Post conjunction

 Venus and Jupiter are slowly separating.  Last night they were 2.76° apart and Venus is now above Jupiter as they set.  

Venus (top) and Jupiter (below)

 

Three of Jupiter's moons are visible: Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto.

Europa (second from left) is actually the combined image of Europa and Io, which were very close together.  These images were all obtained with the Olympus 40-150mm f/4 lens.

 

 As twilight fades the giant globular cluster Omega Centauri is still visible low (very low) in the south.

 

  

 These two images were obtained with a Rokinon 135mm f/2 lens on an Olympus E-M5iii camera.

 

Omega Centauri is estimated to contain 10 million stars and has a diameter of about 170 ly. 

 

Monday conjunction

 Jupiter and Venus were separated by only 1.7° on Monday evening (08 June).  

Olympus E-M1iii + 40-150mm f/4 lens. 

 

Three of the four Galilean moons of Jupiter (lower left) are visible.  From left to right: Europa, Callisto, Ganymede.

Nearest Neighbors

 No, not the folks across the street.  

Two of the three nearest star systems are currently visible (with optical aid) on opposite sides of the sky.  Barnard's Star, 6 ly distant, is the second closest star system.  It shines at magnitude 9.5 in the constellation Ophiuchus, which is rising in the east in the late evening.  Wolf 359, at a distance of 7.8 ly, is the third closest star system.  It shines at magnitude 13.5 in the constellation Leo, which is setting in the west in the late evening.

Both of these nearby stars are red dwarfs.  Neither are visible to the naked eye.  Barnard's Star can be picked up with binoculars or a small telescope.  It can be visible in photographs with wide-angle lenses.  Wolf 359 is 251 times fainter and requires a large telescope or a telephoto lens under dark skies to become visible. 

The location of Barnard's Star is circled.  Panasonic Leica 12mm f/1.4

 

Barnard's Star is circled.  1:1 crop, Leica 12mm

Barnard's Star is even visible in an image taken with a super-wide fisheye lens (7Artisans 7.5mm f/2.8):

1:1 crop, 7.5mm fisheye

This is an image obtained last year (14 June 2025) with an Olympus 75mm f/1.8 lens on an Olympus E-M1iii camera:

Barnard's Star.  Olympus 75mm f/1.8

 Wolf 359 is located in the constellation Leo:

Location of Wolf 359 is marked with a circle.  OM 20mm f/1.4

 Wolf 359 becomes visible in an image taken with a 135mm f/2 lens on a Sony A7iii camera:

Wolf 359 and a satellite trail

 Last year (15 June 2025) I was able to capture Wolf 359 with a Rokinon 85mm f/1.4 MF lens on an Olympus E-M1iii camera:

Wolf 359 (circled).  85mm f/1.4

 

More color

 Friday night:

Jupiter and Venus setting behind the Bristolhead ridgeline. OM 40-150mm f/4

There were passing clouds that disrupted my photographics plans, so these two shots of Scorpius and the rising Milky Way were obtained instead.  These were taken with a Sony A7iii and a Rokinon AF 85mm f/1.4 FE II lens.  They were digitally filtered in post processing with a 3x3 median filter to suppress the faint stars and emphasize the blended color patterns of the Milky Way and earthly airglow.

 

Colorful night skies

 The opening act on Thursday evening was the setting of Jupiter and Venus behind Bristol Head.  The separation between these two planets is slowly decreasing toward a close conjunction on 08 June.

Jupiter (L) and Venus (R).  Vivitar Series 1 90mm f/2.5

 Near the end of astronomical twilight, the giant globular cluster Omega Centauri can be seen skimming the southern horizon.

Omega Centauri over Piedra Peak.  Vivitar S1 90mm

 A wider view taken about 40 minutes later shows just how low the cluster is in the sky:

Omega Centauri (circled).  OM 20mm f/1.4 + sparkle-6 filter

 This wider view also reveals layers of colorful airglow.  The measured sky brightness directly overhead was sqml=21.51 mpsas, which is a good but not great value.  Airglow is the likely explanation for this brighter sky, compared to measurements in mid-May, which were near 21.8.  The airglow really stands out in pictures of the rising Milky Way.

Scorpius and Milky Way rising above Snowshoe Mountain. OM 20mm + softon

 The airglow presents as moving ripples of color in the sky, visible to the camera but not to the eye.  

