View allAll Photos Tagged LargeMagellanicCloud
I posted another shot of Gog and Magog - two of the 12 Apostles off the southern coast of Victoria in Australia - last week but this one was taken almost exactly a year earlier in March 2018.
The Milky Way is at a different angle here as the shot was taken just before dawn. The light on the far right is a ship in the distance.
The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), 160,000 light years away, is between the two sea stacks and just above it, to the left, is the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), all of 200,000 light years away.
The 12 Apostles on the Great Ocean Road are difficult to approach. The only real way down to the beach is down the Gibson Steps, cut into the limestone near the Gog & Magog seastacks. It's fun descending at 3am on a moonless night when the Milky Way is the only source of light!
To the right of the Milky Way are the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), 160,000 light years away, and to the right of the LMC is the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), all of 200,000 light years away.
Prior to taking the shot of the sun breaking over the Twelve Apostles that I posted a couple of days ago, I was on the beach at the Gibson Steps photographing another apostle. It's either Gog or Magog - I'm sure somebody will let me know - and it couldn't have been a nicer morning.
Morning? It was pitch black - the sun wouldn't rise for an other couple of hours and the little sliver of a crescent moon was also still an hour away - and the sky was literally heavenly.
On the left of the sea stack is the Milky Way rising. The southern cross is visible to the left of the Coalsack. Directly above the sea stack is the Large Magellanic Cloud and to the right is Canopus, the second brightest star in the sky. The Small Magellanic Cloud is just about visible through that wispy cloud between the sea stack and Canopus.
I could have spent hours watching it.
In fact, I did.
EXIF: 14mm; f2.4; 30secs; ISO1600
First light for my new camera lens, a Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX II, used with a Vixen Polarie mount to compensate for the spin of the Earth during the long exposure.
A reworked version of an old photo from Namibia - a quiver tree taken at Canyon Lodge, a wonderful place to stay near the Fish River Canyon.
A quiver tree is a type of aloe that is really only found in southern Namibia and the Cape province in South Africa. In this shot, it is lit up by the parking lights of our car which was parked about 100m away. The sky was incredibly dark and the Milky Way looked amazing that night.
If you look closely enough, you can see a little meteorite travelling through the Large Magellanic Cloud to the right of the quiver tree. I only noticed it when I was processing the photo some time later.
LMC , Large magellanic cloud 031222, 30 x 30 sec exposures with takuma 135mm lens on a QHY 183cPRO astr cooled camera.
The Milky Way and Large Magellanic Cloud over an acacia tree in Ndutu Conservation Area near the Serengeti, Tanzania, East Africa
Back to one of my favourite subjects: the Milky Way above the limestone stacks of Gog and Magog - two of the 12 Apostles off the southern coast of Victoria in Australia.
This shot was taken in 2019, having descended the Gibson Steps in complete darkness to get to the beach below. The shot is a single exposure with a bit of playing around in Photoshop to get the foreground to stand out, plus that wonderful new 'denoise' button to eliminate a lot of the graininess you get at 5000 ISO.
The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), 160,000 light years away, is in the top centre of the shot and just below it is the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), all of 200,000 light years away.
No matter how many times I see the Milky Way like this, it's always an inspiring sight. The dark Coal Sack Nebula is now visible immediately below the Southern Cross, and directly above the foreshore house lights, the Large Magellanic Cloud is a standout from the Milky Way.
IRIX 15mm f2.4 Blackstone
Part of
The Large Magellanic Cloud
A Milky Way Satellite Galaxy
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Image exposure: 75 minutes.
Image size: 2.12 º x 1.41º.
Image date: 2022-09-25
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The view south from the bottom of the Gibson Steps, on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia. A shot from November 2015.
Two of the most dramatic limestone sea stacks known as the Twelve Apostles are Gog and Magog. They are the only ones that visitors can get close to, via the Gibson Steps. All the others have to be viewed from the 70m clifftops.
EXIF: 24mm; f/22; 318 secs; ISO400
"Located about one kilometre east of the Twelve Apostles Visitor Facility are the Gibson Steps, a set of steps from a car park which lead down to Gibson Beach which provides access, at beach level, to the Twelve Apostles. The original steps were carved into the rock by Hugh Gibson, an early owner of Glenample Homestead. They have been improved over the years and offer a sea level view of the "stacks" that make up the Twelve Apostles. The two that are viewable from the beach are known as Gog and Magog."
Actually a pre-dawn shot from the beach at the Gibson Steps in Victoria, Australia. In the centre is one of the Twelve Apostles - either Gog or Magog.
