Deep Sky Colors - Astrophotography by Rogelio Bernal Andreo http://www.deepskycolors.com/ Deep Sky Colors es 2013-05-06T11:38:00-08:00 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:40:33 GMT hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 ZoomBlog http://www.zoomblog.com/pics/blogs/ZoomBlog_mini.gif http://www.zoomblog.com/ Heavenly Melody http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2013/05/06/heavenly-Melody.html http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2013/05/06/heavenly-Melody.html

Lake Tahoe, April 2013 

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]]> 2013-05-06T11:38:00-08:00 RBA Striking synchronicity (Yosemite Valley) http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2013/05/05/striking-synchronicity-Yosemite-Valley.html http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2013/05/05/striking-synchronicity-Yosemite-Valley.html

Eta Aquarids meteor over Half Dome. Yosemite Valley, California 

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This image is a night view featuring the Milky Way and some of the mountains that surround Yosemite Valley, with the famous Half Dome landmark in the middle, and a "lucky" Eta Aquarids meteor right above it. It is confirmed the stroke is an Eta Aquarids meteor because it matches perfectly the radiant of this meteor shower. The Eta Aquarids meteors are "remains" from the also famous comet Halley.  Also, the Yosemite Falls -  the highest waterfall in North America - are easily visible on the left.

Also noteworthy is that the meteor's trajectory was "up" in the image, starting to display a green color as it ionizes, shifting to yellow, and ending up somewhat reddish.

The fortunate shooting star right above Half Dome surely makes the image memorable and likely unrepeatable.

The image is not a composite, although it is an 8 pane mosaic. The colors in the granite mountains all come from artificial lights: street lights, campers' lights, etc. That probably explains the interestingly different colors over each mountain wall. No Moonlight that night (not until 2 hours later). Also, a lightning storm had just passed moments earlier through the sierra.

]]> 2013-05-05T02:00:00-08:00 RBA Misty Lake http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2013/04/30/misty-Lake.html http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2013/04/30/misty-Lake.html

Bass Lake, Sierra National Forest, California, April 2013 

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]]> 2013-04-30T09:24:00-08:00 RBA Untouchable beauty http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2013/04/30/untouchable-beauty.html http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2013/04/30/untouchable-beauty.html
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Captured on Saturday April 20, 2013 at 4am, south of Big Sur, California. 

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]]> 2013-04-30T09:22:00-08:00 RBA Starry Stare http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2013/04/30/starry-Stare.html http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2013/04/30/starry-Stare.html

Joshua Trees in the Mojave Desert, California. April 2013. 

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]]> 2013-04-30T09:20:00-08:00 RBA Death Valley, Racetrack Playa and Milky Way http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2013/04/12/death-Valley-Racetrack-Playa-and-Milky.html http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2013/04/12/death-Valley-Racetrack-Playa-and-Milky.html
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Here's an image showing a panorama of the Milky Way and the Racetrack Playa (a dry lake famous for its "sailing rocks") in Death Valley. Simply breathtaking! You can, in fact, spot one of such "moving rocks" in the bottom-left (4-5 o'clock). And if you pay close attention, you may notice an unexpected visitor above and to the right of the highest peak on the left: Comet PanSTARRS C/2011 L4!

A bit of history in the making:

Thursday, April 11th, 2013 I headed to the Racetrack Playa in Death Valley... Not for the faint of head, as it was a 550 miles drive, out of the blue (plus another 550 miles back). I left home at 9am and I only arrived at the site a bit past 8:30pm (count a few stops to eat, put gas, etc)... Certainly, the last 28 miles of unpaved, lonely and bumpy road, getting dark already, wasn't quite the most fun thing I've done in my life.

But it was all worth it as I arrived at the "playa". Although I couldn't fully enjoy the view of the playa and the landscape because it was already pretty dark, I certainly was in awe at the skyscape! After midnight, the SQM (Sky Quality Meter) was on fire with several readings over 21.90 and one peak of 22.02. It was the second time I've ever seen an SQM over 22, but whatever the SQM was reporting, it didn't matter. The spectacle was up in the sky, not in some number...

In the (southern) parking lot there were four more cars, but no one around. I walked into the dark - literally - and found myself in the playa. I could see lights in the distance from people taking pictures, doing "light painting" and what not, so I started walking towards one of the lights to ask for some help finding where the moving rocks were. I ran into a guy, who told me I had to walk about half mile into the playa, and there I went. After the half mile I walked towards another light, and when I asked about the rocks, this other guy said:

"They're all over the place!"

