Tuesday (30-December-2008) — New Jersey

Backyard Winter Night Sky Over New Jersey: Time-lapse Video

The ClearSky folks didn’t have a good forecast for the whole night, but I still recorded the night sky looking south. You can see the clouds kept passing over, so no star trails.

Wednesday (20-February-2008) — New Jersey

Backyard Winter Night Sky in New Jersey: Lunar Eclipse.

The moon does turn red during a lunar eclipse, even if it is only a partial eclipse.

Luna Eclipse over New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D300 and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1 sec). (David J Mathre)
Luna Eclipse over New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1 sec).

Friday (15-February-2008) — New Jersey

Backyard Winter Night Sky in New Jersey. Moon Ring and Orion.

The 22° Halo around the moon is caused by refraction of ice crystal high in the atmosphere.

Winter Night Sky over New Jersey. Moon, moon ring, Orion. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 17-35 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 17 mm, f/2.8, 30 sec). (David J Mathre)
Winter Night Sky over New Jersey. Moon, moon ring, Orion. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 17-35 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 17 mm, f/2.8, 30 sec).