On the left of the sea stack is the Milky Way rising. The southern cross is visible to the left of the Coalsack. Directly above the sea stack is the Large Magellanic Cloud and to the right is Canopus, the second brightest star in the sky. The Small Magellanic Cloud is visible between the sea stack and Canopus.
Nikon d5100
Tokina 11-16mm @ 16mm
ISO 5000
f2.8
6 x 25 seconds
This is a 6 shot panorama, stitched in PTGui. The light pollution behind the lighthouse is from the city of Perth, Western Australia approximately 115km south of Guilderton.
Another Milky Way shot from Australia - a trip across the Simpson Desert in June 2017. Note how the Milky Way is "upside down" compared to this November 2017 shot of the Gibson Steps.
Our campsite was just north of the QAA Line on the border between Queensland and the Northern Territory. The Small Magellanic Cloud is visible on the left while the Large Magellanic Cloud is in the centre just above the horizon.
EXIF: 14mm; f/2.8; 30 secs; ISO3200.
Night sky photo of the milk way on the right and on the left the Small Magellanic Cloud and the Large Magellanic Cloud. The Carina nebula is visible near the bottom on the right. The four stars that make up the Crux are also visible midway up above the Carina Nebula. The bright star just above the small Magellanic Cloud is called 47 Tucanae and is fact not a star but a globular cluster located in the constellation Tucana.
The "mountain" in the background is called Mt Pirongia.
This image is made up of two images blended PP in Affinity Photo:
One photo was taken just after sunset at ISO 6400, f2.8 (should have been f13), and 109 sec exposure.
The second photo is of the night sky itself and was taken an hour after sun set @ ISO 3200, f2.8 and 15 sec exposure.
I adjusted the highlights and darks and applied prime noise reduction.
Any hints, tips and positive criticism are welcome.
Reworking of an old shot from a trip across the Simpson Desert in Australia in June 2017.
Our campsite was just north of the QAA Line on the border between Queensland and the Northern Territory. The Small Magellanic Cloud is visible on the left while the Large Magellanic Cloud is in the centre just above the horizon.
Dawn at the Twelve Apostles National Park, Victoria, Australia.
Gog and Magog are the giant seastacks on the right.
This one consists of 30 portrait oriented photos - 15 top and 15 bottom. Processed using PTGui. I light painted the foreground with a hand held spotlight.
A satellite cruises past the Large Magellanic Cloud last night. Single frame with PENTAX-D FA 150-450mm f4.5-5.6 plus Astrotracer. Cuttagee, NSW Far South Coast, Australia
Nikon D5100
Tokina AT-X Pro 11-16mm
12 x 25 seconds
ISO 2000
f2.8
12mm
This is a 12 shot panorama of the waning crescent moon (also called the old moon) rising under the Milky Way taken at the Gnangara pine plantation 60km north of Perth, Western Australia. I used Microsoft ICE to stitch this one. The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds can be seen just above the glow of the city's light pollution to the bottom right of the photo.
This is my first astro pano :)
It consists of 18 portrait orientated photos, 9 at the bottom and 9 at the top. I used PTGui to stitch the photos together, it wasn't a fully automated process as I was asked to assign control points to several of the photos but it was a painless process nonetheless and I would definitely recommend this program.
This particular shot was something I had planned on prior to my trip. I had read a few tutorials and away I went. I'm glad all the shots fit together, I was worried that I mucked up a couple. The pano itself stretches about 160 degrees, almost going all the way from east to west.
The Milky Way night sky filled with stars over the rural countryside in Blayney, Central West, NSW, Australia.
50mm
f1.8
ISO 5000
103 x 6 seconds
Stitched in PTGui
This is another 50mm panorama taken at Serpentine Dam, not far from the outskirts of the Perth metropolitan area so I had to deal with quite a bit of light pollution, as you can see.
The Magellanic Clouds can be seen above the dam tower.
I am fascinated by the African skies, during the day and at night, this image is a panorama of 3 shots in the Namib desert, among the majestic Quiver trees, a sky full of stars that shone intensely, suddenly I was amazed when I observed the LMC (Large Magellanic Cloud) to my left, satellite dwarf galaxy of the Milky Way, 163,000 light years away, visible in the southern hemisphere.
Nikon d5500
50mm
ISO 4000
f/2.8
Foreground: 22 x 30 seconds
Sky: 24 x 30 seconds
iOptron SkyTracker
Hoya Red Intensifier filter
This is a 46 shot panorama of the Crux/Carina region of the Milky Way at The Pinnacles Desert about two hours north of Perth in Western Australia.
