Falling Star, Jupiter, Pleiades.
Tag: astrophotography
Perseids
After an evening nap Willow and I headed for the bush. We got out walked here and there, getting our bearings. It’s been awhile since we have been out at night looking skyward.
We were lucky to see several Perseid Meteors. Lucky as well to get a few pics.
It was clear and the moon, waning into a thin crescent, stayed down until mid morning.
We saw deer, an owl, porcupine and rabbits. Luckily Willow didn’t see the porcupines.
I can’t see in the dark like I used to. If I was younger I’d give tonight another go. I don’t think last night was the peak.
We were out of the mountains and at work on time at 5:30 am. Willow slept in the truck.
A very fine night.
Luck
Hoping for clear skies. I will be heading into the bush shortly to spend the night looking for Perseids, with plans to go straight to work in the morning. It should be a short day. I’ll be bushed and Willow will have to hang out at work for awhile.
The moon is close to new so won’t come up until about 4am so won’t be a problem. As long as the clouds and smoke can hold off it could be good viewing.
Judging the peak can be a crap shoot, I’ve been lucky and not so on occasion. The trick is being out where you have the best chance of seeing them. I compare it to fishing. You never catch anything if you don’t put a hook in the water. The truth is, catching them is only a part of the fun.
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Pulled some of the garlic today. It is Russian Red hardneck and looks good. Big bulbs that take up almost my entire palm.
The grasshoppers wanted no part of them. They were planted last October and had to be dislodged with a pitch fork and thoroughly shook to dislodge the soil.
Now I have to figure out what will be seed and what we can eat. Good gardeners say to save the biggest heads for seed.
It was a good year for garlic, despite the challenges the garden endured.
In the end, like most things, it comes down to luck. All you have to do is show up and put a line in the water.
Smoke
There is a forest fire burning close to us in Kootenay National Park. The fire is creating a lot of smoke and today it seemed to settle down into the valley bottom. It is not too bad and it could be much worse.
The sun came up red and set red. High in the sky it was a strange yellow that cast even hot light. I snapped the photo above a few minutes ago, hoping I would capture the sunspots. Smoke is an odd filter to use to photograph the sun, but it works.
The sunspot in the upper left is new, perhaps revealed as the sun rotates. It is called sunspot AR3372 and according to Spaceweather.com poses a threat for strong M-class solar flares.
The large sunspot in the lower middle of the frame is sunspot AR3363. These sunspots are much larger than earth.
There are also several other sunspots visible. The picture is not as sharp as I would like due to shooting, not only through smoke, but a few whispy clouds often prevalent near the horizon.
Spring Ridge
That’s Jimmy
Jimmy knocked himself out today. He struggled with a post of angle iron in the frozen ground. Finally it broke off and hit him in the head. He hit the ground, his radio on squelch. That’s Jimmy. If he does something he makes sure everyone notices.
Of course, once he came to, he wanted to keep working. He is small of stature, but strong as an army. That’s Jimmy.
Chilly
It is not often the cold is too much for Willow and I. Perhaps it is that we aren’t used to it, it having been a mild winter.
We headed for the south end of the lake. It surprised me that it dipped to -31°c. I took a few pictures but wasn’t really into it, my hands freezing on the aluminum tripod legs. Willow whined when we stopped to take photos.
I spotted Comet E3 ZTF and took a photo, however not that interesting as I had to point the camera almost straight overhead. It would be nice to try to take a photo with the 200mm lens, but I would need a sky tracker.
A fog started to roll in hastening our departure. The last thing I wanted to do is depend on a compass to find our way off the lake.
A damn cold morning.
Sliver
A thin new moon appeared before dark. Later Venus and Saturn showed up. The tripod stayed put, I ratcheted the new camera up to 5000 ISO and shot it handheld. It’s grainy, the detail leaves a little to be desired, just to be able to do it is something.
A skiff of snow, too little too plow, but enough to shovel. Later, it turned into a glorious day. If this keeps up, I may have to ask for a few days off. Nice winter days are the best days of the year and hard to come by.
Early Morning
Willow and I were up early with hope that the skies were clear. To our delight the stars were shining. So off to the other side of Swansea for dark skies to try and catch a glimpse of Comet 2022 E3 ZTF.
I couldn’t find it with my naked eye but was hopeful the camera could pick it up. I knew roughly where it should be located among the stars and pointed the camera in that direction.
Comet 2022 E3 ZTF has passed around the sun and is nearing its closest distance to Earth. The last time the comet passed near the sun was 50,000 years ago.
Sure enough, once home and the pictures downloaded I was able to locate the Comet, but it is very dim. I am not sure if I could be able to spot it with my eye alone. However, I stand a better chance now that I know exactly where to look.
It was nice to be out looking at the stars after, what seems, like a long stretch of overcast skies.
The occult
The full moon and Mars at opposition means we are all aligned.
Mars doesn’t seem as bright when it is beside a full moon, you have to squint.
The moon passed in front of Mars, occulting the bright red planet.
An occult means different things. For me it puts things in perspective.
Tonight was cloudy, luckily the camera sees better than I.
Palliser Pass 