Sky at Night

Lest we Forget

11-11-21 Made up from lunar phase captures.

Full circle

This is my lockdown lunar montage which has captured every phase of the waxing moon during lockdown months. Images range from May through till Dec 2020 and include the following phases:- 5% - 23 June 9% - 25 May 11% - 24 June 18% - 25 June 28% - 26 June 36% - 20 December 39% - 27 June 50% - 22 November 59% - 30 May 61% - 23 November 64% - 31 May 72% - 01 June 80% - 26 October 82% - 25 November 89% - 26 November 94% - 27 November All moon images were captured with:- Olympus OMD EM1 (mk3) 300mm & 100-400mm lenses A mix of tripod and hand held. Some using Star Adventurer tracking mount. Some captured in High Res mode. Final montage of all images put together using Pixelmator software. A fantastic project during lockdown. Stay safe.

2022

2022 made from my lunar phase captures.

November Stars

Photo captured overnight 4th/5th November 2021 from my home in South Leicestershire, East Midlands. This star trail was captured with the Olympus EM1 (iii) camera & 7-14mm lens. This shot is a mega 9hr long exposure (all captured & processed in camera) and shows 9 hours of Earth's rotation as shown through the stars, spinning around the North Pole star 'Polaris' . Read on to see how I captured this shot. BEHIND THE LENS Camera:- Olympus OM-D E-M1 (iii) Lens: Olympus 7-14mm Tripod Anker PowerBank (PowerCore+ 26800) power device Lens dew heater Live Composite mode - 15s exposure time, F4 , 9hrs. ISO 500 I mounted the camera on a tripod and set up the composition using a 7-14mm lens framing the horse chestnut tree and just below the North Star (Polaris). Finding Polaris is easy - Follow the last two stars from the blade of The Plough. For powering an 9hr long exposure I used an external power device, plugged into camera and hung on tripod. To prevent dew/ice from forming during the 9hrs (frost was forecast) I wrapped a dew heater around the lens (powered from mains extension). The star trail was captured by using the Olympus in-camera function called Live Composite (Setting B on top dial). I chose 15s exposures and let the camera shoot firstly for a period of 3 hours. Immediately after the 3hr composite had finished I then started the process again and this time setting live composite for 6hrs. The tree was lit with torchlight from behind during exposure. Once complete (next morning) I then had 2 no live composite images in the camera which I stacked together using software (Starstax) to produce the final 9hr composite. The resulting image reveals 9hrs of Earth spinning, from my back yard garden. The dew heater was a must too as the camera gear was covered in ice the next morning!

Patio Stars

Photo captured overnight 7th/8th September 2021 from my home in South Leicestershire, East Midlands. This star trail was captured with the Olympus EM1 (iii) camera & 7-14mm lens. A straight second night of clear skies. For this shot I captured simplicity, sticking the camera on a tripod on my garden patio and pointing towards the North sky. This shot is a whopping 8hr long exposure (all captured & processed in camera) and is shows 8 hours of Earth's rotation as shown through the stars, spinning around the North Pole star 'Polaris' . Read on to see how I captured this shot. BEHIND THE LENS Camera:- Olympus OM-D E-M1 (iii) Lens: Olympus 7-14mm Tripod Anker PowerBank (PowerCore+ 26800) power device Lens dew heater Live Composite mode - 15s exposure time, F4 , 8hrs. ISO 400 I mounted the camera on a tripod and set up the composition using a 7-14mm lens framing the horse chestnut tree and just below the North Star (Polaris). Finding Polaris is easy - Follow the last two stars from the blade of The Plough. For powering an 8hr long exposure I used an external power device, plugged into camera and hung on tripod. To prevent dew from forming during the 8hrs (dew was forecast) I wrapped a dew heater around the lens (powered from mains extension). The star trail was captured by using the Olympus in-camera function called Live Composite (Setting B on top dial). I chose 15s exposures and let the camera shoot firstly for a period of 2 hours. Immediately after the 2hr composite had finished I then started the process again and this time setting live composite for 6hrs. Once complete (next morning) I then had 2 no live composite images in the camera which I stacked together using software (Starstax) to produce the final 8hr composite. The resulting image reveals 8hrs of Earth spinning, from my back yard garden. A great project and why not give it a go?

Ghostly Stars

Photo captured overnight 6th/7th September 2021 from my home in South Leicestershire, East Midlands. This star trail was captured and processed all in-camera (no post stacking processing) with the Olympus EM1 (iii) camera & 7-14mm lens. Summer has gone and longer nights are upon us allowing for good star trail opportunities. That is when the weather plays ball! Cloud cover has been the story of the British summer so its nice to get back out at night with the camera during a few heatwave days, with high pressure dominating. This also coincided with a new moon :-) This shot is a whopping 6hr long exposure (all captured & processed in camera) and is shows 6 hours of Earth's rotation as shown through the stars, spinning around the North Pole star 'Polaris' . To add a bit of foreground fun to the composition I added some harmless artificial light and created shadowy figures. Read on to see how I captured this shot. BEHIND THE LENS Camera:- Olympus OM-D E-M1 (iii) Lens: Olympus 7-14mm Tripod Anker PowerBank (PowerCore+ 26800) power device Lens dew heater Live Composite mode - 15s exposure time, F4 , 6hrs. ISO 400 I mounted the camera on a tripod and set up the composition using a 7-14mm lens framing the horse chestnut tree and the North Star (Polaris). Finding Polaris is easy - Follow the last two stars from the blade of The Plough. For powering a 6hr long exposure I used an external power device, plugged into camera and hung on tripod. To prevent dew from forming during the 6hrs (dew was forecast) I wrapped a dew heater around the lens (powered from mains extension). The star trail was captured by using the Olympus in-camera function called Live Composite (Setting B on top dial). I chose 15s exposures and let the camera shoot for a period of 6 hours. To create the shadows of myself I used a torch. By walking around the field (whilst the camera is taking continuous exposures) and turning the torch on and off at certain positions, making sure torch was in front of body, this creates shadows and light. A fun way to add something different to the composition! No post processing required for stacking - all this is done via the Live Composite mode in the camera. The resulting image reveals 6hrs of Earth spinning, with a ghostly twist.

