Comets

Comet West (C/1975 V1) was a spectacular sight on the morning of March 4, 1976, from Ardrossan, AB. This is a 30-second exposure at 5:48 a.m. MST on Kodacolor II print film (ASA 80) with an Olympus OM-1 SLR camera and 50 mm f/1.8 lens. The negative was converted to a slide, then processed in Photoshop and Lightroom. Observing conditions were challenging. The temperature was -21oC; -30oC with the wind chill. I noted at the time that the gas tail was 5o in length and the dust tail was 22o long. The comet had a brightness of mag. -0.2.

Comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock (C/1983 H1) had a very close approach to the Earth on the evening of May 10, 1983. The comet appears below and slightly left of center in a photograph taken from Calgary at 11:29 p.m. MDT with an Olympus OM-1 SLR camera and 50 mm f/1.8 lens with Ektachrome slide film (ASA 400). The exposure was long enough to show the stars trailing. The sky display on the right, courtesy of SkyMap Pro 9, shows the comet moving through the constellation of Ursa Major (the two pointer stars in the Big Dipper are at the top of the image). Positions every hour are indicated. The comet was only 0.032 au from the Earth, and was moving at 112'/hr.

Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) on the evening of March 28, 1997, at 9:03 p.m. MST. The observing site was south of Bruderheim, AB. This is a four-minute exposure on Kodak P1600 Ektachrome slide film (ASA 1600), using an Olympus OM-1 SLR camera and 135 mm f/3.5 telephoto lens. The slide was scanned and processed with Lightroom and Photoshop.

Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) on the evening of March 29, 1997, at 9:12 p.m. MST. The observing site was at the Strathcona Wilderness Centre, at Bennett Lake, AB. This is an eight-minute exposure on Kodak P1600 Ektachrome slide film (ASA 1600), using an Olympus OM-1 SLR camera and 135 mm f/3.5 telephoto lens. The slide was scanned and processed with Lightroom and Photoshop.

Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) on the evening of March 30, 1997, at 9:06 p.m. MST. The observing site was 240 Street W, just north of Highway 22 west of Calgary, AB. This is an eight-minute exposure on Kodak P1600 Ektachrome slide film (ASA 1600), using an Olympus OM-1 SLR camera and 135 mm f/3.5 telephoto lens. The slide was scanned and processed with Lightroom and Photoshop.

Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) on the evening of April 1, 1997, at 9:08 p.m. MST. The observing site was at 240 Street W, just north of Highway 22 west of Calgary, AB. This is a four-minute exposure on Kodak P1600 Ektachrome slide film (ASA 1600), using an Olympus OM-1 SLR camera and 135 mm f/3.5 telephoto lens. The slide was scanned and processed with Lightroom and Photoshop.

Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) on the evening of April 4, 1997, at 9:17 p.m. MST. The observing site was at 240 Street W, just north of Highway 22 west of Calgary, AB. This is an eight-minute exposure on Kodak P1600 Ektachrome slide film (ASA 1600), using an Olympus OM-1 SLR camera and 135 mm f/3.5 telephoto lens. The slide was scanned and processed with Lightroom and Photoshop.

Solar Eclipses

The total solar eclipse of Dec. 4, 2002, as viewed at the center line at Koolymilka, Australia. This is a 1/2 s exposure on Kodachrome 64 slide film taken with a Meade 4" f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. The slide was scanned and processed with Lightroom and Photoshop.

The total solar eclipse of July 11, 1991, as viewed at the center line on the west coast of Mexico, south of Mazatlan. This is a 1/2 s exposure on Kodachrome 64 slide film taken with a Meade 4" f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. The slide was scanned and processed with Lightroom and Photoshop.

The partial solar eclipse of March 7, 1989, as seen from Calgary, AB. This photograph was taken at 11:40 a.m. MST, 17 minutes after maximum eclipse. This is a 1/500 s exposure with a solar filter on Kodachrome 64 slide film taken with a Meade 4" f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. The slide was scanned and processed with Lightroom and Photoshop.

The total solar eclipse of March 18, 1988, as viewed on the center line at General Santos City, Philippines. This is a 1/2 s exposure on Kodachrome 64 slide film taken with a Meade 4" f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. The slide was scanned and processed with Lightroom and Photoshop.

The partial solar eclipse of Oct. 3, 1986, as seen from Calgary, AB. Clouds interfered during the first half of the eclipse, and occasionally afterwards. The montage above shows the progress of the eclipse from soon after maximum eclipse to shortly before the end of the partial phase, at ten-minute intervals. 1/500 s exposures on Kodachrome 64 slide film were taken with an Olympus OM-1 SLR camera, solar filter, and Vivitar 400 mm f/8 telephoto lens.

The total solar eclipse of Nov. 22, 1984, as viewed on board the Cap des Pins at the center line southwest of New Caledonia. This is a short exposure on Kodacolor VR 1000 print film taken with a Meade 4" f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. The negative was converted to a slide, then scanned and processed with Lightroom and Photoshop.

The annular solar eclipse of May 30, 1984, as seen from Calgary, AB. This photograph was taken at 10:15 a.m. MDT, at the moment of maximum eclipse. This is a 1/250 s exposure with a solar filter on Ektachrome 200 slide film taken with a Meade 4" f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope and 3X teleconverter. The slide was scanned and processed with Lightroom and Photoshop.

