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Alan Dyer

@amazingskyguy.bsky.social

I am an astrophotographer and astronomy author living in Alberta, Canada.

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Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · last wk.

The rising Full Moon and the setting Sun, taken a few minutes apart on July 28, 2026, amid a smoky sky reddening the Sun as it set in the northwest and the Moon as it rose in the southeast. Taken from Range and Township roads near home in southern Alberta. Details in Alt Text.

A dimmed and reddened Full Moon rising in a smoky and hazy sky from near home in southern Alberta, on July 28, 2026, over a wheatfield. The July Full Moon is popularly called the "Buck Moon." Taken from a Range road south of home and looking southeast. The Moon had to climb a few degrees above the horizon this night to be visble at all. There is a matching smoky setting Sun shot taken shortly before this from a nearby site looking northwest. Technical: This is a single 0.5-second exposure with the Nikon Z8 at ISO 100 and Nikkor 24-120mm lens at 120mm and f/8.A dimmed and reddened Sun setting in a smoky and hazy sky from near home in southern Alberta, on July 28, 2026, over a wheatfield. Taken from the Township road south of home and looking northwest. Some sunspots are just visible on the solar disk as dark specks. There is a matching Full Moon-rise shot taken shortly after this from a nearby site looking southeast. Technical: This is a blend of two exposures: 1/60 second for the sky and ground and 1/250 second for the Sun's disk to prevent it from overexposing and to appear more like it did to the eye. All with the Nikon Z8 at ISO 100 and Nikkor 24-120mm lens at 120mm and f/5.6.
Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · 2w ago

Here are two versions, with and without labels, of a nightscape scene along the Icefields Parkway in Jasper National Park, Alberta, at the Athabasca Pass Viewpoint. This was from July 16 before the smoke moved in! Tech details are in the Alt Text.

Technical: This is a complex blend of separate exposures for ground and sky: - A stack of 2 x 2 minutes at ISO 800, untracked, for the ground, with LENR on, followed immediately by ... - A stack of 4 x 1 minute at ISO 800, tracked, with no filter and LENR off, for the sky, followed by ... - A stack of 2 x 1 minute at ISO 800, also tracked, with the Maven StarWalker filter to add the star glows, followed by ... - A stack of 3 x 2 minutes at ISO 1600, also tracked, with the Maven 20nm red Hydrogen-Alpha filter for the nebulas. Stars were removed from the H-alpha layer with the RC-Astro Star XTerminator filter. All were with the astro-modified Canon Ra and Canon RF15-35mm lens at 26mm and f/2.8 and on the MSM Nomad star tracker. The foreground was not an evening "blue hour" shot. Taken close to 12:30 am MDT, it is lit just by starlight and the lingering perpetual twilight of a summer night. Technical: This is a complex blend of separate exposures for ground and sky: - A stack of 2 x 2 minutes at ISO 800, untracked, for the ground, with LENR on, followed immediately by ... - A stack of 4 x 1 minute at ISO 800, tracked, with no filter and LENR off, for the sky, followed by ... - A stack of 2 x 1 minute at ISO 800, also tracked, with the Maven StarWalker filter to add the star glows, followed by ... - A stack of 3 x 2 minutes at ISO 1600, also tracked, with the Maven 20nm red Hydrogen-Alpha filter for the nebulas. Stars were removed from the H-alpha layer with the RC-Astro Star XTerminator filter. All were with the astro-modified Canon Ra and Canon RF15-35mm lens at 26mm and f/2.8 and on the MSM Nomad star tracker. The foreground was not an evening "blue hour" shot. Taken close to 12:30 am MDT, it is lit just by starlight and the lingering perpetual twilight of a summer night.
Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · 2w ago

This is a 180º panorama across the western sky of the summer Milky Way and stars over the peaks of the Continental Divide. The location is the eastern shore of Lower Waterfowl Lake on the Icefields Parkway in Banff National Park, Alberta. At right is towering Mt. Cephren. Details in Alt Text.

