Crescent Moons

Here's a couple of photos showing a crescent Moon during two consecutive mornings. In the first photo the Moon is 4% lit and since the sky is quite dark it's possible to see the unlit part of the Moon due to so called Earthshine. Earthshine occurs when sunlight reflects off the Earth's surface and illuminates the unlit portion of the Moon’s surface.

Nikon D850 and Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4E PF ED VR

This morning, the moon was 28.6 days old of its 29.5-day lunar phase and only 1% illuminated. Such thin crescent moon is hard to see with the naked eye, but with a pair of binoculars or a camera with a little higher magnification, it's much easier to see.

Nikon D850 and Nikon AF-S 300mm f/2.8 D IF-ED
 with a TC-20E III teleconverter.

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The Full Moon and Frösö Church Photo

Last week during the full Moon of November I had planned to take a photo of the full Moon rising behind the 800 year old Frösö church. I got this idea in May this year when I was wandering about on Andersön, a nature reserve located on an island 5 km Southwest of Frösön. Back in May I did notice that Frösö church was clearly visible and that it would make a nice foreground against a full Moon.

Frösö Church as seen from Andersön in May 2018.

When I returned home I started planning my shot and look through different software to see when the Moon should rise behind the church. The first date that popped up was November 22nd 2018.

So after waiting for 6 months, the time had finally come, now it was all down to the weather, and this time I was lucky to see clear skies with pretty good atmospheric conditions. This is the final photo.

Final photo of the full Moon behind Frösö church.

The still photo was taken using my Nikon D850 on my Nikon AF-S 600mm f/4 D IF-ED II lens. The real time footage of the Moon rising was shot using my Nikon D500 and Nikon AF-S 300mm f/2.8 D IF-ED with a Nikon AF-S TC-20E III teleconverter.

Here's a film from the 22nd of  November showing how I took the photo.



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Astronomy Picture Of the Day at NASA

Today I'm featured as Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) at NASA with my photo of a lunar flyby.

The photo of a Gibbous Moon flyby was taken on the 29th of October in 2018 and was taken in the mountain area of Jämtland, Sweden

Just as I had set the camera for the correct exposure of the Moon and the mountain, this plane passed by. I quickly snapped a couple of shots and this is one of them. The photo was taken using my Nikon D850 with the Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4E PF ED VR lens.

This is APOD number 17 for me and it's always such an honor to be featured by NASA.

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Lunar flyby over the mountains in Jämtland, Sweden

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Colors of the Moon

In this photo taken on the 24th of March 2018, I've exaggerated the colors on the lunar surface. The different colors correspond to real differences in the chemical makeup of the lunar surface - blue hues reveal titanium rich areas while orange and purple colors show regions relatively poor in titanium and iron.

This is a single exposure and no tracking was used. This night we had exceptional good air conditions with very good seeing.

Nikon D850, Nikkor AF-S 600mm f/4 + TC-17E II
1/80 sec. ISO 64 @ 1000mm f/8

Full moon photography workshop

Part of my work is lecturing and holding workshops for different groups of people. One such reoccurring workshop is for high schools media students. Usually I do one inspiring lecture telling them about different phenomena and how to take photos of them. The next part is being out in the field with the students so they can ask me questions and practice taking photos of the sky and objects in the sky. Then as a follow up, I meet the students once more where they can show me their photos so I can give feedback on their work.

Last night it was time for some field work for a group of high schools students. My plan was to teach them how to take photos of the full moon and how to use the moon for composing interesting photos. As always, it's a blast hanging around with these young students since they are so full of inspiration and creativity and last night was no exception.

Here are a couple of photos I took during our night out.

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Astronomy Picture Of the Day at NASA

Today I'm featured as Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) at NASA with my photo of the Moon and planet Jupiter with its four Galilean moons.

This night the Moon and Jupiter were only 1°45' apart in the sky, to visualize that distance, that's about the width of your thumb on a arm’s length.

At the time of the photo (19:33 UTC on 10th of April 2017) the Moon was 99,8% lit, so very close to full. This is a single exposure and to get a good exposure for the Galilean moons to be visible, I waited for some clouds to darken the bright moon while Jupiter and its moons was unobstructed. I used a focal length of 600 mm on a Nikon full frame DSLR.

This is the 15th time I'm featured as APOD at NASA.

