162 images combined to create star trails in this image taken of Kitt Peak in November 2013. Credit and copyright: Robert Sparks.
Our pal Rob Sparks said he had always wanted to try creating a star trails picture and this is his first attempt. Very nice! Of course, he had a great view of the telescopes on Kitt Peak in Arizona as a stunning foreground, (the lights of Tucson are to the right) but had to deal with a “nearly full Moon that night which illuminated the observatory and limited the exposure times,” Rob said on Flickr. “However, I am reasonably happy for a first try.”
We’re happy, too, as this is a lovely image. Thanks for sharing Rob!
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A montage of images of Comet ISON taken from September 24 to November 15, 2013. Credit and copyright: Damian Peach.
Astrophotographer Damian Peach has wowed us with his images of Comet ISON the past few months. Here’s a montage of some of his best images from September 24 to November 15.
“This may well be my final word on it.” Damian said via email, “but here it is growing in brightness on approach to its best in mid-late November.”
And while it appears there’s a ghost of ISON out there with a blob of dust in the latest views from the Sun-studying satellites, it won’t give us the views we had hoped for. But its been a fun experience the past few months, watching what unfolded. Thanks for bringing us along for the ride with your images, Damian!
An annotated version of a deep-sky wide field view of our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Credit and copyright: Miguel Claro.
This new panorama of the Milky Way by astrophotographer Miguel Claro is really amazing, and you definitely want to click on the image to have access to larger versions! This is an 18-image mosaic taken with a Canon 60Da, with 60 second exposures, and it rivals wide-field images taken by larger ground-based telescopes. The images, were, however, taken from the home of some of the darkest skies and largest telescopes in the world, near Roque de Los Muchahos, in La Palma, Canary Islands. Visible is the hazy band of white light that comes from unresolved stars and other material that lie within the galactic plane, contrasting with interesting shapes within the dark regions of the band, corresponding to areas where light from distant stars is blocked by interstellar dust.
Thanks to Miguel Claro for sharing his images with Universe Today!
The Milky Way Galaxy – Deep Sky Wide Field view, captured from Los Andenes, near Roque de Los Muchahos, in La Palma, Canary Island. Credit and copyright: Miguel Claro.
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An original drawing of the launch of the MAVEN spacecraft on November 18, 2013. Credit and copyright: Wendy Clark.
We’ve seen some great images from the launch of the MAVEN spacecraft earlier this week, but this original drawing of the moment of liftoff of the Atlas V carrying MAVEN is remarkable. This pencil illustration is reminiscent of the early days of spaceflight – or perhaps even the pre-spaceflight days, before we had actual images of launches, only our dreams of spaceflight.
“Everyone takes great photos of the launches and I thought a drawing would be something different,” said artist and photographer Wendy Clark from the UK. “True inspiration comes from the things you love most and I think this is why I especially enjoy drawing space related things.”
Like most of us, Wendy watched the launch online and she started her sketches after NASA started receiving telemetry from MAVEN, and said she worked on the drawing for about 24 hours total since Monday. This final version was done with graphite on A3 paper.
“Don’t let anyone tell you drawing a rocket is easy,” she told Universe Today. “This is only the 2nd drawing I have fully completed of a rocket launch. The special missions always interest me and I’m a fan of Atlas V rocket shapes, although they are not easy subjects to draw!”
Wendy said she’s an avid launch fan, although she’s never witnessed a mission launch in person. “One day would be nice to stand and watch this in person,” she said.
The other launch drawing she completed was of the final launch of the space shuttle program, STS-135, and she said she felt like she got to know the shuttle Atlantis like an old friend.
“When you spend 72 hours drawing a momentous event like this you get kind of attached to the subject in a way you can’t immediately understand,” she said. “I got to know every curve by putting what I saw on paper with graphite.”
An original graphite drawing of the final launch of the space shuttle program, STS-135. Credit and copyright: Wendy Clark.
An airplane at about 2,400 meters above the ground passes in front of the Moon on its way to landing at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France. Taken from about 70 km from Paris. Credit and copyright: Sebastien Lebrigand.
Astrophotgrapher Sebastien Lebrigand lives along the flight path to the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and regularly captures planes flying in front of the Moon (see another of his shots here). But this might be the image to end all ‘plane crosses in front of the Moon’ pictures. This plane is seriously taking over the Moon! Plus, its a great detailed shot of the lunar surface.
Sebastien took this image using a Canon EOS 60D, with a 102 mm refractor and 1320 mm of focal length.
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This pink-ish glowing arch across the sky at sunset is what is known as the "Belt of Venus." This panorama is made from 5 shots, without a tripod, taken on Oct. 25, 2013. Credit and copyright: John Chumack.
