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Here is lower right-hand section of the Milky Way Galactic Core together with the colourful Rho Ophiuchi Nebular Complex. This was taken two nights ago at our favourite astrophotography shooting location in Beckwith Township about 30 kms west of Ottawa.
Camera: Nikon D5500 unmodified
Lens: Nikon 50/1.8
Fliter: Hoya Intensifier anti-light pollution
Aperture: f2.8
ISO 400
Exposure: 2-minutes x 26 = 52 minutes total integration
Tracked on Sky Watcher Star Adventurer
Stacked in Pixinsight 1.8
Processed in Pixinsight 1.8, Photoshop CS5
I felt a little wild and crazy this morning so I went a little nuts with the colour intensity! Enjoy!
Il cielo era di un blu notte e la luna sembrava giacere su di esso come una ninfea che galleggia seguendo una corrente invisibile.
Willa Sibert Cather
... se vi capita di guardare la luna nel cielo, in quei momenti a metà fra luce e buio, la potete sentire galleggiare nello spazio sospesa... così lontana, ma così vicina.
Foto dal mio archivio, Padova
#luna #crescente #waning #moon #zoom #padova #cielo #sky #notte
South Stack lighthouse under a starlit sky.
Sitting here in the shadow of the headland you will see a hundred satelites, shooting stars, meteors and planes passing by, as the lighthouse and the distant lights of Dublin keep you company in the darkness.
This scene was pure magic and was worth the effort of staying up all night, freezing our fingers to the bone, and spending 4 hours in the car. This breath-taking celestial drama unfolds every night as we sleep peacefully in our beds. The wonders of the Universe never cease to amaze me!
The Milky Way Galaxy photographed at 4:30 am from a secluded dark location 2 hours west of Ottawa in Ardoch, Ontario, 150 kilometers away. Ottawa's light dome glows brightly in the distance straight ahead while the city of Kingston's light dome shines a brilliant white in the lower right of the frame. The bare winter trees stand in silent witness silhouetted against the flaming sky.
Technical info
Camera: Nikon D5500
Lens: Sigma 24-35/f2 Art
Tripod head: Sirui L-20S Pan/Tilt Head
Aperture F2
Exposure: 6 seconds x 28 images
ISO 3200
Focal length 24mm
Shooting order: 4 rows, 7 frames/row. I began shooting at the top row left side and work left to right then down to horizon row.
The 28 images were stitched together with Microsoft ICE
Final processing of stitched image done in Photoshop CS5
Phalaenopsis sp., most probably a hybrid of Phalaenopsis philippinensis. (*Note: this orchid is white, the lighting made it blueish.)
Minerals can be fascinating photographic subjects, but this one is literally otherworldly: it is a slice of a meteorite that originally fell to Earth in Northwest Africa. Special thanks to Scott Peterson for loaning me this ureilite specimen!
Sliced thin enough, this portion of the meteorite allows light to pass through, and if that light is cross polarized, you can see an abundance of colour due to birefringence. I know I’m throwing out some technical words here, but you can see a “normal” version of the crystal without cross-polarization here: donkom.ca/bts/meteorite-slice-normal.jpg - not all that impressive, right?
If you have two polarizing filters in opposition to one another, they essentially block nearly all the light; this is how variable neutral density filters work. If you put something in between the filters that mucks with the direction of the light, however, then it will not be completely “cancelled” by the second polarizing filter. Light waves that are now in a slightly different orientation can pass through the filter, which is what we’re seeing here.
In this case, you can see where different crystals in the meteorite formed. The effects of birefringence will be different for crystals with differing molecular alignment or composition, which creates this patchwork mosaic of colours.
This was shot on a Lumix S1R with a Mitutoyo Plan APO 10x microscope objective, configuring into a makeshift polarizing microscope that you can see here: donkom.ca/bts/polarizing-microscope.jpg . Easy to put all the pieces together using a Platypod Max and gooseneck arms, some crab clamps, and a bit of tinkering. Because I can’t get the slice to be perfectly parallel to the focal plane using such an imprecise instrument, I used my automated focusing rail (NOVOFLEX CASTEL-MICRO) to capture about a dozen frames for stacking purposes to ensure that everything was as sharp across the frame as possible.
With the “high resolution” mode activated on my Lumix S1R, I have half a mind to print a 60” x 40” version of this for my studio. The techniques for shooting cross-polarized crystals – of a much more terrestrial variety – is covered extensively in my new book: skycrystals.ca/product/pre-order-macro-photography-the-un... - I have heard people say it’s the best book on macro photography they have ever seen, and I hope you’ll agree if you get a chance to look through a copy. :)
The Eastern carving of the new celestial compass that now adorns Waitangi regional park. Napier, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand
Pigeon Point Lighthouse, Pescadero, CA.
The end of the Milky Way Galactic Core season for 2026 in my neck of the woods. Conditions were relatively good on this balmy night. It's also the last days of the Indian Summer season in the Bay Area.