Night Sky Photography -- 01-20-2026 -- Jupiter Inside The Winter Circle

Late last night -- or early this morning, depending on how y'all look at it -- at about 90 minutes after midnight I captured a lovely shot of Jupiter inside the Winter Circle (also known as the Winter Hexagon) in the southwestern night sky.

Finding Jupiter for stargazers in the Northern Hemisphere will be easy this year. The 5th and largest planet in our Solar System will remain inside the Winter Circle in our night sky for the rest of winter 2026 in North America as its orbit will take it further inside the circle and will remain a part of the Constellation Gemini the Twins with the bright stars Castor and Pollux nearby.

Night Sky Photography -- 10-09/10-2025 -- Luna Occults The Seven Sisters In The Eastern Sky

Greetings fellow stargazers! 

On the evening of Thursday, October 9th, the waning gibbous moon occulted (passed in front of) the Pleiades Star Clusters, also known as the "Seven Sisters" cluster just before midnight. 

In my first shot I was able to capture a really good shot between the trees of the eastern sky with the brightest nearby stars of the three closest constellations: Taurus, Aquila, and Perseus. I also labeled the approximate location of the planet Uranus, which is currently close to the Pleiades as viewed from Earth, but unfortunately too far away to see with the naked eye.

My second shot is the close-up of our lovely Luna occulting the brightest stars of the miniature dipper that makes up the Pleiades. I was able to capture the remaining "Seven Sisters" well despite the bright moon glare.

My final photo was taken over an hour later in the early hours of Friday, October 10th showing Luna and all of the Pleiades very close together once the Moon moved away in its orbit going eastward.

Overall I believe all of the photos came out very well. Let me know what y'all think in the comments below, and as always have a wonderful evening.

Night Sky Photography -- 07-21-2025 -- The Moon & Venus With Taurus The Bull Before Sunrise

About 90 minutes before sunrise this morning, I was able to capture this outstanding shot of the moon and Venus rising in the east with all the major stars of the Constellation Taurus The Bull -- including all the stars of the Hyades Star Cluster and the nearby Pleiades high overhead. I also managed to capture the nearby bright star Capella, which is the major star of the Constellation Auriga The Charioteer.

Venus is inside Taurus and will be for the rest of July. The bright red star, Aldebaran -- the Eye of the Bull -- can be seen next to Venus and marks the arrow-shaped Hyades Star Cluster.

Night Sky Photography -- 02-10-2025 -- Mars & Jupiter Seen Through The Clouds

Good evening, fellow stargazers!

Well my friends, due to cloudy and rainy conditions forecasted for this week I am uncertain if I will be able to capture any photos of the second Full Moon of the year (the Full Snow Moon) -- which falls on Wednesday, February 12th -- which will be lined up with the Constellation Leo The Lion and its brightest star Regulus closest to Luna.

Still, I went outside early last evening and could barely see the Waxing Gibbous Moon's silhouette and Luna's glorious shine through the breaks in the clouds. The early buds on the tree limbs overhead show that (six more weeks of winter, or not) spring was ready to arrive here in the South Carolina Piedmont. I did however notice that those clouds were moving fast and between them I got glimpses of the planets Mars and Jupiter near the Moon. 

I quickly retrieved my camera and set up my tripod and captured two absolutely gorgeous shots of both "wandering stars" through the clouds.

The first photo shows the two planets glowing brightly with Luna's glow through the tree and clouds nearby -- Mars its small dull orange-red and Jupiter a bright white. In the second photo I captured some of the brightest nearby stars through the cloud cover overhead: the twins Castor and Pollux near Mars, large red Aldebaran near Jupiter, along with Capella, Elnath, and Procyon nearby.

I hope y'all enjoyed my photographic offerings for the evening. I hope to have some more night sky photos soon. I will still hope for clear skies to capture the moment, but if I'm unable be sure to check the skies where y'all live and look for Regulus next to the Full Snow Moon on Wednesday.

Night Sky Photography -- 11-15-2024 -- The Super Full Beaver Moon & The Pleiades

Good evening, fellow Stargazers!

In the Northern Hemisphere the full moon is called the Beaver Moon and its the last full moon of the autumn season before the winter solstice.

This year's Full Beaver Moon is the fourth and last supermoon of 2024 at a distance of about 225,000 miles (or 361,867 km) from the Earth.

As an extra special bonus this year, the Super Full Beaver Moon aligns with the Pleiades Star Cluster with the two appearing about just over half-a-degree apart in the evening sky as seen from the surface of the Earth. The Pleiades are actually about 444.2 light-years (or 136.2 parsecs) distance from our Solar System.

The following are the photos I took of the Super Full Beaver Moon with the nearby Pleiades Star Cluster.

The first photo being a close-up shot of the our lovely Luna with every dark "sea" and large surface feature visible.

The second is a wider unfiltered view of the full moon with the nearby Pleiades showing just outside of Luna's glare.

The final show showing the Super Full Beaver Moon and Pleiades with several nearby bright stars including the red-giant star, Aldebaran, in the Constellation Taurus and the large bright star, Capella, in the Constellation Auriga. Jupiter, the largest planet in our Solar System, can be seen rising just below between the tops of the trees.

I hope y'all enjoyed my photos and I hope to have some more soon. Till next time have a good evening and be sure to keep your eyes to the night skies, y'all hear.

Night Sky Photography -- 08-01-2024 -- Planets & Morning Constellations Rising

Good morning, y'all!

Well folks, very early this morning -- at about 90 minutes before sunrise -- I went out into my backyard to capture a pair of really outstanding shots of the planets Jupiter, Mars, & Uranus as they appeared in the sky just above the trees.

In the first photo, I labeled the planets, as well as the brightest stars of the Constellations Taurus The Bull and Auriga The Charioteer, with the Waning Crescent Moon lower on the horizon. In the second photo, I outlined both constellations and all of the stars that made up both. They came out really clear in the shots. In addition to the stars of the Hyades Star Cluster, which makes up the head of Taurus The Bull, I captured the stars of the Pleiades Star Cluster just above it and marked the position of the planet Uranus.

Jupiter and Mars are both easy to spot as the two planets still remain close to the bright red giant star, Aldebaran and appear as a triangle of "stars" inside the Constellation Taurus. Both planets are moving ever closer to a conjunction on the mornings of Wednesday, August 14th and Thursday, August 15th later this month.

Uranus is slightly harder to spot unless you know precisely where to look. At the present time the position of the distant 7th planet of our Solar System can be found about two degrees, or so, to the left of the Pleiades Star Cluster. I marked the location in both photos since. If you have a good telescope, or a really good pair of binoculars, y'all should have no trouble spotting the faint planet about an hour before sunrise.

The brightest star of the Constellation Auriga is Capella, the sixth-brightest star in the night sky, and the third-brightest in the northern celestial hemisphere after Arcturus and Vega.

Although it appears to be a single star to the naked eye, Capella is actually a quadruple star system -- two binary pairs, made up of two bright-yellow giant stars, (Capella Aa and Capella Ab) both of which are around 2.5 times larger than our own Sun, and two smaller and relatively cool red dwarf stars (Capella H and Capella L) which are around 10,000 astronomical units (AU) from the other pair. The system is relatively close to our Solar System, estimated to be about 42.9 light-years (or 13.2 parsecs) from the Sun.

Both the Constellations Auriga and Taurus are connected by the bright star, Elnath, which also happens to be the second-brightest star in both constellations. Elnath is a giant star about 134 light-years (or 41 parsecs) from the Sun. 

Well I hope y'all enjoyed my photos. I hope to have more soon, good weather permitting. Have a wonderful Dixie day, and be sure to keep looking at the skies, y'all.

Night Sky Photography -- 09-17-2022 -- Constellations Orion, Taurus, & Auriga With Mars & Last Quarter Moon

Good evening, fellow Stargazers!

Looking east two house after midnight, you can see the bright red planet Mars in the eastern sky between the Last Quarter Moon and the red giant star, Aldebaran -- the Eye of the Bull -- and the brightest star in the Constellation Taurus The Bull.

I was about to capture two really good wide shots of the brightest stars of three constellations: Taurus, Auriga, and Orion just above the tree lines.

As we move closer into the autumn months, these constellations, along with the other Winter Circle constellations will begin to return to the night sky.

Planetary Photography -- 09-09-2022 -- Full Harvest Moon With Planets & Mars With Taurus and Auriga Rising

Good evening, fellow stargazers!

Well folks, autumn is only a few weeks away. Summer here in South Carolina is beginning to wind down, although the humidity will likely be sticking around for at least another month -- possibly till just after Halloween into November.

About an hour after midnight on Friday, September 9th, I was able to capture some really good photos of the Full Harvest Moon -- the name given to the Full Moon in September here in North America in relation to the coming autumn harvest season.

The Full Harvest Moon can be seen in my first photograph taken between the two large gas giant planets, Jupiter and Saturn. The second photo is a close-up of the Harvest Moon as it appears to us from the surface of the Earth.