The Carina Nebula can be seen just left of centre and further above that is the diamond shaped constellation, Crux, also known as the Southern Cross. The Large Magellanic Cloud can be seen on the far left, just above the horizon.
Nikon d810a
50mm
ISO 6400
f/2.8
Foreground: 20 x 30 seconds
Sky: 58 x 30 seconds
iOptron SkyTracker
Hoya Red Intensifier filter
This is a 78 shot panorama of the non-core region of the Milky Way, visible over the summer months in the Southern Hemisphere, as it arches over the dry salt surface of a peripheral lake in the Cowcowing Lakes system, 2.5 hours north east of Perth in Western Australia.
I was hoping for a patchwork of pressure ridges, similar to what you would see in Death Valley or the Bolivian Salt Flats but the surface was mostly flat, with long lines of quite large ridges across the surface. You can see me in the distance at the intersecting lines of two ridges.
Prominent in this image is the Large Magellanic Cloud in the top right corner. Diagonally left is the pink Carina Nebula, just above Crux aka the Southern Cross. The large red region a little further up is the H-Alpha emitting Gum Nebula. On the left is Orion and Barnard's Loop with the California Nebula just visible behind the airglow above the horizon.
50mm + Hoya red intensifier
76 x 6 seconds
ISO 3200
f/1.8
This one was a near disaster. I drove 125km to this location only to be thwarted by cloud cover. My first thought was to get back in the car and head home but I decided to go ahead and keep shooting in the hope it would clear by the time I got to the more interesting bits and thankfully it did.
The Hoya red intensifier filter gives the clouds their colour and also makes some nebula stand out including the Carina Nebula on the right side of the image. A mining operation a few km away is the source of the light reflecting off the clouds in the middle. As always, the Large Magellanic Cloud is prominent near the bottom right.
This was shot at Harvey Dam approximately 125km south of Perth in Western Australia.
Nikon d5100
11 x 25 seconds
f2.8
ISO 5000
11mm
Stitched in MS ICE
11 shot panorama taken on the dam wall of Canning Reservoir in Western Australia. The dam was built in 1940 and is still a major source of fresh water for the city.
Mars can be seen shining brightly in the top left corner, just a week after opposition. The light pollution on the right is from the Perth suburb of Armadale, just 10km away.
Nikon d810a
50mm
ISO 8000
f/2.5
Foreground: 14 x 20 seconds
Sky: 48 x 30 seconds
iOptron SkyTracker
Hoya Red Intensifier filter
This is a 62 shot panorama of the Milky Way rising over the northern end of Lake Ninan, a little over 2 hours north east of Perth in Western Australia.
I wasn't initially planning to visit this location but was persuaded to go by two local astrophotographers who I joined earlier in the night at another spot. Turned out to be a great idea as this is probably the best 'dead tree lake' spot I've see in my area to date.
Prominent in this image are the Large & Small Magellanic Clouds, almost obscured by the light pollution from the Wheatbelt town of Calingiri on the right side. Just above them is the pink coloured Carina Nebula. On the left of course is the Sagittarius region, the brightest part of the core. Connected to that, by the Dark River, is the colourful Rho Ophiuchi Complex.
The Milky Way above one of the Twelve Apostles. It’s either Gog or Magog - I can never tell which of these dramatic limestone sea stacks is which. This is the view you get looking south from the bottom of the Gibson Steps, on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia. A shot from March 2018.
The Large Magellanic Cloud is in the bottom left of the shot and just to the left of the stack is Canopus, a massive star that is 10,000 times as luminous as the Sun and is the second brightest star in the sky. Oh, yes, and there's also a meteorite in the shot for good measure :-)
"Located about one kilometre east of the Twelve Apostles Visitor Facility are the Gibson Steps, a set of steps from a car park which lead down to Gibson Beach which provides access, at beach level, to the Twelve Apostles. The original steps were carved into the rock by Hugh Gibson, an early owner of Glenample Homestead. They have been improved over the years and offer a sea level view of the "stacks" that make up the Twelve Apostles. The two that are viewable from the beach are known as Gog and Magog."
Nikon d810a
50mm
ISO 6400
f/2.8
Foreground: 14 x 15 seconds
Sky: 49 x 30 seconds
iOptron SkyTracker
Hoya Red Intensifier filter
This is a 63 shot panorama of the Southern Hemisphere's summer Milky Way as it arches from the north (left side of the image) to the south above Harvey Dam, 1.5 hours south of Perth in Western Australia.
