Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Astrophotos: The February 2015 ‘Black’ Moon

The February 2015 new Moon over Antelope Valley, California. Credit and copyright: Gavin Heffernan.

As our David Dickinson noted in his recent article, a new term is “creeping into the popular astronomical vernacular: that of a ‘Black Moon’.” This is the New Moon version of a Blue Moon, and is either:

  1. A month missing a Full or New Moon… this can only occur in February, as the lunar synodic period from like phase to phase is 29.5 days long. This last occurred in 2014 and will next occur in 2018.
  2. The second New Moon in a month with two. This can happen in any calendar month except February.
  3. And now for the most convoluted definition: the third New Moon in an astronomical season with four.

The February 18th New Moon met the requirements expressed in rule 3. The fourth New Moon of the season falls on March 20th, just 13 hours before the northward equinox on the same date.

But no matter what the occasion, there are always astrophotographers out to grab pictures, and here are some shared with Universe Today via email and on our Flickr page.

The sliver of the February 2015 new 'black' Moon. Credit and copyright: Héctor Barrios.
The sliver of the February 2015 new ‘black’ Moon. Credit and copyright: Héctor Barrios.
The less than 24-hour old Moon on February 19, 2015, as seen from Toronto, Canada. Credit and copyright: Michael Watson.
The less than 24-hour old Moon on February 19, 2015, as seen from Toronto, Canada. Credit and copyright: Michael Watson.
The Moon, Mars and Venus. Credit and copyright: Neil Ghosh.
The Moon, Mars and Venus. Credit and copyright: Neil Ghosh.

And remember, tonight you can see a close conjunction of the Moon, Venus and Mars. Here’s how you can photograph the event, and make sure to share your photos with Universe Today!

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Without the Moon, Comet Lovejoy is Magnificent

Comet Lovejoy on Feb. 7, 2015 as seen from Payson, Arizona. Credit and copyright: Chris Schur.

With the Moon rising later in the evening this weekend, astrophotographers have taken some spectacular pictures of Comet 2014 Q2 Lovejoy, which continues shine on! Enjoy a few photos here and check out more in Universe Today’s Flickr page.

Chris Schur from Payson, Arizona took the above image with a 80mm f/4.6 Zeiss APO and a ST10xme ccd camera.

Comet Lovejoy on February 8, 2015 seen with a 12.5" Newtonian from Payson, Arizona. Credit and copyright: Chris Schur.
Comet Lovejoy on February 8, 2015 seen with a 12.5″ Newtonian from Payson, Arizona. Credit and copyright: Chris Schur.
Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy, Widefield view, false color. Feb 8, 2015. Credit and copyright: Joseph Brimacombe.
Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy, Widefield view, false color. Feb 8, 2015. Credit and copyright: Joseph Brimacombe.

[caption id="attachment_118887" align="aligncenter" width="580"]Comet Lovejoy Q2, Feb 7, 2015. Credit and copyright: Cajun Astro on Flickr. Comet Lovejoy Q2, Feb 7, 2015. Credit and copyright: Cajun Astro on Flickr.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Skywatchers Identify Aircraft as They Pass in Front of the Sun

An Aer Lingus Airbus A320 passes in front of the Sun on Feb. 4, 2015. Credit and copyright: Chris Lyons.

It’s all about timing and location.

You’ve probably seen images we’ve posted on Universe Today of planes crossing in front of the Sun or the Moon. But how do the photographers manage to capture these events? Hint: it’s not random luck.

“I live under a main flight path out of Heathrow,” said photographer Chris Lyons from the UK who took the image above earlier today, “and can easily spot the planes not long after they take off — if it is clear — from when they are about 100 miles away!”

Chris posts many of his images on Universe Today’s Flickr page, and what is great about Chris’ airplane photos is that he includes a handy infographic about the plane in the shot; the type of plane, its takeoff and destination, and more, garnered from online flight trackers.

Chris told Universe Today that he originally started trying to catch planes passing in front of the Moon.

A waxing gibbous Moon with an American Airlines flyby on Feb. 2, 2015. Credit and copyright: Chris Lyons.
A waxing gibbous Moon with an American Airlines flyby on Feb. 2, 2015. Credit and copyright: Chris Lyons.

“It went from snapping them near it when just taking Moon shots to wanting to get closer and have them actually passing it,” he said. “Then I got a Solar filter and tried it with the Sun. It is far more difficult than the Moon, as you cannot look at it for long. I limit my viewing (our eyes are precious) and only look through high rated neutral density filters.”

