Ashcroft Observatory, Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah

 We recently had the opportunity to visit Ashcroft Observatory, run by Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah. We had checked their Facebook page and saw that they opened at 9:45 pm. The Google map directions were a little off, so we toured the neighborhood a bit, but fortunately found it in the end.

From the SUU Farm, head south on Westview Drive. There's a big turn in the road, with a steep hill going south blocked off with big boulders. Go around the boulders and up the road to the gate.

While we were waiting for the gate open, we used our binoculars to look at Jupiter and its Galilean moons (the four moons found by Galileo hundreds of years ago). We also checked out the moon, about half full. Surprisingly, even with it so bright, I was still able to capture a little Milky Way over the observatory (see photo above).

Our big group (about 25) was split into two, and we joined the first group into the observatory, which sits about 12. Our guide then showed us some wonders of the night sky with the 14-inch Celestron telescope. I loved the rotating roof! We saw Jupiter, Saturn, the ring nebula, and a globular star cluster. He said that on nights with fewer people, they see more objects. I didn't mention to him that at Saturday night's astronomy program at Great Basin National Park, 200 people showed up and the lines at the telescope were really long!

After we saw those objects, we traded with the other group and went outside. We got a close-up look of craters on the moon and then also a constellation tour. Despite a few clouds, it was a good night to be outside.

The Ashcroft Observatory is not a research observatory. Instead, SUU partners with the Great Basin Observatory in Great Basin National Park. You can see some really amazing photos on their website. They also publish quarterly newsletters, After Dark.

If you have a chance to visit the Ashcroft Observatory, it's a fun experience! And it's free!

Night Shoot on the Ranch

 One clear night I couldn't resist getting up and taking some Milky Way photos. And what better models than some farm equipment? I think it looks extra cool at night. What do you think?

I finished by going out into the fields. Each pivot has a bright light on it to show that it's working, so I wasn't sure how that was going to turn out. Plus the moon was rising. Fortunately the effect was pretty cool!

Supermoon Eclipse January 2018

 In the early morning of the supermoon eclipse of January 2018, I noticed that it was a lot darker outside than it had been previously in the night. I knew the eclipse was well underway. And I knew I could go out and photograph it. First I peeked out the window and saw that it was indeed progressing. Then I went back to bed, warm and snuggly. But I couldn't sleep. A cool phenomenon was happening, and I had prepped the camera the night before, so I should just go out and do my best to photograph
it.

So I shrugged on my coat and winter boots and got the above photo from the driveway. It was nice, but nothing that would be too memorable. Then I heard an owl hooting. Earlier, while I was snuggled in bed, I had dreamed of capturing an owl silhouette with the moon, but had dismissed it as a crazy idea. Maybe it wasn't so crazy. Except the owl was in a nearby tree that I couldn't line up with the moon. But then it flew to another tree. I walked over, and it looked like I could line it up! I walked back to get my gear and get set up. I found it was extremely hard to focus in the dark, plus the moon kept moving so I had to keep readjusting. Here's what I got:

The Great Horned Owl hooted to a companion as I worked to refine the shot. It was really tricky, and I didn't get the perfect shot, but I still thought it was pretty cool to get the owl and the supermoon eclipse. (shooting specs: Canon 7dMII with Canon 100-400 mm lens @ 400 mm, ISO 2000, f 5.6, 2 seconds)

The owl flew off and I knew that that opportunity was done. So I got another cool shot of the moon with some stars.

I was wondering if I could get the eclipsed moon setting over the top of the mountain. I got in the car and drove up a dirt road. I didn't get quite the alignment I wanted, but it was still nice to get snow-covered mountain and moon.

Next time I'll use a different aperture.

Whoops, the moon is falling onto the earth! (aka what happens when your tripod isn't quite steady)

Farewell, eclipsed supermoon. I hear another one is supposed to occur next January. Hopefully we'll have good skies again. And cooperative owls!

2017 Astronomy Programs at Great Basin National Park

 Last night Desert Girl and I went up to the Astronomy program at Great Basin National Park. For the months of April and May, they are held at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday nights. They will be held three nights a week after Memorial Day weekend (I believe--check with the park at 775-234-7331 to be entirely sure) through Labor Day weekend.