Just above the tree line to the south between the planets and Luna, you can easily spot Fomalhaut, one of the brightest stars in the night sky (the third-brightest as seen from Earth), forming a sort of inverted triangle in the southeastern sky.

Looking towards the eastern sky, also just above the tree line, Mars can still be seen close to the bright red giant star, Aldebaran -- the Eye of Taurus the Bull.

In my last two photos, I captured Mars as it appears now between Aldebaran and the Pleiades Star Cluster. Mars currently sits just inside the Constellation Taurus the Bull and will remain so throughout the month of September.

The bright star, Capella, can be seen just to the side forming a triangle in the eastern sky. Capella is the brightest star of the Constellation Auriga the Charioteer.

In my final photo I outlined the major stars of the Constellations Taurus and Auriga in their relation with the "Seven Sisters" and Mars rising in the eastern sky.

All of these photos were taken an hour after midnight. If y'all are able to stay up another hour, or so, the bright stars of the Constellation Orion the Hunter will also appear above the horizon as the winter constellations will being to reappear overhead in the sky dome.

Y'all might also notice that Mars is getting brighter in the sky as our Earth is moving closer to opposition with the Red Planet -- the point where Earth will be between Mars and the Sun, which will take place on Thursday, December 8th of this year. Given the distances and the orbits of our two worlds, Mars only reaches opposition to the Earth every 26 months, or so.

Once again I hope y'all enjoyed my night time photography. If y'all live in the Northern Hemisphere, be sure to check out the visible planets of our Solar System this month.

Night Sky Photography -- 03-06-2022 -- The Constellations And Major Stars Of The Winter Circle In One Shot!

Good evening fellow stargazers!

Happy March everyone! The month that sees the winter season give way to the renewal of the spring equinox on Sunday, March 20th.

In the evening and night sky dome the six main constellations that make up the Winter Circle (or Winter Hexagon) will continue to be visible in clear skies even as they continue to move west following the setting sun as winter gives way to spring in the Northern Hemisphere.

As I've mentioned in previous Night Sky Photography posts on this blog, the Winter Circle consists of seven bright stars in six separate constellations:

Pollux and Castor in the Constellation Gemini the Twins
Procyon in the the Constellation Canis Minor the Lesser Dog
Sirius in the Constellation Canis Major the Greater Dog
Rigel in the Constellation Orion the Hunter
Aldebaran in the Constellation Taurus the Bull
Capella in the Constellation Auriga the Charioteer

With the exception of the star Castor in the Constellation Gemini, the Winter Circle stars are all 1st-magnitude with Sirius (the Dog Star) being among the brightest stars in our sky. Castor is slightly fainter 2nd magnitude star, though still very bright and visible next to its companion twin, Pollux.

This evening, I was able to capture virtually all the major stars of five of the six constellations of the Winter Circle with one exception. Though I was able to capture the bright star Sirius, the Constellation Canis Major unfortunately would not completely fit in the frame from the only angle I was able to pick up all the stars of the other constellations with.

The following are the photos I was able to take, the first of the major stars in the Winter Circle (outlined in blue) and then the second photos outlining the constellations themselves in white with the Winter Triangle (outlined in red) inside the Winter Circle itself.

Oh and for those of y'all wondering, that small orb-like thing on the bottom right of the photographs is NOT a UFO! It's just the road light that blew out in my front yard recently that the folks at the power company has yet to fix. Thankfully the blown bulb allows for both some foreground scale, and for less light pollution where I didn't have to drive a few miles away to some open field for the shot, so no complaints there at all.

The Winter Circle will still remain fully visible throughout the rest of the month of March with our lovely moon passing between Aldebaran and the Pleiades Star Cluster this week on Tuesday, March 8th and Luna beginning her march through the Winter Circle phasing to First Quarter beauty on Thursday, March 10th. Y'all be sure to check that out -- God and clear skies willing that is.

Night Sky Photography -- 09-28-2021 -- The Constellations Taurus The Bull & Auriga The Charioteer

Hello fellow night sky watchers!

Well y'all I had to stay up extra late this evening (about two hours after midnight) to capture several really good shots of the brightest stars of the Constellations Auriga The Charioteer and Taurus The Bull rising in the east with the beautiful Last Quarter Moon.

In the first photo, using the moon as a guide, you can see the constellation's brightest stars Capella and Aldebaran, along with the bright star, Elnath, which connects both constellations together in the sky dome.

Capella is the brightest star in the constellation Auriga -- the sixth-brightest star in the night sky -- and the third-brightest in the northern celestial hemisphere after Arcturus and Vega.

