Category: Astronomy

Views of the sun, moon, and stars

Thursday (11-November-2010) — New Jersey

Backyard Autumn Nighttime Sky Over New Jersey.

Waxing crescent moon on Veteran’s Day. Image taken with Nikon D3s camera and 400 mm f/2.8 lens with TC-E 2.0 teleconverter (ISO 200, 800 mm f/8, 1/100 sec).

Waxing Crescent Moon. Image taken with Nikon D3s and 400 mm f/2.8 lens with TC-E 2.0 teleconverter (ISO 200, 800 mm f/8, 1/100 sec) (David J Mathre)
Waxing Crescent Moon. Image taken with Nikon D3s camera and 400 mm f/2.8 lens with TC-E 2.0 teleconverter (ISO 200, 800 mm f/8, 1/100 sec) (David J Mathre)

Sunday (07-November-2010) — New Jersey

Backyard Solar Astronomy in New Jersey.

Solar image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and Questar 3.5″ telescope fitted with a sun filter (ISO 400, f/16, 1/1000 sec). I didn’t see any sunspots. A good source for solar activity is SpaceWeather.com.

Image of the Sun using a Questar Telescope (David J Mathre)
Image of the Sun using a Questar Telescope (David J Mathre)

19-October-2010

 

I didn’t have anything from previous years for this day so I went out and took an image of the moon tonight. The image was taken with a D3x and 400 mm AF-S f/2.8 D II with a AF-S TC20EIII teleconverter. ISO 100, 800 mm, 1/200 sec, f/8. Processed using Capture NX2, Photoshop CS5, Focus Magic, converted for web and sRGB using Photoshop CS5. The white balance in the camera was 3030 °K. This probably could be made a bit warmer.

Friday (18-December-2009) — Hawaii

Gone to See Hawaii, Maui Day 3: Haleakala National Park.

I left the meeting early to get to the Pu’U’Ula’Ula peak in Haleakala National Park for sunset. When I got to the parking lot I saw this bird, which I later identified as a Chukar. The elevation  is about 10,000 feet, and as the sun went down it got windy and cold fast. The thermometer on my GPS indicated 30°F, and I only had a light windbreaker. I didn’t think to carry cold weather gear for the trip to Hawaii. I did get several great images of the sunset over the nearby Haleakala Air Force Satellite tracking station and observatories.

Chukar, Haleakalua National Park, Maui Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 180 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)
Chukar, Haleakalua National Park, Maui Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 180 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)
Sunset over Haleakala Satellite Tracking Station from Pu'U'Ula'Ula peak in Haleakala National Park, Maui Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E lens (ISO 100, f/16, 1/10 sec). Photomatix HDR (5 images) (David J Mathre)
Sunset over Haleakala Satellite Tracking Station from Pu’U’Ula’Ula peak in Haleakala National Park, Maui Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E lens (ISO 100, f/16, 1/10 sec). Photomatix HDR (5 images) (David J Mathre)
Sunset Panorama over Haleakala Satellite Tracking Station from Pu'U'Ula'Ula peak in Haleakala National Park, Maui Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E lens (ISO 100, f/16, 1/10 sec). (David J Mathre)
Sunset Panorama over Haleakala Satellite Tracking Station from Pu’U’Ula’Ula peak in Haleakala National Park, Maui Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E lens (ISO 100, f/16, 1/10 sec). (David J Mathre)