Okay that was helpful, considering I couldn't see clearly more than 3 meters in front of me. I took a few shots, as the camera can "see" better than me in the dark, found one rock, and started the photo session... Around 11:30pm, the few folks that were taking photos left, so I was finally all alone in the playa, still going at it...

Around 1am I felt it was safe to leave my cameras working and go to the car to take a nap... Note that I never take naps or rest away from my equipment, this was the first time I ever did it, but I was more worried about later finding the exact location where I left my equipment in the playa than about someone going and stealing it.

So I did, setting the alarm in my cell phone at 3am. Slept between 1:30 and 3am, woke up, went back, packed my stuff, not before taking the shots that I used for this panorama (so the shot is from around 3:30'ish), got back in the car at 4am, and drove back home, with a stop by Owens Lake to take some simple shots of the lake and the sierra as the sun was rising (the timing was just too perfect to miss the chance). 7-8 hours later I was home. Glorious shower and bed time! 

]]> 2013-04-12T03:30:00-08:00 RBA M31 and PanSTARRS (C/2011 L4) http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2013/04/02/m31-and-Panstarrs-C2011-L4.html http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2013/04/02/m31-and-Panstarrs-C2011-L4.html
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The image above shows Comet PanSTARRS (C/2011 L4) passing next to M31, the Andromeda galaxy - "next" from our vantage point, of course. In reality, they're more than a couple of million of light-years away.

The image is actually a composite of data from two different sessions. One session, the one that captured the entire field, including both the comet and the galaxy, is a two pane mosaic of only RGB data. This is the FOV presented in the image (well, the original is a bit bigger). In addition to that, I also used data from a previous session, at a time M31 is much easier to photograph (not so low in the horizon), which added a bit of punch to the entire field and much more manageable data for bringing out the details inM31. 

]]> 2013-04-02T21:05:00-08:00 RBA Bristlecone Pines and star light http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2012/08/23/bristlecone-Pines-and-star-light.html http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2012/08/23/bristlecone-Pines-and-star-light.html
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]]> 2012-08-23T13:33:00-08:00 RBA The Obscure Bristlecone Pine http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2012/08/20/the-Obscure-Bristlecone-Pine.html http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2012/08/20/the-Obscure-Bristlecone-Pine.html
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I traveled to the White Mountains, leaving Mono Lake at 1:30am and arrived this spot at 3:30am. Never having been there before, at over 10,000 feet altitude (3000+ meters), the sense of being "lost" and not being able to see a thing were somewhat frustrating... Add to that the many hours it took me to get there (keep in mind I started my trip to Mono Lake around 3pm), I just wasn't myself... Lens not stopped properly, sky out of focus, sloppy light "painting", and yet, it's still kind of cool. I don't even know how I spotted this spooky tree, really, but here it is...

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]]> 2012-08-20T13:29:00-08:00 RBA Planets over Yosemite Valley http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2012/08/14/planets-over-Yosemite-Valley.html http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2012/08/14/planets-over-Yosemite-Valley.html
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Here's a picture taken at Yosemite national park from the famous Tunnel View point, with the Pleiades, the Moon, Jupiter, and a hint of Venus.

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]]> 2012-08-14T13:12:00-08:00 RBA PixInsight Workshop, 7/29/2012 http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2012/07/12/pixinsight-Workshop-7292012.html http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2012/07/12/pixinsight-Workshop-7292012.html I'll be giving a PixInsight workshop this coming July 29th in San Jose (California).

For those in the area or nearby that may be interested, here's the details:

PIXINSIGHT WORKSHOP

SPEAKER: Rogelio Bernal Andreo
VENUE: Houge Park, San Jose( http://maps.google.com/maps?q=37.256997,-121.941941&num=1&t=h&z=20 )
DATE: July 29th, 2012
TIME: 10am to 1pm
REGISTRATION: $50 (drinks and snacks will be provided)

HOW TO PAY:
Paypal recommended. Send payment to rba (..a..) elistas.com. Please write your name in the PayPal message. If you can't use PayPal, send me an email at the same email address.

IMPORTANT: Unfortunately, registration fees can NOT be collected at the venue. Payment needs to be done in advance. This is a requirement from the City of San Jose. So please, no drop-by's unless you register in advance.

WHAT YOU NEED TO BRING:

It's recommended to bring your own laptop (there are power plugs, but it's better if you bring it with the batteries fully loaded) with PixInsight installed. This is not a requirement, but I'd expect some of you could follow the workshop while all of us working on the same set of images. If time allows, we can do a quick processing of some of your data, but I expect time will be tight. I'll be available after the workshop for more informal Q&A's.


WHAT WILL BE COVERED:

There'll be a bit for everyone, and I'll make sure nobody feels like wasting time - that includes those at an advanced level while I explain the basics, and viceversa.

This is just a tentative summary at this time of the topics that will be covered:

For those who are starting:
- How to take advantage of PixInsight's unique interface
- Image calibration, registration and integration (stacking)
- LRGB combination and debayering
- In depth explanation of most must-know processes (histogram, curves, saturation, DBE, color calibration, etc)

For those who are at an intermediate level:
- Star masks: how to build successful masks and when (this is in fact a huge topic)
- Pulling faint data from the noise floor
- Advanced noise reduction techniques

For those who are at an advanced level:
- Tricks using morphological transformations
- The high dynamic range problem
- The perfect gradient removal
- Multiscale techniques: when, how and why
- Building seamless mosaics

There'll be a time for Q&A, so be prepared to come with your questions!!

Any questions, let me know.


]]> 2012-07-12T16:40:00-08:00 RBA First astrophoto: Moon http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2012/06/05/first-astrophoto-Moon.html http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2012/06/05/first-astrophoto-Moon.html touchups

I do guarantee that the photo has improved a bit from the original... That nice color balance, the sharpening free of  Gibbs stuff... Pretty cool!

Okay, don't mind me if you'd rather, but... how could I not post this photo here, for goodness sake!! Sure, she could have done this a year or two earlier if she had thought of it, but what excites me is that this was her first, and that she went and got it all by herself.  Maybe some other day I'll show her how to put the camera - but preferably the Canon 40D, not the Coolpix S6 again - on a tripod and get an even cooler Moon or whatever :-)


]]> 2012-06-05T15:42:00-08:00 RBA Leo Constellation http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2012/05/06/leo-Constellation.html http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2012/05/06/leo-Constellation.html

This is Leo, the constellation, or better said, the asterism.

The image covers a field of 41x19 degrees approximately, and it's formed by 54 different subframes, that is, it's a mosaic of 54 frames. If you can recognize the Leo constellation, next time you're under dark skies, look at it – it's huge, and even larger than the Big Dipper or even Orion.

The first impression once one looks at this image is not the typical WOW expression, yet, this is one of those projects I've had in mind for several months already, and I really was looking forward to capture it and see it. In other words, I was not looking after any WOW effect, but simply going after a very challenging mosaic, driven by my interest in seeing this area of the sky at telescopic resolution, as opposed to using a camera lens.

The complexity of a 54 frames mosaic project means that extremely careful planning is a must, not only while capturing the data, but also during post-processing. The reason I mention this is because the planning for post-processing was a bit "accidental" which led to a few regrets once I was done post-processing the image, but correcting those "issues" would have meant going back to the beginning, before the process of stitching all 54 frames, a task I just wasn't going to repeat.

All the data for this mosaic was captured at a dark site I discovered near the Revolcadores peak in the Murcia region (southeast of Spain). It required me to travel to this point a total of 15 times, spending 15 nights at the site. Being at around 5000 feet and during the winter season, that meant dealing with temperatures between 32F and 14F degrees most nights (0 to -10C), not the coldest I've been, but certainly not warm, some of the nights, all surrounded by snow.

This was also my first large project where I not only used my trusted SBIG STL11k camera for the luminance data, but also my FLI Proline 11k OSC (color) camera for the color data.

As for the image itself, while I cannot be certain that each and every background intensity variation corresponds 100% with real variations – particularly in the transitions between frames - overall I'm rather confident that most variations are indeed data-driven and are not artifacts. This is not an excuse but, at least for me, stitching all these 54 frames and at the same time being able to preserve 100% accurate background intensity is extremely tedious, and at least in this case, it was quite difficult.

As a side note, if you've been familiar with the position of Mars during the first months of 2012, you would know that the red planet has been all over Leo. The way to avoid it was simply by timing the nights where certain frames were captured. I do have in fact a mono version of this image with Mars in it – quite distracting if you ask me :-)

]]> 2012-05-06T00:00:00-08:00 RBA Head to toes, large scale! http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2012/04/25/head-to-toes-large-scale.html http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2012/04/25/head-to-toes-large-scale.html Bob Caton, Eric Zbinden, Al Howard and myself) worked on a fine display of The Clouds of Perseus. What most people don't know is that, since producing that image was becoming increasingly difficult and we were almost out of time, we actually had a backup in case we couldn't complete the image on time for the AIC. The backup was also used as a test, to make sure things would look okay in the huge 14-feet display.

