centre are the traditional autumn constellations of Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Perseus, Andromeda and Pegasus, among others. The Andromeda Galaxy is close to the zenith at centre. The Big Dipper is low on the northern horizon at top. Fomalhaut is the bright star between the trees low on the horizon in the southwest at right. The Pleiades and Taurus are left of centre. <br />
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At top we are looking outward from the centre of the Galaxy, toward the edge of the Milky Way and toward the Perseus Arm, the next one out from ours.  To the south at bottom are the faint “watery” constellations of Aquarius, Cetus, Pisces, and Eridanus. <br />
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Bands of natural red airglow colour the sky, while horizon glows of blue and greenish white from LED urban lighting discolour the horizon. Snow covers the ground from a snowfall the day before. However, this is autumn! In Alberta! <br />
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This is a stitch of 8 segments, each 30 seconds at f/3.2 with the Canon 15mm full-frame fish-eye lens on the Canon EOS Ra camera at ISO 3200. The camera was turned in portrait orientation and moved in 45° increments to take the 8 segments. Stitching was with PTGui.
    Autumn All-Sky Panorama (Nov 2019).jpg
  • This is a 140° panorama of the northernmost section of the Milky Way, from Auriga at left to Aquila at right. Perseus, Cassiopeia, Cepheus and Cygnus are across the centre. I added in labels on the mosaic for the constellations, and major nebulas and star clusters. <br />
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Surrounding the panorama is a collage of close-up images of the major emission nebulas (and one dark nebula) pointing to the area in the wide-field mosaic. The close-ups were shot with various astrographic telescopes such as the William Optics RedCat 51mm and Sharpstar 61, 76 and 94mm refractors, usually employing filters such as the Optolong L-eNhance and IDAS NBX. <br />
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The background panorama was shot on October 30, 2021, but the close-ups were shot on various nights over two years from 2019 to 2021. The panorama is a stitch of 4 segments, each a stack of 8 x 4-minute expsures at ISO 800 with the Canon Ra and with the RF 28-70mm lens at 28mm and f/2.8. It was on the Star Adventurer Mini tracker. Another panorama of 4 segments taken through a Kase StarGlow filter and layered in added the glows on the bright stars.
    Autumn Milky Way & Objects Colla...jpg
  • This is a 140° panorama of the northernmost section of the Milky Way, from Auriga at left to Aquila at right. Perseus, Cassiopeia, Cepheus and Cygnus are across the centre. <br />
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This northern section of the Milky Way stretches high across the sky on autumn nights as seen from the northern hemisphere, as it was this night, October 30, 2021. <br />
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The Milky Way is laced with many dark lanes of interstellar dust which extend off the main band of the Milky Way, as at centre. The dust colours the Milky Way and sky with a yellow-brown tint. Punctuating the Milky Way are red and magenta emission nebulas, the most prominent being the North America Nebula in Cygnus (right of centre) and the California Nebula (at far left) in Perseus.<br />
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At right are the three stars of the Summer Triangle (R to L: Altair, Vega and Deneb); at left is Capella in Auriga. At centre is the W of stars of Cassiopeia. <br />
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This is a stitch of 4 segments, each a stack of 8 x 4-minute expsures at ISO 800 with the Canon Ra and with the RF 28-70mm lens at 28mm and f/2.8. It was on the Star Adventurer Mini tracker. Another panorama of 4 segments taken through a Kase StarGlow filter and layered in added the glows on the bright stars. <br />
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All stacking, stitching and alignment was in Photoshop. Taken from home on a very clear night October 30, 2021. A bright Kp 6 to 7 aurora was forecast for this night but never materialized. Bands of reddish airglow drifted through the fields during the exposures but the stacking and averaging helped smooth out the discolouration.