The Moon and Jupiter with its four Galelian moons

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Moon, Jupiter and the Galilean moons

It's a very beautiful sight in the sky tonight with the Moon and Jupiter so close together. They will get even closer throughout the night. At the time for this photo (19:33 UTC) they were 1°45' apart and they will be even closer in a couple of hours. In the photo you can see the Galilean moons listed in order of appearance.

We did have som clouds tonight so I waited for some clouds to cover the Moon while planet Jupiter was unobstructed to get a more even exposure.

Nikon D800E with a Nikon 600 mm f/4.0 lens.
Exposure 1/13 sec at ISO 100 f/5.6.

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Lunar X

Last night I finally got to see my first Lunar X. I've heard about it several years ago but never got around to try to see it or take photos of it. The weather was very frustrating with clouds constantly passing in front of the Moon, but I managed to get some shots of the X after it appeared. The X was such a beautiful sight through my viewfinder, it was more prominent than I ever would have thought.

This feature is actually the overlapping convergence of the rims of Blanchinus, La Caille and Purbach craters and there's only a small window in time where in Lunar X is visible. It's visible about six hours before 1st Quarter phase (Depending on the lunar libration), and for about an hour, the silver-white X will appear to float just beyond the lunar terminator as in this photo. So I'm really glad I got the chance to get this X on photo and to see it.

Nikon D500, Nikon AF-S 600 mm f/4 with 1.7X converter
Exposure: 0.4 sec. ISO 100 at f/8.0

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Lifting the full moon

Yesterday it was time for another full moon to rise above the horizon. I always try to see the full moon rise, if the weather permits. I never get tired of seeing our beautiful moon slowly rise and to make things even more exciting I always try to find an exciting foreground to go along with it.

Last night I've scouted where I needed to be for the moon to rise behind this big crane. I think this mosaic photo turned out really good and it looks like the crane is lifting the moon while the residents in the building is probably watching the progress.

Nikon D500 with a Nikon AF-S 600 mm f/4.0 lens
Exposure 1/40 sec. ISO 100 at f/4.0

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Galaxies in the mountains

We're living on a small planet we call Earth. Our planet is located about two-thirds of the way out from the center of out home galaxy the Milky Way, that's about 26,000 light-years away from the center. In this photo you can see the Milky Way stretching up in the sky from behind the mountains.

Our closest neighboring galaxy is the Andromeda galaxy, it's located about 2,5 million light-years. It is the most distant object in the sky that you can see with your unaided eye. Here you can see Andromeda close to the center of the photo as a small disc shaped object. It apparent size in the sky is actually four times the size of a full Moon, but since its outer regions are so dim, we just see the much brighter center of the galaxy.

These two galaxies are actually on a collision course and will eventually merge together. But don't worry, it won’t happen for another 4 billion years. But just for a second, try to imagine what it will look like when Andromeda is much closer to us, that will really be some view.

The bright shining object down to the left is the Moon. At the time of this photo it was about 40% lit but since I used a long exposure time to expose for the Milky Way, the Moon is extremely over exposed.

This photo is a 7 shot panorama shot using a Nikon D810A with a Nikon AF-S 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens. Exposure for each photo was 20 seconds, ISO 1600 with f/4.0

Two galaxies in the night sky

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Mars, Moon and Venus

Last night we could see three celestial bodies in the evening sky. In the upper left corner you see a small bright dot, that's planet Mars. Then to the right of the crescent moon you can see planet Venus. This photo was taken just after sunset when the Sun lit up the higher clouds in a very beautiful way. On the horizon you can see the mountains being covered by really low clouds.

I really love these close encounters in our solar system, I get such a strong presence of us sitting on a planet orbiting a star together with the other planets.

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Mars, Moon and Venus in the evening sky.

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Half moon rises

Earlier this week I went out to photograph the Northern Lights and got some great images. On my way home I had planed to take photos of the 50% lit moon rising above the horizon. I had scouted this location where I would get the big residential house Fagerskrapan and the Vallsundsbron bridge in the foreground. I was very pleased to see that the water in lake Storsjön was still so the city lights reflected very nicely in the water.

Shooting moonrises like this is always a thrill and I enjoy the planning and scouting as much as the photo shoot itselves.

Two shot panorama with a Nikon D800E and Nikon AF-S 600 mm f/4

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Supermoon through the clouds

Last night I got back home from the big photo fair Fotomässan in Stockholm where I held a couple of lectures on my astrophotography in the Nikon booth.

