Nine-Years Ago Today. Crepuscular rays from the deck of the MV World Odyssey. Semester at Sea. (08-Jan-2016, Pacific Ocean)
Silhouette of a Jet Transiting the Sun.
Today, while looking at the sunspots (we are at or near the solar maximum) I captured an image of a jet transiting the sun. This was with a Stellina automated telescope fitted with a solar filter.
Sun with sunspots and the silhouette of a jet. Image taken with a Vaonis Stellina Telescope (400 mm, f/5) with a solar filter.
Time-lapse video of tree getting in the way of the sun. Images taken with a Stellina automated telescope fitted with a solar filter.
Cold Winter Night Sky.
The forecast for the night was mostly clear. The waxing gibbous moon is getting brighter (69% illuminated). For the first of the night, I programed the “Plan my Night” sequence on the Vespera telescopes to first observe the moon, then later as the moon moves to the west picked some deep sky observation targets in parts of the sky away from the moon. I also set up a Nikon D9 camera with a 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. The moon is the bright object. You can watch the Orion constellation travel across the sky. Lots of jet trails, a few passing clouds, and a couple of meteors. Best viewed in the dark and expanded to full scale. Images captured by the telescopes to follow.
Time-lapse video of the Vespera family of telescopes viewing the winter night sky over New Jersey.
Nine-Years Ago Today. Sunset from the deck of the MV World Odyssey. Semester at Sea. (07-Jan-2016, Pacific Ocean)
Animal Tracks in the Snow
We had a couple of inches of snow yesterday. This morning, I went on a walkabout looking for animal tracks in the snow. I found bird, cat, fox, and rabbit tracks. I was especially interested in finding where the gaps in the deer fence were. In the past some of the larger critters (raccoons and possums) have enlarged these holes to the point where the deer finally got through. In those spots I needed to install a bottom section of plastic-coated wire fence to close the gaps. First a video of where a neighborhood cat gets under the front gate. She has used this as a way to escape being chased by a fox.
Cat tracks in the snow where it gets under the front gate. Image taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 38 mm f/2.5 lensCat tracks in the snow. Image taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 38 mm f/2.5 lensRabbit tracks in the snow. Image taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 38 mm f/2.5 lensFox tracks in the snow attempting to cross the pond. Image taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 38 mm f/2.5 lensField mouse tunnel/tracks in the snow. Image taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 38 mm f/2.5 lens
Animal Tracks in the Snow. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Animal tracks in the snow used to identify holes in the fence. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Night Sky, Moon, Star Trails, Jet Trails, and Meteor Trails over New Jersey
The night sky started cloud free. I wanted to have the telescopes out but wasn’t really sure how long the sky would remain clear. I set up a Nikon Z9 camera with a 8-15 mm fisheye lens pointed SSE to monitor the sky. Settings for the camera were 15 mm, ISO 800, f/11, and 120 second exposures using the intervalometer with a 4 second delay between exposures. Composites were created using PhotoShop (scripts, statistics, maximum). First image, the sky was relatively clear for the Vespera Pro telescopes to observe the moon. Second image, an 8-minute segment with a meteor trail. Third image, the sky was relatively clear for the Vespera Pro telescopes to observe M42, the Orion nebula. Fourth image, the full night showing lots of clouds passing. I’ve also included a slideshow with 28-minute star trail segments for the night. At the end there is time-lapse video of the night sky.
Winter Night Sky Star Trails Over New Jersey. Composite of images taken with a Nikon Z9 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens.Winter Night Sky Star Trails (with a meteor trail) Over New Jersey. Composite of images taken with a Nikon Z9 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens.Winter Night Sky Star Trails Over New Jersey. Composite of images taken with a Nikon Z9 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens.Winter Night Sky Star Trails Over New Jersey. Composite of images taken with a Nikon Z9 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens.
Star trails slideshow. Individual images are available in my PhotoShelter gallery.
Nine-Years Ago Today. Semester at Sea passenger working on a watercolor painting on the deck of the MV World Odyssey. (06-Jan-2016, Pacific Ocean)
Trolls out for the Snow
We didn’t get much snow. Mostly the winter weather was further south, frustrating January 6th protestors in Washington, D.C. In the following time-lapse video, let me know how many birds you can identify, and how many deer you can see in the far background. The deer are outside of the deer fence.
Nine-Years Ago Today. Mandatory lifeboat drill aboard the MV World Odyssey. Day 1 of the 2016 Semester at Sea Spring Voyage. (05-Jan-2016, Pacific Ocean)
Silhouettes of Jets Transiting the Sun.
Today, I captured images of jets with condensation trails 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 Stellina automated telescope using solar filters. For much of the day there were high level clouds partially obscuring the sun. I’m not sure why the solar images from the Vespera Classic telescope have a dark green background. The image from the Stellina telescope has a normal black background. There is a difference in the displayed angle of the sun between the Stellina and Vespera telescopes. Compare the position of the sunspots.
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.
Jets with contrails passing in front of the sun. Images captured with a Stellina and Vespera Classic telescopes fitted with solar filters. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery
Nine-Years Ago Today. Seagull with the MV World Odyssey docked at the San Diego Harbor. One day before the 2016 Spring Semester at Sea Voyage would sail. (04-Jan-2016, California).
Red Fox in the Backyard Hunting
Just before this video, a rabbit was observed running away. After I mowed down the wildflower meadow, the field is pretty barren.