    Autumn Milky Way Panorama (28-70mm R...jpg
  • A panorama from Cygnus (at right, setting in the western sky in the evening), across the sky overhead in Perseus, Auriga and Taurus, and down into Orion, Canis Major, and Puppis (at left, low in the southern sky at midnight). This panorama covers about 200° of galactic longitude, from 60° in Cygnus to 260° in Puppis and takes in the entire northern swath of the Milky Way visible in autumn and early winter in the northern hemisphere, from the summer Milky Way at right to the winter Milky Way at left. <br />
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Orion is at lower left, while the Pleiades and Andromeda Galaxy lie near the bottom edge. Canopus is the bright star just rising at far left, in haze. Vega and Altair are just setting at far right. <br />
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The view here is looking outward to the near edge of the Milky Way, in the direction opposite the centre of the Galaxy. In this direction the Milky Way becomes dimmer and less defined. Notable are the many red H-alpha emission regions along the Milky Way, as well as the many lanes of dark interstellar dust nearby and obscuring the more distant stars. However, a brighter glow in Taurus partly obscures its Taurus Dark Clouds — that’s the Gegenschein, caused by sunlight reflecting off cometary dust particles directly opposite the Sun and marking the anti-solar point this night, by coincidence close to galactic longitude of 180° opposite the galactic centre. <br />
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This is a panorama of 14 segments, most composed of 5 x 2.5-minute exposures with the filter-modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600 and 35mm lens at f/2.8. The end segments near the horizon are stacks of 2 x 2.5-minute exposures. The camera was oriented with the long dimension of the frame across the Milky Way, not along it, to maximize the amount of sky framed on either side of the Milky Way. <br />
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The camera was on the iOptron Sky-Tracker. I shot the segements for his pan from Quailway Cottage, Arizona on December 8/9, 2015, with the end segments taken Dec 10/11, 2015. I decided to add in the horizon segments for compl
    Autumn Milky Way Panorama.jpg
  • This is a 360° x 120° panorama of the northern autumn sky and Milky Way, taken from home December 6, 2020 from my latitude of 51° North. <br />
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The Milky Way is arching directly overhead at left, with the summer Milky Way in Cygnus setting in the west at far left, and the winter Milky Way and Orion rising in the east at centre. At left across the top is the segment of the Milky Way through Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Perseus and Auriga prominent in the autumn months. <br />
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In that part of the Milky Way we are looking out toward the edge of our Galaxy, toward the outer Perseus arm, in the direction opposite the galactic core which is well below the horizon here. The South Galactic Pole area in Sculptor is low in the south just above the horizon at right. So we are looking down out the "bottom" of the plane of he galaxy here, at least for the part of the sky below, or south of, the Milky Way. <br />
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A faint band of Zodiacal Light and Zodiacal Band can be seen extending up from the southwest at right and extending along the ecliptic through Mars and toward the Pleiades. The counterglow of the Gegenschein, at the point directly opposite the Sun is partly lost here in the Milky Way in Taurus. <br />
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Along the Milky Way we see various red nebulas, regions of star formation, notably the North America Nebula (NGC 7000) at far left, and the California Nebula (NGC 1499) at right above the blue Pleiades star cluster. Along the Milky Way across the top are various IC-catalog nebulas in Cepheus and Cassiopeia. The Orion Nebula is just rising at right of centre. <br />
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The bright red object almost due south at right is Mars. At top right, and almost directly overhead in the sky at this time, is the Andromeda Galaxy. Polaris is at left due north, with the Big Dipper low in the north at left. <br />
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The sky is tinted with red and green bands of natural airglow, but some low clouds also reflect the artifical glows from towns and highway lights on the horizion. At left, the white glow along the western horizon is fr
    Autumn Sky 360° Panorama (EquiRect).jpg
  • This is a 360° "all-sky" or fish-eye panorama of the northern autumn sky and Milky Way, taken from home December 6, 2020 from my latitude of 51° North. <br />
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The Milky Way is arching directly overhead, with the summer Milky Way in Cygnus setting in the west at right, and the winter Milky Way and Orion rising in the east at left. At centre overhead is the segment of the Milky Way through Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Perseus and Auriga prominent in the autumn months. <br />