Capella is the Latin word for nanny goat, and this bright star is often called the Goat Star. The mythological charioteer character, Auriga, is often depicted in mythology holding a female goat and her kids, along with the reins of a chariot.

Relatively close to us at about 42.9 light-years from the Sun, Capella appears to the naked eye to be a single star. In fact that bright point of light is made up of four separate stars, two of which (Capella Aa and Capella Ab) are a binary pair of large type-G yellow giant stars estimated to be anywhere from 10 to 12 times the size of the Sun. The other pair, Capella H and Capella L, are smaller red dwarf stars.

Aldebaran, the Eye of the Bull, is the brightest star in the Constellation Taurus The Bull and generally the fourteenth-brightest star in the night sky. The red giant is 65 light-years from the Sun and measures about 44 times the size of the Sun.

The traditional name Aldebaran derives from the Arabic term al Dabaran meaning "the follower" because it seems to follow the Seven Sisters (Pleiades) in the night sky.

Connecting both constellations is the bright star Elnath (or Beta Tauri). The second-brightest star in the Constellation Taurus the Bull, the B7 giant star is approximately 134 light-years away from the Sun. Elnath is estimated to be about 4.5 times the size of our Sun. The name Elnath comes from the Arabic word meaning "the butting" (or the Bull's horns).

In my second photo, I outlined the constellations as they are depicted. You can also see the Pleiades Star Cluster just above Taurus, which appear as a little dipper of five small, bright stars (two of them were not visible in the shot). You can also see the bright star, Rigel, just above the treetops on the bottom right.

Rigel (Beta Orionis) is a blue supergiant star and the second brightest star of Constellation Orion The Hunter, approximately 860 light-years from Earth. Like Capella, Rigel is a star system made up of at least four stars that appear as a single blue-white point of light to the naked eye.

Together, these bright points of light make up part of the Winter Hexagon (or Winter Circle) asterism that also includes the stars Pollux, Procyon, and Sirius. Capella is the northern most of these stars in the Winter Circle -- highlighted in blue here in my third and final photo of the evening.

Well folks, this concludes my presentation for the evening, my first one of the 2021 autumn season. Hopefully I will be able to bring you more soon, clear skies permitting. Until then, have a wonderful evening and be sure to keep your eyes to the night skies, y'all!

Night Sky Photography -- 05-30-2021 -- Venus, Mars & The Constellation Gemini

Good evening y'all, and Happy U.S. Memorial Day weekend!

This evening I traveled over to the local baseball field and using it as a backdrop was able to capture some really outstanding photos of the planets Venus and Mars an hour after sunset.

Venus appeared not long after sunset, being the brightest object in the evening sky. Mercury was unfortunately below the tree line, otherwise I might have been able to capture all of the inner planets this evening.

In the first photo you can see bright Venus appearing in the evening dusk.

Between about 9:00 PM EST and 9:08 PM EST I was able to capture several shots of Venus sinking below the top of the ballpark fence as it sank lower into the west following the sun.

As the evening progressed and dusk started deepening more into night time, smaller Mars and the major stars finally began to appear in the sky.

In this next shot you can faintly see Mars in the top left of the photo with Venus now just above the tree line.

Finally you can see the major stars of the Constellation Gemini The Twins with Mars close to the bright stars Castor and Pollux. The other bright stars Procyon and Capella, which together with the Twin Stars make up the top portion of the now waning Winter Hexagon asterium, can also be seen in the photo.

I've also outlined the major stars of the Constellation Gemini and Canis Minor. Venus can still be seen in this wide shot overlooking the baseball field.

Well folks, I hope y'all enjoyed my photos for the evening. This will close out the month of May for this year. Have a Happy U.S. Memorial Day 2021 tomorrow and be sure to keep your eyes to the night skies, y'all!

Night Sky Photography -- 04-25-2021 -- The Whole Winter Hexagon In One Photograph!

Good evening everyone!

This evening I went out to the local baseball field -- the biggest open view of the sky close to where I live -- to try and get a photo of Mercury and Venus low in the west toward the sunset.

Unfortunately, both planets were far too low over the horizon for me to get a good shot of them. But it wasn't a total loss. I was able to finally capture the major stars of the Winter Hexagon (Circle) asterism and Mars in a single photo.

The best way to find the Winter Hexagon is to look for the Constellation Orion The Hunter -- the only constellation that is completely encircled in the asterism. Orion is quite helpful in locating half of the stars in the Winter Circle.

The bright star Rigel, one of the feet of Orion, is a starting point. Use either Rigel, or Orion's Belt, in a line to the bright star Aldebaran in the Constellation Taurus The Bull. You can also use Orion's Belt to point out Sirius, the brightest star in both the Constellation Canis Major (The Greater Dog) and the Winter Hexagon.

