Sorry, no voyages here. I just couldn't help myself. The Trekkie in me took over. Plus, I wanted to listen to Patrick Stewart in my head. Anyhoo...
We've been enjoying beautiful weather in FL, and tonight I took some time to shoot more pictures. I've been shooting pictures of the night sky three nights in a row. So what's up there that's caught my attention? Well, if you've been around here long enough, you'll know here at home, the kids and I are stargazers. Two night ago was New Moon, and I was able to enjoy Venus light up the night sky. It was SO bright, it was casting shadows. I saw Venus cast a shadow of my hand, my camera and my tripod. Very cool! No, I'm not just making this shit up, go read here: Science@NASA, and DigitalSky.org, SpaceWeather.com (check archives, date 12.02.2005)
I shot bunches of pictures, and I have a few to share. :o)
Venus, bright and clear.
To my surprise, I was able to watch the Moon's Crescent slowly appear.
The sky was saturated with beautiful colors.
As I turned to leave, I caught a glimpse of Mars.
You'll notice there's a star on the upper left corner of the photo.
...::...::...::...
Now, this is how the sky looked tonight. It was simple amazing.
Not as cold as yesterday, so I spent a lot more time outside.
Below we begin with Venus and the Moon, Waxing Crescent.
Full view of the night sky before me.
This following picture is a big file. I left it big enough so that you can see a few stars around it and really enjoy the Earthshine effect (that's when you can see the rest of the moon, when it's being illuminated not by the Sun, but by light reflected off the Earth).
I hope you've enjoyed the pictures as much as I enjoyed shooting them. Some of the best shots happen with perserverance, others quite by accident. I do have a favorite picture; here it is.
what lovely photos!!!
wonderful photos, zee! hope you and the family are well and enjoying this holiday season!
absolutely amazing shots...
ooo They're so pretty. I love the sky, it's such a beautiful thing. You always take awesome pictures. I'm jealous lol
Those are really amazing! I think I've been missing a good opportunity here!
Outstanding----just gorgeous photos. I'm so glad you stopped by my blog. Never would have seen these if you had not. I'll come back often.
Those photos are spectacular!
WOW those are really wonderful :) Great job!
Absolutely marvellous pictures.
beautiful zee, truly amazing shots.
Oh my. What absolutely fantastic photos.... Makes you really appreciate the wonder of nature, don't you think?
This pictures are amazing, you have a great gift. Your pictures are absolutely fantastic. We are very lucky to have you taking pictures like this one so we all can appreciatte mother nature and the power beyond what we can see.
It's been very cloudy here, what with all the snowfall, so not great conditions for star gazing. I'm glad that you got a chance to and managed to get some great photos! Makes me miss FL.
We got about six inches of snow.
Great pictures.
The progression is simply amazing to see; thanks for sharing.
Beautiful pictures, as always!
I am so impressed, those are fantastic pictures!
those are some amazing pictures Zee. Just beautiful. Thank you for sharing.