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In this direction we are looking out toward the edge of our Galaxy, toward the outer Perseus arm, in the direction opposite the galactic core which is well below the horizon here. The South Galactic Pole area in Sculptor is low in the south just above the horizon at bottom. So we are looking down out the "bottom" of the plane of he galaxy here, at least for the part of the sky below, or south of, the Milky Way. <br />
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A faint band of Zodiacal Light and Zodiacal Band can be seen extending up from the southwest at lower right and extending along the ecliptic through Mars and toward the Pleiades. The counterglow of the Gegenschein, at the point directly opposite the Sun is partly lost here in the Milky Way in Taurus. <br />
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Along the Milky Way we see various red nebulas, regions of star formation, notably the North America Nebula (NGC 7000) at right, and the California Nebula (NGC 1499) at left above the blue Pleiades star cluster. At centre are various IC-catalog nebulas in Cepheus and Cassiopeia. The Orion Nebula is just riising at left. <br />
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The bright red object almost due south below centre is Mars. At centre almost directly overhead is the Andromeda Galaxy. Polaris is above centre due north, with the Big Dipper low in the north at top. <br />
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The sky is tinted with red and green bands of natural airglow, but some low clouds also reflect the artifical glows from towns and highway lights on the horizion. At right, the white glow along the western horizon is from the now-LED dominant light pollution from Strathmore and Calgary. <br />
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    Autumn Sky 360° Panorama (Spherical).jpg
  • Badlands formations in Dinosaur Provincial Park lit by the light from the July 2022 "supermoon" Full Moon off frame at right and behind the hill, on a very clear night. The stars of the northern sky are set in a deep blue sky. Arcturus is at far left; the Big Dipper is at left (distorted somewhat by the panorama projection); Polaris is left of centre at top; Cassiopeia is right of center; Andromeda and Pegasus are below the W of Cassiopeia, and at far right is the star Altair. <br />
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The Full Moon was low in the sky to the south and so its light was "warm" in tone and subdued somewhat, allowing the stars to show up better than had it been a high Full Moon, as in winter. And it tints the sky blue, providing a nice contrast with the warm earth tones of the ground. <br />
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This is a panorama cropped from 9 segments, each 20 seconds untracked, with the Canon RF15-35mm lens at 16mm and f/4, and Canon Ra at ISO 400, in landscape orientation. Stitched n Adobe Camera Raw. A mild Pro Contrast effect added to the ground with Nik Collection Color EFX and a mild Orton glow added to the sky with Luminar AI. The original is 14,000 pixels wide.
    Badlands by Super Moonlight (July 12...jpg
  • A 360° panorama of Bow Lake in Banff National Park, Alberta on a very dark and clear night, July 17, 2018. The Milky Way toward the galactic core lies above Bow Glacier at right. Saturn is reflected in the still waters. <br />
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The Big Dipper is at far right low in the north. <br />
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Bands of green airglow colour the sky to the south at centre. A magenta and green glow to the north at either end is from aurora. A STEVE isolated arc aurora appeared earlier in this night. <br />
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I shot this about 2:45 am July 17, 2018, shooting three tiers of 7 segments each, with the 20mm Sigma Art lens at f/2 and Nikon D750 at ISO 6400 for 30 seconds for each segment. <br />
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I used the Syrp Genie Mini for the automatic camera positioning in azimuth. I stitched the panorama with PTGui.
    Bow Lake by Night Panorama.jpg
  • A 360° panorama (in fish-eye projection) of Bow Lake in Banff National Park, Alberta on a very dark and clear night, July 17, 2018. The Milky Way toward the galactic core lies above Bow Glacier at right. Saturn is reflected in the still waters. <br />
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The Big Dipper is at top low in the north. <br />
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Bands of green airglow colour the sky to the south at bottom. A magenta and green glow to the north at top is from aurora. A STEVE isolated arc aurora appeared earlier in this night. <br />
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I shot this about 2:45 am July 17, 2018, shooting three tiers of 7 segments each, with the 20mm Sigma Art lens at f/2 and Nikon D750 at ISO 6400 for 30 seconds for each segment. <br />
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I used the Syrp Genie Mini for the automatic camera positioning in azimuth. I stitched the panorama with PTGui.
    Bow Lake by Night Panorama (Spherica...jpg
  • A composite of about 90 images, taken with the Canon 5D MkII and 8mm Sigma fish-eye lens, at Bow Lake in Banff, July 6, 2012, showing star trails across the sky looking west. The Moon is just coming up at left. A meteor appears above Bow Peak. Each image was 50 seconds, taken at 1s intervals at ISO 1250 and at f/4. Stacked in Photoshop using Chris Schur's Photoshop Action.