We’ve also featured images from Sebastien Lebrigand who lives about 70 km outside of Paris, France. Lebrigand is prolific: he takes almost daily images of planes passing in front of the Sun and Moon and posts them on Twitter.

A Boeing 777 and a sunspot crosses the Sun on April 17, 2014, as seen from France. Credit and copyright: Sebastien Lebrigand.
A Boeing 777 and a sunspot crosses the Sun on April 17, 2014, as seen from France. Credit and copyright: Sebastien Lebrigand.

Lebrigand is an amateur astronomer but says he especially enjoys “the rare conjunction of the planes passing by the Sun and the Moon.’

He uses a Canon EOS 60D and a telescope to take his photos the pictures. But his work takes hours of time for analyzing when a potential photo opportunity might occur, setting up equipment, waiting for the exact moment, and then perfecting the images.

An Airbus A319 jet flying at 37,800 feet as it passes in front of the Moon, as seen from near Paris, France. Credit and copyright: Sebastien Lebrigand.
An Airbus A319 jet flying at 37,800 feet as it passes in front of the Moon, as seen from near Paris, France. Credit and copyright: Sebastien Lebrigand.

Check out more of Chris Lyons’ work at his Flickr page, and you can see more of Sebastien Lebrigand’s work at his website or his Twitter feed.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Comet Lovejoy Now at its Brightest: Images from Around the World

C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy comet passing over perseus and Taurus molecular cloud forming a triangle with the California Nebula (the red nebula on the left), the M45 Pleaides and Hyades in Taurus. Taken on January 14, 2015 from Pragelato, Turin, Italy. Credit and copyright: Leonardo Orazi.

Last night was the first time I was able to spot Comet Lovejoy with unaided eyes. The latest images from our readers and dedicated astrophotographers confirm that now is a good time to see the comet, which is reaching maximum brightness at his week. Spaceweather.com reports that many experienced observers say the comet is now shining at magnitude +3.8. With clear, dark skies C/2104 Q2 is easily seen with binoculars.

Enjoy this gallery of recent images, and if you’ve taken an image, consider joining our Flickr pool and submitting it. We may use your image in an upcoming article!

