A way cool scene in the early morning hours today. The waning crescent moon looked gorgeous and just above it, Venus was shining brightly. The conjunction brought together the two brightest objects in the night sky with the moon seeming to smile at the distant planet. As I was on my way to work, I didn’t have much time to play but stopped and grabbed a few captures.
Meteor streaks across the Colorado skies
Perhaps we will call it #MeteorMonday? Going back to late August on a camping trip to the high country. I stuck my GoPro on top of the RV and let it record captures continuously for four hours until it ran out of battery. With light from a restroom lighting up the trees, I wasn’t sure what I would get but it turned out pretty cool.
In one of the captures was this, a meteor streaking across part of the frame. As the GoPro has a very wide-angle lens, I couldn’t crop it much but was able to do it enough to highlight the rock as it entered the atmosphere.
Six years ago today: The Great American Eclipse
Oh, what an amazing experience this was, one that took my breath away. When my brother and I started planning an RV trip to go to Wyoming to see the solar eclipse, I figured it would be pretty cool. I sorely underestimated the experience.
It is hard to explain what it was like but it was beyond my wildest dreams. At its maximum, the sky turned as dark as if it was dusk, temperatures plunged and it became incredibly silent. Just amazing. This image, one which I have not shared before, shows the eclipse as totality ended and the sun began to emerge from behind the moon – part of what is called the ‘diamond ring’ phase of the eclipse.
There will be another total solar eclipse visible in the United States on April 8, 2024. That one would require me to travel a long ways and that time of year there would be a greater risk of the weather preventing viewing but I have to admit to being tempted to try to see it.
Stars (and clouds) above the forest
Playing with my GoPro Hero 9 again. Trying for the Milky Way was out of the question as I knew there were lights to the south (Black Hawk). Instead, I just pointed the camera up from our campsite and figured I would see what I could get. Mother Nature, unfortunately, sent some clouds through but it still make for a cool show. The trees are lit up by lights from the campground bathroom – actually worked out well. 😉 One frame did have a meteor and another part of the Starlink satellite constellation. I will post those images in the comments. This is pretty much 4 hours compressed to 14 seconds. Taken at Colorado Parks and Wildlife Golden Gate Canyon State Park.
Video: The Milky Way in Motion
Kind of a fun little experiment from a few weeks ago. I shared a still image of this scene back then, taken with my camera, which came out pretty good. This video is a timelapse of a series of images taken with my GoPro Hero 9. Certainly it doesn’t have the capability of my “big” camera, but it didn’t do too bad. I think with some changes in the settings at the time, it could have been better. This is a series of 253 images shot over a little more than two hours played to last 13 seconds or so.
Milky Way over the VRBO
This past weekend we had a big family get-together, a Christmas present to my mom. Mom, her kids, grandkids and great grandkids all gathered for a weekend of family and fun. Our chosen location, a beautiful Vrbo west of Fairplay, Colorado.
Tucked into the forest and well away from city lights, it provided a very early morning photo opportunity. My brother and I ventured out into the blackness and trained our cameras on the Milky Way to the south. The sheer number of stars you see when you get away from the light pollution of the city is stunning, something I miss greatly when back home in suburbia.
Image taken with my usual Canon EOSR5 and my latest lens, a Canon RF15-35mm F2.8 L IS USM.
The Milky Way and a red meteor in Colorado’s high country
Perhaps we call it Milky Way Monday or Meteor Monday?
I always say astrophotography isn’t my strong suit but, despite that, I do enjoy getting out there and trying. Two weeks ago, it was a new moon and we were camped at close to 10,000 feet. That was an opportunity I couldn’t resist.
I scouted the spot I wanted to use beforehand and had it all pictured in my mind. Well, Mother Nature and another photographer kind of threw wrinkles into the plan. I had hoped for calm conditions to allow for reflections on the lake. Nope, there was wind (and it was cold!). Additionally, I wanted a huge boulder in the foreground and was going to “light paint” it with my flashlight to provide some interest. There was, however, another photographer there that had already started a time lapse so light painting was out of the question as I didn’t want to screw up his captures.
As it was, I pointed my camera toward the Milky Way and shot it as best I could. That was okay though as it was still fun and the core of our galaxy looked absolutely beautiful. To the top right you can even see a red meteor entering and burning up in our atmosphere. That glow emanating from the left are the lights from the city of Boulder.
Daytime waning gibbous moon
Let’s call it Moon Monday.
Much of yesterday morning was spent either waiting for a photo subject to do something or driving around just trying to find a photo subject. Getting bored waiting for an elk herd to decide if they were going to move closer or not, I pointed my camera up to the gorgeous moon hovering above.
I know the full moon gets all the press but it is the earlier / later stages that truly make it shine. The slightly offset light really help to bring out the depth of the craters and other features on the surface.
Taken in Boulder County, Colorado.
The Great Conjunction
I am the first to admit that I kinda suck at astrophotography. I just really struggle making things work and look the way I want and tonight wasn’t really any different.
My chosen location didn’t provide for any unique compositions and without going crazy in Photoshop (which I refuse to do), things pretty much looked like bright lights in the sky. Haha!
Having said that, it was pretty neat. I captured Jupiter and three of its moons and was able to get Saturn and its rings. At least that is somewhat different and something I haven’t done before.
Tonight’s celestial show – the crescent moon and Jupiter and Saturn!
Tonight’s celestial show – the crescent moon and #Jupiter and Saturn! Oh, and if you look close, you can see a couple of Jupiter’s moons too. All of this gearing up for next week’s “Christmas star” show when Jupiter and Saturn will be in conjunction. Be sure to click for the full view.
Thank you to my friend, David, providing a heads up to get outside with my camera right away.