A few weeks ago I shot photographs of the crescent phase of Venus (~11% illuminated) in the southwestern twilight sky. I then decided to also get photographs of the crescent Moon (~32% illuminated) and the planet Jupiter. These were in different parts of the sky and not all visible in the same photograph. I composited them into this image which shows the relative sizes of the three bodies. All images were shot using a 500mm telephoto lens.
Composite image of the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter.
Below is a screen shot from Stellarium showing the actual positions of Jupiter, the Moon, and Venus.
Screen shot from Stellarium showing the actual positions of Jupiter, the Moon, and Venus.
Back in mid-February we did a trail run in Sedona using a combination of both designated and social trails. Early in the run we crossed these beautiful carved channels in the sandstone bed of Dry Creek. It had been a dry winter up until that point so there was no running water but still enough for a few pools that included reflections of the blue sky.
Channels carved into the sandstone of Dry Creek, Sedona, AZ.This is a composite of two photos. We each took a photo of the other then combined them. It works…
Farther along we passed this small reflecting pool. Since there were only the two of us the best we could do was to each take a photograph of the other running past the pool. A little bit of work in a photo app composited the two images and it looks like a real photograph!
Every year in February, Kahtoola sponsors the Kahtoola Uphill Race. The proceeds from this fun event go to Friends of Camp Colton. The race has several distances (1 mile, 600′ vertical; 3 miles, 1550′ vertical; 3.5 miles, 2200′ vertical) and categories (foot traction, skis, and splitboard). And, of course, costumes are encouraged.
Here are a few images taken of both the start of the race and as finishers return to the start.
The start of the Kahtoola Uphill Race.Racers head up the ski runs of Arizona Snowbowl as part of the Kahtoola Uphill Race. Lack of snow resulted in some changes to the course.Costumes encouraged.
These two images were taken a few months ago when the constellation Orion was in the eastern/southeastern sky. Both imaging sessions were tests of my recently acquired Nikon D850 and of the Siril software package.
Wide view of Orion and the surrounding Orion Molecular Dust Cloud.The Witch Head Nebula (IC 2118) near the constellation Orion.
The first was taken with a 50mm lens to show all of Orion as well as the neighboring features. The image is a stack of 32 frames @ 60 seconds, f4, ISO 1600, and shot on a Nikon D850. The images were processed in Siril–a tool I’m still learning to use–and the final result nicely shows the Orion molecular cloud complex (or, simply, the Orion complex). From the Wikipedia article:
The Orion complex includes a large group of bright nebulae and dark clouds in the Orion constellation. Several nebulae can be observed through binoculars and small telescopes, and some parts (such as the Orion Nebula) are visible to the naked eye.
The second image was taken a few nights later with a 180mm telephoto lens and is looking at the Witchhead Nebula (IC 2118), located very near Orion–and is also faintly visible in the previous image. This image is a stack of 38 frames @ 60 seconds, f4, ISO 1600, and shot on a Nikon D850. As before, the stack of images was processed in Siril. From Wikipedia:
IC 2118 is an extremely faint reflection nebula believed to be an ancient supernova remnant or gas cloud illuminated by nearby supergiant star Rigel in the constellation of Orion.
I have been happy with the results on the Nikon D850 for capturing astro images and equally pleased with how easy it is to use Siril in post processing.
For a brief period between sunset and astronomical twilight there were several planets visible in the evening sky. Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter were all easily seen with the unaided eye. With a few seconds exposure, cameras easily resolved Uranus. Missing was Saturn which was so low in the sky that it was overpowered by the bright glare of early twilight.
Four planets (Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Uranus) plus the crescent Moon during evening twilight.A zoomed-in crop to better show Uranus.
Here is an image with Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Uranus, plus the Moon. Mars was too far to the east to be included even with this wide-angle lens. Also included is a zoomed-in crop of the original image to clearly show Uranus.
Multiple planets visible in the sky simultaneously is not a rare event. Rather, it happens on a regular basis. Here are links to other events that have been posted on this site.