Prominent in this image is the pink, petal shaped Carina Nebula and the Crux constellation in the centre right, in the top right corner is the Large Magellanic Cloud and to its left is the large, deep red Gum Nebula. On the left side is the easily recognisable Orion Nebula and Barnard's Loop. There's also quite a bit of green and red airglow above the horizon. The partially submerged tree in the dam was light painted with a hand held spotlight.
Nikon d810a
50mm
ISO 6400
f/3.2
Foreground: 12 x 20 seconds
Sky: 29 x 30 seconds
iOptron SkyTracker
Hoya Red Intensifier filter
This is a 41 shot panorama of the summer Milky Way arching over Harvey Dam about 1.5 hours south of Perth in Western Australia.
I have no idea how I captured that pink glow on the right horizon, it may be the very upper reaches of some aurora activity, which was just starting to pick up at the time, or it may just be a combination of the red intensifier filter and some dim light pollution. Regardless, the only other time I have captured something similar was just a few days earlier down at the Stirling Ranges.
Also prominent in this image is the Large Magellanic Cloud in the top right, diagonally down and left is the Carina Nebula and above that, the deep red Gum Nebula. On the left is the Orion Nebula and Barnard's Loop. There's also quite a bit of red and green airglow.
The beautiful country night sky filled with stars and the Large Magellanic Cloud in Blayney, Central West, NSW, Australia.
Canberra, Australia's capital city glows like a giant campfire in the night at over 100 kms away. Still the seeing at zenith and to the west was outstanding!
Nikon d5500
50mm
ISO 3200
f/2.5
Foreground: 37 x 6 seconds
Sky: 78 x 30 seconds
iOptron SkyTracker
Hoya Red Intensifier filter
This is a 115 shot panorama of the Milky Way above Lake Ninan, about two hours north east of Perth in Western Australia. I was hoping for some water in the lake but as you can see it was dry as a bone.
The light pollution on the right is from the nearby Wheatbelt town of Calingiri. Just to the left of this are the Large & Small Magellanic Clouds.
The Milky Way setting over Sisters Beach, North West Tasmania. Jupiter and Saturn above the galaxy. Around 02:40 hrs and an excellent early morning to be on the beach with clear skies and noctilucient clouds over the hills at the far end of the beach.
Haven't had a good run with the weather or commitments so far this winter. If I've had the time it's been cloudy or too much moon, if I've had other things to be done it's been clear.
Had to go back into last year's archive to revisit a 7 frame Milky Way stitch to keep on top of processing. Have previously posted a wider version of the view - this one is a little tighter and an entire reprocess - to remind myself what to do.
Nikon Z6, Nikkor Z 20mm f/1.8 S, 7 x 20 secs at 3200
In this mosaic image stretching 340 light-years across, Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) displays the Tarantula Nebula star-forming region in a new light, including tens of thousands of never-before-seen young stars that were previously shrouded in cosmic dust. The most active region appears to sparkle with massive young stars, appearing pale blue. Scattered among them are still-embedded stars, appearing red, yet to emerge from the dusty cocoon of the nebula. NIRCam is able to detect these dust-enshrouded stars thanks to its unprecedented resolution at near-infrared wavelengths.
To the upper left of the cluster of young stars, and the top of the nebula’s cavity, an older star prominently displays NIRCam’s distinctive eight diffraction spikes, an artefact of the telescope’s structure. Following the top central spike of this star upward, it almost points to a distinctive bubble in the cloud. Young stars still surrounded by dusty material are blowing this bubble, beginning to carve out their own cavity. Astronomers used two of Webb’s spectrographs to take a closer look at this region and determine the chemical makeup of the star and its surrounding gas. This spectral information will tell astronomers about the age of the nebula and how many generations of star birth it has seen.
Farther from the core region of hot young stars, cooler gas takes on a rust colour, telling astronomers that the nebula is rich with complex hydrocarbons. This dense gas is the material that will form future stars. As winds from the massive stars sweep away gas and dust, some of it will pile up and, with gravity’s help, form new stars.
Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI
Nikon d5500
85mm
ISO 4000
f/2.2
Foreground: 28 x 25 seconds
Sky: 71 x 25 seconds
iOptron SkyTracker
This is a 99 shot panorama of the Carina/Crux region of the Milky Way above Lake Clifton's thrombolites, the most ancient lifeforms on Earth. To the right of the image are the Magellanic Clouds, neighbouring galaxies which orbit our own once every 1500 million years.