Comet Lovejoy C/2104 Q2 cruising past the open star Cluster M45 “Pleiades” or “The Seven Sisters.” Credit and copyright: John Chumack.
Comet Lovejoy C/2104 Q2 cruising past the open star Cluster M45 “Pleiades” or “The Seven Sisters.” Credit and copyright: John Chumack.
Comet Lovejoy taken on January 15, 2015 from Singapore. Credit and copyright: Justin Ng.
Comet Lovejoy taken on January 15, 2015 from Singapore. Credit and copyright: Justin Ng.
Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy in a widefield false color image taken on January 16, 2015 from New Mexico Skies. Credit and copyright Joseph Brimacombe.
Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy in a widefield false color image taken on January 16, 2015 from New Mexico Skies. Credit and copyright Joseph Brimacombe.
Comet Lovejoy, C/2014 Q2, a wide binocular field west of M45, the Pleiades star cluster in Taurus, on January 15, 2015, shot from Silver City, New Mexico. The long blue ion tail stretched back for about 8°. Credit and copyright: Alan Dyer.
Comet Lovejoy, C/2014 Q2, a wide binocular field west of M45, the Pleiades star cluster in Taurus, on January 15, 2015, shot from Silver City, New Mexico. The long blue ion tail stretched back for about 8°. Credit and copyright: Alan Dyer.
Comet Lovejoy photographed from Torrance Barrens Dark-Sky Preserve (30 km from Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada; 200 km north of Toronto) on January 13, 2015. Credit and copyright: Michael Watson.
Comet Lovejoy photographed from Torrance Barrens Dark-Sky Preserve (30 km from Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada; 200 km north of Toronto) on January 13, 2015. Credit and copyright: Michael Watson.
Comet Lovejoy as seen from Lahore, Pakistan on January 15, 2014, 10:30 pm local time. 35 single images stacked in DSS. Each 8 seconds, ISO 2000, f/5.6, edited in Photoshop. Credit and copyright: Roshaan Bukhari
Comet Lovejoy as seen from Lahore, Pakistan on January 15, 2014, 10:30 pm local time. 35 single images stacked in DSS. Each 8 seconds, ISO 2000, f/5.6, edited in Photoshop. Credit and copyright: Roshaan Bukhari
High resolution 3 panel mosaic of C/2014 Q2 on January 11, 2015. Field of view is approximately 3.5° x 2° and composed of three fields. Many fine streamers are visible emanating from the nucleus. Credit and copyright: SEN/ Damian Peach.
High resolution 3 panel mosaic of C/2014 Q2 on January 11, 2015. Field of view is approximately 3.5° x 2° and composed of three fields. Many fine streamers are visible emanating from the nucleus. Credit and copyright: SEN/ Damian Peach.
Comet LoveJoy photographed from Kosovo on January 13, 2015. Credit and copyright: Suhel A. Ahmeti.
Comet LoveJoy photographed from Kosovo on January 13, 2015. Credit and copyright: Suhel A. Ahmeti.
C2014 Q2 Lovejoy on January 13, 2015. Credit and copyright: Shahrin Ahmad.
C2014 Q2 Lovejoy on January 13, 2015. Credit and copyright: Shahrin Ahmad.
Comet Lovejoy on January 11, 2015. Credit and copyright: Henry Weiland.
Comet Lovejoy on January 11, 2015. Credit and copyright: Henry Weiland.
Wide angle shot of Comet Lovejoy with the constellation Orion, showing rich fields of red nebula, star clouds and dark nebula with the bright green naked eye comet. Credit and copyright: Chris Schur.
Wide angle shot of Comet Lovejoy with the constellation Orion, showing rich fields of red nebula, star clouds and dark nebula with the bright green naked eye comet. Credit and copyright: Chris Schur.
Comet Lovejoy traveling through Taurus. Imaged on January 12, 2015 from Bathurst, New South Wales. Credit and copyright: Wes Schulstad.
Comet Lovejoy traveling through Taurus. Imaged on January 12, 2015 from Bathurst, New South Wales. Credit and copyright: Wes Schulstad.
C2014 Q2 Lovejoy on January 7, 2015, taken from Bannister Green, England. Credit and copyright: Wendy Clark.
C2014 Q2 Lovejoy on January 7, 2015, taken from Bannister Green, England. Credit and copyright: Wendy Clark.
Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Photo Shoot Captures Classified Spy Satellite Engine Burn

The small white flash in the upper left is the visible engine burn of the Air Force's ANGELS satellite firing it’s final boost stage. Credit and copyright: Randy Halverson.

Remember at the end of “Star Trek: First Contact” when Lily looks up to see the Enterprise enter the temporal vortex with a flash of light? Astrophotographer Randy Halverson captured a view very similar to that scene, albeit without time travel or Vulcans standing nearby.

“On July 28th, 2014, I was set up to shoot the Milky Way near Kennebec, South Dakota,” Halverson wrote on his website. “I had looked through some of the stills but didn’t notice anything unusual. [But] in December 2014 I was editing timelapse and when I got to the July 28th sequence I noticed something different on it. At first I thought it was another meteor with persistent train, but I had missed the meteor in between exposures. I had already caught several meteor with persistent trains on timelapse last year, so I was watching for them. Then I looked closer and noticed the flash was dimming and getting brighter. Also, when I zoomed in I could see a satellite or object right before the first flash.”

Halverson did a quick search of launches during that time and found the Air Force had launched a semi-classified trio of satellites into orbit earlier in the evening of July 28th (23:28 UTC, 7:28 EDT) on a Delta IV rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and further research indicated he had captured the engine burn of one of the satellite’s final boost stage.

Just goes to show, you can never tell what you’ll see when you’re looking up!

See the timelapse below:

On board the Delta IV were two Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) spacecraft and the Autonomous Nanosatellite Guardian for Evaluating Local Space (ANGELS) NanoSatellite. Halverson conferred with a few NASA mission analysts and they all agreed the flash was coming from the ANGELS boost stage firing.

“The first flash you see on the timelapse happened at 1:09am July 29th (camera time) so that also seems to match up with the timing for the final burn the article mentions,” Halverson said.

According to the Spaceflight101 website, the ANGELS nanosatellite is a project of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) and was a secondary payload on Delta IV launched on July 28, 2014. Its purpose was to do a technical demonstration flight several hundred kilometers above the belt of geosynchronous orbit (35,786 kilometers (22,236 miles). The satellite was supposed to “perform an autonomous rendezvous demonstration with the Delta IV upper stage before testing a camera system for the inspection of satellites in high orbits.”

