I kind of announced this yesterday...

Full moon is when the Milky Way chaser gets some sleep or can work on his processing backlog, as shooting the Milky Way with this bright lamp in the sky is not possible.

However, this full moon was very special, as there was a total lunar eclipse in many parts of the world, giving nightscapers a bonus night to capture their Milk.

In Switzerland the moon was already in its totality phase when it rose and and totality ended about 10min prior to astronomical dusk.

Therefore, the window of opportunity at the end of astronomical twilight, when it was possible to capture the Milky Way with the blood moon in the sky, was very short. A type of challange I cound not miss.

As the moon and the galactic core were to far apart for all but my widest lens, I decided to try for a panorama. Due to the short time available, I went for 6 panels in portrait orientation.

I was surprised that I have been able to capture so many colors despite the still rather bright sky background.

How do you like the result?

EXIF
Canon EOS 6D astro modified
Samyang 24mm f/1.4 @ f/2
iOptron SkyTracker Pro

Sky:
3 panels of 6 x 30s @ ISO1600, tracked
Foreground:
3 panels of 3 x 30s @ ISO1600
Moon:
Single image of 2s @ ISO 400 f/11

Prints available:
ralf-rohner.pixels.com

Tags:   Astronomy Astrophotography Astro Lunar Eclipse Eclipse Moon Moonrise Blood Moon Switzerland Swiss@Night Mountains Alps Mars Saturn Jupiter Sattelegg Nightscape Starscape Long Exposure Night Landscape Light Pollution Canon Canon EOS 6D Hutech Astro-Modified Samyang SAMYANG 24mm f1.4 tracking iOptron Skytracker Stacking Panorama PTGui

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This is the same, more conventionally processed shot as my previous post: flic.kr/p/GAB6DU

It is a 360° panorama showing the former observatory of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Arosa in front of the winter Milky Way.

The camera next to the flagpole was there to capture a timelapse movie, which did not work as planned, because I had to cut short due to the cold temperature. At least I got away without freezing to death and with some good stills...

- Hutech modified Canon EOS 6D
- Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 @ 15mm
- 12 images of 30s @ ISO 3200
- Stiching: PTGui
- Processing: Photoshop

Tags:   Astrophotography Astronomy Astro Alps Arosa Switzerland Swiss@Night Night Nightscape Milky Way Milchstrasse Landscape Long Exposure Canon Canon EOS 6D Hutech Astro-Modified Tamron SP 15-30mm F/2.8 Sky Panorama PTGui Schweiz

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The Seagull Nebula was my favorite deepscape target in January. This composition includes Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. The blueish speck above the horizon, to the left of the central peak, is Thor's Helmet (NGC 2359). This is an emission nebula, powered by a central Wolf-Rayet star, an extremely hot star, thought to be in a brief pre-supernova stage of evolution.

Those who remember my previous posted deepscape of the Seagull Nebula may recognize the peak as Mt. Druesberg in central Switzerland and wonder why the alignment of the nebula over the mountains is different. The reason for this is simple: I captured this image one night earlier and from a different spot, one mountain range further back.

EXIF
Cameras:
Canon EOS 6D, astro-modified (for color data)
ZWO ASI 1600MM Pro (for H-alpha)
Lens & Filters:
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8
Baader Ultra Narrowband 3,5nm H-alpha filter
Mount:
Equatorially mounted Skywatcher AZ-GTI
ZWO ASIair for mount and camera control.

Foreground:
Stack of 12 x 30s @ ISO1600

Sky:
RGB - Stack of 31 x 30s @ ISO1600 / 145mm
H-alpha - Stack of 14 x 120s @ Gain200 / 70mm (to match the 145mm full frame FOV)

Tags:   Deepscape Astronomy Astrophotography Astro Switzerland Swiss@Night Nightscape Starscape Long Exposure Night Landscape Deep Sky Seagull Nebula Thor's Helmet Sirius Canon Canon EOS 6D Hutech Astro-Modified ZWO ASI 1600MM PRO Skywatcher AZ-GTI ASI AIR Stacking tracking PixInsight

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What makes the avid Milky Way chaser turn his back on the galactic core during perfect shooting conditions? The Peseid Meteor Shower, of course.

The days following the peak of the Perseids, I heared many people say that they were disappointed by the display. I am not sure what they were expecting, but I could not disagree more.

I had such a great time lying on a picnic table in front of our cabin, cuddling my 6 year old daughter in my arm, explaining her the constellations and waching the shooting stars pass over us, while the faint, but constant clicking of my camera served as the metronome of the passing time.

The perfect piece was only broken by the cries of joy from my daughter, when an especially bright specimen ended its life in a glorious burst of greenish light.

EXIF
Canon EOS 6D, astro-modified
Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8
iOptron Skytracker Pro

Foreground:
3 x 5min @ISO 1600

Sky:
50 x 30s @ISO 6400, tacked, stacked with fitswork

Perseides:
50 frames with meteors from 4h 38min total exposure time. Each frame 30s @ISO6400, tracked

Tags:   Astronomy Astrophotography Astro Perseids Meteor Milky Way Milchstrasse Nightscape Starscape Paulina Lake newberry national volcanic monument Oregon Andromeda Andromeda Galaxy North America Nebula Sky Canon Canon EOS 6D Hutech Astro-Modified Tamron Tamron SP 15-30mm F/2.8 iOptron Skytracker Stacking Fitswork Long Exposure Night Landscape

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I have just returned from a short trip to Southern Italy to visit my family during their summer vacation.

Unfortunately, the weather and my personal schedule did not allow me to do any astrophotography. I therefore post this image of Torre Uluzzo, from a previous visit to the region of Apulia. As some may recognize from the position of Jupiter, the image was captured in 2019.

Torre Uluzzo was part of the coastal defense and communications system built in the 16th century upon order of emperor Charles V. These towers were manned be 4 guards and a rider. They communicated visually with adjacent structures to warn the population of dangers, like pirates or attacks by the Turks or Saracens.

EXIF
Canon EOS 6D, astro-modified
Sigma 35mm f/1.4 @ f/2.8
iOptron SkyTracker Pro
Sky:
Stack.of 6 x 30s @ ISO1600
Foreground:
Stack of 6 x 30s @ ISO3200

Tags:   Italy Apulia Torre Tower Torre Uluzzo Nightscape Starscape Milky Way Milchstrasse Long Exposure Night Landscape Canon EOS 6D Hutech Astro-Modified Sigma Sigma 35mm f/1.4 tracking Stacking iOptron Skytracker

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