    Bow Lake Fisheye Star Trails.jpg
  • Bright meteor captured during all-sky time-lapse sequence night of June 11/12, 2010. Exposure was 2 minutes at f/4 and ISO800, with Canon 5D MkII and 8mm Sigma fish-eye lens.
    Bright Bolide (June 12, 2010).jpg
  • A 360° degree fish-eye panorama of the Milky Way with the Galactic Centre overhead and the spiral arms of the Galaxy symmetrically displayed to either side of the core: toward Scutum, Aquila, and Cygnus at left; and toward Norma, Centaurus, and Carina at right.<br />
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This is from near Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia at at latitude of 32° South.<br />
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Scorpius and Antares are overhead at the zenith. The Dark Emu is visible across the sky, from his head in Crux at right, to his tail in Scutum at left. <br />
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Jupiter is the bright object in the west at top. The glow of Gegenschein is below it. <br />
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The view is with southeast to the bottom to place the plane of the Galaxy horizontally across the frame. <br />
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Some airglow discolours the sky at left. <br />
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This is a stitch of 8 segments, each a 1-minute exposure with the 14mm lens at f/2.6 and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 3200. The camera was on a tracker, the iOptron Sky-Tracker, so the stars are not trailed. Stitched with PTGui.
    Centre of Galaxy Overhead Panorama.jpg
  • A 13-segment mosaic of the southern Milky Way, from Orion at right to Scutum at left. Shot over 2 nights, March 2010 from Atacama Lodge near San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. Same 10-section mosaic was shot on the two nights, and this panorama makes use of frames selected from the 2 nights: 2 segments for Orion and Canis Major were from night #2 and segments for Scorpius and Sagittarius are a blend of the final 3 segments each shot on the two nights; centre area from Puppis to Centaurus are all segments shot on night #1. Each segment is a stack of 3 to 4 exposures, each 6 minutes at f/4 and ISO 800 with a Canon L-Series 35mm lens and Canon 5D MkII DSLR, filter modified by Hutech. Plus each segment has an exposure of 6 minutes with a Kenko Softon filter layered in at 25% opacity to add the star glows. All aligned and blended with Photoshop CS4. Brightening below Milky Way at left of frame is Zodiacal Light in the pre-dawn sky.
    Chile 2010 Pan (Final).jpg
  • An all-sky aurora from Churchill, Manitoba, on Feb 17, 2015, in a frame from a 250-frame time-lapse movie. Taken from the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, using an 8mm Sigma  fish-eye lens on the Canon 6D for a 360° view of the sky, though with the camera titled about 25° to create an image suitable for projection in a tilted-dome digital planetarium. This a  15-second exposure at ISO 3200 and f/3.5. The temperature was about -30° C.
    Churchill All-Sky Aurora #1 (Feb 17,...jpg
  • An all-sky aurora from Churchill, Manitoba, on Feb 17, 2015, in a frame from a 250-frame time-lapse movie. Taken from the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, using an 8mm Sigma  fish-eye lens on the Canon 6D for a 360° view of the sky, though with the camera titled about 25° to create an image suitable for projection in a tilted-dome digital planetarium. This a  15-second exposure at ISO 3200 and f/3.5. The temperature was about -30° C.
    Churchill All-Sky Aurora #3 (Feb 17,...jpg
  • An all-sky aurora from Churchill, Manitoba, on Feb 17, 2015, in a frame from a 250-frame time-lapse movie. Taken from the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, using an 8mm Sigma  fish-eye lens on the Canon 6D for a 360° view of the sky, though with the camera titled about 25° to create an image suitable for projection in a tilted-dome digital planetarium. This a  15-second exposure at ISO 3200 and f/3.5. The temperature was about -30° C.
    Churchill All-Sky Aurora #5 (Feb 17,...jpg
  • An all-sky aurora from Churchill, Manitoba, on Feb 17, 2015, in a frame from a 250-frame time-lapse movie. Taken from the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, using an 8mm Sigma  fish-eye lens on the Canon 6D for a 360° view of the sky, though with the camera titled about 25° to create an image suitable for projection in a tilted-dome digital planetarium. This a  15-second exposure at ISO 3200 and f/3.5. The temperature was about -30° C.
