silhouette - David Mathre Photography

Saturday (14-December-2024) — New Jersey

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 128 10 sec images taken with a Vaonis Vespera-Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 1280 sec).

Friday (13-December-2024) — New Jersey

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. Image taken with a Vaonis Vespera Classic Telescope (200 mm, f/4, 1/4000 sec) with a solar filter. — 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.

Thursday (12-December-2024) — New Jersey

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.

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.

Friday (06-December-2024) — New Jersey

Nine-Years Ago Today. Frost covered Common Barberry. Hobler Park, New Jersey. (06-Dec-2015).

Jet Silhouettes Transiting the Sun.

In addition to the sunspots (we are at or near the solar maximum) I captured two jets transiting the sun using a Vespera Pro telescope fitted with a solar filter.

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)

The comet is getting fainter and the tail shorter. The magnitude is now 10.0. The first image is a composite of 31 images (5 min 10 sec) and the second one is a composite of 90 images (15 min). In the second image there is some movement of the comet head. Also, the comet is moving into a region of the sky with part of the milky way in the background (many more faint stars).

Friday (15-November-2024) — New Jersey

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)

Yesterday the sky was overcast, so no comet images. The comet and tail keep getting smaller and fainter. The estimated magnitude of the comet was +8.2. I am only showing images from the Stellina telescope since the Vespera telescopes are fitted with filters for viewing emission nebulae.

Full “Beaver” Moon

The full “supermoon” this month was extra bright because it was closer to earth. Once it was above the trees to my east, I used the Stellina telescope to record images for a time-lapse video. While reviewing the images I found several images with silhouettes of birds passing in front of the moon. At this time of the year, birds are migrating south, often at night. Even though it may have been a large bird, it must have been a long way away. The cropped image is about 4x magnification.

Silhouette of a bird flying in front of the "Beaver" full moon. Image taken with a Vaonis Stellina Telescope (400 mm, f/5, 1/2000 sec). — Silhouette of a bird flying in front of the “Beaver” full moon. Image taken with a Vaonis Stellina Telescope (400 mm, f/5, 1/2000 sec).