Solstice stars over Santa Fe

 Winter Solstice arrived at 2:21 am MST on Saturday, 21 Dec.  In the evening of the same day the sky was clear and still.  Sky brightness was measured as sqml=19.68, typical for Santa Fe and not favorable for long-exposure astrophotography.  These images are essentially snapshots, 15-20 s at ISO 800 with an Olympus E-M1iii + 75mm f/1.8 lens and a Hoya softon filter.  The camera was mounted on a Vixen Polarie star tracker.

The Pleiades and the planet Uranus (white circle)

Uranus is currently bright enough to be seen easily with binoculars, especially when the moon is not lighting up the sky.

Jupiter, Aldebaran, and the Hyades star cluster.

Part of the constellation Orion.

Orion is a natural first target for beginning astrophotographers.  The Orion Nebula is one of the most photographed objects in the sky.  It is also fascinating to study with a telescope of any size, particularly when the sky is dark.

The Orion Nebula (M42) and associated stars

The Gemini twins, Castor (L) and Pollux (R) and two asteroids (circled)

The asteroid (14) Irene was discovered in 1851.  Its longest dimension is about 100 miles across.  The asteroid (77) Frigga is about 36 mi wide and was discoverd in 1862.  The current magnitude of Irene is +9.9 and Frigga is at +11.9.  It was a pleasant surprise to capture both with such a short exposure (20 s) and with the softon filter in place.

(14) Irene

(77) Frigga