Take the Highway... (to the Moon over the Great Divide)

The Moon sets above the Great Divide from 86,000 feet above Colorado.

flickr version with labeled landmarks

  The snow-capped Rocky Mountains of Colorado stretch across this photograph taken on June 27, 2013 from 86,000 feet.  The waning Moon shines in the black sky above the Earth's thin atmosphere.  I-70 snakes up from the bottom towards Loveland Pass and the Eisenhower Tunnel.

The Moon above the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

Dillon Reservoir, I-70, Georgetown, Berthoud Pass, and Winter Park / Mary Jane

  In the center of the photo can be seen (from top-left to right) Dillon Reservoir in Frisco, CO, I-70 snaking down from the Eisenhower Tunnel to Georgetown (in valley stretching from left to right,) and Berthoud Pass to Winter Park Ski Area in the top right.

Lake Granby and the Continental Divide

Denver and Boulder from 86,000 feet.  

  From a view looking northeast, the sprawl of Denver can be seen in the bottom right.  Nestled against the foothills and iconic Flatirons, Boulder is on the left, below center.

The Old Dome Station

  I recently reformatted my computer and began pulling in and re-organizing my giant catalogues of photos.  I started going over the pictures from when I wintered over at the South Pole and especially those of the Old Dome Station.  Construction of the giant Elevated Station was completed during my year at the Pole while the Dome was used for food storage.  The following summer the National Science Foundation and Raytheon Polar decided to finally demolish it.  I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to photograph this historic and iconic building during its last winter.  

Me in front of the Dome and Elevated Station at the South Pole

Aurora and star trails above the Dome

The Dome sits quietly beneath the southern stars

The Moon and a hint of sunrise on the horizon

The Last Full Moon above the Old Dome Station

Full Moon above the South Pole

Dawn at the South Pole.  

Sunrise at the South Pole

Moon Burn Pt2

The Flatirons Pre-Moonrise

  Since I've been waiting over a year for the proper snow and lighting conditions to align, I decided to sack up and head back out in the chilly evening to set up cameras under crystal clear skies.  At first the bright stellar jewels of the western sky stole the show above the muted peaks of Green Mountain.  Then the moon rose and set a spot light upon the landscape, making the recent snow glow bright in the night.

The Moon rises in the East

Orion and Sirius above the Flatirons

Moonlit Flatiron Long Exposure

Focused and Collimated? (updated 9/27/12)

  Much, MUCH better.  A single shot at full resolution.

A movie stacked to take out the shimmer of Earth's atmosphere.  

A close up of Tycho Crater

Tycho Crater pointed out

First Run of the New Telescope!!!

   After a month of sitting on the tripod in the corner of my living room, I was finally able to take my new 8" Celestron out for its inaugural run with partially clear skies and a nearly full moon.  Holy moly!!!  I can't believe how good it is compared to what I've been using, and it hasn't even been collimated.  I spent about a half hour aligning the two mounted scopes and a laser spotting scope and then needed to grab the camera for a half dozen shots before heading to bed.  It completely blew me away.  These are single images taken at 1/250 of a second, not stacks...  I CAN, NOT, WAIT to really get in to using this.

Eclipse Part II

The Annular Solar Eclipse begins above New Castle, Colorado. 

The Solar Eclipse of May 20, 2012 

The Eclipsing Sun Shines through Clouds above Colorado

Solar Eclipse Near Maximum

The Eclipsed Setting Sun finds a clear spot in the sky

The Sun Setting and Ending a Fantastic Eclipse

Annular Solar Eclipse Video