The Moon & Venus over Sacramento, California

(D40x 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5ED lens at 24mm, ISO100 -1EV [equiv ISO50], f/4.2, 1/15 sec exposure; February 25, 2012)

The Moon, Venus and Jupiter over Sacramento, California

(D40x 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5ED lens at 18mm, ISO1600 -5EV [equiv ISO50], f/3.5 0, 1/5 sec exposure; Hazy clouds over Moon; February 24, 2012)

22-degree Lunar Halo, Moondog (?), Jupiter, and Airplane Trail over Sierra Skies Observatory on Pearl Harbor Day!

It was December 7, 2011 - Pearl Harbor Day. Flying home to Sacramento from a business trip, I could see high cirrus-stratus clouds over El Dorado Hills. I gave up on imaging, but upon returning home went into the backyard to look at the sky condition anyways. For the next hour, I photographed the surreal scene above our backyard observatory, which was lit by a Celestron Powertank. The 22-degree lunar halo is seen, due to refraction in the ice crystals of the high clouds. To the upper right, just inside the halo is Jupiter, 18.5° from the Moon, which was 94.7% illuminated. The line from the Moon to the upper left may be a portion of a Moondog (although there is no corresponding portion 180° away); this was seen in a series of frames, but not in earlier or later frames. To the lower left just above the trees is the trail of an airliner flying Southeast from Sacramento. Taken with a Nikon D40x at ISO1600 and 10-24mm DX zoom lens set at 11mm focal length (16.5mm in 35mm equivalent). The entire affair was an impromptu event, and I handheld the camera balanced on top of the tripod for a 2.2 second exposure. I finally "returned home" from my trip an hour after driving into my driveway.

22-degree Lunar Halo and Jupiter over Sierra Skies Observatory on Pearl Harbor Day!

It was December 7, 2011 - Pearl Harbor Day. Flying home to Sacramento from a business trip, I could see high cirrus-stratus clouds over El Dorado Hills. I gave up on imaging, but upon returning home went into the backyard to look at the sky condition anyways. For the next hour, I photographed the surreal scene above our backyard observatory, which was lit by a Celestron Powertank. The 22-degree lunar halo is seen, due to refraction in the ice crystals of the high clouds. To the upper right, just inside the halo is Jupiter, 18.5° from the Moon, which was 94.7% illuminated. The line from the Moon to the upper left may be a portion of a Moondog (although there is no corresponding portion 180° away); this was seen in a series of frames, but not in earlier or later frames. To the lower left just above the trees is the trail of an airliner flying Southeast from Sacramento. Taken with a Nikon D40x at ISO1600 and 10-24mm DX zoom lens set at 11mm focal length (16.5mm in 35mm equivalent). The entire affair was an impromptu event, and I handheld the camera balanced on top of the tripod for a 2.2 second exposure. I finally "returned home" from my trip an hour after driving into my driveway.