# 259 | The Rising Sun
The moment just before sunrise is possibly the most peaceful moment of each day. While people often take the time to watch a beautiful sunset, many have not yet begun their day as the Sun crests the eastern horizon.
Earlier this year, Raymond Dubois of Ottawa, Ontario awoke early to capture the beauty of a sunrise over water. By chance, a rower came gliding by at the right moment and allowed Raymond to capture this tranquil scene.
Using a tripod-mounted Nikon D200 digital camera, Raymond took a 1/6-second image using ISO 100 through a 28-70mm lens (at 70mm and f/16).
# 258 | The Pleiades
Winter constellations are beginning to show themselves once again. Observers viewing until near midnight will notice the Pleiades cluster rising in the eastern sky.
Known as Messier 45 and the "seven sisters", the cluster is 350 light-years from Earth. Binoculars or a telescope operating at low power will present a splendid view.
Peter Roth of Stouffville, Ontario took this exceptionally sharp image of the Pleiades from Honey Harbour, Ontario. Shooting through a Takahashi Epsilon E-180 f/2.8 astrograph mounted atop a Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro equatorial mount, Peter captured a wealth of nebulosity around the stars. Using a Canon 300D digital camera, seven 70-second exposures were taken at ISO 1600 and then combined afterwards.
# 257 | The Harvest Moon
This year's Harvest Moon occurred on October 6. Coincidently that was also the night that the Moon was at perigee, its closest point to Earth during its orbit, and the Moon therefore appeared slightly larger than other full Moons.
Steve Irvine of Big Bay, Ontario captured this tranquil scene just after sunset on October 6. Stuart notes that the Moon caught the attention of car drivers and many stopped on the side of the road to admire the view.
A Canon EOS 350D digital camera was used along with a 100mm lens set to f3.5. A 1/250 second exposure at ISO 100 was taken.
# 256 | Simple Astrophotography
Upon entering the hobby of astronomy, many have a desire to take their own photos of the night sky. Astrophotography can be a difficult and costly adventure. However, it does not have to be. On-tripod photography is the recommended first-step for anyone considering taking their own astrophotos.
Simply place a camera on a sturdy tripod, use a wide-angle lens set to its lowest f-stop, select a fast speed of film (ISO 800 or 1600) and take a 20 to 25 second exposure. It is possible to get excellent images of constellations and auroras using this method.
Douglas Begbie of Burlington, Ontario took his Pentax *ist D D2 digital camera with him while on a canoeing trip through Algonguin Park this past summer and took this image of the constellation Cassiopeia.
# 255 | Autumn Auroras
The weeks near the spring and fall equinoxes are an excellent time for aurora watching. Although not completely understood why, auroras are however more apt to occur near the equinoxes due to relationship between the Sun and Earth's magnetic fields.
The night of September 23-24, 2006 saw periods of sporadic high auroral activity. Bob Betenia shot this image from near Calgary, Alberta using a Canon Digital Rebel XT. A 15-second exposure at ISO 800 was taken using his lens set to 17mm and f/4.
# 254 | M31
The Andromeda Galaxy, also known as M31, is a favourite target for astrophotographers. Peruse through past images chosen as the Photo the Week and you will find multiple images of M31. As soon as the winter constellations begin to show themselves in early fall, astrophotographers begin to image deep sky objects they have not seen in months even if they have done so many times in prior years.
Marc Paradis recently took this very detailed image of M31 from St-Luc, Quebec using a 100mm TMB refractor mounted atop a Losmandy G-11 mount.
Four hours of exposure time was done using an SBIG ST-2000XM CCD camera coupled to a William-Optics 0.8x reducer.
# 253 | The Full Moon
With the Moon being at perigee (the closest point to Earth in its orbit), the full Moon of September 7, 2006 was the largest and brightest of the year. With a difference of 50,000 km between perigee and apogee (the furthest point in its orbit), this full Moon appears about 12% larger in size as compared to when at apogee.
Almost any telescope, regardless of the size, can be used to take photos of the Moon. Les Marczi of Welland, Ontario, used his 90mm Takahashi refractor and a Canon Rebel XT digital camera (ISO 100, 1/25 second exposure) to take this image of rising Moon.
# 252 | M13
M13, a globular cluster in the constellation Hercules, is arguably the jewel of the summer night sky. From a dark observing location the cluster is barely visible to the naked eye as a small hazy patch. When seen through a 4-inch or larger telescope, the cluster becomes alive with stars.
Upon returning from an astronomic hiatus, Jean Guimond of Quebec City, Quebec, imaged M13 with his new Takahashi TOA-150 refractor and an SBIG ST-10 MXE CCD camera equipped with a CFW-8A and a Takahashi field flattener (f/7.3).
Image specifications:
Bin 1X1
L: 12 minutes (6x2 minutes)
Bin 2x2
R : 4 minutes (4x1 minutes)
G : 4 minutes (4x1 minutes)
B : 4 minutes (4x1 minutes)
# 251 | A Perseid Meteor
August is meteor month and although moonlight was interfering with observations of Perseid meteors, SkyNews readers report viewing many spectacular meteors.
Though the Perseid meteor shower peaked on August 12, several minor meteor showers occur during the entire month. On August 19 while attempting to photograph a weak aurora from Lantzville, B.C., Laurence Harry, a regular Photo of the Week contributor, captured a fireball streaking through the constellation Perseus.
Laurence used a Canon 20D digital camera and took a 15-second exposure using ISO 3200 and his lens set to 17mm and f/4.5.
# 250 | NGC 7635—The Bubble Nebula
The appropriately named Bubble Nebula, NGC 7635, is a small emission nebula found in the constellation Cassiopeia near M52. Dark skies and a telescope 8-inches or larger are required to view the nebula.
With today's CCD cameras, dark skies aren't required to take exceptionally detailed images. From within the glow of Toronto, Ontario on nights with moonlight interfering, Stef Cancelli used his Vixen VC200LDG at f/5.9 and an SBIG CCD camera to capture this splendid image of NGC 7635.
HaRGB composite (200:60:60:120 minutes).