Perseid Star Trail

Captured at home 12/13th Aug 2021

Sun Flower Space Station

Space Station flying over my sunflowers captured at home on 22nd July 2021.

Eriba Space Station

Space Station flying over my Eriba caravan captured at home on 20th July 2021. Modern day meets retro travel!

Space Station flyby

Captured at home on 18th July 2021. A full horizon to horizon pass. Needed the 8mm fisheye!

Space Station flying over Eriba, East Devon

Little Bulstone CL site, nr Branscombe

Waxing Crescent 27% 15th June 2021

Waxing crescent (27%) moon captured at home on 15th June 2021. Olympus EM1 mk3 100-400mm f6.3, 1/125, ISo250

Parrial solar eclipse

Captured at home on 1oth June. Weather conditions not good with a few breaks in cloud allowing a few snaps. This is a composite of best I could get - start approx 10am through till 11.30am

Eriba stars Somerset

Captured in Somerset whilst staying at Clevedon Tobella Farm CC CL site on evening 1st & 2nd June 2021. Camera: Olympus OM-D EM-1 mk3 Lens: 7-14mm This star trail was captured by using the Olympus in-camera function called Live Composite (Setting B on top dial). I chose 15s exposures and set the camera shoot for a period of 4 hours, which is the maximum time I could push with the shorter summer nights. The final image you see is a 4hrs composite captured in camera or 4hrs x 15s in a single image. BEHIND THE LENS Camera:- Olympus OM-D EM-1 mk3 Lens: Olympus 7-14mm Tripod - Mounted on site at Clevedon Tobella Farm CL site 15s exposure time using Live Composite mode in camera. F4 ISO 400 I mounted the camera on a tripod next to where our Eriba cravan was pitched. I set up the composition using a 7mm focal length composing the camera with the Eriba caravan in frame. Using the Live Composite mode on the Olympus camera the star trail is all generated in-camera, a very cool feature which reduces post processing. The resulting shot reveals 4 hrs of Earth spinning above ET (our Eriba caravan).

50% Half Moon

Exactly 50% half moon captured at home on 19th May 2021. Early evening, 2106hrs. Olympus EM1 mk3 100-400mm + x2TC Tripod with Skywatcher Star Adventurer tracking mount. f13, 1/125, ISo320

Crescent moon 9% 14th May 2021

9% crescent moon captured on 14th May 2021. Single shot, no telescope nor stack. This shot was captured earlier on in evening at 2131hrs. Gear:- Star Adventurer Sky Watcher tracking mount. This is essential when shooting long exposures of a moving object, especially with high focal length/good zoom lens. It essentially rotates at the same speed as the moon ensuring a sharper image. Olympus EM1, (mk3), 100-400mm lens Settings - f6.3, 1/30s, ISO 400

Earthshine crescent 9%

9% crescent moon captured on 14th May 2021. Single shot, no telescope nor stack. This shot was captured earlier on in evening at 2132hrs. It was a challenging shot capturing Earthshine in the twilight and 0.3s was the slowest shutter speed I could use before blowing out the exposure. Gear:- Star Adventurer Sky Watcher tracking mount. This is essential when shooting long exposures of a moving object, especially with high focal length/good zoom lens. It essentially rotates at the same speed as the moon ensuring a sharper image. Olympus EM1, (mk3), 100-400mm lens Settings - f6.3, 0.3s, ISO 400

Eriba stars

Captured in Cornwall whilst staying at St Agnes Beacon CC site on evening 6th & 7th May 2021. A wonderfully clear sky (only one in the week stay). Camera: Olympus OM-D EM-1 mk3 Lens: 7-14mm This star trail was captured by using the Olympus in-camera function called Live Composite (Setting B on top dial). I chose 15s exposures and set the camera shoot for a period of 6 hours, which is the maximum time setting on the in-camera live composite mode. The final image you see is a 6hrs composite captured in camera or 6hrs x 15s in a single image. BEHIND THE LENS Camera:- Olympus OM-D EM-1 mk3 Lens: Olympus 7-14mm Tripod - Mounted on site at St Agnes Beacon CC site 15s exposure time using Live Composite mode in camera. F4 ISO 500 I mounted the camera on a tripod next to where our Eriba cravan was pitched. I set up the composition using a 7mm focal length composing the camera with the Eriba caravan in frame. The light within the caravan (and pop up) adds a nice lit touch. Using the Live Composite mode on the Olympus camera the star trail is all generated in-camera, a very cool feature which reduces post processing. The resulting shot reveals 6 hrs of Earth spinning above ET (our Eriba caravan).