1412 replies to this topic

[chrysalis]

Here is a fortuitous exposure (old digital camera) from my old front yard in Brownstown, PA, taken in the morning of September 10, 2004. I had intended it to capture the close approach of Mercury to Regulus (maybe about 4'), but when I reviewed the image, I clearly saw that the entire Sickle of Leo was artistically accompanied by our neighbors' rooftops!

 

[TOMDEY]

Fifteen+ years ago, nice! I'm sure some of us here have photos bordering on ancient... I'll see what I can scare up, look for the oldest ones.    Tom

[chrysalis]

It will be so cool to see images that astounded, surprised, or were serendipitous in some way. I have an even better one but I'm waiting for a few more replies .

 

Also of course brings back treasured memories !

Edited by chrysalis, 20 April 2020 - 07:20 PM.

[MJB]

Comet Pan-STARRS from 2013 and the Moon nearby at dusk.

 

 

[SteelStar]

 

Venus transit of the Sun from June 5, 2012. Taken with old blackberry cell phone handheld to the eyepiece on a white light filtered Orion ST120 refractor. My first ever “cell phone image”.

Edited by SteelStar, 27 April 2020 - 09:32 PM.

[JOEinCO]

Is it just me, or does anyone else (besides Tom) chuckle when they see 2013, 2012 and 2004 as "blasts from the PAST"??    

[JOEinCO]

Great pics, by the way. Keep 'em coming, you youngsters....

[chrysalis]

OK, so here is the one I alluded to above. I'd gone out the morning of 11-9-2004 (I think 6:50 AM?) to capture the ~12% illuminated old Moon with Jupiter and Venus, and also got Spica in the image. There was an interloper airplane too! The image was taken from my neighborhood in Brownstown, PA, outside Lancaster PA.

 

BUT - years later, while looking at these old images, I noticed a "star" low in the dawning sky below and left of Spica, so I used Cartes du Ciel to find out what it might be - and discovered that I'd also gotten MARS !!!

 

Have a look!

 

Edited by chrysalis, 28 April 2020 - 09:29 AM.

[chrysalis]

In case you couldn't see it in the above image, here with a little red indicator line:

 

[Rutilus]

The only total Lunar eclipse that I have observed in daylight. About two minutes after taking this shot, all the fields in the

background were lit up by the rays of the Sun. The photo was taken back in 2010. 

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[chrysalis]

One of the oldest images I still have. Moonrise on 9-16-01, with percent illumination of about 1.5%, just about 24 hours before new. so also the oldest moon images I have!

 

5:40 AM EDT 9-16-01

 

Here it is at 6:30AM EDT 9-16-01, less than 24 hours before new:

 

Worm's eye view wide angle; Moon, Venus - and even Regulus and the Sickle of Leo (I never thought to figure out what star(s) those were before today, but confirmed via Cartes du Ciel - so WOW!!). Not sure the time but probably around that 5:40 AM EDT time frame.

 

Finally, same physical location and time, different perspective, PLUS AIRPLANE!

 

Edited by chrysalis, 28 April 2020 - 04:01 PM.

[Rutilus]

Another one from about a decade ago. Jupiter and moons plus Uranus photographed in daylight one afternoon.  

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[Jure Atanackov]

The brightest meteor I have ever photographed since I've started with photography in 2005: a brilliant -15 magnitude southern Taurid fireball during the peak of the Taurid resonant meteoroid swarm outburst in 2015. I saw this meteor visually too, the sky turned blue and the stars disappeared for a moment. It left a brilliant bluegreen train that was bright enough to cast shadows for the first several seconds, before turning orange, snaking in the sky (which was illuminated by a first quarter Moon). I could follow the train for about 25 minutes with the naked eye, and for over 2 hours on photos. This was the brightest of the 52 fireballs I saw over 11 nights of observing. I also photographed over 20. It more than made up for a big blunder I did in 2005, during that year's Taurid resonant meteoroid swarm outburst, when I messed up a photo of a brilliant -10 Taurid shooting past Polaris (I was too much of a noob with DSLRs...).

 

15 sec exposure, 17 mm f/2.8 on APS-C, ISO 1600.

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Edited by Jure Atanackov, 30 April 2020 - 05:53 AM.