One of the things we learned at the program was what a.m. and p.m. mean. I guess I hadn't really thought about it much. Ante meridian is Latin for before midday and post meridian is after midday. We also learned about Pope Gregory wiping out a week in October back about 852 and then the institution of the leap day so that wouldn't have to happen again. Except leap day isn't celebrated every 100 years, so it didn't happen in February 1900. But it did happen in February 2000 because every thousand years they need to put it back in. And sometimes there's a leap second, like in June 2015. Or something like that. But don't worry, the atomic clock is accurate to 1 second in 30 million years, based on the cesium atom. I think that's right. I wasn't exactly taking notes, but it was interesting.

Then it was time to line up at the telescopes and look at the night skies. There was a good turnout, as it was a clear night, and somewhat warm (above freezing, anyway). Probably about 40 people were there. It was cold enough that Desert Girl and I had on winter coats and winter boots and had two blankets and were still a bit chilled, but we were better prepared than most.

Desert Girl was a good sport while I took some photos of telescopes. One person had his own positioned near the Lehman Caves Visitor Center, which was lit up in red to preserve our night vision.  The blue line is the glow-in-the dark paint along the curb.

We could find the Big Dipper easily, with the handle arcing to the bright star Arcturus, which Ranger Steve was pointing out. Through the telescope our first object was even easier to find--the moon. With a crescent, it made for some really great shadows.

Then we lined up again to take a look at Jupiter and four moons. I was also able to see these through our binoculars (binoculars, lawn chairs, and blankets are great things to bring to an astronomy program, as well as red flashlights).

Then it was on to the M3 globular cluster. It looked like a big fuzzy spot, even though it's made up of 500,000 stars. Why fuzzy? Well, it's over 30,000 light years away! There's nothing like looking up into the heavens to help put life into perspective.

Desert Girl had seen enough at this point, so we left, but other folks stayed on, looking at more amazing things. We hope to go to more astronomy programs this year, the kids really enjoy them, and it's always great to spend more time looking up at the stars and learning more about them.

2015 Astronomy Festival - Great Basin National Park

 One of our favorite fall events to attend is the Astronomy Festival at Great Basin National Park. (Here are posts from 2012, 2013, and 2014.)  We started out with the talent show on Thursday night, where an array of performances showcased talent by park employees.

The kids had school the next day, so we couldn't stay to look through the telescopes, but the skies were beautiful, so I'm sure those that did had great views.

On Friday afternoon I signed up for the astrophotography workshop and picked up a couple tips to improve my night sky photography. Derek Demeter was the workshop leader.

I had planned to go to Derek's keynote speech, but an EMT call had me changing my plans. Instead, I went to the Saturday sunrise program at the Baker Archeological Site. To my surprise, there was quite a large crowd.

We heard about how this Fremont Village was laid out with astronomy in mind, with the buildings oriented certain ways to show when it was planting and harvest time. The village was inhabited from about 1220 to 1295.

The Fremont Village was small, probably just a few families, and they grew crops nearby with water from Strawberry Creek (which now flows pretty far away, but if you look closely you can see the swale that used to bring the water).

The light was fantastic as the sun came up.

The curbs show where the buildings were, which were excavated in the 1990s by BYU and BLM.

I took a lot of photos.

Finally I knew I better get going. If you visit this free site, there's a self-guiding booklet available at the trailhead (the trail is about .25 miles roundtrip). It's a very nice booklet that explains a lot.

Later that day we went backpacking to take advantage of the new moon skies (see day 1, night, and day 2 posts if you missed them), so we didn't get to look through the telescopes the third night either. Nevertheless, it was fun participating in a few of the astronomy festival events, and I think it had record attendance. The weather was perfect, and the high elevation and remoteness make for some fantastic night skies.

If you're interested in going, save the dates for next year's astronomy festival: September 29-October 1, 2016.

