Night Sky - David Mathre Photography

Sunday (03-November-2019) — New Jersey

Autumn Outdoor Night Sky Over New Jersey.

I haven’t done any night sky images recently. It is getting colder, and the sky was clear with the Waxing Crescent Moon (nearly 3rd Quarter) shining brightly.

Waxing Crescent Moon. Composite of six images (15 second interval) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 800, 600 mm, f/11, 1/250 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and Photoshop (scripts, maximum). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Waxing Crescent Moon. Composite of nine images (10 second interval) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 800, 600 mm, f/11, 1/250 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and Photoshop (scripts, maximum). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Waxing Crescent Moon. Composite of eighteen images (5 second interval) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 800, 600 mm, f/11, 1/250 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and Photoshop (scripts, maximum). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (77.4 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (34.3 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. The sun was out, but much colder outside. Overall a net deficit of 43.1 kWh. Geothermal HVAC was on to heat the house (11.9 kWh). Monthly server backups completed.

Weekly Electric Energy Used (444 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (134 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Overall a net deficit of 310 kWh. Cooler out so the Geothermal HVAC was on to heat the house. Notice the 12 hours when the power was off.

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Ten-Years Ago (31-August-2009) — Alaska

Gone to See North America Road Trip. Day 10: Alaska Marine Highway on the MV Columbia. Haines, Alaska.

After arriving at Haines, Alaska we disembarked from the MV Columbia. I could have slept in the RV, but decided to splurge and spend the night at the Halsingland Hotel (B&B). They even put benchmarks in the ground to mark the location of hotels in Haines — 118 feet above mean sea level. I set a camera up looking out my window to capture night sky star trails. I also managed to capture Northern Lights which I was not expecting.

Hotel Halsingland Bench Mark -- 118 Feet Above Mean Sea Level. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 18-300 mm lens (ISO 200, 200 mm, f/5.6, 1/160 sec) (David J Mathre) — Hotel Halsingland Bench Mark — 118 Feet Above Mean Sea Level. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 18-300 mm lens (ISO 200, 200 mm, f/5.6, 1/160 sec) (David J Mathre)

Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.

Three-Years Ago (27-August-2016) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Night Sky Over New Jersey.

Star and jet trails plus clouds. Images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 120 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro, and the composite generated with Photoshop CC (statistics, maximum). One problem I continue to have is moisture condensing on the lens as temperature cool over the night. Especially with wide angle lenses with lots of glass surface area. You can see how the condensation blurs things in the final image. I’ve read about adding electrical resistance thermal tape to heat the lens, but worry about damage and optical artifacts. I’ve also added a time-lapse video of the night sky show.

Star Trails and Clouds Looking South. Composite of 50 images (01-50) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 120 sec). (David J Mathre)

Star Trails and Clouds Looking South. Composite of 50 images (51-100) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 120 sec). (David J Mathre)

Star Trails and Clouds Looking South. Composite of 50 images (101-150) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 120 sec). (David J Mathre)

Star Trails and Clouds Looking South. Composite of 50 images (151-200) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 120 sec). (David J Mathre)

Four-Years Ago (27-August-2015) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Night Sky Over New Jersey.

Star trails looking north and the waxing gibbous moon (both a composite and time-lapse video).

Startrails Looking North. Composite of 60 images taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 10.5 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 100, 10.5 mm, f/4, 120 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro with the composite processed using Phototshop CC Statictics/Maximum. (David J Mathre)

Waxing Gibbous Moon. Composite of 12 images taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 200, 600 mm, f/11, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)

Three-Years Ago (17-August-2016) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Night Sky Over New Jersey.

Night Time Thunderstorm. Two minute time-lapse video. Moon, Clouds, Lightning. Approximately 3000 Images taken between midnight and 4 AM from my backdoor using a Nikon D810A camera and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E lens (ISO 800, 24 mm, f/4, 4 sec). At one point I had to move the camera away from the door during a heavy downpour. Time-lapse video created from the in camera jpg images using Photoshop CC. This was the fourth night in a row that we have had thunderstorms.