 

Milky Way rising before midnight

 The forecast was for cloud cover until past midnight, but at 11 pm there were large sections of clear sky.  This image was obtained a half hour before midnight as the Milky Way was rising over the ridgeline of Snowshoe Mountain.  

Sony A7iii camera and Rokinon 135mm f/2.0 Nikon-AE lens.  ISO 1600, 30 sec.

 There is some green airglow blending with the red star clouds of the Milky Way.  In the upper left are the Eagle (M16) and Omega (M17) nebulas.  Moving down to the right there is the Sagittarius Star Cloud (M24) and then the Trifid (M20) and Lagoon (M8) Nebulas (or Nebulae, for the traditionalists).  The star cluster M23 is near the top middle edge.

The Trifid (M20) and Lagoon (M8) Nebulas

 

Blue Moonlight

 The rising Blue Moon on Sunday night was lighting up the mountain ridges while the river valley remained in deep shadow.  Venus and Jupiter are the two bright stars setting behind Bristol Head.  Lens: Panasonic Leica 12mm f/1.4 + Hoya Sparkle-6 filter.

 

Blue Moon

 The first full moon of May, known as the "Flower Moon", occurred on 01 May.  This year there was a second full moon in May.  It happened at 2:45 am MDT on 31 May (today), and could be seen rising on the evening of 30 May (last night).  The second full moon of the month is known (by one definition) as a "Blue Moon".  The Moon reaches apogee (farthest from Earth) about 18 hours later, so this full moon is also called a "Micro Moon".

These images were obtained with a Sightron infini D50 refractor on 30 May.  Official moonrise was 8:20 pm MDT, but the low arc traced by the Moon means that it didn't begin to peek through the trees above Snowshoe Mountain until about 1 hour 50 minutes later.

anticipation....

  

almost...

Evening stars

 The Evening Star (Venus) and False Evening Star (Jupiter) shine brightly over Bristol Head during twilight:

Panasonic Leica 25mm + sparkle filter

 The ridgeline is lit up by the 11.9-day waxing moon:

Rokinon 135mm f/2

 The Moon:

Sightron infini D50 + 1.5x MDB

 

Twilight Moon and planets

 Last night the 9.0-day moon was just past first quarter and lighting up the landscape during twilight.  The Sightron infini D50 refractor (540 mm focal length) was used to capture this image:

 Jupiter and Venus are currently just under 16 deg apart as they sink behind Bristol Head in the west.  On June 8–9 they will be separated by less than 2 deg.

Jupiter (UL) and Venus (LR) over Bristol Head

 The lens used for this image and the next was a Vivitar Series 1 VMC 90mm f/2.5 macro.

Auriga setting over Bristol Head.  Vivitar 90mm + softon filter

 

The Moon and Venus

The 2.6-day crescent moon was 2-1/2 deg from Venus as they set over Bristol Head on Monday night. 

150 mm, ISO 400, 1-sec exposure.

 

Early-morning Milky Way

 I woke up at 4:30 am and saw that the sky was clear when I looked out the window.  The new 7Artisans 7.5mm f/2.8 fisheye lens was already mounted on the Olympus E-M1iii camera, so that got used to take a couple quick pictures.  I was still half asleep and didn't notice that the lens aperture was stopped down to f/4.  Also, astronomical twilight was already underway, so the sky was getting brighter and bluer.  Too bad I didn't wake up an hour earlier.

This is a preview of the Milky Way near midnight in late July or mid August, when the sky will be darker.

 In this version of the same file, some digital filters were applied to suppress the faint stars and increase contrast in the Milky Way:

 

 

Late-night aurora seen from Creede

 I was outside in the front yard at 11:30 pm on Friday night to do what I thought would be a few quick shots to test a new fisheye lens (7Artisans 7.5mm f/2.8 II).  The first exposure showed a red glow on the northern horizon, so I ended up doing many iterations and eventually moved out onto the road to get a better perspective.

The red auroral glow reached up to about 8° above the horizon.  That would put it overhead somewhere in Canada, over a 1000 mi to the north.  The sky brightness was measured as 21.65 mpsas, somewhat brighter than previous nights, but still very dark.  There seemed to be more green airglow this night, which contributed to the increased brightness.

