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This is a 200° panorama of the arch of the northern Milky Way rising over the Badlands landscape of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. This was the night of May 31/June 1, 2024, when from this latitude of 50° 45' N the sky is not fully dark even in the middle of the night, here at about 1:30 a.m. MDT. So the sky retains a blue tint, especially to the north at left.
So this records quite a colorful sky contrasting with the earth tones of the Badlands landscape of eroded bentonite clay hoodoos, iron-rich rocks, and sagebrush. And I like the field of white flowers mimicking the stars above.
Adding to the sky colours are bands of green oxygen airglow, especially at centre to the east, and perhaps yellow sodium airglow at right. At left to the north the horizon is tinted pink from a faint arc of aurora borealis. A Kp5 show of Northern Lights was predicted for this night but nothing of the sort materialized!
The mass of stars toward the galactic centre at right in Sagittarius and Scorpius also glow with a combined yellow light, in part due to absorption of shorter wavelengths of starlight by interstellar dust in the spiral arms of the Galaxy. It is that obscuring dust that creates the dark regions along the Milky Way, splitting the Milky Way starting in Cygnus at top and extending at right down into Serpens..
The stars also have their own colours, such as blue Vega at top and yellow Arcturus at upper right. Yellow Antares in Scorpius shines above the hoodoo at lower right.
But the most striking sky colours are the red and magenta from glowing hydrogen gas in star-forming nebulas along the MilkyWay and toward the galactic core rising at right. I emphasized those through the use of a filter that isolates that red wavelength of "hydrogen-alpha" emitted by the nebulas. The most obvious H-alpha feature is the large round nebula at right, Sharpless 2-27 surrounding the star Zeta Ophiuchi above Scorpius. The red nebulas in the Milky Way to the left of Sh2-27 are from Messier objects and other faint nebulas in Sagittarius and Serpens.
At the top of the arch is the constellation of Cygnus, filled with red emission nebulas in thespiral arm we live in, the largest and brightest being the North America Nebula near the star Deneb. To the left farther along the Milky Way in the northeast are numerous nebulas in Cepheus, Cassiopeia and Perseus, most in the next spiral arm farther out from us. Much farther away, is the Andromeda Galaxy just rising at left.
However, it takes long exposures and special techniques to bring out the colours in what to the eye would be a dim black-and-white scene.
I shot this from the Trail of the Fossil Hunters, a favourite spot of mine, on a perfect spring night — mild, no wind, no smoke, no dew, and no bugs! The trail winds off up the hill as if toward the galactic centre.
TECH DETAILS:
This is a blend of 3 different 200° panoramas, all with the red-sensitive Canon Ra camera on the MSM Nomad tracker, and with the Canon RF15-35mm lens at 15mm and wide open at f/2.8 and with the camera in portrait orientation:
- A initial pano, untracked, of 16 segments 15° apart, each 2-minutes at ISO 3200, taken at night with just starlight and ambient sky light providing the illiumination. I shot an earlier "blue hour" panorama as well, shot before I could polar align the tracker, but I did not use it, as aligning it proved too difficult!
- Immediately afterwards, I turned on the tracker motor to take another 16 segments also at 15° spacings, each 1-minute exposures at ISO 1600 with no filter.
- The final panorama was again tracked, of 8 segments only 30° apart (still with sufficient overlap for stitching to work, and speeding up the shooting), and each 2-minute exposures at ISO 6400 with a 12nm bandwidth Astronomik H-alpha filter installed in front of the sensor (a "clip-in" filter). The lens has to be refocused after installing such a filter, no easy task with the heavily filtered image so dim.
Each pano was stitched in PTGui, then blended and masked with Photoshop, requiring a lot of manual warping to align them and to get the horizons to match. I used generative AI fill to add in content to fill otherwise blank corners in the ground pano. The H-alpha sky pano contributes just the red nebulas, via BlendIf and masking. I also used the StarXTerminator plug-in to eliminate the stars from that pano. A Nik Collection Color EFX filter added an "Orton" style glow effect. Adobe DeNoise AI was applied to the ground and unfiltered raw sky segments before stitching. Topaz Photo AI applied to the ground for some further mild sharpening. Most satellite trails removed with removal tools.
Again, all frames were shot in quick sucession from the same tripod position.
As a response to the devastating assault launched by the infected Blacktron forces in 2020, the IDC were prompted to develop a new class of Mecha weaponry.
The R&D department was given only one instruction: *** ALL THE GUNS! ***
And thus, the T-REX was born.
T-REX: Tactical Response to Extreme Xenophobia
Technical Specs:
2 main laser cannons, 2 detachable rocket pods, 2 rotary guns, 2 heavy artillery, 2 mixed-use launchers, anti-infantry undercarriage system, and detachable anti-air defenses. Seating two pilots to share the responsibility of driving and destruction, this beast is a FORCE to be reckoned with!
More photos available on Instagram @LEGO_Stud :)
I am honored to have already earned a Committee's Choice Award at our local Bricks Cascade BrickNic for this MOC, and look forward to sharing it in full-action-glory at the next in-person convention in 2022!
