Skillman - David Mathre Photography

Monday (28-October-2024) — New Jersey

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) over New Jersey

Another clear night. It has been very dry this fall with few clouds. All five telescopes were out tonight. First viewing the comet. Note several of the images have faint jet or satellite trails crossing the comet. I am guessing that they are satellite trails. The jpg images were processed to increase the brightness (Capture One Pro) and reduce the noise (Topaz AI).

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Composite of 30 images taken with a Vaonis Stellina Telescope (400 mm, f/5, 30 x 10 sec).

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Composite of 30 images taken with a Vaonis Vespera Classic Telescope (200 mm, f/4, 30 x 10 sec).

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Composite of 30 images taken with a Vaonis Vespera Passengers Telescope (200 mm, f/4, 30 x 10 sec).

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Composite of 30 images taken with a Vaonis Vespera II Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 30 x 10 sec) using a CLS (city light suppression) filter.

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Composite of 30 images taken with a Vaonis Vespera-Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, 30 x 10 sec).

After the comet dropped below the tree line, the telescopes were set to continue or start multi-night mosaic observations of the Veil Nebulae (NGC 6960 and NGC 6992), the Heart and Fish Head Nebulae (IC 1805 and IC 1795), and the Horse Head and Flame Nebulae (IC 434 and NGC 2024). Three of the telescopes Vespera Classic, Vespera Passenger, and Vespera Pro) were fitted with a dual narrowband interference Hα/OIII (hydrogen alpha/oxygen III) filter. The CLS filter remained on the Vespera II telescope, and no filter was used on the Stellina telescope.

Sunday (27-October-2024) — New Jersey

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) over New Jersey

Another clear night. It has been very dry this fall with few clouds. All five telescopes were out tonight. First viewing the comet. The Vespera II telescope was fitted with a CLS (city light suppression) filter causing the tint to the image. The length of the comet tail can be estimated based on the field of view for the telescope’s digital sensors. Stellina (1.0° x 0.7°), Vespera Classic (1.6° x 0.9°), Vespera Passengers (2.4° x 1.8°), Vespera II (2.5° x 1.4°), and Vespera Pro (1.6° x 1.6°). The jpg images were processed to increase the brightness (Capture One Pro) and reduce the noise (Topaz AI).

Thursday (27-June-2024) — New Jersey

Independence Day Fireworks

Montgomery Township typically celebrates Independence Day with fireworks several days before the 4th of July. There was some grumbling that the fireworks overlapped the debate. The fireworks were scheduled a long time before the debate. I live near a great location that overlooks the high school where the township holds the Independence Day celebration. It is away from the crowds. I got there just before sunset. One car arrived before me but there was still plenty of space to set up the tripods and cameras. Last year, one camera wasn’t in focus so I spent more time get all of the cameras set up, framed and focused. Confirmed that they all memory cards and full batteries. Also, since the cameras were all on tripods, I made sure that the “vibration reduction/stabilization” was turned off. As it got dark a few fireflies were visible. I set the cameras up as follows: Base ISO (50, 64, or 160), f/11, 8 second exposure. The fireworks started just before 21:25. It took a little bit of time to confirm the framing, focus, and to start the interval timers.

Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelte r Gallery.

Solar Energy Monitor

I use a Sense Home Energy Monitor to record my daily electric energy used (78.7 kWh) and daily solar electric energy produced (71.1 kWh). Mostly sunny and hot with a Water Furnace geothermal system cooling the house. Deficit of 7.6 kWh for the day.

Current Weather

29-June-2023 (Thursday) — New Jersey

Independence Day Fireworks

Montgomery Township typically celebrates Independence Day with fireworks several days before the 4th of July. Last year was the first fireworks display for a couple of years due to Covid-19. I live near a great location that overlooks the high school where the township holds the fireworks celebration. Actually, I have been using this spot for over 30 years to watch the fireworks. I got there just before sunset. The sky was hazy with smoke from the Canadian forest fires. A couple of cars arrived before me, but there was still plenty of space to park and to set up three cameras on tripods. The moon was visible but dimmed somewhat due to the haze. As it got dark a few fireflies were visible, but nowhere near as many as last year. I set the cameras up as follows: Base ISO (50 or 64), f/11, 8 second exposure. The fireworks started just before 21:30. I was a bit slow getting all of the cameras focused and starting the cameras interval timer to automatically take images until the show was over. Unfortunately, with one camera the focus wasn’t quite right. The other two were in focus. Images below.

Images taken with a Leica SL2 camera and 90-280 mm f/2.8-4 lens (ISO 50, 280 mm, f/11, 8 sec). Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Images taken with a Nikon Z9 camera and 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 64, 105 mm, f/11, 8 sec). Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Has anyone other than the folks trying to log onto my WordPress account noticed that I haven’t posted anything since February? It seems there have been hundreds of daily brute force attempts to guess my username and password.

Tuesday (20-September-2022) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed in my backyard: Song Sparrow.

Song Sparrow. (David J Mathre) — Song Sparrow. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (David J Mathre)

Flowers of the day viewed in my backyard: Mexican Sunflower, Rose Mallow, Plains Coreopsis, Sunflower, Zinnia.

Flowers of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Now that the “back 40” has been cleared, the pond that has been hidden behind tall brush and weeds is visible. Kermit and his many relatives survived the hot and dry summer.

Kermit the American Bullfrog and his relatives in the back pond. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

While out walking in the back yard, I noticed one or two Monarch butterflies feeding on the remaining Zinnia flowers.

Monarch butterfly feeding on Zinnia flowers. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (59.3 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (37.1 kWh) from Sense. Sun and clouds. Deficit of 22.2 kWh.