Night Sky Photography -- 09-13-2025 -- The Moon With Uranus & The Pleiades In Late Evening Sky

Greetings & Salutations, fellow amateur stargazers!

I stayed awake pretty late yesterday evening to capture some really good photos of the Moon with the Pleiades Star Cluster (also known as the "Seven Sisters") and the very faint distant planet, Uranus, in a near triangle in the eastern sky just above the treetops.

Uranus, the 7th planet in our Solar System, is currently 1.78 billion miles (or 2.86 billion kilometers) from Earth and you really have to know where to look to spot it. Even then it only appears faintly through a good pair of binoculars, or a telescope. I was fortunate enough to catch Uranus in the close-up photo of the three heavenly bodies. In my other photos I marked the approximate place Uranus sits.

In my second photo is a close-up shot of Luna with the Pleiades where I was able to capture all of the major stars of the Seven Sisters cluster and many of their companion stars. This one came out beautifully with the Pleiades just past the bright glare of the Moon.

In my wider shots, I captured most of the nearby major stars of the Constellations: Taurus The Bull, Auriga The Charioteer, and Perseus The Hero. I caught the more open Hyades Star Cluster (the "head" of Taurus) just above the trees -- y'all can see the reddish tint of the red giant star, Aldebaran.

I labeled all the major stars of each constellation, as well as outlined the constellations themselves to put them in relation to the current positions of the Moon and Uranus in the night sky.

If any of y'all want to try and locate Uranus for yourselves, she will be close to the Pleiades for a good while since her orbit around the Sun is slow -- it actually takes about 84 Earth years for Uranus to complete a single orbit around the Sun!

Look for Uranus about one degree (or the length of the tip of your pinky finger on your outstretched arm)  southeast of the Pleiades as they rise in the eastern sky.

Another good opportunity to see all three of these beautiful night sky features together again will come next month on the morning of Friday, October 10th, when Luna will actually occult -- or cross in front of -- the Pleiades. Uranus will still be relatively close and should appear just outside of the Moon's glare.

I hope y'all enjoyed this post and as always keep your eyes to the night skies, y'all.

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 -- 09-24-2024 -- Last Quarter Moon & Constellations After Midnight

About one hour after midnight on Tuesday, September 24th, I captured several photos of the rising Last Quarter (Third Quarter) Moon and the planet Jupiter sitting between the Constellations Taurus The Bull and Auriga The Charioteer just over the tops of the trees. 

The first photo is a wide shot of the major stars and star clusters near Luna and Jupiter as seen from here on Earth in the sky dome. The second photo is a closer shot where I've outlined the constellations themselves. The final shot is a close-up of the Last Quarter Moon for September -- the first major Moon Phase for the autumn season here in South Carolina and the Northern Hemisphere.

The planet Jupiter can be seen inside the Constellation Taurus in the second photo, where I outlined the position on the major stars of both constellations on either side of the bright Last Quarter Moon.

The bright star, Elnath, can be seen just next to Luna. At approximately 134 light-years (or 41 parsecs) distance from our Sun, Elnath is the second-brightest star in the Constellation Taurus, and connects the bull with the Constellation Auriga.

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 -- 01-31-2024 -- The Galactic Anticenter & Winter Stars

Good evening, fellow stargazers! 

As we get ready to exit the winter month of January here in the Northern Hemisphere and start into February, overhead the Winter Circle star constellations rise high into the sky dome in late evenings and travel westward to set in the late night-early morning hours.

Looking up at the brightest of these stars inside the Winter Circle (Hexagon) you are actually looking towards the opposite end of our own Milky Way Galaxy.

In the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere, you can look towards the spot in our evening sky where our own galaxy's center is located, as seen in my previous Night Sky Photography post HERE.

The opposite can be seen in the winter months where the season's most prominent constellations show us the location of the Galactic anticenter -- the area of space that's directly opposite to the Galactic Center looking towards the far end of the galaxy as viewed from our Earth.

The actual location of the Galactic anticenter is easy to find since its very close to the bright star, Elnath (or Beta Tauri) located at the point that connects the Constellations Taurus The Bull and Auriga The Charioteer. Elnath is the second-brightest star of Taurus and is located approximately 134 light-years distance from our Sun.

My photographs for the evening show the location of the Galactic anticenter near Elnath, as well as the best way to spot it using the winter constellations as a guide. Locate Elnath and you find the Galactic anticenter in the night sky.

The first photo shows the bright stars overhead just two hours before midnight on the last day of the month of January. In my second photo (taken just a moment later), I outlined the location of the constellations themselves, with the Galactic anticenter located right at the junction where Taurus meets Auriga next to Elnath. 

Well, I hope that y'all enjoyed my photos for the evening. Let me know what y'all think in the comments section and as always have a wonderful evening and be sure to keep your eyes to the night skies, y'all.

Night Sky Photography -- 04-30-2023 -- Venus & Mars With Major Evening Stars & Constellations

Good evening my fellow stargazers!

Closing out the month of April, I was blessed to have some actual clear skies for this evening after rain and cloudy conditions for most of the last week.

This evening I was about to capture a couple of really beautiful shots of the bright planet Venus and the small red planet, Mars, along with four of the major evening star constellations over 50 minutes after sunset in the western sky. 

Venus and Mars are the second and fourth planets in our Solar System respectively, with our own good Earth in the orbit between them around the Sun.

As you can see from my first photograph, both planets appear in the western sky almost an hour after sunset with several bright stars in the western sky belonging to the winter constellations: Orion The Hunter, Canis Minor, Gemini The Twins, and Auriga The Charioteer.

Sirius, the Dog Star, is part of a fifth constellation, Canis Major which is largely obscured from view by the trees. While Venus is currently the brightest "wandering star" (planet) in the western sky, Sirius is actually the brightest of the evening stars in the night sky seen from the surface of the Earth.

In my second photo, I outlined the star constellations themselves in their current relations to the position of the planets.

Mars is just inside of the Constellation Gemini The Twins and will remain in close proximity to them for the next month at least. As it moves further and further away in its wider orbit around the Sun, Mars will become dimmer and, unless you know where to look, you might have a hard time finding it.

Venus meanwhile is very bright and easy to spot towards the sunset in the evenings. It will be the brightest object to appear in the evening sky other than our lovely Moon.

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 -- 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 -- 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!