Uploads from [ Kane ], tagged stars, with geodata

Snakes and Ladders

nobody@flickr.com ([ Kane ]) — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 22:20:55 -0700

[ Kane ] posted a photo:

About

Tannin rich fresh water draining into the ocean. Matt, David, Reedy and I took a drive up north to shoot some long exposure night stuff before dawn. This location was a must do, and it worked well.

Enjoy

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- Canon 5D MK II
- ISO 200, f4, 98 seconds, 18mm.
- Canon 17-40 f/4 L Lens

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Processing

- Contrast and Saturation in Lightroom 3.0.

About

Tannins are distributed in species throughout the plant kingdom. They are commonly found in both gymnosperms as well as angiosperms. Tannins are mainly physically located in the vacuoles or surface wax of plants. These storage sites keep tannins active against plant predators, but also keep some tannins from affecting plant metabolism while the plant tissue is alive; it is only after cell breakdown and death that the tannins are active in metabolic effects. Tannins are classified as ergastic substances, i.e., non-protoplasm materials found in cells.

Tannins are found in leaf, bud, seed, root, and stem tissues. An example of the location of the tannins in stem tissue is that they are often found in the growth areas of trees, such as the secondary phloem and xylem and the layer between the cortex and epidermis. Tannins may help regulate the growth of these tissues.

The Milky Way

nobody@flickr.com ([ Kane ]) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 19:46:50 -0700

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About

Shot during our Star-trails workshop last night. Love the night sky.

Enjoy

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- Canon 1D MK IV
- ISO 1600, f1.4, 5 seconds, 35mm.
- Canon 35 f/1.4 lens.

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Processing

- Contrast and Saturation in Lightroom 3.0.
- Selective sharpening in Photoshop.

About The Milky Way

The Milky Way Galaxy, commonly referred to as just the Milky Way, or sometimes simply as the Galaxy, is the home galaxy of the Solar System, and of Earth. It is agreed that the Milky Way is a spiral galaxy, with observations suggesting that it is a barred spiral galaxy. It contains 200-400 billion stars and is estimated to have at least 50 billion planets, 500 million of which could be located in the habitable zone of their parent star. New data suggests there may be up to twice as many free-floating planets in the Milky Way as there are stars. The Milky Way is part of the Local Group of galaxies and is one of around 200 billion galaxies in the observable universe.

The Solar System is located in the Milky Way galaxy around two thirds of the way out from the center, on the inner edge of the Orion–Cygnus Arm. The Sun orbits around the center of the galaxy in a galactic year—once every 225-250 million Earth years.

My Power & His Power

nobody@flickr.com ([ Kane ]) — Mon, 02 May 2011 03:35:07 -0700

[ Kane ] posted a photo:

About

I've photographed this pole on a few occasions. The clouds that rolled in at dusk tonight were perfect for a long exposure shot. I setup my tripod on my Ute and waited for the sky to dance.

Enjoy.

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- Canon 5D MK II.
- ISO 100, f8, 360 seconds, 20mm.
- Canon 17-40 f/4 L lens.
- Tripod on car.

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Processing

- Blend of two images (star tails - night clouds and pole)
- Contrast and Saturation in Lightroom 3.0.
- Selective sharpening in Photoshop.

About Stars

A star is a massive, luminous ball of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth. Other stars are visible from Earth during the night when they are not outshone by the Sun or blocked by atmospheric phenomena. Historically, the most prominent stars on the celestial sphere were grouped together into constellations and asterisms, and the brightest stars gained proper names. Extensive catalogues of stars have been assembled by astronomers, which provide standardized star designations.

For at least a portion of its life, a star shines due to thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen in its core releasing energy that traverses the star's interior and then radiates into outer space. Almost all naturally occurring elements heavier than helium were created by stars, either via stellar nucleosynthesis during their lifetimes or by supernova nucleosynthesis when stars explode. Astronomers can determine the mass, age, chemical composition and many other properties of a star by observing its spectrum, luminosity and motion through space. The total mass of a star is the principal determinant in its evolution and eventual fate. Other characteristics of a star are determined by its evolutionary history, including diameter, rotation, movement and temperature.

Pale band of Light formed by Stars in the Galactic Plane as seen from Earth

nobody@flickr.com ([ Kane ]) — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 18:46:56 -0700

[ Kane ] posted a photo:

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About

For me, there is nothing more rewarding than photographing the night sky. Just being out there, in the dark, away from the big smoke -in awe.

Last night the conditions were fantastic for night photography. After driving, scouting, and shooting for a few hours it was time to return, but not before a random breath test (in the middle of no-where).