Did you know you can sometimes see Earth’s shadow right here on Earth? This beautiful panorama by John Chumack is a perfect example of this phenomenon, known as the “Belt of Venus.” This beautiful pinkish glow is caused by the backscattering of sunlight and is sometimes referred to as the anti-twilight arch. What you are seeing is the shadow of the Earth’s translucent atmosphere, casting a shadow back upon itself.
“So yes, you can see part of the Earth’s shadow other than during a lunar eclipse,” said John, via email. “I shot this from Indian Lake, Ohio a favorite fishing spot! It is a panorama made from 5 separate shots to show the entire belt of Venus, and the Earth’s shadow (dark area) arching above the horizon.”
John used a simple point and shoot Canon SX 160 IS, hand held for all 5 shots with 30% overlap for the panorama, so no tripod, which is pretty impressive!
“I was fishing and Venus’s Belt was the only thing I caught that evening!” said John.
Aurora Borealis, beach reflection, and Orion, in Iceland on the beach Jökulsarlon. Image was taken on November 7, 2013. Credit and copyright Cory Schmitz
Our friend Cory Schmitz planned the perfect time to go on a Iceland Aurora photo tour. With the recent activity from the Sun, there have been some great views of the aurora borealis in Iceland. “These images are very close to what the sky actually looked like to the naked eye,” Cory said on G+. “Motion, color, everything. Right above our heads. Insane — what an experience!”
Thanks for sharing the experience, Cory…. but next time, bring us with you, huh?
Aurora Borealis, shot with a Canon 5DmkII and Canon 14mm f/2.8 LII prime lens at Jökulsarlon beach in Iceland on November 12, 2013. Credit and copyright: Cory Schmitz.
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The November 3, 2013 partial solar eclipse with mirage from Sullivan's Island, South Carolina. Credit and copyright: Jeff Jackson
Many lucky people around the world were treated to a an unusual “hybrid” solar eclipse today — so called because the extent to which the Sun was blocked out varied around the world. Those along North America’s east coast and the northern half of South America saw a brilliant Sun partially eclipsed by the Moon just at dawn, as in our lead image from South Carolina, USA. But regions like equatorial Africa had a total eclipsed Sun for about a minute, while those in southern Europe, the Middle East, were able to see an “annular” or partial, eclipse. This type of variable eclipse is rare — the last time one occurred was Nov. 20, 1854 and the next one won’t happen until Oct. 17, 2172! This was also the last eclipse of the year, and photographers were out to capture the views.
UPDATE: We’ve now added more images, including this new one from Uganda that shows totality:
The moment of totality of the Nov. 3, 2013 solar eclipse, as viewed from Owiny Village in Uganda. The photo was taken with a Canon Rebel T1i camera, using a Tamron f/2.8 28-75mm lens, unfiltered. Credit and copyright: Helen Lin.
See more below, and we’ll continue to add images as they come in.
Here’s a gorgeous timelapse by Steve Ellington, who shot this from the US east coast:
The Nov. 3, 2013 partial solar eclipse observed and captured from Malta. Credit and copyright: Leonard E. Mercer.The partial eclipse of the Sun as seen from Saida, Lebanon on 3/11/2013. The pictures span the beginning to the maximum eclipse as seen from this location. This eclipse was a rare “hybrid” eclipse, appearing as either an annular or total eclipse from different locations on Earth. These images were taken with an 8 inch Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope fitted, of course, with a solar filter. Credit and copyright: Ziad El-Zaatari
The following two images were sent to us by Victor Pinheiro from Espargos, Sal Island, one of 10 islands that make up the Republic of Cabo Verde, in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometers off the coast of Western Africa. Africa had some of the best views of the eclipse, with some areas seeing totality.
This image of the Nov. 3, 2013 solar eclipse was taken from the city of Espargos on the island of Sal, one of the island that make up the archipelago of the Republic of Capo Verde, off the coast of Africa. Equipment: Canon PowerShot SX10 IS, with window film to reduce light. Credit and copyright: Victor Pinheiro.Another image of the Nov. 3 solar eclipse taken from the island of Sal, Republic of Cape Verde, off the coast of Africa, using a different color window film. Credit and copyright: Victor Pinheiro.The partial solar eclipse on Nov. 3, 2013 at its peak over Israel. Credit and copyright: Gadi Eidelheit.
The image above and below were captured by Gadi Eidelheit from Israel. You can see his entire collection of images from the eclipse at his website.