    Churchill All-Sky Aurora #7 (Feb 17,...jpg
  • Auroral curtains are covering most of the sky from northeast to northwest, as seen Feb 13, 2015 from the deck of the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, Churchill, Manitoba. The fish-eye lens takes in almost the entire 360° of the sky. <br />
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This is a single exposure with the Canon 6D and Sigma 8mm fish-eye lens for 25 seconds at f/3.5 and ISO 4000.
    Churchill Aurora All-Sky #1 (Feb 13,...jpg
  • Me standing under the aurora as it fills the sky, as seen Feb 13, 2015 from the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, Churchill, Manitoba. The fish-eye lens takes in almost the entire 360° of the sky. <br />
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This is a single exposure with the Canon 6D and Sigma 8mm fish-eye lens for 25 seconds at f/3.5 and ISO 4000.
    Churchill Aurora All-Sky #2 (Feb 13,...jpg
  • Circumpolar star trails taken from 11:45 pm to 3:30 am, July 5/5, 2011, using 8mm Sigma fish eye lens and Canon 5D MkII camera, for stack of 275 exposures, each 40 seconds at f/4 and ISO 1000. Stacked with Chris Schur's Photoshop Action. There are also noctilucent clouds and aurora in the scene, looking north from home in southern Alberta, latitude +51°.
    Circumpolar Star Trails (July 5-6, 2...jpg
  • Circumpolar stars trails over Castle Mountain in Banff, Alberta. Taken July 23, 2010 from Castle Cliffs viewpoint on Bow Valley Parkway. A stack of 300 30-second exposures with Sigma 8mm lens at f/4 and Canon 5D MkII camera at ISO 800. Taken over 2.5 hours. Full Moon light provided the illumination.
    Circumpolar Star Trails over Castle ...jpg
  • Another amazing sky scene —  A panorama of the late night sky just before midnight on July 13, 2020 from Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada with Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) over the front range of the Rocky Mountains and an arc of aurora across the north. Earlier, noctilucent clouds were also visible. Quite the show! This was taken from the Bison Compound access road.   This is an 6-segment panorama with the 35mm Canon lens at f/2.2 for 25 seconds each at ISO 800 with the Canon 6D MkII and stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
    Comet NEOWISE and Aurora Panorama (J...jpg
  • A once-in-a-lifetime scene —<br />
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A panorama of the dawn sky at 4 am on July 14, 2020 from Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada with Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) over the iconic Prince of Wales Hotel. Noctilucent clouds glow below the comet in the dawn twilight. Venus is rising right of centre paired with Aldebaran and the Hyades star cluster, while the Pleiades cluster shine above. The waning quarter Moon shines above the Vimy Peak at far right. The Big Dipper is partly visible above the mountain at far left. Capella and the stars of Auriga are at centre. <br />
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This is an 8-segment panorama with the 35mm Canon lens at f/2.5 for 15 seconds each at ISO 100 with the Canon 6D MkII and stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
    Comet NEOWISE over Prince of Wales H...jpg
  • What a magical scene this was! <br />
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This is Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) over the sweep of the Red Deer River and Badlands from Orkney Viewpoint north of Drumheller, Alberta, on the morning of July 11, 2020. The sky is brightening with dawn twilight and a small display of noctilucent clouds is on the horizon right of centre. Venus and and Pleiades are rising at right. Venus was close to the star Aldebaran and in the Hyades star cluster, both just visible right on the horizon. This is looking north toward the Bleriot Ferry terminal. Light from the waning gibbous Moon provides the illumination, plus twilight. This  nicely shows the arch of the twilight colours. <br />
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This is a 6-segment panorama with the 50mm Sigma lens at f/2.8 and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 400 for 13 seconds each. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. Topaz DeNoise AI and Sharpen AI applied.
