# 299 | Cygnus
On summer nights, Cygnus the Swan can easily be observed flying directly overhead. Also known as the Northern Cross, Cygnus is identified by its five bright stars in a cross shape which from the head, wings and tail of the swan.
Immersed within the stars of the Milky Way, Cygnus appears to be flying south, preparing for cooler weather later this fall.
From Arthur, Ontario, Clark MacDonald created this image of Cygnus, which he describes as his first "serious" DSLR image from photos taken between 1:00 - 3:00 a.m. on July 22.
Clark stacked nine 600-second images which he took using a Canon XTi with a Tamron 17-55 mm lens (operating at 26mm and f/5.6). Computer processing was done with Paint Shop Pro, Iris and Polaroid Dust and Scratch Removal.
# 298 | Saturn, Venus and the Moon
With summer in full swing, many folks are spending time at the cottage, having backyard barbecues or vacationing with family.
No matter what your summer schedule, remember to take the time to look up at the night sky. You may be visiting a location that provides a better or different view then you are accustomed to.
While spending time at his cottage in Salmon Beach, New Brunswick, Colin Jagoe of Brighton, Ontario snapped this image of the crescent Moon, Saturn and Venus hovering above the Bay de Chaleur and the town of Bathurst on July 16th.
Colin used a Canon XT digital camera equipped with a 75-300mm lens (at 125mm) and took a 4-second exposure at f/14.
# 297| M51
The past ten years has seen astrophotography continually taken to new levels. At one time an aspiring astrophotographer needed to travel outside of urban areas in order to avoid the ever-growing plague of light pollution.
CCD cameras changed all of that and now excellent images can be obtained within the glow of city limits.
From his driveway in Toronto, Stef Cancelli imaged galaxy M51 on May 11, 17, 18 and 19 using an SBIG ST10XME CCD camera attached to a Takahashi FS-102 refractor.
An IDAS light pollution filter was used to collect 5 hours of luminance data with the RGB totalling 3 hours. Processing was done with MaxIm DL, PixInsight and Adobe Photoshop CSII.
# 296 | Jupiter
Jupiter, the largest planet within our solar system, can easily be located with the naked eye. Shining a brilliant creme colour, Jupiter can currently be found rising in the southeast at dusk. By midnight it is due south and about half way towards the zenith.
Binoculars will reveal up to four of its moons—Ganymede, Callisto, Europa and Io. The moons will appear as faint "stars" on either side of the planet.
From his observatory in Baden, Ontario, Darryl Archer captured this image of Jupiter on the night of July 5th. Using a 14-inch Celestron SCT operating at f/22, Darryl took 800 images using a modified ToUcam web camera and later combined the best 100 using K3CCDTool, Registax 4 and Adobe Photoshop.
# 295 | Noctilucent Clouds
Noctilucent clouds are an astronomical mystery. Appearing in late spring and early summer in the western sky an hour after sunset, they are often only seen at high latitudes. Hovering at the edge of the Earth's atmosphere, scientists are unsure as to why these thin blue-coloured develop or what causes them.
A number of sightings have been reported over the northern parts of both Canada and Europe the past few weeks. From his home in Dunmore, Alberta, Lukas Gornisiewicz noticed a bright display of noctilucent clouds shortly after midnight on June 27th and captured them with a Canon Powershot A50 digital camera.
Earlier this year, NASA launched the AIM satellite (Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere) in order to determine the cause of noctilucent clouds. Data is beginning to be collected and scientists are hoping to soon understand these mysterious midnight clouds.
# 294 | Affordable Astrophotography
Many aspiring astrophotographers may be discouraged upon seeing images taken with photo equipment costing thousands of dollars and are left with the mistaken impression that in order to achieve an excellent image, a substantial amount of money needs to be spent on an expensive CCD or digital camera.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
The resolution of affordable web-cam style digital cameras enables most the luxury of obtaining excellent astrophotos. As with all astrophotography, patience and practice are the keys to creating a spectacular photo.
From near Kitchener-Waterloo, Brady Johnson recently used a 120mm Sky-Watcher refractor and a Meade LPI to create this image of the Moon using 300 frames stacked together.
# 293 | The Shuttle and the International Space Station
The past week has presented some excellent opportunities to view the International Space Station and Shuttle docked together. With the pair secured together, combined with the installation of new solar panels, there is a larger amount of metal to reflect sunlight.
The result? A brighter "star" moving across the night sky.
The International Space Station can often be seen just after sunset or before sunrise. Optical aid is not necessary to view the ISS as it can be easily seen with the naked eye.
The Shuttle will remain docked to the ISS until mid-week. Heavens-above.com is an excellent site that lists times for when they can be viewed. Don't miss this opportunity to view the pair docked together.
From south of Peterborough, Ontario, Phillip Chee captured the ISS and Shuttle gliding over his night sky on June 15 at 10:47 p.m.. His second Photo of the Week in a row, Phillip used a tripod-mounted Nikon D200 digital camera and a 17mm lens to take this 120-second exposure at ISO 400.
# 292 | Jupiter Reaches Opposition
Three planets can now easily be identified shortly after dusk.
Venus, the easiest to find, shines like a brilliant diamond above the western horizon.
Saturn can be seen to the upper left of Venus, appears as a bright "star" with a yellow-hued tinge.
Jupiter, now just a few days past opposition, can be located rising in the southeastern sky at dusk. Brighter than any nearby star, Jupiter has appears a creamy white colour to the naked eye. Binoculars will reveal up to four of its moons.
From near Peterborough, Ontario, Phillip Chee took this 30-second image of Jupiter and the summer Milky Way rising shortly after midnight on June 6, 2007. Phillip used a Nikon D200 at ISO 1600 with a 17mm lens at f2.8.
# 291 | Summer Constellations
Although summer may mean longer days, less darkness for observing and dealing with hungry mosquitoes and black flies, it also signifies the return of the summer Milky Way and this year, Jupiter.
From a location with a flat horizon and little light pollution, an observer can observe a number of deep sky treasures in the constellations Scorpius and Sagittarius: M8, M20, M22, M15, M4 and M16 are all spectacular objects to explore in a telescope.
Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, resides between Sagittarius and Scorpius for the 2007 observing season. Appearing as a bright "star", Jupiter outshines any object (other than the Moon) in this part of the night sky.
From the Fingal Wildlife Management area near London, Ontario, the site of the London RASC's observing location, Peter Raine took this image on May 14, 2007, a 15-second exposure at ISO 400 with a Canon Powershot A640 digital camera.
# 290 | A Fantastic Iridium Flare
Many satellites can be seen crossing the sky throughout the entire night near the summer solstice. Many appear as moderately bright "stars" that cross the entire sky within a few minutes. Occasionally a blinking "star" will be seen, indicating that the object is tumbling and reflecting towards the observer at intervals.
Iridium flares, reflections from a fleet of communications satellites, can often be seen but last only a few brief seconds. If the geometry between the observer, satellite and the Sun is correct, the flare can be as bright as magnitude -8, brighter than any other object in the night sky other than the Moon. Although most are often magnitude -1 to -4, these are still interesting to watch.
Heavens-above.com is a website which accurately predicts when Iridium flares, the International Space Station and other satellites can be seen from any given location.
On Friday, May 18, 2007, Malcolm Park knew that a magnitude -8 Iridium Flare would be occurring at his observing location at 10:21 p.m.. Using a Nikon D200 equipped with a 10.5mm Nikkor fisheye lens, Malcolm took a 36.5 second exposure at ISO 1600 from near Warkworth, Ontario and successfully captured the flare.