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Stuff in the Sky: A Lighthearted Look

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3K views 39 replies 8 participants last post by  PhilR 
#1 · (Edited)
......
 
#2 ·
Since we're being light hearted....I suck at birds....
Either out of focus:
Water Wood Body of water Coastal and oceanic landforms Plant


Or I realize my lens is dirty:
Sky Bird Accipitridae Falcon Beak


Sometimes get a descent one - but there's always something off that requires editing. Too far away or general comp is no bueno/timing was off.
Water Sky Bird Boat Lake


Water Plant Azure Coastal and oceanic landforms Wind wave


Guessing it has more to do with technique than good glass, but I wouldn't mind an upgrade on the glass side.

They sure are fun to try to shoot though.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Or I realize my lens is dirty:
View attachment 295555
Those light halos are actually dust spots on your sensor (I think that is what you are referencing?) Self-fix is a catch-22 if you want to avoid taking it to a shop $. You can carefully try a quick light blast or two of canned air and hopefully not blow more particles on the sensor (look up camera manual to find out how to set controls on camera for this procedure if camera has a mirror).

Dust is often staticly drawn to the sensor to add to the headache. Many camera brands, like Olympus, have a built in sensor shake on camera start up to help dislodge.
 
#6 ·
There are also sensor cleaning kits, most use swabs with a cleaning fluid. There is one kit that uses an adhesive to pick dust off the sensor, but I've been warned off this sort as they may leave residue on the sensor.

cheers
 
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#12 ·
Well, the wife seems to be encouraging my explorations, and as such, I have a new setup; an Ioptron Skyguider Pro, which will allow me long exposures of stuff in the night sky.

View attachment 298998

Just getting to know tolerances and capabilities; early Saturday morning took it out for a first test drive:

30 second exposure using just tripod:

View attachment 299005

30 second exposure using the Skyguider:

View attachment 299006

Then, 100 stacked 30 second exposures (ISO 400) of the Orion Nebula; compare this to #7 above, so much cleaner.

View attachment 298996

Then this early morning went out to push it out further, 2 minute exposures, unfortunately, moon is filling and high thin clouds were pushing through, so I didn't bother to go to my high mountain dark sky spot, but still, a stack of 40 X 2 minute exposures (ISO 400) of the Pleiades (AKA 7 Sisters, M45, Subaru), an open star cluster containing middle-aged, hot (blue) B-type stars:

View attachment 299007

This should greatly expand my explorations of stuff in the sky - think this will mean I need to get up even earlier when I go fishin'.

cheers
Good stuff! One of the biggest challenges is finding sharp focus. Lenses tend to focus past infinity, so it is critical to know where to set it. It all comes down to knowing your gear/set-up intimately because it is dark and often cold too.

Here's a shot from Wyoming a couple years ago with my Oly m4/3. Painted some light on the Jeep with a flashlight. The glow of the lights in the tent came out nice but it took a lot of experimentation to get the balance right. Focus could have been better, a little noisy too...

edit: Weird how the reduced version looks a lot darker.
01e770d81a5461e44cab7e02ece4774f23f3a182ac.jpg
 
#17 ·
Went out Saturday night/Sunday morning galaxy hunting; however, due to various mishaps and unforced errors, I ended up having to swith targets and ended up with nebulae:

Nebula (nebulae plural) are diffuse stuff in the sky, composed of cosmic dust, hydrogen, helium, and molecular clouds. Nebulae originally referred to any diffuse looking bit of stuff, including other galaxies (eg, Andromeda was originally Andromeda Nebula); however, Vesto Slipher, Edwin Hubble and others demonstrated that galaxies were in fact an entirely different type of stuff.

There are 4 basic types of nebulae (and then some subtypes of those, such as emission nebulaeand reflection nebulae):
Below is a stack of 28 x 90s exposures (f/5.6; ISO 1600) - not the greatest, think my polar alignment was slightly off (kicked the tripod while fumbling in the dark?) - but how many nebulae do you see?

View attachment 301533

Cheers
 
#27 ·
Well, it's been a busy week, with all sorts of stuff happening in the night sky. Thankfully, the skies somewhat cleared and the moon was waning, so I was able to take advantage.

A couple of new galaxies. Well, OK, they're not new, they've been around for a while, but they are new to me.

Pinwheel Galaxy (M101) is one of several spiral galaxies. What makes it spectacular is it is relatively face-on; thus, you can really see the spirals. It is relatively close by, a mere 27 million light years away. It is thought to be about twice the size of our Milky Way. Right now it is relatively low in the horizon, so hopefully better shots in the spring. A stack of 29 x 90 second exposures (ISO 3200):

View attachment 304328

Bode's Nebula (M82), which is actually Bode's Galaxy, is another rather spectacular spiral galaxy. One of the things that makes for great images is the nearby Cigar Galaxy (M82). It seems a few hundred million years ago the 2 got in a bit of a tussle, with the Cigar Galaxy getting the worst of it, leaving it somewhat deformed. Stack of 51 x 90 second exposures (ISO 3200):

View attachment 304329

Whirlpool Galaxy (M51), is another almost face-on spiral galaxy. It too has a small neighbor that it messes with (NGC5195 - it apparently doesn't rate a name). The pronounced spiral of the Whirlpool Galaxy is thought to be the result of its interaction with NGC5195 (just to the left), with the smaller galaxy actually passing through the Whirlpool's main disk some 50 to 100 million years ago. Stack of 33 x 90 second exposures (ISO 3200):

View attachment 304330

However, the most exciting has been saved for last. While galaxies can been seen any time, or at least seasonally, comets are interlopers that are usually once in a lifetime. Comet Leonard (C/2021 A) was discovered last January be Greg Leonard at the Mt. Lemmon Observatory near Tucson, Arizona. It will be its closest to Earth around December 12, but best viewing, if you should have clear skies and binoculars or a scope, is right now and for the next 2 mornings (between 5:30 and 6:00 AM). It has brightened noticeably over the last 2 mornings.

Saturday Morning (5:30 AM) - 40 x 30 second exposures (ISO 3200):

View attachment 304331

This morning (5:30 AM) - 11 x 30 second exposures (ISO 1600):

View attachment 304334

Most of the information provided on the galaxies is from SkySafari, on Comet Leonard from Sky and Telescope.

Cheers
At what location in the sky are you seeing Leonard? Due east?
 
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