# 199 | Aim For The Moon
While the Moon may be the bane of many astrophotographers, others accept it with open arms. On nights when deep sky objects are washed out due to moonlight, try taking some photos of our nearest celestial neighbour. You may be surprised at how much detail an image of the Moon will reveal.
On August 25th, Andre Guay of Ste. Foy, Quebec took this image of the Moon using a Canon 300D and a Celestron G8 SCT (with a 6.3 focal reducer attached) mounted on a Losmandy GM-8. An exposure of 1/250 second at ISO 800 was taken.
# 198 | Jupiter and the Moon
With two planets hugging the western horizon, early September will present opportunities to take some beautiful images of the Moon joining both Venus and Jupiter, similar to the this image taken by Roy Patterson of Toronto.
While in Tenecape, Nova Scotia on August 7th, Roy captured this colourful scene looking west over Cape Blomidon on the Minas Basin. A 6-second exposure was taken at ISO 100 using a tripod-mounted Canon D60 with a 75mm lens set to f/5.6.
# 197 | All-sky Aurora
A spectacular aurora can fill the entire sky and is a sight to behold. Even with a wide-angle camera lens, astrophotographers can still have a difficult time capturing the full extent of Nature's light show.
Using Adobe Photoshop, Pierre Martin of Ottawa, Ontario combined two auroral images that he took in early July from La Verendrye Forest Reserve in Quebec. Pierre used a Canon 300D digital camera with a 35mm lens at f/2 and took 8-second exposures at ISO 400.
# 196 | Blackout Memories
August 14, 2003 was a special night for anyone with even the slightest interest in astronomy. Shortly after 4:00 p.m. most of Ontario and the eastern U.S. was suddenly without power after a failure occurred at an American power station that had ramifications for millions of people.
Amateur astronomers across the affected area soon realized that they would be able to view a night sky from urban areas that had not been seen for decades. Impromptu star parties sprang up in towns and cities throughout both countries.
Inspired by the dark skies that were suddenly visible from his suburban home, Anthony Damtsis of Markham, Ontario, took this 45-minute exposure from his normally light-polluted yard. Anthony used a Ricoh KR-Super film camera and ISO 100 print film.
For more information on the blackout, please see the SkyNews Light Pollution page.
# 195 | A Shuttle, A Space Station and a Sunspot
Upon being alerted by a member of his astronomy club that a transit of the Sun by the International Space Station and the Shuttle would be visible from Ottawa, Ontario, Shane Finnigan gathered his gear and met up with other members of the club early on Saturday, July 30, 2005.
At 10:07 a.m., the I.S.S., with the Shuttle docked to it, glided across the Sun in less than a second.
Using an Orion ED 80mm refractor and a 2x Meade barlow, Shane took a 1/750th second exposure with his Canon 20D digital camera at ISO 800.
Sunspot 792 can be seen at the left is approximately 10 times larger than the Earth.
# 194 | The Veil Nebula
Although it may necessitate travelling to a dark observing location in order to see the wispy, faint details that are present in the Veil Nebula, the effort is well worth it---the Veil is a beautiful deep sky treasure to observe.
Found on the eastern side of the left wing of Cygnus the Swan, the Veil has two curving components and is best seen using low powers.
Brady Johnson took this image of the Veil's eastern component from Mount Forest, Ontario using a Borg 76 ED refractor and an SBIG ST8XE mounted on a Sky-Watcher EQ6 SynScan. Exposure times were 60, 30 and 60 minutes (RGB) with processing done using ImagesPlus and Photoshop.
# 193 | Celestial Celebration
Poor weather may have delayed the Canada Day celebrations in Bedford, Nova Scotia, but when it cleared on July 4th, the conditions were perfect for Mercury and Venus to join the display of fireworks.
Shaun Lowe captured this beautiful image using a Nikon D70 with an 18-70 DX lens (used at 31mm) set to f11. A 6-second exposure was taken using ISO 200.
# 192 | Venus and Mercury
Hopefully SkyNews readers have been watching the planetary dance that has been occurring on the western horizon shortly after sunset.
The past month we have been fortunate to watch Venus, Mercury and Saturn provide some stunning celestial views. While Saturn has disappeared into the sunset glow with Mercury soon to follow, Venus will remain visible. Seek out a view to the west with an unobstructed horizon for your best chance to view Venus shortly after sunset.
On July 2, 2005, Thomas Collin took this image of Venus and Mercury from Ste-Marthe du Cap, Quebec. Thomas used a Canon 300D digital camera equipped with a 200mm lens and took a 4-second exposure at ISO 400.
# 191 | Supernova 2005cs
On June 27, 2004, a supernova was discovered in M51, the spectacular face-on spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici. At the time of discovery, the supernova was estimated to be at magnitude 13.5 and is expected to brighten over the course of the next few days.
Supernovas occur at the end of a star's lifetime after its fuel has been exhausted. Gravity forces the star's core to implode while the outer layers reach temperatures of billions of degrees and erupt in an explosive fury. Radiation floods into surrounding space and is visible millions of light-years away.
Albert Saikaley of Ottawa, Ontario combined two images of M51, one taken a month previously and the other taken on Saturday, July 2, 2005, to create this blinking composite showing the supernova.
# 190 | Noctilucent Clouds
While those in Canada at higher latitudes may have to contend with perpetual twilight during the summer months, there is an astronomical perk: witnessing noctilucent clouds.
Normally able to be seen only near latitudes 45° to 60° around the summer solstice, noctilucent clouds are somewhat of a mystery to scientists. It is believed that they are high-altitude clouds at the edge of our atmosphere which are composed of ice crystals that are reflecting sunlight.
Peter Boytang of Edmonton, Alberta took this image from his front lawn at 2:00 a.m. on June 21, 2005. Peter used a Canon 10D digital camera and took a 20-second exposure at ISO 400 using a Sigma 28mm f/3.5 lens.