The Carina Nebula is the petal shaped pink object near the top left corner. Below that is the oblong shaped dark nebula, CoalSack, and hanging off that to the left is the famous constellation, Crux, more commonly referred to as the Southern Cross.
Nikon d5500
35mm
9 x 30 seconds
f/2.2
ISO 4000
iOptron SkyTracker
Our neighbours above Lake Clifton, an hour south of Perth in Western Australia.
Thanks to Dolly and Kenny for the title :-)
The arc of the Milky Way hanging over the rocky outcrop of Sisters Island from Sisters Beach.
I tend to focus more on the other end of the MW to the south but with the band hanging out over Bass Strait and an expanse of flat, wet sand in front I had a crack at it from this angle.
Nikon Z6, Nikkor 14-30/4, two frame blend - 239 secs at f/4, ISO 1000 for the beach and the island and 25 secs at f/4, ISO 12800 for the sky FL ~14mm.
Even though I had the tracker with me I didn't set it up. Possibly should have done for this frame!
Milky Way Core setting over Sisters Beach and Rocky Cape National Park, Tasmania.
The view is pretty much SE to NW. In addition to the MWC, at left we have the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. These dwarf galaxies are ~166 - 200 LY from us and likely to to collide with us at some point. Just above the SMC is Canopus and below the LMC is Achernar (just made the crop!)
Above the core itself are Jupiter and Saturn and tucked away above the far end of the beach are some pretty cool noctilucient clouds I didn't actually notice until editing the frames. Finally Rocky Cape at extreme right where the lighthouse is just out of shot but the lume can be made out clearly.
Nikon Z6, Nikkor Z 20/1.8 S, 12 portrait frame stitch at 20 secs, f/2.2, ISO 3200. Manual WB at 3800K. 02:40 Hrs 2020/07/23
Sisters Beach has a tide of around 8' rise and fall and I was hoping for a lot less water on the generally flat beach in order to pick up heaps of reflections but was not to be - it was about 1/2 tide on the flood...
Press "L" on your keyboard for maximum impact :-)
Nikon d5500
35mm
ISO 4000
f/2.2
6 x 30 seconds
iOptron SkyTracker
This is a 6 image panorama of the Large & Small Magellanic Clouds at Lake Ninan approximately 2 hours NE of Perth in Western Australia.
These two neighbouring galaxies can pretty much only be seen in the Southern Hemisphere. The LMC contains around 30 billion stars while the SMC contains just a few billion. The bright 'star' above the SMC is a globular cluster called 47 Tucanae containing around 500k stars.
The dark night sky with The Milky Way Galaxy filled with stars and a hint of the Southern Aurora from Blayney, Central West, NSW, Australia.
The Milky Way night sky filled with stars over the rural countryside in Blayney, Central West, NSW, Australia.
Lying within the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to ours 158,000 light years away in the constellation of Doradus, this nebula complex presents a Ha and OIII rich tapestry of colourful nebulae and star clusters. Data was gathered over multiple nights in a moonless sky for a total of 17 hours of total exposure time.
This is a natural colour palette image (I.e. an LRGB image augmented with Ha and OIII narrow band data).
NGC 2011: is a Open Cluster
NGC 2014: is a HII emission nebula surrounding an open cluster of stars. Along with NGC 2020 it makes up what is called the Cosmic Reef.
NGC 2020: an Oxygen emission structure erupting from a single central Wolf-Rayet star. Along with NGC 2014 it makes up what is called the Cosmic Reef.
NGC 2021: is a Open Cluster
NGC 2029 / 2030 is a HII Ionized region and is listed as part of Lucke-Hodge stellar association 82, along with NGC 2032 and 2035. NOTE: The coordinates for NGC 2029 and NGC 2030 were reversed between Herschel's original Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars and the New General Catalogue. Consequently, there is much confusion over what designation the object in this image should get. Depending on which source you look at, it could be either. Most images I've seen indicate 2030 as the correct catalogue number. However, I'm still confused.
NGC 2032: is an emission nebula and consists of NGC 2029, NGC 2035 and NGC 2040.
NGC 2035: is part of a complex of nebulae and stars, including NGC 2032 and NGC 2040. It consists of large bright gas clouds which are separated by dark dust clouds. NGC 2029, NGC 2032 and NGC 2035 are star-forming regions
NGC 2040: is a supernova remnant which contains an open cluster whose stars have a common origin and are drifting together through space. There are three different types of stellar associations defined by their stellar properties. NGC 2040 is an OB association, a grouping that usually contains 10–100 stars of type O and B — these are high-mass stars that have short but brilliant lives.
For an annotated version see: