Sky's The Limit Observatory

 There some photos of Sky's The Limit Observatory from my trip to Joshua Tree National Park. The observatory located outside of the park between the north entrance and the town of Twenty Nine Palms.

Sky's The Limit Observatory and Nature Center

Sky's The Limit Observatory and Nature Center at Night

Sky's The Limit Observatory Dome

Night Sky - Sky's The Limit Observatory

Sky’s the Limit Observatory in 29 Palms

Sky's The Limit Observatory near Joshua Tree National Park

Sky's The Limit Observatory at night

Washington State Hurricane Ridge - Big Dipper

 Washington State Olympic National Park during astronomy tour in  Hurricane Ridge. 

Canon EOS Ra, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, f/2.8; 6 sec,  ISO 25600

Washington State Hurricane Ridge - Big Dipper

A few hours before the war began - Night Sky

 Something wrong was at this night. Even tripod was broken. Clouds cover all sky in couple minutes. In a few hours the war began.

A few hours before the war began - Night Sky

February 23-24 2022, Grazalema, Cañada Grande-Los Alamillos S/N, Grazalema, 11610, Spain. 

Canon Ra, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, ISO 12800,  Composition of thee images,  15 sec,  Photoshop, Topaz DeNoise AI

Boulder Field (Hickory Run State Park Pennsylvania) Night Sky

I am continuing series of Pennsylvania astrophotography. Last year I did night photos in Cherry Springs State Park – one of most popular space for amateur astrophotographers. This year I did photo in Hickory Run State  Park - Boulder Field in the Poconos of Pennsylvania. 

Canon EOS Ra, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, f/2.8, 25600, Panorama of 3 images 30 sec, 5 sec, 5 sec. Post Processing: Photoshop, Topaz DeNoise AI.

Boulder Field (Hickory Run State Park Pennsylvania) Night Sky

Boulder Field is a very popular and a pretty cool place. It is hidden gem deep within the woods and really an awesome place. The Hickory Run Boulder Field was designated by the National Park Service as a natural national landmark in 1967. It’s a huge field of rocks in the middle of the forest.  It is said to be the largest boulder field of its kind in all of the Appalachian Mountains. The rocks range in size from under 18 inches to more than 25 feet in length. The tops of the rocks are nearly at the same height over the approximately 400-by-1,800-foot field that slopes at a one-degree pitch. Why did an 18-acre field of rocks form in the Poconos? There are several theories on how exactly this boulder field formed.

Poconos Boulder Field Night Landscape

Milky Way over Poconos Boulder Field - Summer Triangle - Stars Altair, Deneb, and Vega  - Constellations Aquila, Cygnus, and Lyra

Map Boulder Field

Washington State Hurricane Ridge - Night Sky and Snow Mountains

 

Astrophotography from Washington State Olympic National Park, July 11, New Moon, during astronomy tour in  Hurricane Ridge. 

Canon EOS Ra, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, f/2.8;   ISO 12800, Combination of two photos 4 sec and 30 sec, Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park, Washington State.

Washington State Hurricane Ridge - Night Sky and Snow Mountains

I enjoy the night sky view.

New York City Solar Eclipse - June 10, 2021 - Astrophotography

Solar eclipse - New York City  Staten Island  - June 10, 2021. Approximately 70% of the sun is eclipsed by the moon. Photos were done about 5:30 am in the morning on sunrise. This is view from Staten Island boardwalk to Brooklyn near Verrazzano Bridge.

Canon Ra, Canon  EF 200mm f/2.8 L II USM Telephoto Lens

Solar Eclipse NYC - June 10, 2021 - Astrophotography

Partial Solar Eclipse Staten Island, New York, USA 06-10-2021

People, Birds and Solar Eclipse - NYC view from Staten Island to Brooklyn - June 10, 2021

A Tree and the Milky Way

Earth has 3 trillion trees and our Milky Way has approximately 400 billion stars. There are more trees on Earth than stars in the Milky Way galaxy!

A Tree and the Milky Way

Canon Ra, 10 Sec, ISO 16000, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, f/2.8. The Summer Triangle (Vega, Deneb and Altair stars) is visible on this photo.

Corona Constellation during Coronavirus pandemic

 Corona Borealis is a constellation in the northern sky. Its name means “the northern crown” in Latin. Corona Borealis is the 73rd constellation in size, occupying an area of 179 square degrees. It lies in the third quadrant of the northern hemisphere and can be seen at latitudes between +90 and -50 degrees. 

Corona Constellation during Coronavirus pandemic

Canon EOS Ra, ISO 40,000, 3 sec, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, f/2.8.

Austin Dam Ruins - Cherry Springs State Park Pennsylvania Astrophotography

Austin Dam was a dam in the Austin, Pennsylvania area that served the Bayless Pulp and Paper Mill. A failure of the dam on September 30, 1911 caused significant destruction and loss of life in the valley below. The dam was rebuilt, but the new dam failed in 1942. The dam was not replaced after the second failure. In 1994 the Austin Dam Memorial Park Association was formed and they since have worked diligently to preserve the dam remains.

 

Austin Dam Ruins - Cherry Springs State Park Pennsylvania Astrophotography

Canon EOS Ra, ISO 16,000, 15 sec, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, f/2.8.

Green airglow is visible on this photo. 

Green Sky and Red Milky Way - Cherry Spring State Park Pennsylvania Astrophotography

Canon EOS Ra, ISO 10,000, 25 sec, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, f/2.8.

Austin Dam Ruins map

Watching the sky, Observing meteors, Making wishes - Cherry Spring State Park Pennsylvania

 Couple of meteors we observed in Cherry Spring State Park. Sky is dark, so even not so bright meteors are visible. One is on the zoom photo:

Meteor over Cherry Spring State Park Pennsylvania

Looks like this is random, sporadic meteor.

This is full photo:

Watching the sky, Observing meteors, Making wishes - Cherry Spring State Park Pennsylvania

Canon EOS Ra, ISO 10,000, 15 sec, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, f/2.8.

Cherry Springs State Park Pennsylvania Astrophotography

Cherry Springs State Park in Pennsylvania has one of dark sky on east coast. This is photo of astronomical camping in the park. 2,300 feet (701 m) above sea level. Two dome are visible on the photo, also you can see smart sign: "Galaxy - Slow down - No dust".  This is one of favorite place for astrophotographers on the East Coast of US. It is about 5-hour drive from New York city.

Cherry Springs State Park Pennsylvania Astrophotography - Galaxy - Slow down - No dust

Canon EOS Ra, ISO 20,000, 15 sec, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, f/2.8. Post Processing: Photoshop, Topaz DeNoise AI, Topaz Sharpen AI

Domes - Cherry Springs State Park Pennsylvania

Sign - Cherry Springs State Park

Dark Sky Fund

Stargazer's Delight

Through an Astronomer's Eyes

Highway to the Stars

Astro Haven Dome

Astronomers overnight area

Milky Way Rainbow Panorama Canon EOS Ra over Bethel Catskill NY

Capture our galaxy arch. This is my first photo of Milky Way Rainbow with Canon EOS Ra. I am continue testing Canon Ra astrophotography camera. Canon Ra has High ISO performance with reasonable low noise levels (Topaz DeNoise AI allow minimize noise level). So even 5 sec photos with ISO 20,000 gives very nice result for night landscaping. Because of 5 sec shots – photo time is pretty fast. Special filter gives good contrast for Milky Way. Photoshop allows combine all 20 photos to one Milky Way rainbow panorama.

Milky Way Rainbow Panorama Canon EOS Ra over  Bethel Catskill  NY - Astrophotography

Canon Ra, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, f/2.8, 5 sec, ISO 20000, Panorama of 20 shots.

The Catskill Mountains lie in southeastern New York State. The area is known for the Catskill Forest Preserve.

Topaz DeNoise AI Canon Ra Milky Way Astrophotography

Noise is one of a problem for astrophotography. Even Canon Ra give less noise (compare 60Da) but still for big zoom it is visible. Before I used Adobe Camera Raw, Noise Ninja, Photoshop denoise filters to fix it. But Topaz DeNoise AI is absolutely amazing - Artificial Intelligence looks like do it much better and in more simple way. Now it is easy amateur photography does as professional one – with minimum noise. Topaz DeNoise AI integrated as filter to Photoshop. 

Topaz DeNoise AI Astrophotography

 

Canon EOS Ra, 5 sec., ISO 20000, f/2.8 16mm + Topaz DeNoise AI

Topaz DeNoise AI Canon Ra Milky Way Astrophotography

Canon Ra Panorama Milky Way Toronto Reservoir Bethel, NY

Previous photos of Canon Ra were photos of one short. There is classic panorama photo of 10 shots. Toronto Reservoir Bethel, NY. Toronto Reservoir is a reservoir located just 7.7 miles from Monticello, in Sullivan County, Bethel, in the state of New York, United States, near Black Lake, NY.