"What are you guys doing out here?" -"Photographing the night sky Sir"

Tonight is also shaping up to be a good night -get out there... !!

Enjoy.

- Canon 5D Mark II.
- ISO 200, f4, 22 minutes, 18mm.
- Canon 17-40 f/4 L Lens.
- Tripod.

Processing

- NR in Canon DPP 3.0
- BW conversion in Lightroom 3.0

About The Milky Way Galaxy

The Milky Way Galaxy, commonly referred to as just the Milky Way, or sometimes simply as the Galaxy, is the galaxy in which our Solar System is located. The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy that is part of the Local Group of galaxies. It is one of billions of galaxies in the observable universe. Some sources hold that, strictly speaking, the term Milky Way should refer exclusively to the band of light that the galaxy forms in the night sky, while the galaxy should receive the full name Milky Way Galaxy, or alternatively the Galaxy. However, it is unclear how widespread this convention is, and the term Milky Way is routinely used in either context.

The galaxy consists of a bar-shaped core region surrounded by a disk of gas, dust and stars forming four distinct arm structures spiralling outward in a logarithmic spiral shape. The mass distribution within the galaxy closely resembles the Sbc Hubble classification, which is a spiral galaxy with relatively loosely wound arms. Astronomers first began to suspect that the Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy, rather than an ordinary spiral galaxy, in the 1990s. Their suspicions were confirmed by the Spitzer Space Telescope observations in 2005 which showed the galaxy's central bar to be larger than previously suspected.

Luminous Balls of Plasma held together by Gravity.

nobody@flickr.com ([ Kane ]) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:16:32 -0700

[ Kane ] posted a photo:

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Out and about.
270 single images stacked in Photoshop 6.0.

"When the night has come, and the land is dark, and the moon is the only light we see ...."

I could have stayed out longer, but I was getting cold, and the coffee was leaking. David and I spent the best part of three hours sitting around talking while our cameras ticked over.

Enjoy.

- Canon 5D Mark II.
- ISO 640, f5.6, 30 seconds, 18mm.
- Canon 17-40 f/4 L Lens.
- Tripod.

Processing

- 270 single images stacked in Photoshop 6.0.
- Saturation and Contrast in Photoshop 6.0.
- Border added in Photoshop 6.0.

About Stars

A star is a massive, luminous ball of plasma held together by gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth. Other stars are visible in the night sky, when they are not outshone by the Sun. Historically, the most prominent stars on the celestial sphere were grouped together into constellations and asterisms, and the brightest stars gained proper names. Extensive catalogues of stars have been assembled by astronomers, which provide standardized star designations.

For most of its life, a star shines due to thermonuclear fusion in its core releasing energy that traverses the star's interior and then radiates into outer space. Almost all naturally occurring elements heavier than helium were created by stars, either via stellar nucleosynthesis during their lifetimes or by supernova nucleosynthesis when stars explode. Astronomers can determine the mass, age, chemical composition and many other properties of a star by observing its spectrum, luminosity and motion through space.

Most stars are between 1 billion and 10 billion years old. Some stars may even be close to 13.7 billion years old—the observed age of the universe. The oldest star yet discovered, HE 1523-0901, is an estimated 13.2 billion years old.

The more massive the star, the shorter its lifespan, primarily because massive stars have greater pressure on their cores, causing them to burn hydrogen more rapidly. The most massive stars last an average of about one million years, while stars of minimum mass (red dwarfs) burn their fuel very slowly and last tens to hundreds of billions of years.

Moon Clouds Of Illusion.

nobody@flickr.com ([ Kane ]) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:52:58 -0700

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Moon Clouds during the 2009/2010 new year celebrations on the Gold Coast.

Enjoy.

- Canon 50D.
- ISO 100, f5.6, 70 seconds, 10mm.
- Sigma 10-20mm.
- Tripod.

Processing

- Saturation and Contrast in Photoshop 6.0 and Lightroom 2.2.
- DRI (blend of 3 exposures)

About The Ocean

An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.

More than half of this area is over 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) deep. Average oceanic salinity is around 35 parts per thousand (ppt) (3.5%), and nearly all seawater has a salinity in the range of 30 to 38 ppt. Scientists estimate that 230,000 marine life forms of all types are currently known, but the total could be up to 10 times that number.

ET Phone Home

nobody@flickr.com ([ Kane ]) — Tue, 25 May 2010 05:00:52 -0700

[ Kane ] posted a photo:

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I can just imagine ET riding (flying) over these trees.

