Sunset

 
Another pretty sunset from my last observing run on Kitt Peak. This image was taken with my 24mm lens on my Canon 20D. The exposure was 1/160 seconds at f/4, ISO 200. 

cirrusy twilight

 
Here's another image from Tuesday night's moonlit twilight. This is the Spacewatch 36 inch telescope dome lit by the setting crescent moon in moderate twilight. The lite cirrus is still lit by the orangy twilight glow and the stars above are visible. The dome is open and waiting for the sky to darken and clear. This image was taken with a 24mm lens on my Canon 20D. The exposure was 8 seconds at f/1.8, ISO 1600. 

Moonlit twilight

 
The Steward Observatory 90 inch and Kitt Peak 4-meter telescope domes are lit by a crescent Moon sinking in the west as twilight fades in a cirrusy sky. The Little Dipper is visible over the 4-meter dome as the wispy orange cirrus threatens observing conditions for the night. This image was taken with my 24mm lens on my 20D. The exposure was 30 seconds at f/1.8, ISO 400. 

From one observatory to another

 
The MMT atop Mount Hopkins in the Santa Rita Mountains is visible on the peak at right in this image as seen from Kitt Peak. The white box shaped dome is just visible there. Mount Wrightson is the tallest peak on the left. You can find images of the Florida fire that occured there in the archives of this photoblog. This image was taken with my 70-300mm zoom set to 300mm focal length. The exposure was 1/1000 seconds at f/8, ISO 400. 

My Shadow

 
Here is a picture of my shadow. Well, really its the shadow of Kitt Peak stretching back towards Tucson in the distance as the sun set last night. This image was 1/500 seconds at f/4, ISO 800 with my 24mm lens on my 20D. 

Zodiacal Light

 
The band of Zodiacal Light rises above a setting Venus (just above the telescope under the clouds near center) in this image. The Zodiacal light is caused by dust in the plain of the solar system and in this image rises towards the top left of the frame. This image was taken with my 24mm lens on my 20D. The exposure was 30 seconds at f/1.8, ISO 1600. 

Another view of sunset

 
Here is another view of last nights sunset, this one looking south towards the WIYN telescope (on the right) and the old Kitt Peak 36 inch (the dome on the left) towards spectacularly lit clouds just moments after sunset. This image was obtained with my 24mm lens on my Canon 20D. The exposure was 1/125 seconds at f/4, ISO 100. 

A Photographers sunset...

 
...but not an Astronomers (which would be crystal clear). The Sun splits into two as its trailing limb approaches the mountainy horizon. This image was taken with my trusty 24mm lens on my Canon 20D. The exposure was 1/640 seconds at f/4, ISO 100. The exposure was 1 stop under the metered sky and gave the scene a bit of punch compared with the nominal metered image. Happily it cleared off soon after and remains clear, but cirrus still threatens and might close us down soon. 

Morning twilight

 
Stars are still visible as the morning twilight grows brighter, lighting the sky and the dome of the Spacewatch 36 inch telescope. This image was made with my 24mm lens on my Canon 20D. The exposure was 30 seconds at f/1.8, ISO 1600. 

There goes the Sun...

 
The Sun has just set moments before this image was taken leaving behind the rather pretty clouds and a pillar of light left of center just above where the Sun dipped below the horizon. This image was taken with my 70-300mm zoom at 70mm focal length. The exposure was 1/400 seconds at f/11, ISO 400. 

Almost time to get to work

 
Can susnet be any prettier than on the top of a mountain? This view shows the Spacewatch 36 inch telescope with the Steward Observatory 90 inch and Kitt Peak National Observatory 4-meter telescope domes in the background. This image was taken with my 24mm lens on my Canon 20D. The exposure was 1/100 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 400. 

Venus

 
The Planet Venus graces our evening skies just after sunset. It is just past its greatest eastern elongation and therefore displayes roughly a quarter phase to us. This image was taken this evening with my 70-300mm zoom set to 300mm focal length and heavily cropped shows the shape of the planet. The exposure was 1/15 seconds at f/11, ISO 100. 

Red Flowers

 
Some red flowers, lit by a blue sky.
This image was with my 70-300mm zoom at focal length 149mm. Exposure 1/250 seconds at f/6.3, ISO 800. 

Santa's Sleigh?

 
Is that Santa's sleigh flying through Perseus, making a turn back towards the North Pole? It might be a plane, but then I didn't get a good look at it and I'm not sure I didn't hear a faint "Ho Ho Ho" and some jingling of bells from the sky above. The Pleides (M-44) are visible on the left side of the image. This photo was taken with my 24mm lens on my Canon 20D. The exposure was 15 seconds at f/1.8, ISO 800. 

El Rio 16th green

 
This is the 16th green at El Rio Golf Course in Tucson as viewed from the 17th tee box. I don't get out golfing often enough, but did manage to get a round in a couple weeks ago. This image was taken with my old trust Canon A75 with the lens set to 5mm focal length. The exposure was 1/640 seconds at f/5.6. 

Campus Sunset

 
The view west at sunset on the UofA campus. This exposure was taken with my 24mm lens on my Canon 20D. The exposure was 1/400 seconds at f/8, ISO 400. 

A-10 on final

 
An A-10 passes over the UofA campus on its way into Davis-Monthan AFB. This image was taken with my 70-300mm zoom at 300mm focal length. The exposure was 1/1250 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 1600. It's just about sunset at the time of the image. 

Sunset

 
I took this around sunset, setting the exposure for a stop below the sky in order to silhouette the palm trees. The image was taken with the 24mm lens on my 20D. The exposure was 1/400 seconds at f/8, ISO 400. 

Iridescent clouds

 
Sunday after playing softball, I caught this image of some Iridescent clouds neaar the sun. I knew one of those street lights would come in handy. The clouds had a lot of neat structure in them too, though this image only hints at that. This image was taken with the kit lens and a polarizing filter on my Canon 20D. The exposure was 1/800 seconds at f/8, ISO 100. 

Jack

 
Fun with zoom lenses.... One of those Jack-in-the-Box antenna balls. This image was with my 70-300mm zoom at 190mm focal length and in macro mode. The exposure was 1/1600 seconds at f/5, ISO 100.