During more or less the entire train ride home I could see the 98% lit moon outside the window. It lit up the winter landscape in a very beautiful way. Upon arrival the clouds was blocking the moon but small gaps passed by from time to time so I decided to wait out one and take a shot of the moon. This photo was taken about 12 hours before the moon reaches lunar perigee, the point when the moon is closest to Earth.

Sadly the weather for tonight looks really bad so I will most likely miss out this supermoon. But as I said in earlier posts, every full moon rise is worth watching so I'll have another go on December 14.

Nikon D800E, Nikon AF-S 300 mm f/2.8
Exposure 1 sec with ISO 100 at 300 mm f/4.0

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Time for a Supermoon

Don't miss tomorrows Supermoon. It will be the biggest moon since 1948 and it won't be as big until 2034. With your naked eye you won't experience the moon as bigger but since it will be 14% larger than normal, a photo of this moon and a regular full moon will show the difference in size. I recommend you to watch the moon as it rises above the horizon, Supermoon or not, watching a full moon rise is always a beautiful experience.

When it comes to taking photo of this Supermoon I also recommend doing it just as the moon rises above the horizon to get a more exciting photo. Use a long focal length to get really close to the moon. And don't forget to take a photo of a normal full moon with the same focal length so you can compare it to this larger moon. Good luck and clear skies!

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Full moon of October

Full moon of October rises behind the Arctura building in Östersund, Sweden. On top of this building there's an restaurant, I hope they enjoyed the view of the moon.

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Don't forget the Earth shadow

I never get tired of seeing our closest star set below the horizon. Seeing how the landscape changes as the warm light gets fainter by the minute. Every sunset has its personality depending och location, weather and season. Here in the higher latitudes we have our bright summer nights and during winter the Sun sets in the afternoon and darkness falls quite fast.

Midwinter sunset with a bright solar halo.

Another beautiful thing about a sunset is what happens right after the Sun has set. If turn around, you can slowly see the Earth shadow rising from the horizon. A low horizon is preferred to get a better view of the phenomena. 

As twilight deepens a dark blue band slowly rises upwards from the horizon. This band is the shadow of the Earth projected on the atmosphere. Above the blue shadow band you can also se a pink band called the anti-twilight arch or "Belt of Venus". The pink color comes from scattered and deeply reddened sunlight mixed with the deep blues colors of the sky.

Moonrise in Earth shadow and Belt of Venus.

The same thing happens before a sunrise. Look in the opposite direction of the rising Sun and you will see the Earth shadow sinking towards the horizon as the Sun rises.

Earth shadow is also visible before sunrise.

So next time you're watching a sunset, stay out a bit longer and don't forget to look behind you to see the Earth shadow rise.

Don't forget to look behind you after sunset.

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Moonrise in the light of the midnight sun

A magical moonrise over Björkliden, Sweden, in the light of the midnight sun. It's quite amazing to be out in the middle of the night shooting without a tripod since it's so bright under the midnight sun. The U-shaped valley in the distance is called Lapporten.

Midnight Summer Solstice Sun

Last night the Sun went from spring to summer during the summer solstice. At the time I was above the article circle so I could see the Sun throughout the entire night. The weather was really bad during the day but cleared up around 19:00 UTC. Seeing the midnight Sun is really special and I'm so happy that the weather cleared up during the solstice. I was also able to see the full Moon rise and it's quite awesome to be able to see both the Sun and the full Moon during the night.

Midnight Solstice Sun in Gällivare, Sweden

Full Moon rising in the light of the midnight Sun

Here's a time lapse movie showing the Sun move across the sky. As you can see the Sun never sets below the horizon, it gets blocked blocked by clouds at one point.

Strawberry Moon

On Monday it's time for another Strawberry full moon to rise, one of the more beautiful moon rises of the year. The full moon of June got its Strawberry name because the Algonquin tribes knew it as a signal to gather ripening fruit. This is a shot of the Strawberry moon rise back in 2014.

Hiking for the full moon

Today I went hiking with my family in a beautiful mountain area here in Jämtland, Sweden. We had a great time and the views got was really amazing now when the mountain tops are snow covered.

Later during the afternoon it was time for the full moon to rise. My wife and my two kids got to model while watching the moon rise above the horizon. I planned the shot during the day and everything look great for the evening. Just an hour before the Moon was about to rise, the clouds started to move in from west and the sky was quickly covered.

I was a bit worried that we wouldn't be able to do the shot but as you can see the sky was clear to the east just enough for the full moon to be visible. The moon is somewhat deformed in the lower half, that's due to atmospheric refraction.