I was out late (early) last Friday/Saturday night with the usual crew, we were shooting the stars to the south. I noticed the dawn glow on the horizon and focused my attention to them. You can see the mist, which made it cold and spooky.

Matt has a shot form the same morning here.

"Star-trail Alley"

Enjoy.

- Canon 50D.
- ISO 100, f9, 120 seconds, 10mm.
- Sigma 10-20mm.
- Tripod.

Processing

- Saturation and Contrast in Photoshop 6.0 and Lightroom 2.2.
- Colour balance set to Tungsten.

About SETI

Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is the collective name for a number of activities people undertake to search for extraterrestrial life. SETI projects use scientific methods to search for electromagnetic transmissions from civilizations on distant planets. The United States government contributed to earlier SETI projects, but recent work has been primarily funded by private sources.

There are great challenges in searching across the sky for a first transmission that could be characterized as intelligent, since its direction, spectrum and method of communication are all unknown beforehand. SETI projects necessarily make assumptions to narrow the search, and thus no exhaustive search has been conducted so far.

Chaotic Star Mist

nobody@flickr.com ([ Kane ]) — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 16:37:10 -0700

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Clouds stream across the night sky as the world spins, a few lone jets pass by, its all a bit Chaotic.

I've been here a few times, however always on a crystal clear night. Last night was different, I asked David if he'd like to come along to a spot of mine, he was happy to attend.

About an hour into the shoot, I realised my camera was not triggering... opps... forgot to set camera in continuous mode. So about an hour later I had 100 images and David had over 200, so I cant wait to see how his shots turned out.

Enjoy.

- Canon 50D.
- ISO 400, f5.6, 30 seconds, 10mm.
- Sigma 10-20mm.
- Tripod.

Processing

- 110 single images stacked in Photoshop 6.0.
- White balance fixed. (shot in Tungsten)

About Chaotic

Chaos (derived from the Ancient Greek Χάος, Chaos) typically means a state lacking order or predictability. In ancient Greece, it first meant the initial state of the universe, and, by extension, space, darkness, or an abys (the antithetical concept was cosmos), but later uses of the term by philosophers varied over time. In modern English, the word is used in classical studies with the original meaning; in mathematics and science to refer to a very specific kind of unpredictability; and informally to mean a state of confusion. In philosophy, and in popular culture, the word can occur with all three meanings.

Mathematically, chaos refers to a very specific kind of unpredictability: deterministic behaviour that is very sensitive to its initial conditions. In other words, infinitesimal variations in initial conditions for a chaotic dynamic system lead to large variations in behaviour.

Chaotic systems consequently appear disordered and random. However, they are actually deterministic systems governed by physical or mathematical laws, and so are completely predictable given perfect knowledge of the initial conditions. In other words, a chaotic system will always exhibit the same behaviour when seeded with the same initial conditions - there is no inherent randomness in this regard. However, such perfect knowledge is never attainable in real life; slight errors are intrinsic to any physical measurement. In a chaotic system, these slight errors will give rise to results which differ wildly from the correct result. A commonly used example is weather forecasting, which is only possible up to about a week ahead, despite theoretically being perfectly possible at any level (ignoring the effects of the uncertainty principle).

Time is Photographic.

nobody@flickr.com ([ Kane ]) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 04:32:36 -0700

[ Kane ] posted a photo:

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About

Wellington Point, QLD.

Photography is evolution. One arrives early, before sunset and shoots well into the night, you watch the tide go from high to low, you feel the warmth in the sun dissolve and you watch the colours of the night sky develop before your eyes, and the entire time you've been traveling through time.... Time is Photographic.

Enjoy.

- Canon 50D.
- ISO 100, f9, 280 seconds, 10mm.
- Sigma 10-20mm.
- Tripod.
- Noise Reduction.

Processing

- Saturation and Contrast in Photoshop 6.0 and Lightroom 2.2.

About the Brisbane Airport

Brisbane Airport (IATA: BNE, ICAO: YBBN) is the sole passenger airport serving Brisbane and the third busiest in Australia, after Sydney and Melbourne Airports. Located in the suburb with the same name, the airport serves the city of Brisbane and the surrounding metropolitan area.

It is a hub for Virgin Blue and its low cost international subsidiary Pacific Blue Airlines and a secondary hub for both Qantas and its low cost subsidiary Jetstar. It is part of the Brisbane–Sydney air route, which is the eleventh busiest passenger air route in the world, and the seventh busiest in the Asia-Pacific region.