Technical: This is a blend of separate exposures and panoramas for ground and sky: - A stitch of 6 segments for the ground, each segment 2 minutes at ISO 1600 with LENR on, untracked, followed immediately by ... - A stitch of 6 segments for the sky, each segment 1 minute at ISO 1600 with LENR off, tracked, with no filter, for the sky, followed by ... - A stitch of 4 segments for the H-Alpha nebulas, each segment 3 minutes at ISO 3200, also tracked with no LENR, taken with the Maven 20nm red Hydrogen-Alpha filter for the nebulas. Stars were removed from the H-Alpha layer with the RC-Astro Star XTerminator filter. All with the astro-modified Canon Ra and Canon RF15-35mm lens at 24mm and f/2.8 and on the MSM Nomad star tracker. The foreground was not an evening "blue hour" shot. Taken close to 1 am MDT, it is lit by starlight and the lingering perpetual twilight of a summer night. Stitched in Adobe Camera Raw and panos stacked, aligned and blended in Photoshop. While I left in the ISS trail, I de-StarLinked the sky to remove the other dimmer satellite trails that are in abundance on a summer night.
Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · 3w ago

The waxing 2.5-day-old crescent Moon is setting behind Pyramid Mountain in Jasper National Park, Alberta amid a colourful sunset sky on July 16, 2026. Above and to the left of the Moon is Venus, bright as an evening star. This was from the Maligne Overlook viewpoint.

Technical: This is a panorama of 5 segments, each 1/80 second at f/4 with the Canon RF24-105mm lens at 85mm, on the Canon R5 at ISO 200. Stitched in Adobe Camera Raw.
Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · 4w ago

A panorama of noctilucent clouds above the northern horizon from southern Alberta on July 11, 2026, over a canola field in full bloom. From my latitude the NLCs usually peak at the same time as the canola blooms. Details in Alt Text.

This was at about 11:25 pm MDT, with the bright blue-white noctilucent clouds confined to a small area to the north around the star Capella. At far left is Venus setting in the northwest. The previous night the NLCs were all over the northwestern sky. This was from latitude 51º North, 112º West. From off a main highway close to home. There was no Moon this night. But there were plenty of mosquitoes! Technical: This is a blend of two panoramas each of 7 segments: - one for the sky at 10 seconds each, - and one taken immediately afterwards for the ground at 1 minute each for more shadow detail on this moonless night, - both with the Canon RF24-105mm lens at 47mm and f/4 on the Canon R5 at ISO 200. Stitched in Adobe Camera Raw. Topaz Photo applied to the ground for sharpening only. Luminar Neo applied to all for some mild structure and glow effects.
Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · 4w ago

The displays of noctilucent clouds keep coming! This was from July 10, from near home in southern Alberta at my local "one tree hill" site. This was at 11:30 pm MDT, with the blue-white noctilucent clouds beginning to decline in brightness. Details in the Alt Text.

A panorama of "night shining" noctilucent clouds across the northwestern horizon from southern Alberta on July 10, 2026. This was at about 11:30 pm MDT, with the bright blue-white noctilucent clouds beginning to decline in brightness from the top down as the Sun dropped further below the horizon and the illumination of clouds began to decrease. I have exaggerated the detail and contrast in order to bring out the structure and colours present in the NLCs and twilight glow. Capella is at right. This was from latitude 51º North, 112º West. From my local "one tree" hill south of home. Technical: This is a pano of 8 segments, each 13 seconds with the Canon RF24-105mm lens at 56mm and f/4 on the Canon R5 at ISO 200. Stitched in Adobe Camera Raw.
Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · 4w ago

Here's my latest review — of a unique product that combines a telescope eyepiece with a digital sensor to provide views through a small scope that rival or exceed what you can see through much larger telescopes. amazingsky.net/2026/07/10/t...

Testing the PegasusAstro SmartEye Digital Eyepiece

The SmartEye digital eyepiece from PegasusAstro enhances deep-sky viewing by combining digital imaging with traditional telescope use. It excels in capturing vibrant details in celestial objects bu…

amazingsky.net

Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · 4w ago

A panorama of "night shining" noctilucent clouds from home amid a wheatfield in southern Alberta on July 9, 2026. This was at about 11:07 pm MDT, with the bright blue-white noctilucent clouds shining behind dark foreground storm clouds to the north. Details in Alt Text.

Venus is visible amid the clouds at far left. The streak at far right is an aircraft contrail. This was from latitude 51º North, 112º West. Technical: This is a pano of 6 segments, each 2 seconds with the Canon RF24-105mm lens at 33mm and f/4 on the Canon R5 at ISO 400. Stitched in Adobe Camera Raw.
Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · 4w ago

A capture of a "grand display" of noctilucent clouds from home amid a wheatfield in southern Alberta on July 7, 2026. This was the brightest display of NLCs so far this summer for me in southern Alberta. Details in the Alt Text.

