Month: February 2021

Full Moon Rising

Post author By Doug Backlund
Post date February 28, 2021

This turned out about perfect for photography. The moon was rising over the Batamote Mountains but the sun was still up in the west. No bracketing, HDR, or other usual methods of combining overexposed and underexposed images were needed. Just the standard photoshop routine and this is what I got. Something I’d like to try is shooting the Andromeda Galaxy in a similar setting. If we could actually see the Andromeda Galaxy in its actual size, it would be 4 or 5 times wider than the full moon. It is too faint for our eyes but if I can photograph it setting behind the mountains here, it might be a nice image. I may be able to do that tomorrow night if I can find the right location. Timing and location will be important! Right now the galaxy is setting in the west from 9-10 PM but the moon comes up about 9:30 PM.

Not much editing needed. Light was perfect.

Full Moon Days

Nothing going on here for astrophotography, the moon is too bright. Birding is still very slow and in my walks around the desert I’m not finding many flowers or butterflies. All in all, not much going on. At least the weather is nice. Many of the campers have left now, the campground is very quiet again.

While hiking out by Valentine Well I came across this homemade grave marker. I’m not sure what Quate means, it could be cuate, which can mean brother or friend in Spanish. I suppose Francisco was another immigrant looking for a better life.

A Harris’s Antelope Ground Squirrel feeding on something. Like chipmunks and Red Squirrels, hard to pass up.

It is hard to find anything new to photograph, so here’s another Common Side-blotched Lizard in breeding colors.

I found this Wilson’s Snipe this morning, at the golf course. It was probing in the soft soil around a leaking pipe. It let me get pretty close. Not very often one can find one of these out in the open like this.

Astrophotography

More Galaxies

I think I enjoy imaging galaxies more than nebulas. There are lots of them and all are different. But, mostly it is because they are so awesome and fascinating; entire galaxies, thousands of light years in diameter, millions of light years away, with billions of stars, all captured in my images. Most are too small for the 500 f4 lens but with the C8, many more are now within my range. And it is galaxy season now, with many of the nebulas now shifting to the south and west.

This is the Tiger’s Eye Galaxy, NGC 2841, in Ursa Major. Several other smaller galaxies are visible too. NGC 2841 is an unbarred spiral galaxy in Ursa Major. It was discovered in 1788 by William Herschel. Known as a flocculent spiral galaxy, a type of spiral galaxy whose spirals are blotchy and discontinuous. M63, the Sunflower Galaxy is similar to the Tiger’s Eye Galaxy.

NGC 3628, also known as the Hamburger Galaxy, is about 35 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1784. It is one of three galaxies known as the Leo Triplets.

Astrophotography

M82-The Cigar Galaxy

Post author By Doug Backlund
Post date February 12, 2021

M82 is an interesting galaxy due to the fact it is an edge-on starburst galaxy. Stars are forming 10 times faster than in the Milky Way Galaxy. M82’s red (ionized hydrogen) outflow filaments are created by energy released by supernovae in the galaxy center which occur at a rate of about one every ten years. I have messed around with this galaxy a few times but never got an image I’ve really liked. So, the last two nights, this is all I did. I now have 5 hours of exposure on this galaxy with the C8 (at 1200 mm focal length using a .63 reducer).

Five hours of total exposure and probably about the same amount of time stacking and processing, this is the final result. I’m not sure if I will add more exposure or not. I’ve seen photos with as much as 16 hours exposure and they are impressive but that is a lot of time spent on one object!

Birding Photography

Catching Up With Some Photos

Post author By Doug Backlund
Post date February 10, 2021

I haven’t been taking many photos other than astrophography for a couple of weeks now. So, the new ones have just been sitting in the camera until today. It looks like I might have one or two more good nights for astrophotography then it is back to looking for birds or anything else that is interesting. It is beginning to feel like spring and apparently ducks feel the same way as some new species showed up today at the pond, including some Northern Pintails, Cinnamon Teal, and Gadwall. The question is: are they moving back north or moving south from the bitter cold? Looking at the weather back in South Dakota, I’m sure glad I’m here! Some of the desert vegetation is starting to green up now, but more rain is needed.

A Cactus Wren that hopped up on a rock, too close to even get the whole bird in the frame.

I was at Gillespie Dam about a week ago. It was nice to see some new water (besides the Ajo sewage ponds) and some new birds. I liked how this Green Heron is framed in the opening in the wall.

While hiking along Ten-mile Wash, I came across this rock pile and started noticing petroglyphs. This one is apparently snakes and maybe indicates that this rock pile was a snake den. Who knows?

Another petroglyph, obviously a Saguaro.

Astrophotography

February Astro

It has been a pretty productive February for astrophotography. I had 4 nights that were too cloudy. It will be cloudy again tonight but tomorrow night might be good. Birding has been very slow again, nothing new to report there.