Brisbane Airport is home to Qantas' heavy 767-300 maintenance facility and from early 2010, heavy maintenance work on the Airline's A330 fleet will be carried out at the facility. Virgin Blue has a smaller maintenance facility at the Airport, where line-maintenance on the Airline's 737 fleet is performed. Other airlines, namely QantasLink and Alliance also conduct maintenance at their respective facilities at the Airport.

The airport has international and domestic passenger terminals, a cargo terminal, a General Aviation terminal and apron as well as two runways. Brisbane Airport is accessible from the central business district by the Gateway Motorway and the Airtrain rail service, which is linked to the Citytrain suburban network. The new Airport Link motorway is planned to connect the Brisbane CBD and airport.

The airport was awarded the IATA Eagle Award in 2005, the second of only two Australian airports to receive such award. Brisbane Airport was voted the best airport in the Australia-Pacific region and the airport with the friendliest staff in the world in the 2008 Skytrax World Airport Awards. In 2009 it was voted the best airport in Australia and again won the friendliest staff award for the Asia Pacific region. The International terminal has also won the Queensland architecture award. In 2010 it was again voted the best Australian Airport by Sktrax and made the worlds top 25 airports.

Should I stay or Should I go

nobody@flickr.com ([ Kane ]) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:11:24 -0700

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Somewhere in the middle of somewhere, QLD, Australia.

Matt, Josh, Steve and I took a drive west, to take advantage of the cooler weather last night, we knew the stars would be out, but, as always finding a few good spots to shoot is always the challenge!

Anyhow, we found some neat trees, roads, barns etc.

At about the 20 minute mark of this long exposure, Matt drive his car past to create the light trails, a trick we have employed before.

Funny story, well kinda funny, we were having so much fun, and after seeing some night mist develop we were considering staying out until dawn... should I stay or should I go... in the end we shot one last shot and headed home for Brisbane. Bed time: 3:45am, gotta love photography.

Enjoy.

- Canon 50D.
- ISO 200, f5.6, 22 minutes, 10mm.
- Sigma 10-20mm.
- Tripod.
- In camera noise reduction.

Processing

- A few small clones.
- Increased blacks.
- Noise reduction in Lightroom 2.2.

About the Sky

The sky is the part of the atmosphere or of outer space visible from the surface of any astronomical object. It is difficult to define precisely for several reasons. During daylight, the sky of Earth has the appearance of a deep blue surface because of the air's scattering of sunlight. The sky is sometimes defined as the denser gaseous zone of a planet's atmosphere. At night the sky has the appearance of a black surface or region scattered with stars.

During the day the Sun can be seen in the sky, unless covered by clouds. In the night sky (and to some extent during the day) the moon, planets and stars are visible in the sky. Some of the natural phenomena seen in the sky are clouds, rainbows, and aurorae. Lightning and precipitation can also be seen in the sky during storms. On Earth, birds, insects, aircraft, and kites are often considered to fly in the sky. As a result of human activities, smog during the day and light radiance during the night are often seen above large cities.

In the field of astronomy, the sky is also called the celestial sphere. This is an imaginary dome where the sun, stars, planets, and the moon are seen to be traveling. The celestial sphere is divided into regions called constellations.

Cloud Dancer

nobody@flickr.com ([ Kane ]) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 04:08:00 -0800

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From the vault, a star trail test.
This one was one of the first stacking attempts I made way back when.

I've tried shoot it again, but new buildings with bright lights are near by, so might no get a better shot... so well this is kinda a test, but its OK, so here you go.

Enjoy.

- Canon 50D.
- ISO 400, f5.6, 30 seconds, 10mm
- Sigma 10-20mm lens.
- Tripod.

Processing

- Saturation and Contrast in Photoshop 6.0 and Lightroom 2.2.
- Unsharp mask in Photoshop 6.0 (probably too much)

About Sugarcane

Sugarcane, is any of six to thirty-seven species (depending on taxonomic system) of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum (family Poaceae, tribe Andropogoneae). Native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six meters (six to nineteen feet) tall. All sugar cane species interbreed, and the major commercial cultivars are complex hybrids. Brazil produces about one-third of the world's sugarcane.

Sugarcane is indigenous to tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia. Different species likely originated in different locations with S. barberi originating in India and S. edule and S. officinarum coming from New Guinea. Crystallized sugar was reported 5,000 years ago in India.

Urban Sky And The Symphony Disguise

nobody@flickr.com ([ Kane ]) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:42:13 -0800

[ Kane ] posted a photo:

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** David and I are planning a star trails workshop, see here **

About

Matt and I have visited this place a few times. I've been itching for good star trail weather, and tonight felt right, so I headed out for some test shots.

