Page 19 – Doug Backlund Travel and Photography

Still in Ajo

Post author By Doug Backlund
Post date April 17, 2021

The Ford dealership couldn’t find anything wrong with the truck. They ran all kinds of tests, adjusted fuel settings but nothing major. The check engine light is off and that is good. They only billed me $100 after working on it all morning. I was expecting a lot more. The NAPA in Ajo wanted to replace all the O2 sensors (there are 4 of them) and that would have cost between $500 and $1000. I am glad I waited. Ford thinks it may have been a fuel problem of some type. That makes sense, it happened just a few minutes after filling it up at the Shell station in Ajo.

The moon is getting brighter and staying up longer but I still put in a full night of astro last night. I stayed up all night, mostly because I wanted to image the Trifid Nebula, M20, with the C8. At this latitude, M20 rises to nearly 35 degrees above the horizon, which is still pretty low but in South Dakota I would lose another 10 degrees. M20, at about 20 arc minutes diameter, is just the right size for the C8 at 1200mm focal length.

Here it is, M20, the Trifid Nebula. It is found in the core of the Milky Way Galaxy, rising in the early morning hours. It would look a lot better if it got higher in the sky but this is the best I can do. UPDATED: I added another hour to it Saturday night.

While waiting for M20 I worked on a few other things. This is an image of The Eyes, in Markarian’s Chain, in Virgo. The largest, irregularly shaped galaxy is NGC4438. If you’ve ever watched the movie Interstellar, this galaxy is noted in Murphy Cooper’s notebook when she is is recording the Morse code from the watch. Apparently it is the galaxy that was accessed through the worm hole in the movie. Also known as Arp 120, The Eyes are about 55 million light years distant from Earth.

I accumulated another hour of exposure on this, Arp 286. It is looking better.

Some New Birds and New Galaxies

Post author By Doug Backlund
Post date April 12, 2021

The weather has been a little on the hot side but not too bad. My opportunities for astrophotography have been limited due to clouds and wind. Still no rain at all. The few areas that have got some water (mostly due to being watered or from runoff from paved streets) have been producing some birds. Tomorrow I have an appointment at Jones Ford in Buckeye to see what I need to do about the check engine light. I hope that doesn’t take too long.

M88, a spiral galaxy in the Virgo Galaxy Cluster.

I would like to put more time in this but it looks that will have to wait. This galaxy group is known at Arp 286 (Arp is the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies, named after Halton Arp, the astronomer who developed it). The largest galaxy in the image is NGC 5566. It is the largest galaxy in Virgo but is so far away it appears small, even for the C8. Distance from Earth is about 65 million light years. I had to crop a lot but it still looks pretty good.

NGC 3521, also known as the Bubble Galaxy. The large area of nebulosity surrounding the galaxy is from stars that have been torn out of the galaxy and dwarf galaxies that collided millions of years ago.

A Sora I found at the golf course. It was right out in the open, very unusual for a Sora.

A very cooperative male Hermit Warbler I found this morning. My prize bird for the day!

Another view of the same Hermit Warbler.

Astrophotography Bats Birding Photography

It’s Getting Hot!

Post author By Doug Backlund
Post date April 5, 2021

I would like to leave pretty soon, it has been getting up near 100F yesterday and today. It should cool down now for a few days and that’s good because the truck has developed a problem, the check engine light came on. At NAPA they did a diagnostic that said it was an O2 sensor. NAPA can’t do it till week and I called the Ford dealer in Buckeye and they can’t do it till next Tuesday. So, I’m stuck. I can drive it to town and around the area, but if it gets worse I will have to park it and have it towed in, so I’m limiting the driving. No more driving around at night, that’s for sure!

I’ve managed a little astrophotography, but most nights I’ve been out photographing bats or looking for snakes. Here’s the Sombrero Galaxy with the C8, first time with guiding.

The Silver Streak Galaxy and neighbors. These galaxies are in the Virgo Galaxy Cluster.

A very sharp shot of a Yuma Myotis getting a drink. The bat activity at Valentine Well has really dropped off but there are still quite a few of the smaller bats.

One of the few bat photos I’ve taken with the wings down.

The Great Horned Owls at the golf course are successfully raising their young. Light was pretty bad but it turned out OK.

Another angle on the nest with better light.

Vermilion Flycatcher. It is hard to pass up a good shot!

Bats Photography

More Bats

I’ve been going out to Valentine Well every night. Last night it was very slow so I guess I hit a peak period for awhile. Bats only tripped the trigger 5 times, on my best night the trigger was tripped 68 times. I will try again in a few days, tonight I’m going snake hunting.

I saw fresh Mountain Lion tracks at the well yesterday, they weren’t there the day before! I was hoping it would come back for a drink but I didn’t see it.

This is my setup. I use a 35mm lens on a Canon 7DMII. The laser trigger is set up to cover as much of the tank as possible, it is limited by the length of the cable to connect to the camera. I can buy a wireless transmitter that would help a lot with this issue. For this small tank, I can get by without it. The receiver/trigger is behind the lens and the laser is on the right. I blocked about a foot of the tank with a 2×4 to limit the open water a bit. The laser beam has to be low, just barely above the edge of the tank otherwise the bats tend to fly under it or trigger it after they are out of range.

I posted this on iNaturalist and the consensus is that this is a Yuma Myotis. This is one the best bat photos I’ve taken so far! For my best photos, I take the time to remove the metal rim in the background, a tedious process.

I wish I could have got the whole bat! A Townsend’s Big-eared Bat, very sharp!

Myotis sp. This isn’t as sharp but I like the wing hitting the water.