    Comet NEOWISE over Red Deer River Pa...jpg
  • Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) on July 27, 2020, at right, over the Columbia Icefields with the Moon still lighting the peaks in a warm “bronze hour” light for a lunar alpenglow. The Moon is behind Snowdome Peak at centre and is also still lighting the sky a deep blue. The Milky Way is at left over Mount Andromeda. Arcturus is the bright star at top centre.<br />
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This was more or less my parting shot of the comet, as it was fading rapidly at this time receding from Earth, though it was still naked eye. Plus the waxing Moon was going to be lighting the sky much more in the following week. So this was the night!<br />
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Shooting a week earlier when the comet was brighter and larger would have been nice, but clouds would have got in the way. This was shot during a run of unusually clear nights at the Icefields, the first good clear nights according to the locals. <br />
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I shot this during the brief “bronze hour” interval immediately after the Moon had disappeared behind Snowdome but was still lighting the peaks. So to be clear — the peaks are lit by the setting Moon, not by the Sun. This is not a composite of day and night shots; it is a well-timed and planned panorama shot as quickly as possible over a few minutes before the lighting changed. <br />
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Lingering twilight lights the horizon down the Sunwapta Valley at right. The famous Athabasca Glacier is just left of centre; Snowdome Glacier is right of centre, with the glacial Sunwapta Lake in the foreground. Mount Athabasca is at far left with its glacier. <br />
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This is a 17-segment (!) panorama with the 35mm Canon lens at f/2.5 and Canon EOS Ra camera at ISO 1600, for 20 seconds each, untracked. The overlap was more than is normally needed but the segments stitched perfectly with Adobe Camera Raw, which is not always the case with such scenes. LENR employed on all segments when shooting on this warm night. Dodging and burning applied to accentuate highlights and shadows. Topaz Sharpen AI applied. The original is over 27,000 pixels wide.
    Comet Over Columbia Icefields Panora...jpg
  • A 240° panorama of a dark band of crepuscular rays sweeping across the sky from northwest (at left) at the sunset point to southeast (at right) at the anti-Sun point. The band is a shadow cast by the clouds to the northwest, and in this case appeared all across the sky, diverging away from the sunset point and converging toward the anti-solar point where the nearly Full Moon is about to rise. <br />
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The shadows arc nearly overhead at the centre of the image. The perspective gives the effect of the shadows looking like a bow in the sky. <br />
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This is a 6-panel panorama with the Rokinon 12mm lens, handheld, and Nikon D750. Stitched with PTGui.
    Crepuscular Rays Panorama (July 9, 2...jpg
  • A 360° panorama on the high plains of Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, Alberta, July 15, 2013 on the Graburn Road. This is an 8-section panorama with the 8mm fish-eye lens, with segments at 45° spacings and each exposure 90s at f/3.5 and with the Canon 5D MkII at ISO 3200. North is at left, south in the middle, with the road running east to west. Visible from left to right are: very low level aurora - the Survivor Tree and lights from my other cameras shooting and my car - bands of green airglow running across the sky from east to west - a spot of light from a distant thunderstorm and lightning - the centre of the Milky Way setting in the southwest - airglow bands in the west - and horizon glow from Medicine Hat. Segments processed in Photoshop and assembled with PTGui, then further processing of stitched scene in Photoshop.
    Cypress Hills Night Panorama (July 1...jpg
  • A 240° panorama of the fabulous dawn sky on July 5, 2020, filled with noctilucent clouds (NLCs) up to and beyond the zenith, as well as the array of four planets: Venus low on the horizon at left of centre, Mars at right of centre, and the pairing of Saturn and Jupiter (brightest) at far right, just above the setting Full Moon. The Moon had undergone a partial penumbral eclipse at moonrise 6 hours earlier. The Big Dipper and Polaris are at far left. Altair is the star above Jupiter and Saturn. <br />
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This truly was an amazing sky! Comet NEOWISE was also in the scene but too small to record here. <br />
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This is a panorama of 8 segments, each 1 second at f/2.8 with the Rokinon 14mm SP lens and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 100. Stitched with PTGui as ACR would not handle images from such a wide lens.