Halverson said he used a Canon 5D Mark III with a Nikon 14-24 lens on an eMotimo TB3 mounted on a Dynamic Perception Stage Zero Dolly.

See more of Randy’s great timelapse and night sky photography work at his website dakotalapse, or Twitter.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Incredible Fast-Moving Aurora Captured in Real Time by Thierry Legault

One image of the fast-moving aurora captured over Norway in October, 2014. Credit and copyright: Thierry Legualt.

Usually, videos that feature aurora are timelapse videos, in order to show the normally slow movements of the Northern and Southern Lights. But here are some incredibly fast-moving aurorae shown in real time, as seen by astrophotographer extraordinaire Thierry Legault. He was in Norway last week and said the fast-dancing, shimmering aurora were incredible.

“At moments they were so fast that 25 fps (frames per second) was not too much!” Legault said. “The second evening they were so bright that they appeared while the sky was still blue and I rushed to setup the tripod.”

See two videos below, one short version (8 minutes) and another longer 20-minute version. They are worth watching every minute!

He used Sony A7 video cameras, and said these movies show the true rhythm of the aurora, in addition with twinkling stars and trees moving in the wind.

“In the long version there are even several satellites slowly moving amongst the stars and 2 or 3 elusive shooting stars,” Legault told Universe Today. “Many constellations are visible, especially Cassiopeia with the double cluster, the Big Dipper, Cygnus, Lyra, Gemini.”

He added that the aurorae had an incredible variety of shapes and behaviors.

See more imagery on Legault’s website.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Completely Gorgeous Shot of the Milky Way Over Jasper National Park

The Milky Way over Lake Annette in Jasper National Park, Alberta, a Dark Sky Preserve, on October 24, 2014. Credit and copyright: Alan Dyer/Amazing Sky Photography.

Does it get any more gorgeous than this? What an absolutely beautiful view of the night sky over Lake Annette and Whistler’s Mountain in Jasper National Park.

“I shot this at the Lake Annette Star Party, one of the Dark Sky Festival events, using the Canon 60Da and 10-22mm lens at 10mm f/4 and ISO 3200 for 1 minute, untracked,” said prolific astrophotographer Alan Dyer on Flickr. “Shot October 24, 2014, with fresh snow on Whistler across the lake and valley and on a calm night with still waters reflecting the stars.”

Absolutely spell-binding! Click on the image for larger versions on Flickr, and check out more of Alan’s stunning imagery on his website, Amazing Sky Photography.

#MilkyWayMonday

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Stunning Photos of the Hunter’s Moon Lunar Eclipse

Lunar eclipse timelapse into totality. Taken from Palmyra, New Jersey on the Delaware River near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Night began with stormy clouds and transitioned to clearer skies as the eclipse progressed. Sequence from approx 4AM EDT to 7AM sunrise. Credit and copyright: Frank Miller.

Did you see it? On October 8, 2014, early risers in North and South America, east Asia, Australia and the Pacific saw unique and rare views of the Hunter’s Moon as was eclipsed by Earth’s shadow. We’ve got so many great pictures to share from our Flickr group and from social media! In some shots, the fully eclipsed Moon glows with a coppery red hue, and in others the partially eclipsed Moon appears to have a bite taken out of its bright surface. Some images pair the Moon with a faint planet Uranus.

This is the second and final total lunar eclipse of 2014, and the second of four in a quartet series of lunar eclipses known as a tetrad — a series of 4 consecutive total eclipses occurring at approximately six month intervals. The next total eclipse will be on April 4, 2015, with another occurring on Sept. 28, 2015.

Enjoy the images below!