The Solar-Powered Interstellar Drone for Extraterrestrial Research (S.P.I.D.E.R.) is finally completed at the 'Moonbase Celebration 50'.
With onboard intelligence, a formidable assortment of tools, and unlimited renewable power, this endlessly useful companion is sometimes referred to as 'GRAMPS' - Giant Robotic Assistant & Mobile Power Station (especially by arachnophobic astronauts).
Future missions will be accompanied by these units, to aid in planetoid habitability investigation and geo/bio research. Manipulator arms, coupled with highly advanced sensors allow this drone to examine samples, move debris, haul equipment, and even carry out rescue operations for astronauts in danger.
Fully capable of traversing uneven terrain, and repelling into crevaces with it's winch, this robotic research assistant can go just about anywhere on atmospheric and non-atmospheric terrestrial landscapes.
Prepare to give Space exploration a leg-up (or six!) and take your celestial crew to a whole new level of awesome adventure with a giant (robot) S.P.I.D.E.R. on board!
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This MOC has been a journey, developing a seamless transition through System and CCBS/Bionicle elements. With adjustable Greebles to simulate actuators. Fully articulated through each leg, the model is stable, poseable, and quite dynamic (in-environment shots coming soon!).
The features include: adjustable solar arrays, whiskers, and rear hitches, poseable manipulator arms (3), legs with up to 12+ points of articulation each + working shock absorption, opening hatch to reveal central core, storage for a large assortment of space tools, and a working winch (which can support the full weight of the build).
Watch my video for a hands-on with the features: youtu.be/Q3HC0IzGPfc
Thanks for checking it out, I hope you enjoy it!
Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)
The result of 30+ hours of "pushing the outside of the envelope" in PixInsight image processing. See the 3.5 hour time-lapse animation here: flic.kr/p/2ofokk7
C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is a non-periodic comet from the Oort cloud. It reached perihelion (1.11 AU from the Sun) on 01/12 for the first time in 50,000 years. Since its orbit has changed, the comet will either return in many millions of years or be ejected into interstellar space. On 01/24, the comet clearly displayed an ion tail, dust tail, and rare anti-tail as Earth passed through its orbital plane. The green glow in the coma is the emission of diatomic carbon. It passed 0.28 AU from Earth on 02/01.
On the morning of 01/20, I took a huge gamble and tried to shoot this comet with my new Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. It was a massive sacrifice to sleep 3 hours, wake up at 02:00 EST, set up/troubleshoot the previously untested rig, shoot until dawn, pack everything up, and leave for a long, exhausting work day. After stacking the images later that day, I was extremely disappointed with the result.
The otherwise fantastic lens suffers from internal reflections that are impossible to correct or remove. I spent days desperately trying to salvage the data with new calibration frames, different focus distances, etc., but I realized it was no use. From what I can tell it seems to be a pupil ghost (www.cloudynights.com/topic/536295-flat-not-correcting-cen...) caused by the glass elements and/or reflective rings inside, and there is no solution. I would have discovered the issue if I had tested it before. It was an excruciating lesson to learn.
Somehow, I was lucky enough to get another clear morning on 01/24. This time, I switched back to my trusted and proven deep-sky telescope. I woke up at 01:00 (4 hours of sleep), set everything up to start shooting around 03:00, packed up at dawn, and left for another long, painful day at work. Comet image processing was another mountain to climb, but I figured out a good workflow (influenced by Adam Block's technique: youtu.be/TaEwvC1lzKM) after 10 days of experimenting. The hard work has finally paid off and I'm super proud of this result!!
Apparent magnitude: 5.6
Distance from Earth: 0.40 AU
Orbital period: 50,000 years (before) / unknown (after)
Velocity (relative to Sun): 24.6 mile/s (39.7 km/s)
Total integration: 2 hours 8 minutes
128 x 60 seconds ISO1250
01/24/23 07:55 to 11:25 UTC
Location: Summerville/Ladson, SC
SQM: 18.87 mag/arcsec^2 (Bortle 6)
Camera: Canon 7D Mark II (stock/unmodified)
Telescope: Explore Scientific ED80 f/6.0 Apochromatic Refractor (with ES field flattener)
Mount: Orion Sirius EQ-G
Guide scope: Svbony 50mm f/4.0 Guide Scope
Guide camera: ZWO ASI224MC
Capture software: N.I.N.A., ASTAP, PHD2
Processing software: PixInsight, Paint.NET
For anyone interested, I wrote up a thorough summary of my PixInsight image processing journey here: www.cloudynights.com/topic/862530-comet-c2022-e3-ztf-30-h...
I have just returned from a week on the Isle of Wight. Whilst there I decided to head out a couple of times to see if I could capture the Milky Way. There is so little light pollution on the south of the island, and with no moon the conditions proved favourable.
I am grateful for an comments you may wish to leave.
The Ranger from the 2014 movie Interstellar by Christopher Nolan. This specific vehicle from the movie interested me a lot, and I was able to build it in Lego form. A specific challenge of the build was the narrow profile of the spacecraft, and a lot of angled bricks were used to get this shape.