The star that makes up Orion's right shoulder, Betelgeuse, is one third of the second asterism, The Winter Triangle, along with Sirius and Procyon in the Constellation Canis Minor (The Lesser Dog).

Once you locate these its easy to find the rest of the bright stars in the Winter Hexagon: Pollux, Castor, and Capella.

Mars will continue to remain a part of the Winter Hexagon till at least June 12th of this year when it joins the twin stars Pollux and Castor. The Red Planet will continue to grow fainter as it moves farther away in its orbit from Earth.

Well everyone I hope y'all enjoyed my final night sky photographic offering of this month. Next month promises to have some really exciting moments for night sky observers -- including a Lunar Eclipse on the night of May 25-26th! Hopefully we will be blessed with clear skies for that here in South Carolina.

Until next time have a wonderful Dixie evening and y'all be sure to keep your eyes to the night skies, y'all hear!

Night Sky Photography -- 07-31-2020 -- Venus Rising in the East

Good morning fellow stargazers!

This morning I woke up about an hour before sunrise and went outside to see beautiful clear skies -- as well as the loud chirping of the legions of Cicadas (Neotibicen linnei, commonly called Linne's cicada) that play their music in the evenings and early mornings in mid-summer down here in Dixie. 

Today is the last day of July, the first full month of summer, with the hottest month of August looming.

I focused on the rising dawn and saw bright, beautiful Venus in the east just over the tree line. I snapped this photo of Venus and managed to capture the faint stars of the Constellation Auriga the Charioteer. 

Y'all notice the star Elnath at the southern tip of Auriga. This star used to belong both to Auriga, where it was known as the heel of the Charioteer, and to the Constellation Taurus the Bull -- which unfortunately didn't come out well in the dawn's light, although its brightest star, Aldebaran, the fourteenth-brightest star in the night sky, is clearly visible in the upper right of the shot. 

Auriga's brightest star, Capella, marks the Charioteer’s left shoulder. Capella is the sixth-brightest star in the night sky and although it appears to the naked eye as a single star, Capella is actually a quadruple star system group organized in two binary pairs made up of the stars: Capella Aa, Capella Ab, Capella H, and Capella L. 

Well what better way to close out July and my last blog post of the month. I hope y'all enjoyed my photography, and I hope to have more soon, God and clear skies willing. 

Until then fellow stargazers have a wonderful Dixie day and y'all keep your eyes to the night skies.

Night Sky Photography -- 05-07-2020 -- Full Flower Supermoon & Venus With Constellation Auriga

Good evening fellow stargazers!

Tonight I thought I would travel one town over to neighboring Richburg, South Carolina and get a shot of the last supermoon of 2020 rising in the east over the town. 

I was able to capture three shots: the first of the moon just over SC Highway 9, the second in the same spot with the brightness adjusted to get a better shot of the surface of the moon itself, and finally one gorgeous close-up of the surface of the full moon itself.

The May full moon is also known as the Full Flower Moon, or Milk Moon.

Tonight Venus can be seen on the outer edge of the Constellation Auriga, in the middle of a sort of upside-down obtuse triangle with the bright stars: Betelgeuse, Capella, and Aldebaran.

Betelgeuse is usually the tenth-brightest star in the night sky and, after Rigel (which cannot be seen in the photo) is the second brightest in the Constellation Orion. Capella, in the Constellation Auriga, is the sixth-brightest star in the night sky, and the third-brightest in the northern celestial hemisphere after Arcturus and Vega. Aldebaran is the brightest star in the Constellation Taurus and the fourteenth-brightest star in the night sky. 

I was able to capture all of the major stars of the Constellation Auriga, and the top of the Constellation Orion and outline them in the photograph, however most of the stars in the Constellation Taurus were too low in the horizon and faint to clearly capture, although Aldebaran cam out clear enough.

The month of May will be the last full month that the bright planet Venus will appear in the western evening sky for the year 2020.

On June 3, Venus will swing between the Earth and sun in its orbit, reaching the point called inferior conjunction by astronomers. Afterwards it will transition over to the eastern sky before sunup.

Throughout the month, Venus will be falling lower toward the sunset while the small planet Mercury will be rising in the western evening sky. On Thursday, May 21, 2020, the two inner planets will be within one degree of one another in conjunction. I'm hoping to get a few good shots of that -- clear skies willing. 

Well I hope y'all enjoyed my evening photos. I hope to have more in the near future, but until then have a wonderful Dixie evening, and keep your eyes to the night skies, y'all!