Fifteen-Years Ago Today. Rainbow over Maui. (20-Dec-2009, Hawaii).
Trolls Out Celebrating the Winter Solstice.
I set up a camera looking out the backdoor window to take images for a time-lapse video of the snow accumulating on a set of Trolls. The prediction was for 2 inches. By morning there was between 4 and 6 inches of accumulation. The snow was light and fluffy. I didn’t need to start up the snow blower to clear a path to the driveway. I just used a battery powered leaf blower.
Trolls Out Celebrating the Winter Solstice. Images taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 55 mm f/2.5 lens (ISO 1600, f/16, 64 sec exposure). One image every 10 minutes.
Apple-Cranberry Crisp
I had some Cranberries and Apples remaining from the last Fairgrown Farm CSA delivery. I used them to make a Crisp using a recipe modified from making an Apple-Pomegranate Crisp.
Apple Cranberry Crisp. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens.Apple Cranberry Crisp. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens.
Five-Years Ago Today. Indoor Hydroponic Snapdragon Flower. (15-December-2019, New Jersey).
Lights at Night Over New Jersey.
The trolls were keeping watch for drones overnight. The sky was partly cloudy, and it was cold out. Conditions were not good for the telescopes being out for the night. The composite image was taken through a back door window looking south. If you click on the image, you can access a larger (11656 x 6556 pixel) view. Over a four-hour period, there were lots of jet trails, maybe three Geminid meteor trails, and some car lights. No drones were observed.
Trolls Searching for Drones. Composite of 838 images taken with a Hasselblad 907x camera and 21 mm f/4 lens (ISO 400, f/11, 16 sec exposures). Images processed with Photoshop (scripts, statistics, maximum) and Capture One.
Twelve Years Ago. Late Fall 02:00 to 03:00 AM Sky Star Trail (with stationary anomaly) in New Jersey. (14-Dec-2012)
Silhouettes of Objects Passing in Front of the Sun.
Today, I captured images of a jet with a condensation trail and a bird transiting the sun while looking at the sunspots (we are at or near the solar maximum). I was viewing the sun with a Vespera Classic telescope fitted with a solar filter. The exposure time for solar observations with the Vespera Classic telescope is 250 microseconds (1/4000 sec). The Vespera Classic takes ~51 solar images per minute. Over an hour that amounts to 0.765 seconds (or 0.02% of the time).
Silhouette of a jet with a condensation trail transiting the sun with sunspots. Image taken with a Vaonis Vespera Classic Telescope (200 mm, f/4, 1/4000 sec) with a solar filter.Silhouette of a bird passing in front of the sun. Image taken with a Vaonis Vespera Classic Telescope (200 mm, f/4, 1/4000 sec) with a solar filter.
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)
The comet is getting fainter and the tail much shorter. You may need to look closely, the comet is in the center of the frame. The magnitude is now 10.5. The first image is a composite of 32 images (5 min 20 sec) and the second one is a composite of 128 images (21 min 20 sec). In the second image there is some movement of the comet head.
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Composite of 32 10 sec images taken with a Vaonis Vespera-Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 320 sec).Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Composite of 128 10 sec images taken with a Vaonis Vespera-Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 1280 sec).
Digital Art. Silhouette of an AI Drone Hovering in front of the Moon. (13-Dec-2024)
Silhouettes of an Airplane, Jets, and a Turkey Vulture Transiting the Sun.
Today, I captured images of an airplane, two jets, and a Turkey Vulture transiting the sun while looking at the sunspots (we are at or near the solar maximum). I was viewing the sun with a Vespera Classic and Vespera Pro automated telescope using solar filters.
Silhouette of a Turkey Vulture passing in front of the sun. Note I am guessing it is a Turkey Vulture. It could also be a Black Vulture. Image taken with a Vaonis Vespera Classic Telescope (200 mm, f/4, 1/4000 sec) with a solar filter.Silhouette of an airplane passing in front of the sun. Image taken with a Vaonis Vespera Classic Telescope (200 mm, f/4, 1/4000 sec) with a solar filter.Silhouette of a jet transiting the sun with sunspots. Image taken with a Vaonis Vespera Classic Telescope (200 mm, f/4, 1/4000 sec) with a solar filter.Sun with sunspots and the silhouette of a jet. Image taken with a Vaonis Vespera Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 1/4000 sec) with a solar filter.
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)
The comet is getting fainter and the tail much shorter. You may need to look closely; the comet is in the center of the frame. The magnitude is now 10.4. The first image is a composite of 32 images (5 min 20 sec) and the second one is a composite of 128 images (21 min 20 sec). In the second image there is some movement of the comet head.
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Composite of 32 10 sec images taken with a Vaonis Vespera-Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 320 sec).Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Composite of 32 10 sec images taken with a Vaonis Vespera-Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 320 sec).
Digital Art. Flock of geese transiting the sun. The geese flying in front of the sun are real, the rest is digital art. (12-Dec-2024)
Silhouettes of Jets and Geese Transiting the Sun.
Today, I captured images of a flock of geese and several jets transiting the sun while looking at the sunspots (we are at or near the solar maximum). I was viewing the sun with a Vespera Classic and Vespera Pro automated telescope using solar filters.
Flock of geese transiting the sun with sunspots. Image taken with a Vaonis Vespera Classic Telescope (200 mm, f/4, 1/4000 sec) with a solar filter.Flock of geese transiting the sun with sunspots. Image taken with a Vaonis Vespera Classic Telescope (200 mm, f/4, 1/4000 sec) with a solar filter.Silhouette of a jet transiting the sun with sunspots. Image taken with a Vaonis Vespera Classic Telescope (200 mm, f/4, 1/4000 sec) with a solar filter.Silhouette of a jet transiting the sun with sunspots. Image taken with a Vaonis Vespera Classic Telescope (200 mm, f/4, 1/4000 sec) with a solar filter.Silhouette of a jet transiting the sun with sunspots. Image taken with a Vaonis Vespera Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 1/4000 sec) with a solar filter.
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)
The comet is getting fainter and the tail much shorter. You may need to look closely; the comet is in the center of the frame. The magnitude is now 10.3. The first image is a composite of 32 images (5 min 20 sec) and the second one is a composite of 128 images (21 min 20 sec). In the second image there is some movement of the comet head.
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Composite of 32 10 sec images taken with a Vaonis Vespera-Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 320 sec).Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Composite of 128 10 sec images taken with a Vaonis Vespera-Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 1280 sec).