Bats Photography

Holy Bats, Batman

I went back to Valentine Well last night. I got set up for an evening of bat photography and tried a little different arrangement, hoping to get shots of bats flying straight toward the camera. I had little idea that this would be the best night of bat shooting I’ve ever had! I got at least three species and maybe four. Best of all, I finally got a good shot of a Townsend’s Big-eared Bat. I got one last spring but it was out of focus just enough to make it a photo I didn’t really want to show anyone. Anyway, it was fun and I will back out there tonight. I have some ideas on how improve and will see if they work.

My Townsend’s Big-eared Bat, coming up off the water just after getting a drink. I could be a little sharper but it is pretty good!

Pallid Bat, I got three pretty sharp images. I like this one for the reflection on the water.

Another Myotis sp., maybe a California or Small-footed Myotis.

Pallid Bat. As always, right click on an image and open in a new tab to see a larger version.

Birding Photography

New Birds and Some Old Birds

Post author By Doug Backlund
Post date March 24, 2021

The numbers of birds isn’t going up much but it seems there is something new almost everyday now. A big windy storm system is moving through tomorrow and I am hopeful that will really pick things up. It looks like a big warm up for next week so maybe the herps will finally start to move too. I just hope it doesn’t get so hot I have to leave!

My first Western Kingbird of the spring.

A Townsend’s Solitaire at Bud Walker Park.

Male Northern Harrier at the golf course. This was a terrible photo, taken in very poor light, but a little Photoshop work and it looks presentable.

A pair of ravens are building a new nest at the golf course.

A Bendire’s Thrasher at Bud Walker Park. A pretty rare bird in this part of Arizona.

Well, I said in my last post that there was nothing I could do about the background in this photo, but I messed around with it in Photoshop and I guess there is something I can do about it. Anyway, that ugly metal rim is gone!

Astrophotography Bats Photography

Bats!

It was a warm day, up near 90 F., so I decided to check Valentine Well for bat activity. It still is cooling down at night a little too much for good insect and bat activity, but at Valentine Well, there were lots of bats shortly after sunset. It is probably the only source of water for miles in any direction, since all of the ponds and natural tanks are dry. This is what I need, lots of bats, so I get lots of shots and then hope for a few good ones. Bats tripped the laser trigger 33 times and I got at least two very good images.

Another pretty good shot but not quite sharp. Almost, but not quite. Yuma Myotis.

From a few nights ago, M106, in Ursa Major. First time shooting this galaxy now that I’m guiding.

M13, the Great Cluster in Hercules. Imaged with the C8 and guiding.

Astrophotography Birding

Wilson’s Warbler

Post author By Doug Backlund
Post date March 13, 2021

It must have been a pretty boring birding winter if a Wilson’s Warbler seems exciting. Yesterday, I actually saw around a dozen of them in a wooded area behind the Ajo tennis courts. They were very busy feeding and not paying much attention to me, so were easy to photograph. The weather has been pretty bad for astrophotography, so it appears that most of this new moon period is not going to be productive. At least we finally got some rain, about .15 inch according to the Ajo weather station. It is cold and windy today.

I got my covid vaccine on Thursday here at the local clinic. They just got a supply of the Johnson and Johnson one shot vaccine, so I’m done with that. I didn’t notice much for side effects, I felt a little tired and achy, but that went away by the next day. I am sure glad to have that done!

Male Wilson’s Warbler. I was pretty excited to see so many yesterday.

Here’s a side view of another one on a Palo Verde branch. They were very actively feeding and easy to approach.

Here’s another galaxy from a few nights ago. M95 is found in the constellation Leo and is about 33 million light years from Earth. Unlike most galaxies, it seems to harbor more yellow stars in the outer limits of the system.

Astrophotography

Galaxy Season

Post author By Doug Backlund
Post date March 8, 2021

Now that the moon is approaching the new moon phase, the clouds are rolling in. I had a few good nights but for the next few days at least, it does not look good. As far as birding goes, it is very slow. A few new birds have appeared, indicating some migration. Two dowitchers at the pond and a couple of Greater Yellowlegs, along with a Ring-billed Gull were the most exciting birds I’ve seen. Still not warm enough to get the herps out, except for the most common ones I’ve seen all winter.

M65, another one of the Leo Triplets. It has crossed my mind to make a mosaic of all three using images taken with the C8. I’ll see how that goes.

M100, a galaxy in the Virgo Galaxy Cluster. NGC 4312 is in the upper right.

The Needle Galaxy, NGC 4565, in the constellation Coma Berenices. IC3571 is the small bluish area just to the left of the galaxy, in Stellarium it is called an “object of unknown nature”. Other places I’ve looked describe it as a dwarf galaxy. The Needle is one of my favorite galaxies, it is large and bright, very photogenic. This image is about 2 hours of exposure.

M46, an open star cluster near Orion. There is a small planetary nebula in the cluster, NGC 2438, but it is not actually associated with it. There are around 500 stars in this 250,000,000 year old cluster. It can be easily seen in binoculars.

Astrophotography

Galaxies High and Low

I mentioned in my last post that I wanted to try making an image of the Andromeda Galaxy as it was close to the horizon. My goal was to show how large this galaxy would appear if we could see it as bright as the moon. I wanted to get it setting over the Air Force radar installation on Child’s Mountain. It was close and I even got an unexpected Saguaro in the scene. I took about 30 minutes of exposure of the galaxy as it came lower but the moon came up before it was low enough. So, I had to make some adjustments. It worked out pretty good because the moon lit up Child’s Mountain. As always, right click on the image and open in a new tab to see a larger version.