I've worked out a few new techniques, and I put them to the test tonight.

I love shooting the night sky, watching the dusk turn into night, listening to my camera shutter click every 30 seconds.

I used a range of exposures and ISO settings tonight, there are around 40 images in this stack, and I was lucky enough to get a passing plane ;)

Enjoy.

- Canon 50D.
- ISO 200/400, f5.6, 30 seconds, 10mm.
- Sigma 10-20 lens.
- Tripod.

Processing

- 40 images stacked in Photoshop 6.0.
- Saturation, dodging and burning in Lightroom 2.0
- Stock moon added in Photoshop 6.0.

Tips

- Arrive early, bring a compass or iPhone, to help find the south CP or north star.
- Setup gear while its still light, get your comp and wait.
- Shoot test shots, check light, make sure you can see the first stars.
- Wait for that perfect moment, then stat the exposure.
- Bring a torch, so you can find you way back to car after dark.
- Shoot with a friend.

New Moon

nobody@flickr.com ([ Kane ]) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:01:02 -0800

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Explore Front Page, 24/11/2009

About

From the vault, a moonlit night, some time ago.

The Moon Shadow!

Enjoy.

- Canon 50D.
- ISO 100, f5.6, 134 seconds.
- Sigma 10-20mm lens.
- Tripod.

Processing

- Saturation reduction on the grass.
- Tungsten WB adjustment.

Plenty of Water

nobody@flickr.com ([ Kane ]) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:37:17 -0700

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About

Dawn, on the farm, Wallangarra, QLD.

Enjoy.

- Canon 50D.
- ISO 100, f10, 1/20.
- Sigma 10-20mm lens.
- Tripod.
- P121(s) Cokin Grad.

Processing

- Off Camera

About Wallangarra, QLD

Wallangarra is a village on the border between Queensland and New South Wales in Australia. It is the third most southerly town in Queensland, 258 km south west of Brisbane. Wallangarra is on the Queensland side of the border and Jennings is on the New South Wales side. At the 2006 census, Wallangarra had a population of 385.

The name, originally Wallan-Garra, these are Aboriginal words meaning "plenty of water".

In 1885, the Queensland government announced that a town would be formed where the railway line between Queensland and New South Wales would meet. On 29 June 1885, 179 lots were offered for sale at £8 per acre (£20/ha).

Wallangarra lies in a valley between two ranges of mountains, which each are branches of the Great Dividing Range. It is 878 m above sea level. There is a gap between the more Westerly range at Wyberba, about five kilometres north of Wallangarra. This gap has made Wallangarra the major inland border crossing for the New England Highway and what was the first railway line between Brisbane and Sydney.

The Railway

The town was created to service a break-of-gauge between Queensland's narrow gauge of 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) and New South Wales's standard gauge of 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) when the two systems came together in 1888. The railway was the only rail link between Queensland and New South Wales until a standard gauge track was completed in 1932, with the completion of the bridge at Grafton. From that time on, the Wallangarra station lessened in importance. All scheduled rail services stopped in 1997. In 2003, after major refurbishment, the station was reopened as a museum.

The railway line from Stanthorpe to Wallangarra has continued to be maintained and steam trains taking tourists to Wallangarra occasionally operate.

Everything that Physically Exists - The Magellanic Clouds

nobody@flickr.com ([ Kane ]) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:08:36 -0700

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There is nothing more exciting than the night sky, and nothing more rewarding when you learn something new about it.

I love being out with nature, at dawn, dusk, or during the middle of the night. I find it amazing (in terms of photography more so) that the stars we see at night are emit light that has traveled millions 'light years' to reach us. When you pause for a moment and think about the light in a studio/strobe its instant, its right there, but when we look at the stars, we are looking at the past, something that took place millions of years ago, amazing!

So what did I learn?

Well, as previously mentioned, there is more than one way to find the celestial pole (the spot the stars spin around), all you need to do is find the 'Magellanic Clouds'

What the?

The Magellanic Clouds are two dwarf galaxies, and you can see them clearly here. Make an equilateral triangle, using the two clouds, the third point of which is the south celestial pole.

I'd love a 5D for Christmas, and a 16-35L, so I can shoot these with next to no noise ;P

Enjoy.

- Canon 50D.
- ISO 200, f5.6, 20 minutes, 10mm
- Sigma 10-20mm lens.
- Tripod.