Montage of the various views of the Moon during the lunar eclipse on October 8, 2014. Credit and copyright: Chuck Manges.
Montage of the various views of the Moon during the lunar eclipse on October 8, 2014. Credit and copyright: Chuck Manges.
Near-totality eclipsed Moon, in Pisces, with Uranus at left. Delta Psc is that brightest star at upper-right of Moon. Imaged near Calabash, North Carolina. Credit and copyright: Tavi Greiner.
Near-totality eclipsed Moon, in Pisces, with Uranus at left. Delta Psc is that brightest star at upper-right of Moon. Imaged near Calabash, North Carolina. Credit and copyright: Tavi Greiner.
The red 'blood Moon' of the October 8, 2014 lunar eclipse, as seen from the Mare Island Observatory. Credit and copyright: Clifton Reed.
The red ‘blood Moon’ of the October 8, 2014, lunar eclipse, as seen from the Mare Island Observatory. Credit and copyright: Clifton Reed.
The eclipsed Moon sets over the Andes (Mts. Lopez and Capilla, Bariloche). Credit and copyright: Guillermo Abramson.
The eclipsed Moon sets over the Andes (Mts. Lopez and Capilla, Bariloche). Credit and copyright: Guillermo Abramson.
Total Lunar Eclipse through the clouds as seen from Weatherly, PA on October 8, 2014. Credit and copyright: Tom Wildoner.
Total Lunar Eclipse through the clouds as seen from Weatherly, PA on October 8, 2014. Credit and copyright: Tom Wildoner.
'Eclipse on the edge,' shot from the front of the Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah, Nevada. Credit and copyright: David Dickinson.
‘Eclipse on the edge,’ shot from the front of the Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah, Nevada. Credit and copyright: David Dickinson.
Last moments of the eclipse as seen from Calama, Chile. Credit and copyright: srta Andrea on Flickr.
Last moments of the eclipse as seen from Calama, Chile. Credit and copyright: srta Andrea on Flickr.
The October 8th 2014 lunar eclipse from Houston, Texas, taken with a 500m lens featuring a statue of Sam Houston. Credit and copyright: Sergio Garcia Rill.
The October 8th, 2014, lunar eclipse from Houston, Texas, taken with a 500m lens featuring a statue of Sam Houston. Credit and copyright: Sergio Garcia Rill.
Image of the lunar eclipse taken just before the midpoint of totality. Taken with a modified Canon 450D + Celestron C6-N telescope. f/4 ISO400 4s exposure. Credit and copyright: Fred Locklear.
Image of the lunar eclipse taken just before the midpoint of totality. Taken with a modified Canon 450D + Celestron C6-N telescope. f/4 ISO400 4s exposure. Credit and copyright: Fred Locklear.
Lunar Eclipse on 10-08-2014 Huffman Dam, Dayton, Ohio Canon 6D, 80mm refractor,2x Barlow (1200mm) ISO 6400, 2 sec exposure. Credit and copyright: John Chumack/Galactic Images.
Lunar Eclipse on 10-08-2014
Huffman Dam, Dayton, Ohio
Canon 6D, 80mm refractor,2x Barlow (1200mm) ISO 6400,
2 sec exposure. Credit and copyright: John Chumack/Galactic Images.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Astrophoto: Nighttime at Horseshoe Bend

The night sky over Horseshoe Bend, near Page Arizona. Credit and copyright: Jack Fusco.

As the Milky Way now begins to set earlier in the evening here in the northern hemisphere, that doesn’t mean the photos of our night sky are any less stunning. This lovely shot for #TerrestrialTuesday by photographer Jack Fusco was taken this week at Horseshoe Bend in Arizona, a horseshoe-shaped meander of the Colorado River.

“During the day, the walk to Horseshoe Bend was full of tourists from all over the world,” Jack explained on Flickr. “At night, we sat alone and stared up at a brilliant star filled sky and only heard coyotes in the distance. It was an absolutely incredible location during the day and at night. This was shot with no Moon at the sky, so the area was at it’s absolute darkest. I was a little nervous setting up my gear for this shot as my tripod was just a few inches from a 1000ft drop down to the river. It was certainly an experience I’ll never forget.”

See more of Jack’s work on Flickr, Google+ and his website, www.jackfusco.com

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Astrophoto: Old Faithful Geyser Erupts Under a Starry Sky

'Old Faithful' geyser in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming under a beautiful night sky on September 28, 2014. Credit and copyright: astroval1 on Flickr.

The Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park in the western US is one of the most predictable geographical features on Earth, as it erupts “faithfully” every 60 – 110 minutes. But you can never predict what the night sky will look like overhead. Astroval1 on Flickr captured this gorgeous shot of the stars over Old Faithful on September 28, 2014, with 30 seconds of exposure time.

Gorgeous!

Just another #MilkyWayMonday shot from Universe Today’s Flickr page! Enjoy browsing through all the great images from our readers and join our group to add your own astronomical imagery.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.