Astrophotography

Milky Way

Between San Rafael and Petaluma, CA

Milky Way

Between San Rafael and Petaluma, CA

Cathedral Rock

Majestically overlooking the land and Oak Creek, Cathedral Rock is revered by Native Americans as a home of gods and birthplace of the first man and woman. Rising toward the sky from a red sandstone base, the spires of Cathedral Rock inspire wonder and awe. Cathedral Rock is a natural landmark on the Sedona, Arizona skyline, and is one of the most-photographed sights in Arizona. The summit elevation of Cathedral Rock is 4,967 feet. Oak Creek, where it runs next to Cathedral Rock, is called Red Rock Crossing and considered a strong vortex as well as a sacred area in Native American history.

City Lights at Moonrise

Looking through the Golden Gate Bridge, the full moon rises behind Salesforce Tower in San Francisco. Salesforce Tower, formerly known as the Transbay Tower, is a 1,070-foot office skyscraper in the South of Market district of downtown San Francisco. It is located at 415 Mission Street between First and Fremont Streets, next to the Transbay Transit Center site. Salesforce Tower is the centerpiece of the San Francisco Transbay redevelopment plan. The plan contains a mix of office, transportation, retail, and residential uses. Upon its completion in 2018 it became the tallest skyscraper in the San Francisco skyline, with a top roof height of 970 feet and overall height of 1,070 feet, surpassing the 853 feet Transamerica Pyramid.

Tamalpais Sleeping

Mount Tamalpais is a peak in Marin County, California, United States, often considered symbolic of Marin County. Much of Mount Tamalpais is protected within public lands such as Mount Tamalpais State Park, the Marin Municipal Water District watershed, and National Park Service land, such as Muir Woods.

Full Moon

First shots with my new Explore Scientific ED-80.

Whilrlpool Galaxy

Discovered by Charles Messier in 1773, M51 is located 31 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici. It has an apparent magnitude of 8.4 and can be spotted with a small telescope most easily during May. The Whirlpool galaxy’s beautiful face-on view and closeness to Earth allow astronomers to study a classic spiral galaxy’s structure and star-forming processes. The graceful, winding arms of the majestic spiral galaxy M51 appear like a grand spiral staircase sweeping through space. They are actually long lanes of stars and gas laced with dust. Such striking arms are a hallmark of so-called grand-design spiral galaxies. In M51, also known as the Whirlpool galaxy, these arms serve an important purpose: they are star-formation factories, compressing hydrogen gas and creating clusters of new stars. Some astronomers think that the Whirlpool’s arms are particularly prominent because of the effects of a close encounter with NGC 5195, the small, yellowish galaxy at the outermost tip of one of the arms. The compact galaxy appears to be tugging on the arm, the tidal forces from which trigger new star formation. NGC 5195 is passing behind M51- the small galaxy has been gliding past the Whirlpool for hundreds of millions of years.

Whilrlpool Galaxy II

Discovered by Charles Messier in 1773, M51 is located 31 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici. It has an apparent magnitude of 8.4 and can be spotted with a small telescope most easily during May. The Whirlpool galaxy’s beautiful face-on view and closeness to Earth allow astronomers to study a classic spiral galaxy’s structure and star-forming processes. The graceful, winding arms of the majestic spiral galaxy M51 appear like a grand spiral staircase sweeping through space. They are actually long lanes of stars and gas laced with dust. Such striking arms are a hallmark of so-called grand-design spiral galaxies. In M51, also known as the Whirlpool galaxy, these arms serve an important purpose: they are star-formation factories, compressing hydrogen gas and creating clusters of new stars. Some astronomers think that the Whirlpool’s arms are particularly prominent because of the effects of a close encounter with NGC 5195, the small, yellowish galaxy at the outermost tip of one of the arms. The compact galaxy appears to be tugging on the arm, the tidal forces from which trigger new star formation. NGC 5195 is passing behind M51- the small galaxy has been gliding past the Whirlpool for hundreds of millions of years.

Whilrlpool Galaxy III

Discovered by Charles Messier in 1773, M51 is located 31 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici. It has an apparent magnitude of 8.4 and can be spotted with a small telescope most easily during May. The Whirlpool galaxy’s beautiful face-on view and closeness to Earth allow astronomers to study a classic spiral galaxy’s structure and star-forming processes. The graceful, winding arms of the majestic spiral galaxy M51 appear like a grand spiral staircase sweeping through space. They are actually long lanes of stars and gas laced with dust. Such striking arms are a hallmark of so-called grand-design spiral galaxies. In M51, also known as the Whirlpool galaxy, these arms serve an important purpose: they are star-formation factories, compressing hydrogen gas and creating clusters of new stars. Some astronomers think that the Whirlpool’s arms are particularly prominent because of the effects of a close encounter with NGC 5195, the small, yellowish galaxy at the outermost tip of one of the arms. The compact galaxy appears to be tugging on the arm, the tidal forces from which trigger new star formation. NGC 5195 is passing behind M51- the small galaxy has been gliding past the Whirlpool for hundreds of millions of years.