Another view of the Nov. 3, 2013 partial solar eclipse as seen from Israel. Credit and copyright: Gadi Eidelheit.A spectacular ‘mirage’ view of the partial solar eclipse rising into the clouds, as seen from Fort Pierce, Florida, on November 3, 2013. Credit and copyright: John O’Connor/nasatech.A partially eclipsed Sun rises over the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on November 3, 2013. Credit and copyright: David Dickinson.The partial hybrid solar eclipse of November 3, 2013 was photographed through intermittent cloud cover over a wheat field in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. ‘I was anxiously awaiting a break in the cloud cover to get a clear shot; suddenly, about fifteen minutes from the conclusion, a small clearing made the partial eclipse visible. The colors of the clouds and sunrise made this a morning I will not forget!’ Credit and copyright: Marion Haligowski.The eclipsed Sun, with sunspots, as seen from Madrid, Spain. Credit and copyright: Álvaro Ibáñez.The Nov. 3, 2013 eclipse seen from Johannesburg, South Africa taken handheld with a Canon 5D mkII and 24-70mm lens and neutral density filter. Credit and copyright: Cory SchmitzThe partially eclipsed Sun disappearing into the clouds, as seen from New York City, Nov. 3, 2013 at 6:30 A.M. Credit and copyright: Ben Berry. About 3% of the Sun is ‘missing’ in this picturesque view of the hybrid solar eclipse on Nov. 3, 2013, as seen from Ankara, Turkey. Credit and copyright: Yüksel Kenaroglu.Solar eclipse New York Sunrise November 3, 2013, taken near JFK Airport and the Cross Bay Bridge. Credit and copyright: astroval1 on Flickr.The Nov. 3 partial solar eclipse as seen from Long Branch beach, New Jersey, taken with a Canon Rebel T2i camera 250 mm zoom. Credit and copyright: Jennifer Khordi.
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Comet Lovejoy on November 2, 2013, as seen from Singapore. Credit and copyright: Justin Ng.
While many are anticipating seeing Comet ISON, there’s more in the sky these days than just one comet. There are actually four comets now in the skies in the mornings — in addition to ISON, there’s comets 2013 R1 Lovejoy, 2P/Encke and 2012 X1 LINEAR! Unfortunately, none of these are visible to the naked eye — yet anyway.
Here are some great recent images and video of these comet taken by amateur astrophotographers. Above is Comet Lovejoy, just taken by Justin Ng from Singapore . “Comet Lovejoy will share the same part of the sky as Comet ISON this month and it presents a cool astrophotography opportunity for skywatchers and astronomers,” Justin told Universe Today via email. “This image is a result of stacking 9 images together and each image was captured using a 3 inch telescope at 5 minutes exposure time for about an hour before dawn.”
Comet 2P/Encke on October 30, 2013. The coma is partially obscuring the small barred spiral galaxy NGC 4371. Credit and copyright: Damian Peach.
A gorgeous shot of Comet Encke by Damian Peach. “The fine narrow ion tail is very nicely defined which has recently developed,” Damian said via email.
Below is Damian’s image of Comet Lovejoy. “Looks as though a disconnection event may have occurred within Lovejoy’s gas tail,” Damian said. “Note the broad fan shaped condensation around half way along the tail.”
Comet 2013 R1 Lovejoy on Oct 31, 2013. Credit and copyright: Damian Peach.
Here are two great timelapses of Comet ISON! The first is from Justin Ng from Singapore, taken on October 27:
A recent look at ISON from Efrain Morales with black & white matched with a negative view:
Comet ISON C/2012 S1 On October 31st, 09:17-34 UTC. Coma much denser now around the nucleus and possibly both tails (Ion, Dust) on negative image (lower right) 17 x 1 minute exposures. Credit and copyright: Efrain Morales/Jaicoa Observatory
A nice shot of Comet Lovejoy nearby in the sky to the bright binary star system Procyon in Canus Minor:
Procyon and Comet Lovejoy in the morning sky on October 31, 2013, from Arizona. Credit and copyright: Robert Sparks.
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The auroral view while driving up Atigun Pass, North Slope Borough County, Alaska, US on November 1, 2013. Credit and copyright: Jason Ahrns.
Over the past several days the Sun has unleashed more than half a dozen major flares including four X-class events. The resulting aurora in some parts of the world have been beautiful. Here’s a collection of recent images taken by Jason Arhns in Alaska and one by Frank Olsen in Norway. In the image above, it seems the aurora is blanketing not only the sky, but the landscape as well!
See more below, as well as a video showing 23 of the 26 M- and X-class flares on the Sun between Oct. 23 and Oct. 28, 2013, as captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. It also shows the coronal mass ejections — great clouds of solar material bursting off the Sun into space — during that time as captured by the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory.
Aurora seen over northern Norway on October 22, 2013. Credit and copyright: Frank Olsen.
Aurora over Sukakpak, Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area County, Alaska, US, November 1, 2013. Credit and copyright: Jason Ahrns.A stunning green aurora almost covers the sky, but peeking through are the Pleiades and the Andromeda Galaxy. Credit and copyright: Jason Ahrns.
