# 369 | The December 1, 2008 Conjunction of Jupiter, Venus and The Moon
Anyone who witnessed the triple conjunction of the thin crescent Moon, Venus and Jupiter on December 1 will attest that it was a beautiful sight to behold.
Though clouds covered much of Canada, many readers report that their skies magically cleared up for a brief period at the perfect moment to view the celestial spectacle.
Dave Cunningham took this image from Victoria Park in Charlottetown, PEI. Using a Canon 40D, Dave took a 1.5 second exposure at ISO 1600 using a 24mm lens at f/3.5. The lighthouse was illuminated by using the camera's built-in flash.
# 368 | A Triple Delight
Hopefully skygazers across North America are blessed with a clear sky at dusk on Monday, December 1.
Shortly after sunset on Monday, those who step outside and look to the southwest will see a spectacular celestial grouping consisting of the thin crescent Moon, Venus and Jupiter.
Peter Raine captured this image of the threesome from near London, Ontario on Saturday, November 29.
Using a Canon A640 Powershot point-and-shoot digital camera mounted on a tripod, Peter took a 15-second exposure at f/8 using ISO 400.
# 367 | The Orbit of Io
Those who delve into astrophotography are well aware of how much effort and dedication it can sometimes take to create a stunning astrophoto.
For those who aren't, this image, taken by André Montambault of Drummondville, Quebec, may be an eye-opener.
This photo of Jupiter shows the orbit of Io, Jupiter's volcanic moon,, between August 16 and November 14. During each of the twenty-three observing sessions during that time period, André proceeded to capture video images of Jupiter and its moons.
Though 70 images of Io were obtained over the three month period, only 31 were used for the final composite.
To capture the images of Jupiter and Io, André used a Celestron NexImage Solar System Imager webcam and a Celestron 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. An IR filter was also used on some evenings.
# 366 | Saturn
Planetary observers will be ecstatic upon realizing that Saturn, the beautiful ringed planet, is now high enough above the eastern horizon at dawn to be observed through a telescope.
From near Kitchener, Ontario, planetary imaging ace Darryl Archer recently captured Saturn on a mid-November morning with above-average seeing conditions.
Using a Celestron C14 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, Darryl took 1000 frames with a webcam and then combined the best 150 to create the final image.
Two of Saturn's moons can also be seen — Rhea and Tethys.
# 365 | Lunar Delight
Though many may feel that the Moon is akin to a nuisance and washes out many deep sky objects with its reflected light, there are many who passionately observe and photograph our satellite.
Daniel Borcard recently created this image showcasing three craters on the Moon: Archimedes (large crater near centre), Aristillus (top right) and Autolycus (centre right).
Daniel combined 281 images taken through a Celestron C9.25 SCT in the spring of 2008 from St-Roch de l'Achigan, Quebec. A DMK31AF03 was used for monochrome images as well as an Astronomik Pro-Planet IR 742 IR-pass filter and a Tele Vue 2x Big Barlow.
Sharp-eyed observers may note the visual differences between each crater.
# 364 | Venus and The Moon
Anyone who stepped outside on Saturday, November 1 just after sunset and looked to the west would have caught a splendid scene. Venus and the crescent Moon were easily visible hovering above the western horizon.
William McMullen took this image of the pair at Petrie Island near Orleans, Ontario using a Canon XT digital camera equipped with a 17-70 mm Sigma lens (used at 30mm). He took a 3.2 second exposure at f/5.6 using ISO 200.
# 363 | 50D Image of Pickering's Triangle
As a test shot for a review of the new Canon 50D digital SLR camera for the January/February 2009 SkyNews, editor Terence Dickinson selected this faint nebulosity located between the two main components of the vast supernova remnant in Cygnus known as the Veil Nebula. The camera is a Hutech filter-modified 50D equipped with an IDAS LP2 light pollution filter shooting through a Takahashi FSQ 106mm f/5 refractor. Single exposeure at ISO 1600 for 10 minutes. The Canon 50D has a 15 megapixel sensor which captures virtually noise-free images at ISO 1600. This image is a crop of one-quarter of the original frame.
# 362 | M33
M33 is a galaxy found in the constellation Triangulum. At approximately 3.0 million light-years from Earth, M33 is a close galactic neighbour.
However, due to its orientation — we are viewing it face-on — its intrinsic brightness is low when compared to galaxy M31 which, at 2.3 million light-years distant, is only slightly closer to us.
Using low power and observing on nights without interfering moonlight will provide the best views of M33.
Patrick Dube spent multiple nights over the course of last summer to create this image of M33 from Les Observatoires du Mont Notre-Dame in Rimouski, Quebec.
Using a Takahashi FS-102 apochromatic refractor operating at f/5.9, Patrick combined 21 hours worth of data obtained from an SBIG ST-2000XM CCD camera equipped with Astrodon LRGB filters.
LRGB = 30 x 15 minutes, 15 x 15 minutes, 15 x 15 minutes, 15 x 15 minutes.
# 361 | The Moon, Jupiter and Venus
This past week provided an excellent opportunity to view three objects within our solar system after dusk.
Venus can currently be seen hovering low in the western sky shortly after sunset. Glowing like a brilliant diamond, Venus is difficult to miss.
Jupiter can be found further to the south. Shining a brilliant creme colour, Jupiter is not as bright as Venus yet still outshines all stars nearby.
The Moon was near Jupiter on October 6 and made for a striking scene.
From near Peterborough, Ontario, Rick Stankiewicz captured the three celestial objects on October 6 using a Canon 400D digital camera. Equipped with a 17-200mm lens, Rick took a 2-second exposure at ISO 200 with the lens at the 17mm setting.
# 360 | NGC7000
The appropriately named North America nebula, catalogued as NGC7000, is an emission nebula found in the constellation Cygnus near the bright star Deneb.
Though the human eye is not sensitive enough to discern colour, cameras can easily do so.
From the Toronto RASC's Carr Observatory near Collingwood, Ontario, Richard Sewards captured this image of NGC7000.
Eschewing the digital technology that most astrophotographers now use, Richard used Fuji Provia 400F slide film and took three 15-minute exposures using a Nikon F2 equipped with a Nikon 180mm lens operating at f/2.8 which was piggybacked upon the Observatory's C14 and Paramount mount.
After processing, the slides were scanned, stacked and processed on his computer.