Processing

- NR in Lightroom 2.2.
- Soft light layer in Photoshop 6.0.
- Colour dodge in Photoshop 6.0.

About the Magellanic Clouds.

The two Magellanic Clouds (or Nubeculae Magellani) are irregular dwarf galaxies, which are members of our Local Group of galaxies. Once they were thought to be orbiting our Milky Way galaxy. However, new research seems to indicate that this is not the case. The two galaxies are, Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC).

The Magellanic Clouds were certainly known since the earliest times by the ancient Middle Eastern peoples. The first preserved mention of the Large Magellanic Cloud was by Persian astronomer Al Sufi, who in 964, in his Book of Fixed Stars, calls it al-Bakr, meaning "the White Ox", of the southern Arabs, and points out that while invisible from Northern Arabia and Baghdad, this object is visible from the strait of Bab el Mandeb, at 12°15' Northern latitude.

In Europe, they were first observed by Italian Peter Martyr and Andreas Corsali in the end of 15 century. Subsequently, it was reported by Antonio Pigafetta for the expedition of Ferdinand Magellan during the circumnavigation in 1519–1522. However, naming the clouds after Magellan did not become widespread until much later. In Bayer's Uranometria they are designated as 'NVBECVLA MAIOR' and 'NVBECVLA MINOR'; even in a 1756 French astronomer Lacaille's star map, they are designated as 'le Grand Nuage' and 'le Petit Nuage', (in both cases this means simply the "Large Cloud" and the "Small Cloud", in Latin or French).

The Large Magellanic Cloud and its neighbor and relative, the Small Magellanic Cloud, are conspicuous objects in the southern hemisphere, looking like separated pieces of the Milky Way to the naked eye. Roughly 21° apart in the night sky, the true distance between them is roughly 75,000 light-years. Until the discovery of the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy in 1994, they were the closest known galaxies to our own.

Observation and theoretical evidence suggest that the Magellanic Clouds have both been greatly distorted by tidal interaction with the Milky Way as they travel close to it.

The Falling Angel (Meteorite) and the Spinning Top.

nobody@flickr.com ([ Kane ]) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:01:49 -0700

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About

** FYI, Meteorite shower coming this week **

About the Orionid Meteor Shower

The peak for the 2009 Orionid meteor shower is set for Wednesday morning, October 21st. Sixty or more meteors per hour are expected to be the highs for the event, but you never know how many you'll see from hour to hour?

The meteors from the Orionids come when Earth passes through the "trail" of dusty debris from comet Halley, or Halley’s Comet.

The material from Halley is hurled out dust and other particles from the comet when it gets close to the Sun and its heat evaporates some of the comet’s nucleus.

*********************************************************************************

WOW, what an experience!!

Matt and I headed out to shoot the night sky, something we've both done a few times, but this night was different. Let me explain.

Firstly, we were standing around waiting for our in camera NR to finish when we heard some weird sounds coming from the water, what the?

There we were, wondering what this noise was, as it became louder and closer, and then, so close it was uncanny, shine the torch Matt! I said. The torch beam lit up the water and revealed a huge flock of Pelicans moving together, in a tight formation across the water, very surreal and spooky.

Then................. later that night, while heading back to the cameras, at a different location, we saw a bright meteorite fall from the sky, and better still, it was in the sky I was shooting! I had been exposing for 20 minutes or so, so I let the tail burn out and was hoping the camera would see it, and it did.

Such a surrea night, I've never seen a meteorite before, so it was a wicked experience, and to have captured it, well, I'm very happy.

"Fallen Angel" was the tenth episode of the first season of The X-Files science-fiction television series created by Chris Carter. It is based around alien abduction.

Enjoy.

- Canon 50D.
- ISO 200, f5.6, 25 minutes.
- Sigma 10-20mm lens, 10mm.
- Tripod.
- In Camera, NR set to on.

Processing

- Noise Reduction
- Exposure

About Meteorites

A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives an impact with the Earth's surface. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids. When it enters the atmosphere, impact pressure causes the body to heat up and emit light, thus forming a fireball, also known as a meteor or shooting star. The term bolide refers to either an extraterrestrial body that collides with the Earth, or to an exceptionally bright, fireball-like meteor regardless of whether it ultimately impacts the surface.

More generally, a meteorite on the surface of any celestial body is a natural object that has come from elsewhere in space. Meteorites have been found on the Moon and Mars.

Meteorites that are recovered after being observed as they transited the atmosphere or impacted the Earth are called falls. All other meteorites are known as finds. As of mid-2006, there are approximately 1,050 witnessed falls having specimens in the world's collections. In contrast, there are over 31,000 well-documented meteorite finds.

