Crescent Moon, Venus, and Jupiter with Sub-Zero Temps

Below zero air temps and about -25 wind chills in NE Ohio this morning didn’t stop me from going outside to get a photo of the crescent moon, Venus, and Jupiter in the southern sky.

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Looking for The Perseid Meteor Shower

I was out in the very early hours on August 12 and August 13, scanning the sky to spot the Perseid Meteor Shower. This year, I didn’t see any meteors, possibly due to the occasional high, thin clouds. I did see the Pleiades, and a nice bonus of a very brilliant Venus rising in the east. Here are two (meteor-free) photos.

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Orion and Planets Shine Bright

There were some high, wispy clouds in the sky before dawn, but there were enough gaps to get some quick star and planet photos this morning. Sun rise was about 2 hours away,  but there was some light from the sun hitting the clouds high in the atmosphere, plus ambient light from ground level. This gave the clouds - barely visible to the eye - some lovely color with the long exposure. It’s a great time of year to see Orion in the southern sky, and I was lucky that Jupiter, Mars, and Venus were visible in the eastern sky. Here are a few photos. These pictures are single images (not stacked photos), all taken with a wide aperture and a 30 second exposure.

The constellation Orion is visible, identified by the three stars that comprise the "belt.")

(Jupiter is near the center of the photo, with Mars and Venus below and slightly left.The tree in the following photos appear green from light being cast by a nearby outdoor light fixture.)

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Stargazing: Orion, Taurus, and Ursa Major (with The Big Dipper)

This is a great time of year for stargazing and for star photography. Orion is clearly visible (in the southern sky), as are many other constellations. With cool temperatures and a clear night, I spent some time taking photographs of the constellations Orion, Ursa Major (with The Big Dipper), and Taurus, with the Pleiades nearby. Here are a few photos that were taken about 2 hours before sunrise. (Click on any image for a larger view.)


Orion

The Big Dipper

Orion (wide view of southern sky)

Taurus & The Pleiades

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Jupiter Shines Bright As Dawn Approaches

Jupiter was very bright in the eastern sky this morning;  so bright that it, and one of its moons, were clearly visible as dawn approached.    Here’s a look!

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Venus, The Moon, Earthshine…UFO?

Considering the frequency that I point my camera to the sky, I’m bound to get something in the picture that doesn’t seem to belong. This morning I was out photographing Venus and the moon (along with some “earthshine” on the moon). The sky was crystal clear which made for some nice shots. But when I opened the files to look at the photos, one of them appeared to have a smudge on it. I zoomed in to see what got in the way, and, well, I am not quite sure what it is. My best guess is that it was a high flying bird that flew into the camera’s field of view, but it’s just more fun to call it a UFO.

The Moon, with Venus to the upper right

The Moon and "Earthshine"

The "UFO" - probably a bird

A little close up

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Trying to Catch the Perseids

Stars - and a red glow

I got up before 3:00 AM to try to catch a few photographs of the Perseid meteor shower. While I did see two meteors streak across the sky, my camera was not so lucky. It managed to get a flare of one as it streaked through the camera’s field of view just a second before the shutter closed. The only evidence are two tiny green streaky blobs in one of the pictures.

I did manage to snap a few pictures with some stars and Jupiter, along with a few high clouds that happened to drift into the photos. One of the photos picked up a reddish glow in the area when the sun rises. Since the photo was taken at 3:15 AM, it is likely some advance light from the sun was reflecting on the high clouds as they moved in. (There are actually quite a few stars in these photos but they are hard to see in these smaller pictures.)

The meteor trail are the 2 small dots in the upper right of the photograph, just to the left of the shadow of the tree. It looked much better in person, trust me.

The picture below was taken at 3:05 AM, some stars are visible, but the length of exposure makes the photograph look like it is past dawn.

That small bright dot just left of center is Jupiter, which is still hanging around in the southern sky. This photo was taken at 2:55 AM.

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