The total solar eclipse of June 11, 1983, as viewed on the center line at Salatiga, Indonesia. This is a 1/2 s exposure on Kodachrome 64 slide film taken with a Meade 4" f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. The slide was scanned and processed with Lightroom and Photoshop.

Lunar Eclipses

The total lunar eclipse of July 6, 1982, at 1:30 a.m. MDT, as viewed from Calgary, AB. This was my first significant astronomical event after my permanent move from Ardrossan, AB to Calgary, AB on June 21, 1982. This is a 30-second exposure on Ektachrome 400 slide film taken with a Meade 4" f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. The slide was scanned and processed with Lightroom and Photoshop. The eclipse was nearly central, however the southern half of the Moon was considerably brighter than the northern half.

The partial lunar eclipse of July 16/17, 1981, as viewed from my private observatory at Ardrossan, AB. The photograph to the left was taken at 10:15 p.m. MDT; a 1/15 s exposure on Ektachrome 200 slide film taken with an Olympus OM-1 SLR camera and Vivitar 400 mm f/8 telephoto lens. The photomontage images below were taken at 11:10 p.m., 11:50 p.m. and 12:10 a.m. MDT; 1/60 s, 1/125 s, and 1/125 s exposures on Ektachrome 200 slide film with an Olympus OM-1 SLR camera and a Cave Optical 12.5" f/6 reflecting telescope. Clouds interfered at the time of maximum eclipse. The slides were scanned and processed with Lightroom and Photoshop.

The total lunar eclipse of Sept. 6, 1979, as viewed from my private observatory at Ardrossan, AB. This seven-second exposure on Ektachrome 200 slide film was taken with an 8" f/5 reflecting telescope at 5:05 a.m. MDT, twelve minutes before the end of the total phase. The slide was scanned and processed with Lightroom and Photoshop.

The Moon

Moonrise on Dec. 2, 1979, as seen near Ardrossan, AB. This is a 1/15 s exposure on Ektachrome 200 taken with an Olympus OM-1 SLR camera and Vivitar 400 mm f/8 telephoto lens. The slide was scanned and processed with Lightroom and Photoshop.

The Moon on Nov. 26, 1979, as seen at my private observatory at Ardrossan, AB. This is a 1/2 s exposure on Ektachrome 200 taken with a Cave Optical 12.5" f/6 reflecting telescope, using eyepiece projection with a 16.0 mm eyepiece. The slide was scanned and processed with Lightroom and Photoshop.

The Moon in conjunction with the star Aldebaren (near the top of the slide), on Nov. 5, 1979, at 10:00 p.m. MST, as seen at my private observatory at Ardrossan, AB. This is a 1/125 s exposure on Ektachrome 200 taken with a Cave Optical 12.5" f/6 reflecting telescope. The slide was scanned and processed with Lightroom and Photoshop.

The Moon on Oct. 29, 1979, as seen at my private observatory at Ardrossan, AB. This is a 1/8 s exposure on Ektachrome 200 taken with a Cave Optical 12.5" f/6 reflecting telescope, using eyepiece projection with a 16.0 mm eyepiece. The slide was scanned and processed with Lightroom and Photoshop.

The Moon in conjunction with the star Aldebaren, on February 15, 1978, as seen at my private observatory at Ardrossan, AB. This is a 1/125 s exposure on Ektachrome 200 taken with a Cave Optical 12.5" f/6 reflecting telescope. The slide was scanned and processed with Lightroom and Photoshop.

Moonrise on Nov. 24, 1977, as seen at my private observatory at Ardrossan, AB. This is a 1/60 s exposure on Ektachrome 200 taken with a Cave Optical 12.5" f/6 reflecting telescope. The slide was scanned and processed with Lightroom and Photoshop.

The Planets

Mercury is best seen in the evening sky near the March equinox, as shown here from northwest Calgary, AB, on April 1, 1984, at 8:13 p.m. MST. This is a two-second exposure on Ektachrome 200 using an Olympus OM-1 SLR camera and 135 mm f/3.5 telephoto lens. The slide was scanned and processed with Lightroom and Photoshop.

Jupiter with three of its four bright moons, on March 27, 1978. Io was transiting the disk of Jupiter, which restricts the time to 9:56 p.m. MST or later. The star to the far right is SAO 77647. This is a five-second exposure on Ektachrome 200 taken with a Cave Optical 12.5" f/6 reflecting telescope. The slide was scanned and processed with Lightroom and Photoshop.

Aurora Borealis

The Aurora Borealis on Oct. 7, 1979, as seen at my private observatory at Ardrossan, AB. This is a 30-second exposure on Ektachrome 400 taken with an Olympus OM-1 SLR camera and 28 mm f/3.5 wide-angle lens. The slide was scanned and processed with Lightroom and Photoshop.

Miscellaneous

My observatory on my parents' acreage near Ardrossan, AB. I constructed it in 1978 and it remained operational until they sold the property in 2005. The centerpiece of the observatory was a Cave Optical 12.5" f/6 reflecting telescope. A homemade 8" f/5 reflecting telescope was attached. A bracket on the larger telescope allowed my Olympus OM-1 SLR camera to take tracked photographs with a telephoto, normal, or wide-angle lens.