Morning Sunrise at Gooseberry

Finally, a morning when we did not have to pick up my son at work.  We will be able to get a sunrise today.  Arriving at Gooseberry neck, Westport, Massachusetts at around 5:20 AM.  The sky was still dark in the waxing gibbous moon was high in the West.  The first pictures that I took were of the waxing gibbous moon.

Waxing Gibbous Moon

 Then turning our attention to the East, looking over Buzzards Bay toward the Cape, the sky was filled with clouds haze and fog to the right.  I utilized my Nikon D 810, Tamron 28-75 on a tripod.  I set my ISO at 200, F-stop at f10, put a two second delay on shutter release and used a wired remote..  Checking a depth of field chart everything was in focus from about 5 feet to infinity.  I then took a series of photographs starting at about 5:35 AM, with Venus still prominent in the sky, and finishing up after the sun had risen.  Timewise halfway before the sun rose.  I created a panorama to show the fog bank, haze and clouds over Buzzards Bay.  The haze and clouds created a bright red sun, rather than a bright yellow sun, as it rose from beneath the horizon.

Nautical Dawn with Venus in the Sky

Civil Dawn

Civil Dawn

Civil Dawn

Panorama Show in the Clouds Haze and the Fog Bank on the Right

Just Prior to Sunrise

Sun Rising

Final Photograph after the Sun Had Risen

I have photographed it both sunrises and sunsets on Gooseberry neck over the years and never or to the same.  For sunrises, you should arrive while it is still dark, and for sunsets be prepared to stay at least a half hour after sunset because you never know when the best colors is going to occur.

Because of the dampness in the ear and the slight fog, prior to putting equipment the way we dried off the tripod legs with the towel and blotted the camera and lens to remove any dampness that may have been on them.

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A Night at Gooseberry

Sunset

Last night, there was a possibility of Aurora, so we went out to Gooseberry in order to watch the skies and photograph whatever we saw.  The sunset had some nice color at the horizon, but there was not any clouds, so we did not get one of those very colorful sunset's.  The moon was in the sky brightly shining in its first quarter view..  This guy slowly darkened, then Venus followed by Jupiter and finally Regulus appeared in the sky.  Jupiter is catching up to Venus and by the beginning of the month should be at their closest conjunction until next year.  It was a beautiful night, with intermittent clouds some breeze, pesky mosquitoes and people out just walking, going fishing or kids celebrating the end, the school going to have a campfire on the beach.  Once the clouds passed the Milky Way was able to be captured by the cameras because of the moon.  It was not as bright in the sky as usual, Cassiopeia W was just above the horizon and in one picture I have some green color, which may have been an Aurora.  We watched a couple of satellites, passing overhead one on a west to east direction and one and a north south direction.  The moon shined rightly on the water and as the evening progressed, the planet slowly sank into the northwest.  It is always great to be out and observe the wonder of the heavens that flow above us, plus capturing a bit of it in our cameras.

Looking south with the stars in the sky, clouds and a fire on the beach

Milky Way panorama

Cassiopeia above, a possible Aurora

moonlight reflection on the water

satellite passing overhead

Venus, Jupiter and Regulus slowly setting in the West

same photo as above, but captioned

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Summer Solstice

Sunset

June 21 marked the Summer solstice and at our latitude we had 15 hours and 17 minutes of daylight.  It would have been nice to be able to capture the sunrise, however, remnants of tropical storm Bill wash this out.  After Bill cleared out in the afternoon, there were fluffy clouds in the sky and we decided to go capture the sunset, and hopefully the waxing crescent moon in conjunction with Venus and Jupiter and if the sky stayed clear, we would also see Regulus.

Out at Gooseberry, there was a lot of people there to watch and photograph the sunset.  As usual, the sunset was entirely different than any other one.  There was some low clouds on the horizon..  In the clear sky, the crescent moon could be observed.  After the sunset, and twilight began and the sky God slowly darker Venus appeared, followed by Jupiter and clouds came in, but did not obscure the view.  Finally Regulus appeared in the night sky.

Civil Twilight

Waxing Crescent Moon, and Venus

Waxing Crescent Moon, Venus, Jupiter and Regulus in the Clouds

Waxing Crescent Moon, Venus, Jupiter and Regulus in the Clouds labeled

The only thing that makes me sad is the days are going to get slowly shot her and we are headed again toward winter.  Hopefully this coming winter will not have the same amount the snow is this previous winter.



