Measuring the night sky
On the road with Daniel Verschatse, owner of the Hacienda and founder of its observatory. Daniel is measuring the darkness of the night sky to preserve the valley's dark sky as an international dark sky reserve. The red light in the image is for visual effects only. During the actual measurements no lights are allowed.The imags shows the bright band of the Milky Way along with our satellite galaxy, the
The City
Some impressions from a quick trip to Santiago that entailed a total of 18 hours on different buses and in various cabs.
Moonlight Effects
Yes, we do have clouds here. And if the moon joins them they can create interesting effects such as a moon halo or a lunar corona. A moon halo is a large ring (with a radius of approx. 22 °) around the moon. A lunar corona is much smaller and consists of several concentric colored rings around the moon.
Moonlight and Clouds
Moonlight and clouds: Neither one is cherished by astrophotographers. Nevertheless, they can provide a picturesque setting.Scorpius and Saturn are rising above the hills, while Alpha and Beta Centauri shine to the right and point towards the Southern Cross.
Smartphone Hike
The first hike where my smartphone camera was the only camera I took along.
Variations of the Moon
The waxing crescent Moon on April 22, 2015, with 17% of the Moon's surface illuminated.The light that is visible on the part of the moon that is not brightly illuminated, is called Earthshine. The best times to observe the Earthshine is during the waxing or waning crescent phase of the Moon.Moon and Venus shortly after sunset.
Young Moon
The young moon setting on the evening of April 20, 2015. The image is a 100 percent crop of a photo shot at 189 mm.
Trifid Nebula
My first attempt at the Trifid Nebula (or M20), a prominent object in the constellation Sagittarius. This nebula is a rare combination of three nebulae types: an emission nebula (the lower, red portion), a reflection nebula (the upper, blue portion) and a dark nebula (the 'gaps' within the emission nebula that cause the specific appearance and give it its name). The image is a single shot (106 sec. at ISO
Scorpius rising
Scorpius rising in all its glory. The bright "star" on the far left is actually not a star, but the ring planet Saturn. The prominent reddish star is Antares, also known as the Heart of the Scorpion. The red dot in the left hand corner is the signal of a local cellular tower.