Moon Rise Behind Cathedral Rock in Sedona

It’s spring and this is the time of the year when the moon rise behind the sunset-lit spires of Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arizona, can be breathtaking.

Two years ago, I took a 1-day workshop from Southwest Perspectives called “Sedona Full Moon Hunt.” We were taught not just how to use the camera for capturing the image but, more importantly, how to know when and where to position ourselves for these types of images.

There are several applications available for smart phones, tablets, and computers that provide this information. My program of choice is The Photographer’s Ephemeris. With this information in hand, one can position themselves in the right spot and wait for the moon to rise. The waiting part, however, can be tough as you wonder if you are in the “right” place. It’s a moment of relief, then, when the moon rises right where you expected it in the gap.

Moonrise behind Cathedral Rock.
Moonrise behind Cathedral Rock.

As the calendar marches forward into spring and early summer the location of the moon moves south relative to the rocks; it then moves north in the cooler season. It’s during the warmer months that it lines up best with the gaps between the spires.

Moonrise behind Cathedral Rock.
Moonrise behind Cathedral Rock.

If you get too close to the rocks the moon will appear small compared to the spires. Get farther away and the relative size of the moon appears much larger in comparison. But it’s never that easy. Some shooting locations are effortless to get to— drive, park, set up, done. Others require a bit of walking or hiking.

Getting in the right place is at least part of the enjoyment of capturing these images.

Amazing Lunar Eclipse of April 2014

Did you get a chance to see the lunar eclipse?

The weather across northern Arizona was excellent with cloudless skies. It was a bit cold, however, with temperatures in Flagstaff falling from the lower 20s at the start to the upper teens at the end.

For a quick review of how a lunar eclipse occurs check out the Wikipedia and the NASA Eclipse sites.

Lunar eclipse of 14-15 April 2014.
Lunar eclipse of 14-15 April 2014.

Total Lunar Eclipse from 0445–1038 UTC on 15 April 2014 as seen in northern Arizona. This is a composite of nine images taken approximately at P1, U1, U2, Max Totality, U3, U4, and P4, plus additional images between U1 and U2, and between U3 and U4. The time of each image is given in UTC. The definitions of the P and U numbers are given in the Wikipedia article and also shown below:

LunarEclipse

The images were taken with a Nikon D700 using various f-stops, ISO settings, and exposure times. A Nikon 80-200mm f/4 lens was used for all images. Although this is a vintage manual focus lens it it produces remarkably sharp images. For a discussion of this lens, check out this site.

 

Zodiacal Light – Spring 2014

With exceptionally clear and dark skies it was a good time to capture an image of the zodiacal light. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about this astronomical phenomenon.

Zodiacal light is a faint, roughly triangular, diffuse white glow seen in the night sky that appears to extend up from the vicinity of the Sun along the ecliptic or zodiac. It is best seen just after sunset and before sunrise in spring and autumn when the zodiac is at a steep angle to the horizon. Caused by sunlight scattered by space dust in the zodiacal cloud, it is so faint that either moonlight or light pollution renders it invisible.

With no moon and Flagstaff’s dark skies, it’s pretty easy to see the zodiacal light.

Zodiacal light seen over the Kachina Wetlands near Flagstaff, Arizona.
Zodiacal light seen over the Kachina Wetlands near Flagstaff, Arizona.

And speaking of dark skies, Flagstaff became the World’s First “International Dark Sky City”  way back on October 24, 2001. From the Flagstaff Dark Skies site:

In 1958, Flagstaff pioneered the world’s first lighting ordinance designed to preserve the night for astronomy. Since 1958, Flagstaff astronomers have mostly relied on quiet, friendly diplomacy to protect the night sky…

Flagstaff’s dry, clear skies and dark, cloudless nights drew Percival Lowell to town in 1894. The townspeople deeded the eccentric, wealthy Bostoner a pine-clad knoll atop the mesa immediately west of town as an observatory site, and built him a wagon road to reach it. The area became known as Mars Hill because of Lowell’s famous passion for the red planet.

An exposure of 30s, ISO3200, f/4 was enough to bring out the details of the white glow as well as its reflection in the waters of the Kachina Wetlands. At the top of the image is the bright planet Jupiter.

Four days in Death Valley National Park

Although Death Valley National Park is only a six-hour drive from Flagstaff I have never visited the park. That finally changed the first week of January when we made a four-day visit. We left Flagstaff well before sunrise so that we could arrive in the park around noon time and then spend the afternoon visiting sites and hiking.

One of our first stops was the well-known Zabriskie Point. Many photographs have been taken here—as well as a movie by the same name—and these images should look familiar as a result. From there we went to the visitors center to get some ideas for the afternoon. We ended up on Artists Drive—known for its multicolored rocks.

Zabriskie Point.
Zabriskie Point.
Artist's Drive.
Artist’s Drive.