Meteorites have traditionally been divided into three broad categories: stony meteorites are rocks, mainly composed of silicate minerals; iron meteorites are largely composed of metallic iron-nickel; and, stony-iron meteorites contain large amounts of both metallic and rocky material. Modern classification schemes divide meteorites into groups according to their structure, chemical and isotopic composition and mineralogy. See meteorites classification.

Space and Time

nobody@flickr.com ([ Kane ]) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:11:46 -0700

[ Kane ] posted a photo:

About

A night spent on Josh's farm way back when.
I love shooting the night sky, but I don't do it enough, this is a 25 minute star trail.

This was a fun night, the remember the first take on this shot was wreaked because Josh was walking about over neat the poles with his torch, then he proceeded to walk towards me, with his torch, so I have the same shot, but with random streaks of light, rather funny, ahhhh, an easy way to waste an hour .... (keep in mind, this is a 25 minute exposure, followed by 25 minutes of in camera NR)

The joy of photography!

Enjoy.

- Canon 50D.
- ISO 100, f5.6, 25 minutes, 10mm.
- Sigma 10-20mm lens.
- Tripod.
- In camera NR (noise reduction)

Processing

- Colour Push.
- Noise Reduction.

About Stars

A star is a massive, luminous ball of plasma that is held together by gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth. Other stars are visible in the night sky, when they are not outshone by the Sun. Historically, the most prominent stars on the celestial sphere were grouped together into constellations, and the brightest stars gained proper names. Extensive catalogues of stars have been assembled by astronomers, which provide standardized star designations.

For most of its life, a star shines due to thermonuclear fusion in its core releasing energy that traverses the star's interior and then radiates into outer space. Almost all elements heavier than hydrogen and helium were created by fusion processes in stars. Astronomers can determine the mass, age, chemical composition and many other properties of a star by observing its spectrum, luminosity and motion through space.

A star begins as a collapsing cloud of material composed primarily of hydrogen, along with helium and trace amounts of heavier elements. Once the stellar core is sufficiently dense, some of the hydrogen is steadily converted into helium through the process of nuclear fusion.

About the Celestial Pole (Point)

The north and south celestial poles are the two imaginary points in the sky where the Earth's axis of rotation, "infinitely extended", intersects the imaginary rotating sphere of stars called the celestial sphere. The north and south celestial poles appear directly overhead to an observer at the Earth's North Pole and South Pole respectively.

At night the stars appear to drift overhead from east to west, completing a full circuit around the sky in 24 (sidereal) hours. (Of course, exactly the same motion occurs during the day, except that the stars are not visible due to the sun's glare.) This apparent motion is due to the spinning of the Earth on its axis. As the Earth spins, the celestial poles remain fixed in the sky, and all other points seem to rotate around them.

The celestial poles do not remain permanently fixed against the background of the stars. Because of a phenomenon known as the precession of the equinoxes, the poles trace out circles on the celestial sphere, with a period of about 25,700 years. The Earth's axis is also subject to other complex motions which cause the celestial poles to shift slightly over cycles of varying lengths; see nutation, polar motion and axial tilt. Finally, over very long periods the positions of the stars themselves change, due to the stars' proper motions.

Finding the Celestial Pole

The south celestial pole is visible only from the southern hemisphere. It lies in the dim constellation Octans, the Octant. Sigma Octantis is identified as the south pole star, over a degree away from the pole, but with a magnitude of 5.5 it is barely visible on a clear night.

The south celestial pole can be located from the Southern Cross (Crux) and its two "pointer" stars α Centauri and β Centauri. Draw an imaginary line from γ Crucis to α Crucis—the two stars at the extreme ends of the long axis of the cross—and follow this line through the sky. Either go four and a half times the distance of the long axis in the direction the narrow end of the cross points, or join the two pointer stars with a line, divide this line in half, then at right angles draw another imaginary line through the sky until it meets the line from the Southern Cross. This point is the south celestial pole. Very few bright stars of importance lie between Crux and the pole itself, although the constellation Musca is fairly easily recognised immediately beneath Crux.

The Tiger Moth - Under the Southern Sky.

nobody@flickr.com ([ Kane ]) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 05:43:41 -0700

[ Kane ] posted a photo:

Explore #111 July 25th, 2009

About

So, the last few nights have been clear and cold, so while most sane people are wrapped up in blankets watching TV, Mel, Matt, Josh and I went driving .............. to the middle of no where to photograph planes under the southern sky!

