Astronomy - David Mathre Photography

Tuesday (11-November-2025) — New Jersey

Northern Lights Over New Jersey

I received NOAA Space Weather alerts that there was a high potential for strong geomagnetic G3/G4 activity for the next few days. Several strong solar flares had ejected charged particles directed toward the earth. It is unusual to see Northern Lights (Aurora) in New Jersey. The last time there was a strong display that I could see from my backyard was on 11-October-2024. I hoped for a chance to view and photograph the northern lights from my backyard again. I checked both the Clear Skys report for the Sourland Mountains, and the National Weather Service local forecast which indicated mixed clouds with some clear skies for the night. I set up cameras with wide angle lenses and a 360° camera to record images over the night. It was cold and windy, so I wasn’t going to stay out all night by myself. Rather let the cameras do their work then download and view the images the next morning. The cameras were set up with external batteries and lens warmers (to prevent condensation on the wide-angle lenses). It seemed like every time I went out to check the cameras there were fast moving clouds and I wasn’t sure if I would get anything other than images of nighttime clouds.

The next morning when I started to download the images, I did see some red and then green colors in some of the images. The following time-lapse videos show the Northern Light display looking straight up and north over my house. During the night there were several displays of both red and green lights starting a little after 20:00. The high winds kept the clouds moving across the sky. The brightest display occurred a bit after midnight. After that the clouds blocked further displays.

Time-lapse video created from images taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 20-35 mm lens (ISO 800, 20 mm, f/11, 32 sec exposures). The images were processed with Capture One, and the time-lapse video created with Photoshop. The camera is pointed north looking over my house.

Little Planet time-lapse video taken with an Insta 360 RS camera. The video including the starlapse effect was created using the Insta 360 studio software.

Time-lapse video created from images taken with a Nikon Z9 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens (ISO 800, 15 mm, f/11, 30 sec exposures). The images were processed with Capture One, and the time-lapse video created with Photoshop. The camera is pointed north looking over my house from the backyard.

Time-lapse video created from images taken with a Hasselblad 907x camera and Laowa 8-15 mm fisheye lens (ISO 400, 13 mm, f/11, 32 sec exposures). The camera is pointed straight up capturing a 180° view of the sky. The images were processed with Capture One, and the time-lapse video created with Photoshop. The house blocks part of the view to the north (left side of the image).

Tuesday (18-February-2025) — New Jersey

Nine-Years Ago Today. Picture in a Picture. Candles at a Temple. Yangon, Myanmar (18-Feb-2016, Semester at Sea).

Vespera Telescopes Out on a Cold Winter Night.

It looked to be a clear night, so I had the Vespera telescopes out to view Venus, the Moon, and several deep sky objects (M31 Andromeda galaxy, M81 Bodes galaxy, IC 434 + NGC 2024 Horsehead nebula + Flame nebula, and NCC 2237 + NGC 2244 Rosette nebula/cluster). I had one camera out with a fisheye lens to capture images for a time-lapse video of the telescopes working the nighttime sky looking south. Also, a Little-planet Starlapse video of the telescopes working the night sky. I will be posting the images observed by the Vespera telescopes in the near future.

Time-lapse video of the nighttime sky looking south. Images taken with a Nikon Z9 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens. Best viewed full screen in a dark room.

Little-planet Starlapse video of the nighttime sky. Images taken with an Insta 360 RS 1-inch camera. Best viewed full screen in a dark room.

Jupiter and its four largest Moons.

I was able to get an image of Jupiter with its four largest moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto) with the Vespera Classic telescope. I needed to activate the Expert Mode in the User Parameter settings. Then create a Manual Target — Add manual target by entering coordinates. Create an Object name (Jupiter), Select an Object Type (stars), Select the Pointing type (Direct), Set the Exposure time (1 sec), Select the Gain (1 dB), Enter the Right Ascension (h m s) and Declination (deg, m, s) for Jupiter which I looked up using the Stellarium app, Save and then Observe. I wish there was an Object type for planet, and the ability to select exposure times less than 1 second. The following image is cropped to get a larger view of Jupiter and the four moons.

Jupiter and the four moons Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. Image taken with a Vespera Classic telescope (200 mm, f/4, 1 sec, gain 1 dB). Cropped image. Image available in my PhotoShelter Gallary.

Wednesday (22-January-2025) — New Jersey

Nine-Years Ago Today. Sunrise, sunburst, crepuscular rays, and clouds over the Pacific Ocean from the aft deck of the MV World Odyssey. (22-Jan-2016, Semester at Sea).

Sun with Sunspots

I missed the sun the last several days due to clouds and snow. Apparently yesterday one of the large sunspots (#3967) erupted and sent a CME (coronal mass ejection) towards Earth with the possibility of a minor geomagnetic storm on Friday. Today, I viewed the sun with a Vespera Pro telescope fitted with a solar filter (250 mm, f/5, 1/714 sec).

Sun with some large sunspots. Image taken with a Vespera Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 1400 μs exposure) with a solar filter.

Monday (20-January-2025) — New Jersey

Nine-Years Ago Today. Sunrise Photography Club waiting for the sun to rise. Aft deck of the MV World Odyssey. (20-Jan-2016, Semester at Sea).

Cold Winter Night Sky

The forecast for the night was mostly clear, but very cold (4°F/-16°C). I only cleared the snow from the previous night for one of the telescope tripods. When it is this cold, I need to keep an external power supply plugged into the telescope. I also set up a camera with a fisheye lens pointed to the south to take images for a time-lapse video. The Orion constellation was visible for a long period of time before the moon showed up. There were lots of jet trails during the night, and when the clouds came in, they remained low in the sky.

Time-lapse video. Best observed in a dark room fully expanded.

Winter Night Sky Star Trails Over New Jersey. Composite of images taken with a Nikon Z9 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens.

Friday (17-January-2025) — New Jersey

Nine-Years Ago Today. Afternoon yoga in the sun on the aft deck of the MV World Odyssey. (17-Jan-2016, Semester at Sea)

Cold Winter Night Sky.

The forecast for the night was intermittent clouds. The waning gibbous moon is reducing in brightness (86% illuminated) and not rising until later. I programed the “Plan my Night” sequences on the Vespera telescopes to start soon after dark and hoping for long periods with clear skies. with several objects away from the moon and will see what I get depending on the clouds. During later part of the night, I have the telescopes looking at the moon. I also set up the Nikon D9 camera with an 8-15 mm fisheye lens to take a sequence of images of the night sky with the full Vespera family of telescopes in the foreground. These images were then used to create the following time-lapse video. You can see the night starting out cloudy, then clear to a good period of time. Later, when the moon is high in the sky there is a 22° ring or halo around the moon. This is caused by high level ice crystals. The telescopes automatically close before the sun rises. The time-lapse video is best viewed in the dark and expanded to full scale. Images captured by the telescopes to follow.