Canon Ra Panorama Milky Way Toronto Reservoir Bethel, NY

Canon EOS Ra, F2.8, ISO 6400, Combination of 10 images - 8 sec each, Lens EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM.

The comet NEOWISE reflecting in Wesserlauf Pond, Bethel, New York

Comets are like cats: they have tails, 

and they do precisely what they want. 

- David H. Levy

Both the comet and reflection were visible with naked eye. The comet Neowise has two tails on the photo. Blue color of fist tail was not visible but got it on the photo. To minimize noise I used DeNoise AI software.

The comet NEOWISE reflecting in Wesserlauf Pond, Bethel, New York

Wesserlauf Pond, Bethel, New York. Canon Ra, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, f/2.8, 12.5 sec, ISO 16000

Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) Canon Ra Bethel, New York

We are hit by tons of material every day, but it is all dust. 

We are all walking around with comet dust in our hair.

- Don Yeomans

Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE). It was bright enough to be visible to the naked eye 7/17/2020. The comet is one of the brightest comets in the northern hemisphere since Comet Hale–Bopp in 1997.

Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) Canon Ra Bethel, New York

Canon EOS Ra, EF200mm f/2.8L II USM, f/2.8, ISO 40000, 2.5 sec.

Green Fireflies Night Landscape Bethel New York Canon Ra

It is Fireflies season. There is something so magical at this time. Starry night and a light show of lightning bugs is amazing combination. A time-lapse composite image of fireflies taken in  Bethel, New York.

Green Fireflies Night Landscape Bethel New York Canon Ra

Canon EOS Ra, F2.8, ISO 12800, Combination of 30 images - 3 sec each, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM.

Canon Ra Reflection Night Landscape Bethel, Sullivan County, New York Astrophotography

I am continue testing new Canon Ra astrophotography camera. There's nothing quite like starry night sky. Milky Way is moving majestically through the night, and you can see reflection of stars in a small pond. This area was brought to the world's attention in 1969, when nearly 500,000 people gathered at Max Yasgur's Farm for "Three Days of Peace and Music" on Woodstock Festival.

Canon Ra Reflection Night Landscape Bethel,  Sullivan County, New York Astrophotography 

Canon EOS Ra, 25 sec, ISO 20000, F2.8, Lens EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM

Milky Forest - Testing new camera Canon Ra

I have owned the 60Da and now Canon Ra. Very happy. The camera has exceeded my expectations so far. This is one of the first test. Photo was done near Bethel Woods, NY. Lite pollution is less than in NYC, but still is visible. The camera has IR cut filter and center structure of Milky Way is pretty much visible and has good details even for such light pollution.  It is better compare to 60Da.

Milky Forest - Testing new camera Canon Ra

Milky Forest - Canon Ra, f/2.8; ISO 20000, 6 sec., Lens EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM with Zoom.  High ISO and not so long exposure (usually for Canon 60Da need 10-15 seconds).  Minimum post process in Photoshop, mostly image as is. Canon EOS Ra performs superbly for astrophotography.

Canon EOS Ra Mirrorless Astrophotography Camera - First Look

New revolution is happening in photography and astrophotography - mirrorless camera. Goodbye my old and famous Canon 60Da, vivat new Canon Ra!

Canon EOS Ra Mirrorless Astrophotography Camera First Look

Canon Ra release date: November 2019. Based on: Canon EOS R. Major pluses: electronic viewfinder for easy sky navigation (compare to DSLR), 30x magnification for precise focusing, and roughly 4x more transmission sensitivity to the hydrogen-alpha (Hα) wavelength compare to  EOS R, bigger ISO (maximum 102400, compare with 12800 for 60Da) and with much low levels of noise, high image resolution 6720 x 4480 (compare 60Da 5184 x 3456),  Wi-Fi and remote camera control and of cause it has a vast range of compatible Canon lenses.

Canon RA what's in box.

EOS Ra Camera Body
Battery Pack LP-E6N
Battery Charger LC-E6
Wide Strap
Cable Protector
Interface Cable IFC-100U

Canon EOS Ra inside box

Canon EOS Ra Box

Canon EOS Ra Box and Accessories

Canon Ra Unboxing

Add caption

Battery Pack LP-E6N Front

Battery Pack LP-E6N Back Side

Battery Charger LC-E6

Battery Charger LC-E6 and Pack LP-E6N

Canon Wide Strap

Canon Cable Protector

Interface Cable IFC-100U