A sunrise at sunset

After eclipse maximum during the May 20 Annular eclipse, we watched the sun setting over the local horizon as the sun rose over the distant lunar mountains.  This image was taken of the projected image at the McMath Solar Telescope with an exposure of 2 seconds at f/2.8 at ISO 400 with my 24mm lens.

The Moon, the sun and a sunspot

We watched the partial eclipse from the McMath Solar Telescope on Kitt Peak and enjoyed watching as several sunspots approached the lunar limb and disappeared.  A few things you can see in this image are a fair amount of detail in the sunspot.  There's also some granulation in the surface of the moon.  And you can see the ruggedness of the lunar limb as mountains and craters are abundant there.  This shot of the projected eclipse image from the main beam of the McMath Solar Telescope was taken at 1/2000 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 400.

Annular Eclipse from Kitt Peak

During last weekends Annular Total eclipse, I was "stuck" observing on Kitt Peak.  We were in the path of a partial eclipse that day of about 85% at max about 40 minutes before sunset.  I managed to "sneak" into the McMath Solar Telescope where the day's observers were busy making observations of the sun during the eclipse.  They projected an image onto the wall for about 15 of us to watch throughout the entire visible eclipse.  Here, as the sun starts to get low in the sky, we watch as the sun emerges from behind the sun. This image was taken with my 10mm fisheye with an exposure of 3 seconds at f/2.8, ISO 400.

Witchcraft on final

B-24 WW-II bomber "Witchcraft" is on final into Marana Regional Airport after about a half hour flight around the area.  This image was taken with my 75-300 zoom with an exposure of 1/640 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 100, 300mm focal length.

Under the B-24 wing

While trying to stay out of the 100 degree heat, I found shade under the wing of the B-24 "Witchcraft" and discovered this view of the other two planes, the B-17 Nine O Nine and the P-51 Betty Jane are visible.  This image was taken with my 10mm fisheye lens with an exposure of 1/250 seconds at f/8, ISO 100.

Betty Jane

Betty Jane is a P-51 Mustang that was on hand at the Marana Regional Airport the weekend of April 20-22, 2012 along with B-24 Witchcraft (visible in the background at right) and B-17 Nine O Nine.  This image was taken with my 10mm fisheye lens with an exposure of 1/400 seconds at f/8, ISO 100.

B-17 Nine O Nine

The B-17 Nine O Nine was on display at the Marana Regional Airport April 20-22.  This view of the bomber was taken with my 10mm fisheye with an exposure of 1/250 seconds at f/8, ISO 100.

Snow on Kitt Peak

It was a winter wonderland on Tuesday - we got about 1.5 inches of snow on Kitt Peak. After shoveling a path, I took this photo with my 10mm fisheye lens with an exposure of 1/400 seconds at f/8, ISO 100.

4-m Mayall Telescope

The 4-m Mayall Telescope on Kitt Peak is prepared for a night of observing asteroids. This image was taken with my 10mm fisheye lens as we set up for the start of the night.  The exposure was 8 seconds at f/2.8, ISO 400.

4-Meter telescope in moonlight

The 4-meter Mayall Telescope atop Kitt Peak is bathed in moonlight as we use it to observe Near-Earth Asteroids observed with the WISE spacecraft.  This shot is taken with a 10mm fisheye lens with an exposure of 120 seconds at f/2.8, ISO 400.

Space Station, clouds and domes

The International Space Station appears over Kitt Peak on November 3.  The ISS was traveling upward and passed into the Earths shadow, fading out at the end of this exposure.  Also in the frame is the Spacewatch 36 inch telescope at center and the Bok 90 inch and Kitt Peak 4-meter telescopes to its right.  The Moon provides lighting for the domes, the landscape and the clouds, making the scene appear almost like daylight.  This image was taken with my Canon 20D with a 10mm fisheye at f/2.8, ISO 400, 60 second exposure.

Dutch Air Force Flyover for Tom Gehrels

The Dutch Air Force kicked off the memorial for Tom Gehrels yesterday (Sept. 16) at LPL by flying over the UofA campus to honor his service in the Dutch resistance during WWII.  Here, the crowd watches the F-16 jets as they overhead (visible in the upper left).

Atlantis 6 hours after landing

How often do you get to see a space shuttle up close just 6 hours after landing?  Well, after this view - never.  Photography from the KSC tour bus was difficult due to reflections from the bus windows.  They would not stop to let us out for a better view, but this wasn't bad.  This image was taken at 160mm focal length with an exposure of 1/800 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 400.

Atlantis rolling back to the OPF

Atlantis is being rolled back from the runway to the Orbital Processing facility for is post-flight processing. This image was taken about five and a half hours after touchdown as it approached the area around the OPF and VAB, fresh from its 13 day mission to the ISS.  This image was cropped from a 300mm shot taken at 1/500 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 400 while riding the tour bus heading out to the LC-39 gantry viewing site.

Sunrise after Atlantis final landing

The Sun rises about an hour after Atlantis landed at KSC after its final flight of STS-135, July 21, 2011.  The runway is approximately at center in this image taken from the Causeway bridge at the north end of Titusville.  The VAB is at right.  Also visible if you know where to look are both LC-39A and LC-39B; the Saturn V center, the Ares I launch tower (just left of the VAB) and several other Kennedy Space Center facilities. This image was taken with a 24mm lens with a setting of f/8 at 1/1000 seconds, ISO 400.

Tricolored Heron

While at the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge I found this Tricolored Heron fishing in a small lake. On the way back out of the area, he had moved and was standing on this log, so I took this image. It took me a while to figure out what brand of bird he was - he didn't quite match the pictures found in a couple books, but I did take a photo of a "Birds of Pelican Island" display up at the viewing platform at the end of the trail we took which matches this specimen quite well. It was nice of him to pose for me....

White Ibis

While out walking a Florida Beach south of Melbourne today, we "chased" a group of White Ibis birds down the beach. I got close enough to get a good shot of this guy who looks at me a bit suspiciously. This image was taken with an Canon SD850 point & shoot.

Hey, where did the Delta IV go?

LC-37B stands empty after the GPS IIF-2 was successfully in orbit after a spectacular launch on its Delta IV rocket.

Delta IV launch plume

About 5 or 6 minutes after launch, the moonlit plume from the Delta IV GPS IIF-2 vehicle hangs over LC-37B at the Cape Canaveral AFS.

Bright lights and Delta IVs

About an hour before launch, the skies are clearing over LC-37B at the Cape Canaveral SFS. The Delta IV rocket with the GPS IIF-2 payload on board is lit up by xenon lights around the pad, much as the Atlantis was just a week earlier as it prepared for launch.