    Dawn Sky Panorama (July 5, 2020).jpg
  • This is a 360° panorama of the dawn sky on September 21, 2020 from home in Alberta, with the Zodiacal Light in the east at left, with bright Venus embedded in the Zodiacal Light. <br />
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Mars, near opposition, is bright and orange at right of centre. The two planets nicely flank the Milky Way and the bright stars of Orion and the winter sky. <br />
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The summer Milky Way is setting at far right in the northwest. The Big Dipper is at far left to the northeast. The Beehive Cluster, M44, is above Venus; the Pleiades, M45, is at top; while the Andromeda Galaxy, M31, is at upper right. Sirius is above the horizon to the south at left of centre. The stars of Leo are just rising amid the twilight below Venus.<br />
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This is a panorama of 12 segments, at 30° spacing, with the Sigma 14mm Art lens at f/2 (in landscape orientation) and Nikon D750 at ISO 1600, all 30 seconds untracked. Stitched with PTGui. Camera Raw handled it but give no control over the framing. The light pollution from Strathmore and Calgary light the horizon at right. <br />
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I shot this about 5:30 am just as the sky was brightening with twilight, enough to colour the sky but not wash out the Milky Way and Zodiacal Light, a narrow window of time as the sky changes colour and brightness surprisingly quickly, even at my latitude of 51° N. This was shot on a very clear morning after several days of smoky skies from fires in the western U.S.
    Dawn Sky Panorama (Sept 21, 2020).jpg
  • Dinosaur Park in Alberta, under full moonlight on May 26, 2013. Shot with the 8mm Sigma fish-eye lens at f/4 and Canon 5D MkII at ISO 800 for 32 seconds. The Big Dipper is at left. The view is looking north.
    Dinosaur Park Nightscape (8mm) (May ...jpg
  • The northern summer Milky Way rising on a spring night at Dinosaur Provincal Park, Alberta. This is a 180° panorama from northwest, at left, where the waxing crescent Moon is setting, over to southeast, at right, where Scorpius and the galactic centre is rising. The Summer Triangle stars are at centre; Cassiopeia is left of centre; Auriga and Gemini are setting at far left amid the glow of the setting Moon. <br />
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The sky was hazy, adding the natural star glows, horizon clouds and tints. No light pollution or starglow filter was employed. This was May 15/16, 2021 about 1 am. <br />
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This is a blend of tracked exposures for the sky and untracked exposures for the ground. The sky is a stitch of 9 segments at 30° spacings, each 1 minute at ISO 1600 with the original Canon 24mm L lens at f/2. The camera was in portrait orientation. The ground is a stitch of 18 segments at 15° spacings and taken after the sky segments with the tracker motor off, each ground segment 2 minutes at ISO 3200 with the lens at f/4 for more depth of field. Both passes were single row panoramas, with the camera unchanged in altitude. <br />
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All with the Canon EOS Ra camera on the Move-Shoot-Move (MSM) rotator/tracker with the Alyn Wallace Z Plate to allow the camera to pan horizontally on the level, despite the tracker being tipped over polar aligned. All stitching was with Adobe Camera Raw, to create two panoramas, which were then layered, masked (using Select Sky) and blended in Photoshop. A mild Orton glow effect added with Luminar AI. I have left some satellites in.
    Dinosaur Park Panorama (EOS Ra with ...jpg
  • A 360° panorama taken at the viewpoint on the east end of the Loop Road in Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, on Sept 30, 2012. Shows some aurora to the north (faded from its peak earlier in the night) and the nearly Full Moon in the sky to the east. This is a 12-section pan taken with the Canon 7D and Canon 24mm lens, each frame being 10 seconds at f/2.8 and ISO 400.
    Dinosaur Park Panorama (Sept 30, 201...jpg
  • A classic double rainbow as a storm receded, on June 2, 2012, taken from home. The rainbow lasted only briefly. Note the converging anti-crepucular rays and the brighter sky interior to the rainbow. This was taken with an 8mm fish-eye lens for projection in planetariums. Canon 5D MkII camera.
    Double Rainbow (8mmFish-Eye) (June 2...jpg
  • Earth Shadow Panorama.jpg
  • A 360° panorama taken night of Harvest Moon, Sept 15, 2008, with moonrise having ocurred 10 minutes before sunset. This taken about 20 minutes after sunset with Moon embedded in Earth's shadow. Taken with Canon 20Da and 24mm Canon L lens, at f/9, on manual set to 1/15 second at ISO 100 for every one of 12 frames, taken 30° apart.
