Super Moon

We had a nice Super Blue Moon the other day, although it wasn't blue. Managed to catch it low down and was a more yellowish colour which was quickly lost as it began to rise.

Also the sun has been very spotty, which is to be expected as we approach Solar Maximum.

Super Moon is 14% bigger and 30% brighter as it closer to Earth

Shetland Moon rise

 

Moon showing mineral in soil (Crust)

December Planet Conjunction

 The planet conjunction is always worth seeing and Shetland having wide vistas can be a good place to see it

Moon and Jupiter off to the right

Jupiter just right of the head

Moon looking good

Venus behind the cloud on bottom right

More Activity more Aurora

 These last few days the sun has been very active with a train of sunspots racing across the sun. The size equivalent to 22 earths side by side.

More activity on the sun means more Aurora activity and on Sunday night there was a major Aurora with many arcs. Pity it was total cloud and only one person reported seeing anything from the south Mainland. It went from an Amber alert to a Red alert in two mins with lots of colour visible to the naked eye. Only odd breaks in the sky

Shetland Aurora Hunter is the best way to keep in touch and for up to-date information on the Aurora , where and when to see it and about local conditions

But at this time in the month, the Moon was also at 99% full which means if the Aurora was visible it would have to be strong to beat the Moonlight, as it was yesterday.

As Solar Cycle will continue to grown and produce more sunspots we will get more major Auroras and hopefully clear skies to see them.

The Moon

 The Moon is approx 273,000 miles away and makes a good target for any astrophotographers without a telescope

These images were taken with an 800mm telephoto lens and cropped

I thought i would colour the moon, which do you like best the one above or below?

You can even capture the moon with a wide angle lens, you just need a landscape. This one at Scatness in Shetland

reflection of the moon at Spiggie

Moon looking good

 Any night you can see the Moon is a good night for me. Last night we had almost a clear sky so i was out to photograph 

I used a Nikon D750 and a Sigma 800m  lens and then cropped it

Moon with Mars above

A hazy moon down at Boddam

Down at Sanick, Sandwick in Shetland lots of moon shine with very little wind.

Even the Aurora showed for a while around midnight but the moon took the edge off it. 

See more on Facebook at  Shetland Aurora Hunter

Planets

 You don't always need a telescope to see or photograph the planets. If you know where to look you can find them

Venus

                                                                       Saturn and Jupiter

Apart from the Moon (800mm) the rest of the photos have been taken on a 28-200mm lens. I was hoping to capture the Moon and Mars in close conjunction but we have had cloud and rain so no chance to add a photo.

If you like the Aurora join Shetland Aurora Hunter on Facebook

Night returns

At last the nights have been shortening and the Aurora has started to show in a few parts of Shetland

The moon has always fascinated me, especially after the moon landings which i watched at school. It makes a great photography subject in all its phases. Taken with a Sigma 15-600mm lens

Hopefully i will be back soon with some new night photos, in the meantime join Shetland Aurora Hunter on facebook to see what is going on in the Shetland sky