We finally did finish on time, not without some considerable imaging and post-processing efforts, and we all were happy. But I figured that by now it would be okay to unveil what was that backup project. Well, see it for yourself!



After AIC, Bob Caton - who is the one who paid for that print - was kind enough to give it to me as a gift. Still, so far, I haven't found a wall area in my house that would fit such gigantic image. Oh but I will, eventually, eve if it ends up in the ceiling! :-)

]]> 2012-04-25T17:04:00-08:00 RBA Revolcadores, new astroimaging spot in Southeast Spain http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2012/04/06/revolcadores-new-astroimaging-spot-in-.html http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2012/04/06/revolcadores-new-astroimaging-spot-in-.html
Some research via satellite imagery, light pollution maps, etc. led me to pinpoint a site, away from a barely traveled road, behind an old house in ruins, in the "Bortle gray" area, at about 5000 feet high, near Revolcadores (loosely translation: rollers), the highest point in the Murcia region, up above 6600 feet.

Best of all, it's just a 65-70 minutes drive from home!! And mostly freeway, with the road in excellent condition (I can't emphasize that enough, the freeways here in the Bay Area are an "undeveloped" nightmare in comparison!), no nonsense speed limits, and barely any traffic (on the way back, usually around 4-5am, you could count the number of cars driving in the opposite direction and for 90% of the drive, you'd be lucky if you count more than 10 vehicles), so quite a pleasure to drive, totally the opposite of driving here in the Bay Area! And since driving up to a dark site is a fundamental part of the "dark skies experience" (you do spend many hours driving), this fact alone was really enjoyable.

After a first visit exploring the area, I "signed it up" as my new observing/imaging spot. Good horizons, plenty of space, very secluded area... And of course, very nice dark skies!

I liked it on my very first visit, but 15 visits later I could confirm it's a really good spot with very nice dark skies indeed, after getting many 21.7+ readings, and virtually every night reaching 21.6+ without a problem. It's not the Nevada desert, but when you're under a 21.7 sky (or even 21.6), you don't _need_ anything darker.  Yes, even darker skies would be nice if you have them, but it's not really needed in order to have a ball or get excellent data. I couldn't ask for more at just a 65 minutes drive.

Here's a circumpolar showing "the old house":



2 or 3 nights the wind was a problem, but that's like everywhere else. Another unexpected problem a couple of nights was the snow that stopped me from being able to reach the observing spot. After driving a road in this condition for a bit:



or this:



and even (dangerously, aka stupidly) making it through some spots like this one (I was driving a low sedan with rather worn off tires, not a nice 4x4, SUV, etc):



And so, as expected, the 100 feet of gravel road to the spot was with over 1 foot of snow - in other words, undrivable with a "regular" sedan. Still, I managed to find other spots, at least for those two nights. One of those two nights, I accidentally forgot my snow pants and with temps below 15F (-10C), I was literally freezing!! Fortunately  the sky was excellent, so I put up with the cold and got the darn data ;-)



The other night, well, let's just say that ... yes, I've got skunked once!! :-) Also out of the regular spot (again, this was one of the two nights when snow was a problem), and just by the road. I NEVER set up next to a road no matter how remote the location is, but that night I just knew nobody was going to drive by, not only because it's an almost never traveled road, but mainly because with the condition of the road, I knew it would be nearly impossible that someone would make it through the mountain pass. Em... Like I said, I've got skunked and I set up all my gear for nothing:



Other than that, all other nights were truly enjoyable (most of them without any snow, by the way). Some of those nights I even "invited" a few local astro friends who also seemed to enjoy the newly found location very much - so much, they all repeated :-)

Talking about friends and company, a big thank you goes to all of them for the excellent company, and particularly kudos to Onofre for bringing the corner store with him (snacks, hot coffee, good Spanish wine, even some high grade spirits and what not). Onofre is probably the only person I know who would set up a tent for a one-night pack-before-sunrise session:



During all those 15 nights I pretty much only worked on my 54 frames macromosaic of Leo:



I really didn't do anything else (could I possibly have time??? we're talking about 54 subframes here!), although one of the nights, during a "break" I also decided to do some quick exposures of the most fascinating comets of the season:



Now I'm spending a couple of weeks back in the Bay Area, but personal matters demand me going back to Spain shortly for at least a couple of more months, so as long as the weather continues cooperating, I'm definitely looking forward to visit this spot - now commonly referred as "Revolcadores" by the local amateurs - very very soon!


]]> 2012-04-06T22:50:00-08:00 RBA