Meteor and auroral glow

 

The curved horizon is caused by the distortion of the fisheye lens.  On the right, the northern Milky Way is rising over Snowshoe Mountain and gradually blending in to the pink auroral glow to the left side of the frame.  There were also clouds floating around, some silhouetted against the aurora and Milky Way, and some lighter ones overhead. 

A digital 3x3 median filter was also applied to these images to eliminate the distraction of the fainter stars:

 

Dark sky on Sunday: three focal lengths

 I was so excited by last-night's results that I posted them first.  However, the previous night (Sunday, 10 May) was almost as dark.  On Sunday I measured sqml=21.78 mpsas directly overhead.  The linear brightness ratio between 21.84 and 21.78 is 1.06.  Less than ten-percent differences are generally below the level of perception.

On Sunday I used three lenses:  Rokinon 7.5mm f/3.5 fisheye, Leica 25mm f/1.7, and the Olympus 75mm f/1.7.

 

Venus setting over Bristol Head.  Rokinon 7.5mm fisheye.

Jupiter setting over Bristol Head. Rokinon 7.5mm fisheye.

In the above image I applied a 3x3 Median filter to suppress the myriad of faint stars and emphasize the sky-brightness gradations caused by airglow and Zodiacal Light.  A faint arc of Zodiacal Light stretches up to the left from Jupiter in the lower middle of the frame.

Looking north.  Rokinon 7.5mm fisheye.

 In this image, the Big Dipper is in the middle of the frame.  An arc of Zodical Light curves up along the left edge.  In the bottom right corner the northern Milky Way is emerging above the NE horizon.  A median filter was also applied to this image.

Melotte 111. Leica 25mm f/1.7 + softon filter.

 The star cluster known as Melotte 111 (Mel 111) is the centerpiece of the constellation Coma Berenices.  The cluster was almost directly overhead.

Omega Centauri. Olympus 75mm.

 The giant globular cluster Omega Centauri clears the distant summit of Piedra Peak by only 1.8 deg.

Late-Night Wonders under a 21.84 sky

The measured sky brightness directly overhead last night was an astounding 21.84 mpsas.  This continues a several-day trend of some of the darkest skies I have seen in Creede for quite a while.  The sky becomes brighter toward the horizon because of airglow, a natural phenomenon in the upper atmosphere.  This low-elevation brightness is evident in the following image of Omega Centauri. 

 Omega Centauri is the largest globular cluster in our galaxy, containing approximately 10 million stars.  May is the best month for viewing this cluster from Creede.  Near midnight it skims along the southern horizon just above the peaks of distant mountains.

All of the images in this post were taken with an Olympus E-M1iii camera and Olympus 75mm f/1.8 lens.  Exposures were generally 60 sec at ISO 1600.

looking south toward Omega Centauri and Centaurus A

 In this image, Omega Centauri is about to pass (about 10 minutes later) 1.8 deg over the top of Piedra Peak.  Directly above it near the top of the image is the fainter galaxy NGC 5128, otherwise known as Centaurus A.  Airglow gives the sky a faint green coloration.

Omega Centauri

 

Centaurus-A, NGC 5128

Just before midnight, Scorpius and its brightest star Antares are rising above the ridgeline of Snowshoe Mountain:

Antares, M4, and the Rho-Ophiuchi Nebula

Rho Ophiuchi is the star at the center of this image, surrounded by blue nebulosity. This region consists of many bright and dark nebulae and is known as the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex.

 To the west, the bright "Beehive Cluster" (M44) and fainter nearby cluster M67 are sinking toward the Bristol Head ridgeline:

M67 (left) and M44 (right)

 

M67

M44

The dwarf galaxy Leo I lies only 12 arcminutes from Regulus, the brightest star in the Constellation Leo and the 21st brightest star.  This galaxy was discovered in 1950 with the 48-inch Schmidt camera at Palomar Observatory.  Today it is possible to image this galaxy with a 42-mm aperture camera lens in a 60-sec exposure under suitably dark skies.  Technology has come a long way in 76 years.  

For a sense of scale, 12 arcminutes is the same as the separation between Mizar and Alcor, the famous naked-eye double star in the handle of the Big Dipper. 

Regulus (center) and Leo I (faint blob up and to the right)

 The galaxy Leo I is believed to be the most distant satellite galaxy of our Milky Way, at a distance of 820 kly.  Regulus is 79 ly distant, so this background galaxy is more than 10,000 times farther away.