Joined by four other talented Flickrites, I took pictures of my 501st Legion buddies yesterday morning walking through downtown Portland. Even the evil Empire supports mass transit! No better way to get to the detention block in the morning. :-)
This is a composition of broadband filters and narrow data with a RC 10" and Apogee U9
L: 34x900s
RGB: (22, 10, 22)x900s
Ha: 67x900s
Processing: R. Colombari
Data: C. Iaffaldano
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NGC 206 is a bright star cloud in the Andromeda Galaxy. It is notable for being the brightest star cloud in Andromeda as viewed from Earth.
Features[edit]
NGC 206 is the richest and most conspicuous star cloud in the Andromeda Galaxy as well as one of the largest and brightest star formation regions of the Local Group.[2] It contains more than 300 stars brighter than Mb=-3.6.[3] It was originally identified by Edwin Hubble as a star cluster but today, due to its size, it is classified as an OB association.[4]
NGC 206 is located in a spiral arm of the Andromeda Galaxy, in a zone free of neutral hydrogen and has a double structure, with one region that has an age of around 10 million years and includes several H II regions in one of its borders and other with an age of between 40 million years and 50 million years that includes a number of cepheids. Both parts are separated by a band of interstellar dust and include hundreds of stars of spectral type O and B.[5]
Source: Wikipedia
Traveled to deep space into the Lockman Hole region to photograph this Launchpad for alien spacecrafts. Stopped off at an unnamed planet's moon orbiting the star Alcor for dinner. The alien restaurant was ok. The food was great, but the place had no atmosphere. :P
Classic Science Fiction 70's Art - The interstellar Queen
Here is my tribute to classic Science Fiction Art of the 70’s. I remember the gorgeous spaceship art on book covers from that period which eventually led me to picking up Steward Cowley’s book Spacecraft 2000 to 2100 AD. Essentially an ensemble of fantastic space art from talented visual artists, which Cowley cleverly presents in a believable historical reference guide. For me, one ship stood out from the rest, the space liner Interstellar Queen.
And here it is presented in Lego form, my build of artist Angus Mckie’s graceful swan like space liner from the book. I’ve tried to capture the classic lines of the ship without altering too much of Mckie’s original design. I was a little apprehensive at first about the boxy nature of the hull, but seeing the finished model, I think she does have a certain charm about her. I had to make some changes to the rear of the ship and engine placement. This was due in part to the shaping of the Lego hull. The original technical drawing of the rear of the Interstellar Queen can be found in the book.
Specification of the Lego model
Length : 63cm
Width : 32cm
Height : 20cm (excluding base)
Build time : 1.5 months
The model is displayed in a space dock setting at her intended flight angle. Docking clamps hold her in place. I would have liked landing gear, but that made the model very unstable. The dock setting provides more stability.
Here at Minerva Tactical Systems, Inc., we pride ourselves on exceeding our customers' expectations in performance, technology and readiness. Our premium outpost package includes:
Intueris communications center
-full radar, sonar, infrared and microwave system integration
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-Arcus defense suite
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Accipiter recon and attack fighter
-Velox propulsion system
-Arcus four-barrel cannon and twin quad-missile packs
Sagittarius ground to air attack and support vehicle
-Hasta long range rocket
-Arcus quad-missile pack and double barrel small cannon
Please view our catalog for more information.
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another resin painting. 9x12. available at unicoherent.com in the Original Art section.
This is actually the first of 4 resin paintings using the same colors. With this first piece, I was experimenting with ULTRA-low-viscosity resin. It really did flow like water. It was so thin that it covered the canvas with a ton left over. Obviously I didn't want to waste the resin so I started a 2nd piece that was 16x20". However as I started to work that piece the resin started to overheat and cure so quickly that one cup had a solid lump in it. That second piece remains unfinished. I decided to try making more with regular-low-viscosity resin. I started with a 16x20, which I sold before I got any really good photos of, though I may still post one of the mediocre photos, I'm not sure. And I always seem to mix more resin than I need so I created the 4th piece, which is Partial Eclipse Outwards.
Strobist info - Metz 48af1 reflected in the surface of a soap bubble. Processing using fractal plugin.
Interstellar Pelican Cloud Covers Sun Spans Tampa Bay Florida - IMRAN™
We all often recognize animal shapes or human faces in the shapes of clouds that form and dissiipate above us every day. But sometimes the shapes can be so specific it makes me wonder. I often see general bird shapes, sometimes doves, and eagles. But a pelican?! There is absolutely no tweaking done to try to make a pelican shape. This is exactly how the cloud formation was in front of across Tampa Bay, as this massive god of interstellar pelicans seemed to cover the sun and span the width of Tampa Bay. You can make out the white caps in the water on this very windy day. I have one purely unedited image of the same pelican cloud. But this one was made from 4 Nikon D300 photos providing a lot more detail and smoothness of colors if you zoom in.
© 2017 IMRAN™