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Mid June Night Sky

It was a beautiful clear night and I decided that we would go out to Gooseberry after dropping off a son at work and photograph the Milky Way, plus the opportunity to capture Venus and Jupiter and the same frame.  Arriving at Gooseberry, there were a moderate number of cars present, and a group of people would down on the beach with a bonfire.  However, with a group of people were did not interfere with our photography.

First, looking over Rhode Island Sound (Atlantic Ocean) toward the shore of Rhode Island, they were actually three bright objects in a row, Venus, Jupiter and Regulus.  Toward the end of the month, Jupiter and Venus will approach the closest conjuncture that they will have until October 2017.  Starting around June 18, you will be able to see the crescent moon below, Jupiter, Venus and Regulus.

Venus, Jupiter and Regulus, Looking toward Rhode Island Over Rhode Island Sound

Venus, Jupiter and Regulus With Text

The Milky Way is rising in the south, and as the month progresses, the Milky Way will rise higher in the sky and start moving toward the west.

Milky Way Panorama, Utilizing 24 Mm Lens

Milky Way, Utilizing 14 Mm Lens

At the end of the month.  I am planning on a workshop not only to photograph the Milky Way, but also to photograph fireflies.  Keep tuned for more information.

Besides the Milky Way, Venus, Jupiter, and Regulus the Big Dipper was shining brightly in the sky.  The only problem Gooseberry is the amount of light pollution that is present along the shore from northeast through the northwest.

Big Dipper

Venus, Waxing Crescent Moon And the Night Sky at Gooseberry

Sunset at Gooseberry

There is a lot going on in the night sky this month of December. Venus which is in the night sky just after sunset is near its time of its greatest brilliancy. And right after sunset especially December fifth and sixth Venus is close to the early crescent moon. Last night I went out to Gooseberry, because the skies were clear in the next few days it is going to be cloudy and possibly raining and photographed first the sunset at Gooseberry then Venus and the Moon just after sunset and then photographed them just as the Moon was setting over the dunes at Horseneck Beach.

Venus and the Moon from Gooseberry Looking West

Venus with the Moon Setting over the Dunes at Horseneck Beach

 The stars were brilliant and led to a few good photographs. However, the ambient light coming from the New Bedford area did light up the bottom of the sky.

Night Sky Looking East with the Pleiades

Coming up is the Geminids meteor shower.The peak night of the 2013 Geminid meteor shower is expected to be from late evening  (Friday, December 13) until dawn(Saturday, December 14). The meteors will be flying, but will you see them in the bright light of the waxing gibbous moon? Because of the moon, my plans will be, weather permitting, to be at the stone barn Friday morning from 3 AM to 6 AM and Saturday morning from 4 AM to 6 AM, hopefully to photograph the meteor shower. The reason for this is that the moon will have been set. The reason I use the stone barn because there is much less ambient light in that location, plus there are bathrooms and a kitchen to make hot drinks. If you would like to attend please send me an email and I will get back to you with what equipment you will need. The Geminids can be as nice as the Perseid meteor shower.

The Sky at the Stone Barn

I spent another interesting evening at the Stone Barn property of Allens Pond Massachusetts Audubon Sanctuary in the company of my son and grandson, who are both photographers (my grandson is learning) photographing the nights sky.  Leaving home to travel out to Westport/Dartmouth, the sky had become very cloudy and overcast, however, arriving in Westport, there were only occasional clouds around.  An interesting fact is that driving down the road, prior to turning into the road leading to the Stone Barn, we were in Westport, Massachusetts, and once we got onto the road leading to the barn, we were in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.

Gibbous Moon

my son observing the sky, and Venus



Venus surrounded by clouds

 

the sky at nautical dusk



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The s

Orion and Venus

Venus in the Pleiades

We arrived just after sunset and in the sky was a large waxing gibbous Moon (the full Moon will be in 2 days) that was lighting up the sky. By the wayhe Moon light the buildings and scenery so I did not have light paint.

In the Western sky, Venus was brightly shining, but there was a bank of clouds coming in out of the Northwest.  The clouds gave an interesting affect to the sky, especially during nautical dusk and the clouds intermittently covered Venus and the Moon.  The clouds continued to rule intermittently through the area, however, we still had extremely great views of the sky, the stars and constellations.