This was at about 11:26 pm MDT, with the clouds visible high in the sky as it got dark earlier and retreating to the north as the sky darkened and the Sun elevation dropped lower below the horizon. But here the NLCs were still extensive across the northwestern sky which was bright and colourful with summer twilight. The brightest section of NLCs remained brilliant and electric blue-white for many minutes past this, lingering in the northwest as the clouds darkened from the top down as the Sun angle decreased. This was the brightest and most extensive display to date for the 2026 season. This was from latitude 51º North, 112º West. Technical: This is a blend of two exposures: a shorter 15-second for the sky and a longer 1-minute for the dark ground, with the Canon RF15-35mm lens at 28mm and f/2.8 on the Canon Ra at ISO 100. LENR on for hot-pixel reduction.
Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · last mo.

Two versions, with and without labels, of the summer Milky Way at Dinosaur Provincial Park, June 18, 3 days before solstice in a sky not fully dark. Special filters enhanced the many red nebulas around the galactic core. Tech details in the Alt Text.

Technical: This is a complex blend of several exposures taken in quick succession from the same tripod position — - A stack of 2 x 4-minute exposures for the ground, with no filter and with no tracking to keep the ground sharp (at f/2.8 and ISO 800) - A stack of 4 x 1-minute tracked exposures for the sky with the Maven Night filter, a broadband light pollution suppression filter (at f/2.8 and ISO 800) - A stack of 2 x 2-minute tracked exposures for the red nebulas with the Maven 20nm Hydrogen-Alpha narrowband filter (at f/2 and ISO 3200) - plus another stack of 3 x 4-minute tracked exposures for more nebulosity with the Astronomik 12nm H-Alpha clip-in narrowband filter (also at f/2 and ISO 3200) — I shot with both H-a filters to compare their relative effects. - Stars were removed from the H-a layers using RC-Astro StarXTerminator AI filter - plus a 1-minute tracked exposure for the star glows layered in taken with the Maven StarWalker diffusion filter (at f/2.8 and ISO 800)Technical: This is a complex blend of several exposures taken in quick succession from the same tripod position — - A stack of 2 x 4-minute exposures for the ground, with no filter and with no tracking to keep the ground sharp (at f/2.8 and ISO 800) - A stack of 4 x 1-minute tracked exposures for the sky with the Maven Night filter, a broadband light pollution suppression filter (at f/2.8 and ISO 800) - A stack of 2 x 2-minute tracked exposures for the red nebulas with the Maven 20nm Hydrogen-Alpha narrowband filter (at f/2 and ISO 3200) - plus another stack of 3 x 4-minute tracked exposures for more nebulosity with the Astronomik 12nm H-Alpha clip-in narrowband filter (also at f/2 and ISO 3200) — I shot with both H-a filters to compare their relative effects. - Stars were removed from the H-a layers using RC-Astro StarXTerminator AI filter - plus a 1-minute tracked exposure for the star glows layered in taken with the Maven StarWalker diffusion filter (at f/2.8 and ISO 800)
Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · last mo.

A pale arc of aurora last night, June 24-25, across the bright solstice northern sky and a foreground lit by the Moon. This was from southern Alberta in a multi-panel panorama at my local "lone tree hill." Details in the Alt Text.

This is a panorama of an arc of Northern Lights on June 24, 2026 a few days after the summer solstice, so the sky is bright to the north with perpetual twilight. And the waxing gibbous Moon is lighting the scene from behind the camera. This aurora never got any brighter or more structured than this in the time I was looking. Indeed, even these subtle vertical rays here were gone in the next set of images I shot for another panorama a few minutes later. The aurora was at about Kp4.5 this night, which from my latitude in western Canada is enough to produce at least a horizon show. At left behind the "lone tree on the prairie" the sky is bright with what might be a distant display of noctilucent clouds. The other clouds are normal weather clouds, mostly high cirrus. The bright star Capella, circumpolar from this latitude of 51º N, is low at centre. The stars of Perseus are at right. The bright area in the grass below the vertical curtains of aurora at right is an "opposition effect" back reflection of the Moon 180º away from that spot behind the camera. I shot this from the east-west township grid road to the south of home where there is a "lone tree hill." Technical: This is a panorama of originally 16 segments covering about 220º from due west to southeast, but here cropped down to a smaller portion looking north and northeast framing the arc of aurora. Each segment was 13 seconds at f/1.8 with the Viltrox 35mm LAB lens on the Nikon Z8 at ISO 800, with the camera in landscape orientation. Stitched in ACR. The original is 19,000 pixels wide.
Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · last mo.

We had some "nocts" last night low across the north about midnight, June 22-23. These are noctilucent clouds visible only at this time of year – bright icy clouds high in the mesosphere that are illuminated by sunlight streaming over the pole. Details in the Alt Text.

This is a panorama of a display of noctilucent clouds low across the northern horizon amid the solstice twilight, a day after the 2026 summer solstice. I shot this from home in southern Alberta at latitude 51º North. The star Capella is at right. This was at about 20 minutes after midnight on June 22-23. The clouds faded shortly after this as the Sun dropped lower and its illumination of the clouds over the north pole decreased. A waxing crescent Moon provides some foreground illumination. Dark tropospheric clouds are silhouetted in front of the bright NLCs. Technical: This is a panorama of 6 segments at 10º spacing, each 20 seconds at f/4 with the Nikkor 24-120mm S-Line lens at 86mm on the Nikon Z6III at ISO 400. Stitched in Camera Raw.
Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Here is a view, with and without labels, of the fine evening sky show on June 18, from Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, with the array of three planets and the Moon in the colourful twilight sky.

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Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I missed the main event today, June 17, due to clouds as the Moon hid Venus at midday. But by 4pm the clouds had cleared to show the waxing crescent Moon retreating from Venus in the blue afternoon sky. Details in the Alt Text.

This is the waxing crescent Moon near Venus in the afternoon, set in the deep blue daytime sky, on June 17, 2026. The Moon had occulted Venus about 3 hours before this but clouds hid that event from view for me. The clouds cleared enough by 4 pm this day to afford some quick shots with a telephoto lens and camera on a tripod. The phase of Venus is just perceptible at the pixel-peeping level as a gibbous phase. This was from home in southern Alberta. This shows the scene as it appeared in binoculars; I could not see Venus with the unaided eye near the Moon. Technical: A stack of 6 x 1/640th second exposures at f/8 with the Canon RF100-400mm lens at 400mm and on the Canon R5 at ISO 200 and set to APS-C crop frame mode to zoom in a bit more.
Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · 2mo ago

This is an accumulation of exposures showing the number of satellites across the Milky Way during 35 minutes, from 12:28 am to 1:03 am on June 14, 2026. The field of view here is 54º by 37º, framing the Summer Triangle stars. Details in Alt Text.

And yes, most of the satellite trails are from SpaceX Starlink satellites as most of the satellites now in orbit are Starlinks. And most seen here are following similar parallel paths as Starlinks sets do. The fast lens and long exposures I used here do make satellites visible that were too faint to see with the unaided eye, just as fainter stars than your eye can see are recorded. Nevertheless, this shows just how many satellites are now passing through any field of view, be it naked eye, camera lens, or telescope. For this I stacked just 300 frames out of 1200 I shot this night over 2h30m. Stacking more frames only produced a dense, chaotic mess, with so many satellite trails the stars were hidden behind a wall of bright streaks. Technical: This is a stack of 300 frames, stacked using the program StarStax using the Lighten blend mode, to add the satellite trails rather than average them out. Each exposure was 6 seconds at f/1.2 with the Viltrox 35mm LAB lens on the Nikon Z8 at ISO 1600. (StarStax deleted the camera metadata from the files.) There was an interval of 1 second between exposures, thus the gaps in all the trails. The camera was on a tracker following the turning sky, so the stars stay fixed on the frame with minimal trailing, and the satellites streak against the point-like stars.
Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · 2mo ago

This is an "all-sky" fish-eye view of the night sky a week before summer solstice, taken June 13-14. 2026, from home in southern Alberta at latitude of 51º N. So the sky is not astronomically dark and is lit a deep blue by all-night perpetual twilight. Details in Alt Text.

Technical: This is a stack of 8 x 2 minutes with the AstrHori 6mm fish-eye lens wide open at f/2.8. The lens presents a circular field of view of 220º – so it includes the ground below the horizon. The ground comes from one exposure to minimize blurring. Star glows added manually and with the AstroTools effects panel. No filters were employed here and can't be used on a fish-eye lens like this. This was with the Canon Ra at ISO 800. The camera was tracking the sky for all exposures on the MSM Nomad tracker. Taken from home on a very clear night June 13, 2026. There were no noctilucent clouds this night! None!
Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · 2mo ago

This frames the pairing of Venus above Jupiter in the evening sky on June 10, 2026. They are over the windy waters of Crawling Lake Reservoir in southern Alberta near Bassano. Above the pair of planets are the stars Pollux (at left) and Castor (at top) in Gemini. Details in Alt Text.

The planets were closest together the night before, June 9, and were beginning to pull apart this night with Venus ascending and Jupiter descending lower each night. Clouds and storms prevented a view on June 9 and only parted for a while this evening. The night was windy so there was no chance of a reflection of the planets in the water. So instead I used a long exposure to blur the waves, and fortuitously create wave patterns that acted as leading lines to the planet pair. Taken from the eastern shore of Crawling Lake looking northwest. Technical: This is a blend of two exposures — - a single 1-second for the sky at f/2..8, untracked, plus - a single 30-second for the ground and water at f/11 - all with the Nikkor 50mm lens on the Nikon Z8 and ISO 100. Diffraction spikes added in post with AstronomyTools actions.
Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Here's a wider view of the Venus-Jupiter conjunction from June 8, over the Badlands scenery of the Red Deer River valley at Horsethief Canyon north of Drumheller, Alberta. The planets appear amid blue noctilucent clouds, in my first sighting of NLCs this year. Tech details are in the Alt Text.

Technical: This is a blend of exposures to capture the wide dynamic range of the scene: - A single 30-second exposure at f/5.6 for the dark ground - A single 2-second exposure at f/4 for the bright sky - plus another 2-second shot through a Maven Starwalker filter to add the slight glows to the planets to make them stand out. - plus another 2-second shot through a Tiffen Starpoint filter for a starburst diffraction effect to have as an option, which I blended in here for artistic effect. All with the Nikon Z8 camera at ISO 100 and Nikkor S-line 24-120mm lens at 27mm, with the camera on an MSM Nomad tracker, with the tracker on for the sky images (to prevent trailing and to allow easier alignment of the filtered and non-filtered images), but with the tracker off for the ground images.
Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · 2mo ago

This frames the conjunction of Venus above Jupiter in the evening twilight of June 8, 2026. They are below Pollux, the bright star at top. Dim Mercury is at right above the dark clouds. However, the two bright planets are embedded in what look like noctilucent clouds.

This was from the Horsethief Canyon Viewpoint overlooking the Badlands of the Red Deer River valley north of Drumheller, Alberta. This is looking northwest, with the lingering glow of sunset at right. I picked the site as it offered the best prospects for a lack of clouds this evening, choosing it over another site in the foothills which looked to be cloudier, which I think it was. Technical: This is a blend of exposures to capture the wide dynamic range of the scene: - A stack of 4 x 60 seconds at f/4 for the dark ground - A single 3-second exposure at f/4 for the bright sky - plus another 3-second shot through a Maven Starwalker filter to add the slight glows to the planets to make them stand out. I also shot through a Tiffen Starpoint filter for a starburst diffraction effect to have as an option, but have not used it here. All with the Nikon Z8 camera at ISO 100 and Nikkor S-line 24-120mm lens at 53mm, with the camera on an MSM Nomad tracker, with the tracker on for the sky images (to prevent trailing and to allow easier alignment of the filtered and non-filtered images), but with the tracker off for the ground images.
Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · 2mo ago

In my latest review I test five fish-eye lenses for astrophotography. A fish-eye can be great for capturing an all-sky aurora show or the Milky Way. Two are circular fish-eyes, three are full-frame fish-eyes, all from China for under $300 US. amazingsky.net/2026/05/27/t...

Testing Low-Cost Fish-Eye Lenses for Astrophotography

The article reviews five affordable fish-eye lenses ideal for astrophotography, highlighting their performance under night sky conditions. Notable recommendations include the 7Artisans 10mm for its…

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Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Here are views of the fine close conjunction of the waxing crescent Moon above Venus in the evening sky, May 18. The conjunction is reflected in Crawling Lake, Alberta. The wide views frame Jupiter and the stars of Gemini, while the panorama takes in the sky and stars from west to north over 120º.

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Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · 3mo ago

This is the edge-on galaxy NGC 5907 in Draco, aka the Splinter Galaxy, caught with a supernova explosion underway. This is Supernova SN2026kid, discovered on April 20, 2026 and imaged here on April 30 when it was 15th magnitude. The galaxy itself is magnitude 10.3 and 53 million light years away.

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Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Here is a capture last night (April 29) of an exploding star in a galaxy far, far away! A blip of light — but it is 53 million light years away. So the star exploded early in the Paleogene Period well after the extinction of the dinosaurs. But the light is just reaching us now. Details in Alt Text.

Details — This is the edge-on galaxy NGC 5907 in Draco, aka the Splinter Galaxy, caught with a supernova explosion underway. This is Supernova SN2026kid, discovered on April 20, 2026 and imaged here on April 29/30 when it was 15th magnitude. The galaxy itself is magnitude 10.3 and is 53 million light years away. Only the supernova is at that distance. All the other stars are likely foreground stars much closer within our galaxy and only a few thousand lights years awa.y. SN 2026kid is a Type II supernova — meaning a giant star exploding at the end of its life, perhaps turning into a neutron star or black hole. Technical: This is a stack of 40 x 10-second exposures (so over just 6.5 minutes) with the Pegasus SmartEye dgital eyepiece with its IMX533 CMOS sensor. It was on the Askar APO120 telescope for 840mm focal length at f/7.
Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Comet PanSTARRS (C/2025 R3) rising in the dawn twilight on April 19, 2026. It was at its closest point to the Sun it its orbit (at perihelion) on this date. But it was so low from my latitude the comet was embedded in the bright twilight and difficult to see even with binoculars. Details in Alt Text

This is Comet PanSTARRS (C/2025 R3) rising in the dawn twilight on April 19, 2026. It was at its closest point to the Sun it its orbit (at perihelion) on this date. But it was so low from my latitude the comet was embedded in the bright twilight and difficult to see even with binoculars. It was dropping closer to the Sun to disappear from view from my location a few days after this. The field of view is 5.8º by 3.9º. This was at 4:52 am MDT, just after the comet rose but before the sky got too bright to see the comet. There was a window of just a few minutes to catch the comet! This was from home in Alberta at 51º N. Technical: This is a single 30-second exposure with the Starfield Optics Géar70Q apo refractor at f/5 and 350mm focal length, on the Canon R5 at ISO 800. Tracked, so the ground is blurred, but unguided.
Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · 4mo ago

April 18/19, 2026 STEVE showed up! This is from southern Alberta. At midnight the aurora peaked at Kp5 and filled the northern sky. It faded and retreated north, the cue for STEVE to put in an appearance. About 12:30 am there he was in his usual colours. Details in Alt Text.

This is the main showing of aurora to the north about midnight on April 18-19, 2026. during a Kp5-level show, taken from home in southern Alberta at latitude 51º N. The aurora was peaking with rays extending up to the zenith at top and covering the northern half of the sky. But on this night about 30 minutes after this when the main show faded and retreated to the north, we had a showing of the STEVE aurora to the south, a band of hot flowing gas called Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement – with the characteristic colours of STEVE. Another image shows this. This is looking north with west to the left and east to the right. The Big Dipper is at top. Technical: This is a single 30-second exposure with the 7Artisans 10mm full-frame fish-eye lens at f/2.8 on the Nikon Z8 at IS 800.A showing of the STEVE band of unusual aurora after midnight on the night of April 18-19, 2026, taken from home in southern Alberta at latitude 51º N. The main aurora had put on an extensive show covering the northern sky this night with a Kp5 level storm. It had peaked around midnight, but by 12:30 am the main aurora had faded and retreated farther north. But to the south the band of hot flowing gas called STEVE – Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement – had appeared. It showed the characteristic colours of STEVE – a mauve band with green "picket-fence" fingers below and between them a whitish componnent. That is the usual behaviour of STEVE – he appears as or after the main show subsides. The green fingers lasted, though faintly only to the camera, for another 30 minutes to about 1 am. This is looking south with east to the left and west to the right. The Big Dipper is at top. Technical: This is a single 30-second exposure with the 7Artisans 10mm full-frame fish-eye lens at f/2.8 on the Nikon Z8 at IS 800.
Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Here's a new blog post from me on the joys (!) of shooting nightscapes with film – and medium format film at that – in the good old days some 30 years ago. Was it possible? Yes, with limitations. Would I choose to shoot film now? No way! amazingsky.net/2026/04/17/f...

Fun with Film!

The author nostalgically reflects on nightscape photography using the Plaubel Makina 67 film camera, recalling experiences capturing Comets Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp. The piece highlights the challen…

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Alan Dyer@amazingskyguy.bsky.social · 4mo ago

The Orion "Integrity" capsule flew around the western (left) limb of the Moon as seen here to view features on the farside of the Moon in sunlight that no human had seen before. Faint Earthshine is visible on the night "dark" side of the Moon. This was at about 5 am MDT this morning.

Technical: This is a blend of 6 exposures from 3.2 seconds to 1/10 second, through the Askar APO120 refractor at f/7 for 840mm focal length, with the Canon R5 at ISO 200. Exposures blended with luminosity masks.