Tuesday (07-January-2025) — 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 lens
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 lens
Cat tracks in the snow. Image taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 38 mm f/2.5 lens
Cat tracks in the snow. Image taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 38 mm f/2.5 lens
Rabbit tracks in the snow. Image taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 38 mm f/2.5 lens
Rabbit tracks in the snow. Image taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 38 mm f/2.5 lens
Fox tracks in the snow attempting to cross the pond.. Image taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 38 mm f/2.5 lens
Fox tracks in the snow attempting to cross the pond. Image taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 38 mm f/2.5 lens
Field mouse tunnel/tracks in the snow. Image taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 38 mm f/2.5 lens
Field 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 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 (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.
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.

Monday (06-January-2025) — New Jersey

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.

Sunday (05-January-2025) — New Jersey

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.
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

Saturday (04-January-2025) — New Jersey

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.

Friday (03-January-2025) — New Jersey

Eleven-Years Ago Today. Trolls Playing in the Snow. (03-Jan-2014, New Jersey)

Silhouettes of Jets and Birds Transiting the Sun.

Today, I captured images of jets and birds transiting the sun while looking at the sunspots (we are at or near the solar maximum). I was viewing the sun with a Stellina automated telescope using solar filters. The silhouette of one of the jets was much larger that the majority of previously observed images. Still a long way away. If someone could identify the type of jet, we could estimate the distance relative to the angular diameter of the sun.

Silhouette of a jet transiting the sun with sunspots. Image taken with a Vaonis Stellina Telescope (400 mm, f/5) with a solar filter
Silhouette of a jet transiting the sun with sunspots. Image taken with a Vaonis Stellina Telescope (400 mm, f/5) with a solar filter

Jets and birds passing in front of the sun. Images captured with a Stellina telescope fitted with a solar filter. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery