Glorious Comet 2020/F3 Neowise
What a spectacular week to be in astronomy! I spent 5 straight mornings with Comet Neowise this week and it has been a blast. Hoping the comet continues to put on a show in the evening over the next week or two.
Comet Neowise on July 8 from Ritter Park in Huntington, WV at the Memorial Arch. 85mm Sigma f1.4 Art lens on the Canon Ra.
Comet Neowise on July 9, 2020 from Greasy Ridge, OH. Sigma 85mm f1.4 on Canon Ra.
Comet Neowise over Gallia County farm. 85mm f1.4 Sigma Art on Canon Ra. July 10, 2020.
Comet Neowise with Canon Ra and Redcat 51 (250mm f 5.6) on July 11 in Nautical twilight.
Comet Neowise on July 12 with Celestron RASA 8” (400mm f2) and the ZWO ASI 294MC Pro camera.
Comet Neowise in color from July 12, 2020. Celestron RASA 8 f2 and ZWO ASI 294MC Pro
First light with the Rokinon 135 f2. The lens did not disappoint. I had high standards after the 85mm f1.4 Sigma Art was so impressive. This lens looks fantastic as others have demonstrated. What a fantastic comet. I have one more image to process. It will be bittersweet to complete processing on Comet Neowise. A complete blast.
The views of the comet from Spruce Knob were simply some of the finest astronomical views I have ever had. The ion tail seemed to stretch unending into the atmosphere. What a joy to view.
30 images of 60 seconds were stacked in Pixinsight on Comet and Stars. All images at f2 ISO 1250
One final image of the glorious Comet Neowise. This image was captured on July 25, 2020 from Calhoun County Park in WV. The goal was to capture detail in the ion tail. The waves are the result of the comet nucleus and associated gas jets, rotating. The waves result from this rotation of the gas jets spewing out comet material. I hoe you have a chance to view this glorious comet.
Image acquired with 20 individual frames of 30 seconds stacked to maximize the signal to noise and freeze the detail in the ion tail. Celestron RASA and ZWO ASI294MC Pro.
Seneca Rocks Milky Way 2020
A new image and a new YouTube video where I discuss creating the image and photography in the Monongahela National Forest are now on the website.
Image details:
Canon Ra with Rokinon 24mm f1.4 lens at f2. Stacked 8 images of 10 second exposures for the Milky Way sky.
For the complete story, please see the video posted on the YouTube video tab. Thanks and clear skies.
A new gallery: Digital Narrow Band
In my opinion, this is the most exciting realm of astrophotography today. It is bringing together multiple advances in gear and processing to bring about new artistic expression of the wonders of the universe. The technique has been around for years, but the advances and affordability to the amateur in fast optics, higher quality sensors, and high quality narrow band filter has taken the process to mainstream. This image is an experimentation with remote data I captured from Australia. I am really just getting my toes wet with this process, but I am already in love with the possibilities. I will have a YouTube video about this topic in the near future. Much more to come, but for now…here is the Great Eta Carinae nebula in a customized color palette taken with hydrogen alpha, OIII, and Sulpher II filters. Thanks for visiting and drop me a line if you have any questions.
Viewer experience: Olson fire tower in Monongahela National Forest
My entire purpose is for the viewer to share and experience the wonder of God’s great creation. I am constantly learning new techniques and visualizations to achieve this goal. One new technique involves a spherical VR presentation utilizing the Mavic Air 2. This is my first try at it, but the scene simply could not be any better. Rising high above the Cheat River watershed is the Olson fire tower. Overlooking the Blackwater canyon and river, one can see for miles and miles. The best way to share this experience is by VR spherical panorama. I invite you to click on the link below and take a tour of this fascinating view of my beautiful home state.
Milky Way Rising!
The latest YouTube video presents an amazing night with the rising Milky Way over Clifty Creek in eastern Kentucky. Please check out the video on the YouTube page. Here are the still images from the night. Don’t miss out on the time lapse of the Milky Way rising on the YouTube video!
24mm Rokinon on the Canon RP captures the rising Milky Way over Clifty Creek.
A 3 row panorama with the 24mm Rokinon present the majesty of the Milky Way.
Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars form an obtuse triangle under the arch of the Milky Way.
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