Big Dipper and Polaris above the Stone Barn

Star Trails

I would have liked to spend at least an hour, killing start trails, but because of some time constraints and the bright moon, I was only able to do a 20 min. exposure of the Big Dipper and Polaris over the top of the Stone Barn
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Venus and the Pleiades Conjunction

This spring has been great for conjunctions in the sky.  In February, Venus, Jupiter and the Moon were in conjunction in March.  There was another conjunction of Venus, Jupiter and the Moon.
The following is from the NASA Science News Website:
"This week the second planet from the sun will pass directly in front of the Pleiades star cluster. It's a rare sunset conjunction that's easy to find with the unaided eye, but best seen through binoculars or a small telescope.
The action begins on Monday evening, April 2nd, when Venus enters the outskirts of the little dipper-shaped asterism. Look west at sunset for Venus--it's the brightest thing around--then scan the area using binoculars. The conjunction will be immediately clear. The best evening to look is Tuesday, April 3rd, when the brilliant planet glides just south of the dipper's bowl. Venus exits by the handle on Wednesday, April 4th. Venus passes through the Pleiades in this way about once every 8 years.
To say this is a mixture of dissimilar things would be an understatement. This week the second planet from the sun will pass directly in front of the Pleiades star cluster. It's a rare sunset conjunction that's easy to find with the unaided eye, but best seen through binoculars or a small telescope.
The Pleiades are elusive. You rarely find them on purpose. They're best seen out of the corner of your eye, a pretty little surprise that pops out of the night sky when you're staring elsewhere.
Venus is just the opposite. Dazzling, bright enough to cast faint shadows, it beams down from the heavens and grabs you when you're not even looking.
The Pleiades, also known as the "Seven Sisters," are a cluster of young stars. They formed barely 100 million years ago during the age of dinosaurs on Earth from a collapsing cloud of interstellar gas. The biggest and brightest members are blue-white and about five times wider than our own sun.
Because of their distance, about 400 light years away, the Pleiades are near the limit of naked-eye visibility. When Venus joins them in conjunction, it will look like a supernova has gone off inside the cluster. Venus's thick clouds reflect so much sunlight, the planet outshines every thing in the night sky except the Moon. Strangely, though, the Pleiades do not look puny in comparison, just delicately beautiful. "
I took the above picture this evening, utilizing a 300 mm lens with a 1.4 converter and the only post processing that I performed was noise reduction.  The rays of Venus occurred in camera.
So if you have a chance, and the weather allows it, go outside tomorrow, April 3, 2012, around 9 PM and look in the Western sky for Venus brightly shining in the Pleiades.

Celestial Triple Conjunction

Occurring this weekend there was a spectacular event in the night sky.  There was a triple conjunction of Venus, Jupiter and the Moon, it was able to be observed, looking toward the western sky at twilight..  Although, the past few days I have not been up to par and have been home and not doing any photography, I had to get out to at least observe this event.
We arrived at the parking lot at Horseneck beach, prior to sunset and set up our cameras..  I was using a wide angle lens, a 17-35 mm, that was set on manual focusing and I had focused at an object fire in the distance to make sure everything was in focus.  I had set my lens to an f-stop of 4.5, the camera also was on manual, single shot, and I attached a remote release.  My ISO was 800, and my shutter speed varied depending on my histogram.
As the sky darkened, after sunset, the first object that appeared was a crescent moon, followed by Venus, which was below the moon, and then Jupiter appeared to the left of the moon.  Of course, as the skies darkened the celestial bodies got brighter and slowly did the stars appear.  Also, low on the western horizon, Mercury was visible.  In the photographs, the hardest part about locating Mercury was the lightness of the horizon due to the lights coming from the city of Fall River.

Labeled

Planets and Moon over Bath House

Other sky events that are coming up in March:  Mars, (in the East) which will be the brightest around March 4; Venus and Jupiter will be the closest in mid-March.  On March 12 and 13th Venus and Jupiter will only like 3° apart and will look like headlights in the sky.  An interesting side to this conjunction of Venus and Jupiter was this was the event that occurred in 2 B..C.,  known as the Star of Bethlehem.

Big Dipper and Polaris

. Prior to leaving, I took this picture of the Big Dipper and Polaris (the North Star).  The light area on the bottom are lights from New Bedford, Massachusetts