I've always loved warplanes so this was a must do mission.

** Thanks to Mel and her father John for letting us shoot this wonderful aircraft in the middle of the night **
** Thanks to Josh for setting up is strobes, so much fun **

Enjoy.

- Canon 50D.
- ISO 100, f5.6, 1143 seconds (19 minutes), 11mm.
- Sigma 10-20 f4/5.6 lens.
- Tripod.
- In camera NR.

Processing

- Blacks increased
- Unsharp mask in PS.

Strobist

3 flashes used.

1. Canon 580exII - 1/2pwr, sitting on ground immediately at camera left, pointing up to light the underside of the wing. Triggered via cheap eBay triggers.

2. Canon 430exII - 1/1pwr, On light stand at 90deg left of camera, pointing to light the rear of the plane, Triggered via wireless link with 580exII.

3. Canon 430ex - 1/1pwr, on light stand at ~45deg right of camera, pointing to light the other wing, Triggered via cheap eBay triggers.

Strobes were fired at the end of the exposure.

About the Tiger Moth

The de Havilland DH 82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and was operated by the Royal Air Force and others as a primary trainer. The Tiger Moth remained in service with the RAF until 1952 when many of the surplus aircraft entered civil operation. Many other nations used the Tiger Moth both in military and civil applications and the ubiquitous little trainer is still in great demand worldwide as a recreational aircraft. It is still occasionally used as a primary training aircraft, although now most Tiger Moths employed in training duties are used by pilots gaining experience for "taildragger" license ratings.

Crop Circles

nobody@flickr.com ([ Kane ]) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:08:36 -0700

[ Kane ] posted a photo:

Explore #233, July 14th, 2009

About

Loose yourself in the crop, click the X here

As a teenager, I used to stay up late and watch The X-Files, it is was my favorite show of all time, I even have all the DVD's

Anyhow, when I was out here shooting this, the entire time I thought an Alien might jump out and grab me, or I'd come across a huge thing full of bees.... what the? don't follow me.... watch the movie.

This is a nine and a half minute single exposure.

Does anyone see the Alien.... 'The Truth Is Out There'

Enjoy.

- Canon 50D.
- ISO 100, f5.6, 9 minutes and 30 seconds, in bulb mode.
- Sigma 10-20 f4/5.6 lens.
- Tripod.

Processing

- Unsharp Mask in Photoshop 6.0.

About The X-Files

The X-Files is an American science fiction television series, created by Chris Carter, which first aired in September 1993 and ended in May 2002. The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans (e.g., "The Truth Is Out There", "Trust No One", "I Want to Believe") became pop culture touchstones in the 1990s. Seen as a defining series of its era, The X-Files tapped into public mistrust of governments and large institutions, and embraced conspiracy theories and spirituality, as it centered on efforts to uncover the existence of extraterrestrial life.

Moon Up | Moon Down; We're always on the move.

nobody@flickr.com ([ Kane ]) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 05:36:42 -0700

[ Kane ] posted a photo:

Explore #2, July 5th, 2009 and Frontpage

About

Had a nice afternoon with Jen, Matt and Richard, shooting the sunset tonight. We found this gem of a tree last week and I've been itching to shoot it since.

I love night photography, and shooting these moon clouds is so much fun, the idea here was simple... get a nice moon shot, and then add some funky light trails. Thanks Matt for doing the driving.

Enjoy.

- Canon 50D.
- ISO 100, f5.6, 2 minutes, 10mm.
- Sigma 10-20mm f4/5.6 lens.
- Tripod.

Processing

- 100% off camera.
- Tungsten White Balance.

About the Moon

The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System. The average centre-to-centre distance from the Earth to the Moon is 384,403 km, about thirty times the diameter of the Earth. The common centre of mass of the system (the barycentre) is located about 1,700 km—a quarter the Earth's radius—beneath the surface of the Earth. The Moon makes a complete orbit around the Earth every 27.3 days (the orbital period), and the periodic variations in the geometry of the Earth–Moon–Sun system are responsible for the phases of the moon, which repeat every 29.5 days (the synodic period).

The Moon's diameter is 3,474 km, a little more than a quarter of that of the Earth. Thus, the Moon's surface area is less than a tenth that of the Earth (about a quarter the Earth's land area, approximately as large as Russia, Canada, and the United States combined), and its volume is about 2 percent that of Earth. The pull of gravity at its surface is about 17 percent of that at the Earth's surface.

The Moon is the only celestial body to which humans have traveled and upon which humans have performed a manned landing.