    Earth Shadow Panorama (Sept 15, 2008...jpg
  • A 360° ground to zenith panorama of the Mt. Edith Cavell area from the Trail of the Glacier pathway, at the footbridge crossing Cavell Creek. I shot this at twilight, just after sunset. It is a stitch, with PTGui software, of 8 segments at 45° spacings with the 15mm full-frame fish-eye lens and Canon 6D. Each was 0.4 seconds at ISO 100 and f/4. (I should have stopped down some more!)
    Edith Cavell Trail at Twilight Panor...jpg
  • A 360° fish-eye panorama of the winter sky in mid-February, shot from home in southern Alberta. Orion is to the south at bottom, with the winter Milky Way arcing across the sky from southeast, at bottom, to northwest, at top. A faint glow of Zodiacal Light extends across the sky from west (right) to east (left). Urban sky glow lights the sky to the west. To the north at top, an auroral arc extends along the horizon. The Big Dipper is at upper left in the northeast. Polaris is at top centre. Venus is bright and setting low in the west at right. Leo is rising in the east at left. <br />
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This is a stitch of 6 segments, each shot with the Rokinon 12mm full-frame fish-eye lens at f/2.8, for 30 seconds each at ISO 6400 with the Nikon D750. Stitched with PTGui.
    February Sky Panorama (Circular).jpg
  • Fisheye lens view of entire sky, 180° x 360° with 8mm Sigma fisheye lens and Canon 5D Mark II camera. Taken from home, Sept. 11, 2010 on a humid night with some clouds rolling in. Stack of 4 exposures, media combined to eliminate some clouds and aircraft. Each 6 minutes at f/4.5 at ISO 800.
    Fish-Eye Autumn Sky (Sept 11, 2010) ...jpg
  • A double rainbow in the afternoon sky, shot with a fish-eye lens to be suitable for projection in tilt-dome planetariums. Shot from home in Alberta, summer 2015.
    Fish-Eye Double Rainbow.jpg
  • Centre of Milky Way overhead. Taken with 8mm Sigma fish-eye lens at f/3.5 (forgot to stop down -- should have been at f/5) and Hutech-modified Canon 5D for stack of 3 x 10 minute exposures at ISO 400. Taken from Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia, April 20, 2007.
    Fisheye Milky Way #2.jpg
  • Fisheye Milky Way-MW Overhead.jpg
  • An image of the entire sky and summer Milky Way, from home in southern Alberta, from my backyard, on September 12, 2015. The night was clear but not that transparent, as some humidity and haze added more than usual horizon glows reflecting yellow light pollution. But there was no aurora, in a week filled with auroras every night. The prominent red nebula overhead is the North America Nebula in Cygnus. South is at bottom, west to the right. <br />
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This is a stack of 5 exposures, each 6 minutes at f/4 with the Sigma 8mm fish-eye lens and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600, all tracked on the iOptron Sky-Tracker. The exposures are average-stacked in a Mean stack mode combination to smooth noise, and yielding the blurred foreground, which comes from all 5 exposures.
    Fish-Eye Milky Way (Sept 2015).jpg
  • A composite stack of 75 2-minute exposures to create a night-long circumpolar star trail sequence but encompassing the entire sky using a fish-eye lens. Each exposure was 2 minutes at f/4 with a Canon 5D MkII at ISO 800, at 1s intervals. The image contains a bright meteor and a dual-satellite flare.
    Fish-Eye Solstice Sky (June 12, 2010...jpg
  • The summer Milky Way across the entire sky, 180° x 360°, in a fish-eye view taken at the Saskatchewan Summer Star Party, August 2012. This is a stack of five x 5 minute exposures at f/4.5 and ISO 1600 with the Sigma 8mm lens and Canon 5D MkII camera. All tracked. The ground is from one exposure; the ground in the other 4 exposures was masked out to minimize blurring of the ground over the 25 minutes of exposure time. A faint aurora and airglow adds some horizon colour.
    Fish-Eye Star Party @ SSSP (8mm 5DII...jpg
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