I missed out on the northern lights spectacle—Austria is a bit too far south and a moving boat isn't the best platform for night photography anyway—but that doesn't mean we're completely skyless today.
When I went out last week to image the Eagle Nebula, I had some time to kill because the Eagle doesn't rise above the horizon until midnight at this time of year. There weren't a lot of options for the 10-12 pm period, so I took a picture of yet another globular cluster. This one is the most famous cluster out there: M13, the great cluster in Hercules. It contains about half a million stars.
As near as I can tell, all the globular clusters I've photographed are about the same. If you've seen one, you've seen 'em all. With summer approaching, it's time to move on to more interesting things.
Michael Cohen is explaining why he was owed $180,000, instead of simply $130,000 for the hush money. He says that he was owed $50,000 — an amount he admits was exaggerated — to pay a firm called Red Finch for “tech services.” He tells this story in his book “Disloyal.” At least in part, the services were Cohen getting a computer programmer to buy IP addresses in order to rig an online CNBC poll to make sure Trump ranked among the most influential business leaders alive.
Here in the middle of town all I could see of the aurora was the ghostliest grey shade of it. I'd never have noticed it at all if I hadn't known what to look for.
Five miles away it was apparently terrific.
Kevin! Exactly where on Palomar do you do your astronomy? The actual observatory is closed to the public after dark; the campgrounds are covered in tree canopy; and the pullouts by the road are plagued by cars driving by with bright headlights. My wife and I have gone to Palomar repeatedly for meteor showers and such, but we're on the verge of giving up on the place.
you think he gets those shots on a crappy little celestron?
marian picks the lock on the hale; now that's one sweet piece of glass
I think globulars are beautiful! But like planetary nebulae, they need a larger 'scope to capture the detail (say, an 11" SCT) and a night with good seeing.
Austria is well north of northern Florida and the lights were quite visible from there. Just sayin'.
A little pinprick in the night sky is a half million stars!
Zow.
Wunderbar!