Backpacking Trip--the Night

I didn't sleep very well in our tent. I was cold, then I was uncomfortable, and finally at 1 am I decided to go outside and take a look at the night skies. To my delight, they had mostly cleared up! So I grabbed my camera and Goby tripod (it's very small and flexible so great for traveling) and wandered around The Table. I knew I wanted to get the tree above; it's one of my favorites.

My husband says these photos are kind of strange, that's not what you seen when you look up at night. I totally agree, a 25- or 30-second exposure captures so much more light. The glow from Ely was really strong, and the Milky Way makes the sky look cloudy. I like how these photos are a bit surreal, but also grounded in reality. I also really like the juxtaposition of really old trees, which kind of boggle our mind, with the really old universe, which actually makes the trees seem young. I find looking at the night skies really helps me put any problems I'm having into perspective--they are so tiny compared to everything that's around me!

I saw numerous shooting stars while I was taking the long exposures, and even captured one in the photo below.

I've had a few people ask how I take these photos. I basically have done a lot of research online. I also got some tips at the Great Basin National Park Astronomy Festival astrophotography workshop.

I shoot with a Canon t3i (a not very advanced camera, quite frankly), a Tokina 11-16 mm lens (great for low light), a 25- or 30-second exposure, f2.8, ISO 3200, manual focus on infinity, mirror locked up, high ISO speed noise reduction on strong, long exposure noise reduction on, photo quality on RAW and jpg, and a 2-second timer to reduce the shake of pressing the camera. I also add a little light painting to the foreground to enhance the subject and so it's not just a silhouette.

For post processing, I adjust the RAW images to how I like, in particular adding more black to the photos. There's a lot more I could be doing, but I am definitely still learning! (If you have any tips, please leave a comment!)

I find that the southern part of the Milky Way (or at 1 am it becomes more of the western part) is the most photogenic, so I end up taking more photos in that direction. At first I was irritated with all the light pollution from Ely, but then I decided it added an interesting color element to the photo and helped show our human relationship with what we are looking at.

Of course I have to change it up a bit from time to time. Here's "Sword Chief" (so-named by Desert Girl) and the northern (eastern) Milky Way, which is definitely not as strong. I spent almost two hours wandering around that night, feeling so lucky to be in such a beautiful spot with the weather cooperating. It was a great surprise after going to bed with cloudy skies.

I'll have these photos and others for sale at the Art Bank in Ely on canvas, slate, and perhaps bamboo, as well as notecards. The Art Bank has an impressive array of art that is always changing, so it's fun to stop in often, and it's open Thursday-Sunday.

Hope you are enjoying the night skies where you are! The moon is growing in size every night, and on September 27 we can look forward to a lunar eclipse.

June Full Moon Hike

 Great Basin National Park holds full moon hikes during the summer, and we had never been so I took Desert Boy to the one in early June. We had to get tickets to attend the event, and we got the last one at about 2 in the afternoon. This is a popular hike!

As we drove up the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive, we were treated to some beautiful evening views.

The summit trailhead parking lot was full. Before long Ranger Steve started the program. It was colder than we thought it would be--30 degrees cooler than the valley bottom, hence all the coats you see in the photo. It was still rather light, but we would have a leisurely stroll to Stella Lake with stops--and no lights.

The aspens hadn't yet started budding out. At our stops we learned about various things. One of the coolest things was looking at the earth's shadow as our planet spun.

It's an interesting experience going on a hike with 40 other people.

Desert Boy had decked himself out with his junior ranger paraphernalia, and before long we were hanging out with the rangers at the end of the group. Steph graciously answered all sorts of Desert Boy's questions and kept him entertained.

It was fun seeing the moon appear over the horizon.

I kept stopping to take photos of it and switching lenses to try to capture it best for the Full Moon Challenge.

As we hiked, the appearance of the moon kept changing.

When we got to Stella Lake, the moon was hidden behind the ridge. But it gradually rose, lighting up the snow-covered slopes of Wheeler Peak.

And then the moon crested the ridge, reflecting in the lake.

It was a fun experience, and we'd love to go on more moonlit hikes without flashlights.

Have you ever been on a full moon hike? July has two full moons, July 1 and July 31.