The highlight of the day was a late afternoon and early evening visit to Badwater Basin—a salt flat that contains the lowest elevation in North America (282 feet below sea level). The salt flats are noted for the hexagonal salt crust that forms after rains and standing water evaporate. We arrived as the sun was setting and began with the warm colors of sunset and transformed into the cool colors of early evening. Wonderful!

Sunset colors at Badwater Basin.
Sunset colors at Badwater Basin.
Twilight colors at Badwater Basin.
Twilight colors at Badwater Basin.
Delicate salt crystals, Badwater Basin.
Delicate salt crystals, Badwater Basin.

The next day started with a sunrise photo session on the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. Well, not quite sunrise—we were a few minutes late! The morning light was quite nice on the dunes but what I really wanted was sand without footprints. A bit of searching turned up this nice bit of pristine sand.

Morning light at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.
Morning light at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.
Panorama of Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.
Panorama of Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.

We followed that with an afternoon hike up Fall Canyon (near the better known Titus Canyon). Fall Canyon is accessible by foot traffic only and has more of a backcountry feel than its neighbor. The canyon reaches a pour-over that can be passed with a bit of climbing and scrambling. This leads to a narrow, serpentine, water-polished section of the canyon that is truly magnificent. Hikers that turn back at the pour-over are missing a great section—perhaps even the best section—of the canyon.

Massive walls and slots of Fall Canyon.
Massive walls and slots of Fall Canyon.
Narrow slots of Fall Canyon.
Narrow slots of Fall Canyon.

We returned to the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes after dark to stargaze and create star trail photographs of the night sky with the dunes lighted by the crescent moon.

Star trails over Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.
Star trails over Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.

Another morning, another visit to the sand dunes and this time we were there well before sunrise. The temperature was probably around 40 degrees—which was fine as long as there was no breeze. There was a breeze. The sunrise colors on the dunes were spectacular and we were rewarded with these delicately sculpted dunes with beautiful interplay between light and shadow.

Delicately sculpted dunes at sunrise.
Delicately sculpted dunes at sunrise.
Morning light at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.
Morning light at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.

After a quick lunch we went to Mosaic Canyon. This is a slot canyon best known for its smooth and polished marble. After a short hike through the marble narrows the canyon appeared to be blocked by rockfall but a bypass was possible to one side—and onwards we went finding another section of narrows.

Polished marble of Mosaic Canyon.
Polished marble of Mosaic Canyon.
The second narrows in Mosaic Canyon.
The second narrows section in Mosaic Canyon.

We paid a visit to the Furnace Creek Ranger Station to get some information and came away with some great hiking ideas. So, late in the afternoon we headed to Salt Creek. This is a running—albeit salty—creek through the desert. We were astonished at the marvelous riparian zone and wetlands formed by this creek. We finished the hike with very nice sunset colors over the peaks and reflected in the waters.

Salt Creek---water in Death Valley.
Salt Creek—water in Death Valley.
Sunset along the Salt Creek Trail.
Sunset along the Salt Creek Trail.

Our last hike was in the lightly visited Sidewinder Canyon. The attraction here is the many small side canyons that are exceptionally narrow and deep with little light penetrating downwards. Flashlights are useful here.

Narrow side canyon in Sidewinder Canyon.
Narrow side canyon in Sidewinder Canyon.
Salt flats in the south end of the valley.
Salt flats in the south end of the valley.

And, then, it was time to drive home. We very much enjoyed the days of hiking in pleasant weather in the middle of winter. I would like to return—soon—and visit many of the other wonderful locations in Death Valley National Park.

Comet C/2012 S1 ISON in the morning sky

Comet C/2012 S1 ISON (or just “ISON” for short) has been in the news for many months. Some have predicted that it will be the comet of the year…or decade…or whatever. So far, it’s been just a normal comet that isn’t easily seen without at least binoculars this week or a telescope in previous weeks and months.

ISON is rapidly heading for a close encounter with the sun and, if it survives, should become a brighter and more interesting celestial object in the next few weeks.

Earlier this week, ISON began to brighten as it approached the sun. At the same time, it was moving into morning twilight and the moon was high in the sky. These two factors made it more difficult to see the faint tail of the comet. Still, it was worth getting up in the pre-dawn hours and setting up the camera to get some images.

Below is a composite of images taken on 17 November and 18 November. They clearly show how far the comet moved in a 24-hour period.

Comet ISON in the morning twilight of a cold November morning.
Comet ISON in the morning twilight of a cold November morning.

A larger view shows Comet ISON in the upper right with the planet Mercury rising above the clouds in the lower left.

Comet ISON and planet Mercury in early morning twilight.
Comet ISON and planet Mercury in early morning twilight.

Hopefully Comet ISON will become a bright object in the sky in late November and early December — and prove some of predictions correct.