Cosmic Pursuits

Basic astronomy and night sky information

Astronomy Images and Video

Beautiful and interesting images and video of the night sky including stars, planets, the Milky Way, and deep-sky objects taken through a camera lens or through a telescope.

Secrets of Nightscape Imaging – Interview with Alan Dyer

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Astronomy Images and Video

Nightscape of stargazers and the Milky Way through Scorpius and Sagittarius at the Texas Star Party in 2015 (by Alan Dyer)
Nightscape of stargazers and the Milky Way through Scorpius and Sagittarius at the Texas Star Party in 2015 (by Alan Dyer)

I had the great pleasure of recently interviewing the master astrophotographer Alan Dyer of AmazingSky.com to discuss the basics of nightscape imaging with a digital camera. This sort of imaging, which combines elements of landscape photography and astrophotography, has become extremely popular over the last few years thanks to the advent of large, low-noise sensors in digital SLR cameras. Alan is the author most recently of the multi-media guide called Nightscapes and Timelapses which gives a comprehensive introduction to the art and craft of nightscape imaging.

As you listen to my interview with Alan, you will discover: [Read more…] about Secrets of Nightscape Imaging – Interview with Alan Dyer

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Panorama of the Virgo Cluster

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Astronomy Images and Video, Deep Sky

Galaxies of the Virgo Cluster, including M84, M86, M87 and spiral galaxies in Markarian's Chain (credit: Terry Hancock)
Galaxies of the Virgo Cluster, including M84, M86, M87 and spiral galaxies in Markarian’s Chain (credit: Terry Hancock)

“We and our world are the minutiae and curiosa– galaxies are the grand realities.” -Leland Copeland

This wide-field image of the core of the Virgo cluster reveals several dozen of the more than 2,000 galaxies spread across our sky between the stars Denebola in Leo and Vindemiatrix in Virgo [Read more…] about Panorama of the Virgo Cluster

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Full Moon Over Lick Observatory

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Astronomy Images and Video

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Located in the Diablo mountain range east of San Jose, California, Lick Observatory is the world’s first permanently occupied mountain-top observatory. It was founded in 1888 and has been part of the University of California ever since. This image by reader Marilyn Perry shows the Full Moon rising over the observatory in May 2015.

The location of Lick on Mt. Hamilton provides calm air and excellent viewing despite ambient light and pollution. The peak is normally above the level of the low cloud cover often seen in San Jose. The peak provides a stunning view to the west of the Valley of Heart’s Delight, now better known as Silicon Valley. To the east, the Sierra’s can be seen on a very clear day [Read more…] about Full Moon Over Lick Observatory

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Jupiter Shadow Transit with an iPhone

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Astronomy Images and Video, Solar System

Enjoy this short four-image GIF of the transit of the shadow of Ganymede across the face of Jupiter on April 14, 2015. Taken by Andrew Symes of Ottawa, Canada with an iPhone 6 and a Celestron NexStar 8SE alt-az telescope, this image also shows several belts and zones in the atmosphere of Jupiter including the prominent north and south equatorial belts, along with the possibly perpetual anticyclone of the Great Red Spot.

 

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