Category: Astronomy

Views of the sun, moon, and stars

Friday (15-October-2021) — New Jersey

Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Mourning Dove, Turkey Vulture, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Black-capped Chickadee, European Starling, American Robin, House Finch.


Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Flowers (and plants) of the day: Chinese Forget-me-not, Cosmos, Marigold, Plains Coreopsis, Teasel.


Flowers and Plants of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Time-lapse video of a day in the wildflower meadow. This section was plated late in summer with Cosmos and Plains Coreopsis. The earlier planting in this section failed, mainly coming up with tall grass instead of the spring to summer wildflowers. I mowed the grass down, rototilled, and covered with a black-agricultural fabric to kill off the weeds for several weeks before replanting. I am now starting to get some flowers even though the plants are not very tall. Another section was planted with Marigold and Zinnia. They are not growing very fast, and have not bloomed. It also doesn’t help that the Deer and Ground Hog continue to nibble on the small plants. [Click on the full screen button, bottom right corner to view a larger image.]

I haven’t seen any Monarch butterflies until today since August. Usually there are some of the group that migrates south to hibernate around in October. One of the places that I usually see them in October is at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. This year the brush along the high-pressure underground gas line was mowed, and there are no flowers to attract the Monarch butterflies. Today, while rototilling one of my wildflower meadows to prepare for next spring I noticed the shadow of a butterfly flying. When I turned around, I saw a Monarch. It landed on a Zinnia flower. I dropped everything and ran inside to get a camera. When I got back outside, I found the Monarch feeding on a Marigold flower.


Monarch butterfly feeding on a Marigold flower. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Deer in the backyard. They keep trying to get into the fenced off areas. Some look pretty scrawny.


Critters of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Waxing Gibbous moon with my new Sigma 150-600 mm sport (L-mount) lens on a Leica SL2 camera.

Waxing Gibbous moon. (David J Mathre)
Waxing Gibbous Moon. Image taken with a Leica SL2 camera and Sigma 150-600 mm OIS lens (handheld). (David J Mathre)

Daily Electric Energy Used (53.4 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (33.3 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sunny. Deficit of 20.1 kWh.

Seven-Years Ago (06-April-2014) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey

Afternoon walkabout: Turkey Vulture, American Crow. My eBird Checklist.


Afternoon walkabout. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Sunday (21-March-2021) — New Jersey

Springtime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Late afternoon walkabout and visitors to the patio birdfeeder: Canada Goose, Turkey Vulture, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Song Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird, Northern Cardinal. Several flocks of honking Canada Geese in formation flew over the house. First male Brown-headed Cowbird this spring.


Daily backyard visitors. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

The Daffodils starting blooming across the street next to a west facing stone wall.


Early spring Daffodils across the street. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (59.5 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (65.6 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sunny all day. Still cold at night so the Geothermal HVAC system was on. A surplus of 6.1 kWh.

Weekly Electric Energy Used (461 kWh) from Sense. Weekly Solar Electric Energy Produced (304 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. A deficit of 157 kWh.

Thirteen-Years Ago (25-February-2008) — Colorado

Photography in the Southwest.

Road Scholar (formerly known as Elderhostel) Workshop Day 1: Kelly Place B&B/Retreat Center.


Morning walkabout at Kelly Place. Sleeping Ute mountain, Window, Kiva entrance, Juniper berries, and Old tree. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Star Trails. (David J Mathre)
Winter night sky looking north at Kelly Place near Cortez, Colorado. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 200, 16 mm, f/2.8, 150 min). Composite of five 30 min exposures. Raw images processed with Capture One Pro, DxO, and PhotoShop CC. (David J Mathre)


Winter night sky star trails looking north at Kelly Place near Cortez, Colorado. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 200, 16 mm, f/2.8, 30 min). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro and DxO. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Seven-Years Ago (30-November-2013) — New Jersey

Backyard Nighttime Autumn Sky Over New Jersey.

Into the Vortex. Early Morning Backyard Star Trails (and one meteor trail). Composite of 300 images taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 14 mm, f/4, 59 sec) over a 5 hour period combined using startrails.exe.

alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Into the Vortex. Early Morning Backyard Startrails. Composite of 300 images taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 14 mm, f/4, 59 sec) combined using startrails.exe. (David J Mathre)

Daily Electric Energy Used (42.1 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (0.8 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Heavy rain. Geothermal HVAC system on. A deficit of 41.3 kWh.