[Rutilus]

The brightest meteor I have ever photographed since I've started with photography in 2005: a brilliant -15 magnitude southern Taurid fireball during the peak of the Taurid resonant meteoroid swarm outburst in 2015. I saw this meteor visually too, the sky turned blue and the stars disappeared for a moment. It left a brilliant bluegreen train that was bright enough to cast shadows for the first several seconds, before turning orange, snaking in the sky (which was illuminated by a first quarter Moon). I could follow the train for about 25 minutes with the naked eye, and for over 2 hours on photos. This was the brightest of the 52 fireballs I saw over 11 nights of observing. I also photographed over 20. It more than made up for a big blunder I did in 2005, during that year's Taurid resonant meteoroid swarm outburst, when I messed up a photo of a brilliant -10 Taurid shooting past Polaris (I was too much of a noob with DSLRs...).

 

15 sec exposure, 17 mm f/2.8 on APS-C, ISO 1600.

This has to be one of the best meteor photos I have ever seen.  Very well done.

[dhawn]

Very cool. I'm going to have to work on my DSLR nightime photo skills.

[chrysalis]

This view greeted me upon parking at my work in Lititz, PA at 5:56 AM the morning of 10-12-04. The bright star to the upper right of the moon is Zavijava (Beta Virginis). Above and left of the Moon - the closer star I believe is 7 Virginis (mag 5.37), the one farther and almost in the tree leaves I believe is Pi Virginis (mag 4.66). The star directly below the Moon may be or may not be HD104980 = SAO119212 (mag 7.53) since appearance and magnitude don't really jive. The Moon is about 40 hours before new and I believe about 4% illuminated.

 

Edited by chrysalis, 30 April 2020 - 12:20 PM.

[Rich (RLTYS)]

Some great images!

[Jure Atanackov]

This has to be one of the best meteor photos I have ever seen.  Very well done.

Thanks! But the credit goes to the meteor I had 5 cameras set up, so it was only a matter of covering as much of the sky for as long as possible.

[Illinois]

I grew up in Chicago until I moved to Suburb and it’s only 15 minutes from O’Hare Airport from between 1985 and 2012. Here’s photo I waited for right time and right place that airplane passed the Moon. I took picture and I used Orion 80ED refractor. I think in 2010 or 2011? 

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Edited by Illinois, 01 May 2020 - 04:35 PM.

[emh52]

It took me years to get this photo, in Tucson AZ Lunar halos are fairly common in the colder months and in a given year I can probably capture more than 100 h of halo time. Last lunar eclipse I had halo rather than clear skies and the Moon turned dark and the halo disappeared only to return after the darkest eclipse (best seen as movie -  https://flic.kr/p/2cXDs66 ). That was nice, I thought it would be great to get a fireball and a halo, so fireballs occur randomly (although Taurid and Geminid fireball season are cold months and greater chances)  and I get a few  fireballs a year so all that needs to happen it to have a duo. This one was a long time of frustration. As it turned out it took three years of photographs before I nailed it last December 9 2019.  Bright green random fireball and a brilliant halo. This is my longest astronomy project with just one photo of use resulting.

 

 

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[Dave Mitsky]

Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp)

 

Comet Hale-Bopp C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp)
3/9/1997
5" f/5 achromat at prime focus
Pentax K1000 SLR
The Astronomical Society of Harrisburg's Naylor Observatory

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[Rutilus]

Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp)

 

Comet Hale-Bopp C/1995 O1 (Hale Bopp)
3/9/1997
5" f/5 achromat at prime focus
Pentax K1000 SLR
The Astronomical Society of Harrisburg's Naylor Observatory

Great image of Hale-Bopp. I managed to get an image of the comet about a year before it made its close pass of the Earth.

I think my photo made with 80mm lens on my medium film format camera (there's a thing from the past) was made in 1996.

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[Rutilus]

Same camera, but close approach in 1997.

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[emh52]

Comet Pan-STARRS from 2013 and the Moon nearby at dusk.

 

 

Pan-STARRS_crop02_1.jpg

That was quite the event for a few nights especially the night you posted the bright comet and crescent Moon  favorite scene  of mine from recent years  I was hoping Atlas would be this year's version but alas not to be.

[jelloptic]

Here's my blast from the past... in the days of FILM cameras... Comet Hale-Bopp on 9 April 1997.  I went out of my way to set this up with the comet hanging over the illuminated church and causeway.  Best I recall: 20 sec exposure on Kodak 400 film with Pentax K1000 55mm lens.  Algol is the bright star above the comet.

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