Welcome to the Rock
Cannon Beach's famous Haystack Rock just after dark, as the moon sets toward the Pacific Ocean.
Orion's Hoodoos
Hoodoo formations under the night sky in Bisti Badlands.
Planet Hoodoo
"Welcome to Planet Hoodoo" - The Milky Way rises over the unique rock formations of New Mexico's Bisti Badlands.
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Milky Way rises above hoodoos in the Valley of Dreams in New Mexico's Bisti Badlands region.
The (nearly) full moon rising behind the New Dungeness Lighthouse.
The Milky Way rises above the Pacific coast, with bioluminescent phytoplankton causing the distant waves to glow a bright blue.
Beyond the Blue Horizon
Sturgeon and Ferry
The August Supermoon (aka "Sturgeon Moon") rises behind the incoming WA State ferry MV Wenatchee.
Under African Skies
"Under African Skies". The nighttime view over our camp in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. Venus is the bright object here just below the galactic core.
Seattle Moon
There it is - just peeking over the Cascade Mountains in the distance behind downtown Seattle! The Harvest Moon tonight (the full moon closest to autumn equinox), viewed from here on Bainbridge Island.
Pebbles and Stars
"Pebbles and Stars". Night sky on Ruby Beach, in Olympic National Park on the Washington coast. What looks like a reflection of stars on the beach is actually light-colored pebbles. The faint green bands in the sky are not auroras, but "airglow" which is a different phenomenon that's almost always present in the atmosphere.
Shark Galaxy
This "shark fin" rock formation in Olympic National Park points the way to the Milky Way. Ruby Beach is a very popular tourist stop during the day - often hard to find a parking spot. But at 2am, it was awesome being the only human within several miles!
Noctilucent Clouds over Swanson Harbor, AK
Blue Moon
A "Blue Moon" - the second full moon in the same month - rising over downtown Seattle. Viewed from Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island.
Moonlight Serenade
"Moonlight Serenade" - the nearly-full Harvest Moon rises over downtown Seattle, - as viewed from nearby Bainbridge Island, about 7 miles across Puget Sound.
It's that time of the month again.... Nearly-full moon rising over Seattle and the Cascade Mountains tonight. Distances? Dock pilings: 150 yards, downtown Seattle: 7 miles, mountains: 30 miles, moon: 238,000 miles. Now you know!
Moon Ships
Nearly-full moon rising over some heavy traffic out in Puget Sound, just after sunset.
The Milky Way rises above lavender fields on San Juan Island, Washington.
A comet visits a lavender farm in the middle of the night. San Juan Island, Washington. #CometNEOWISE
Night Visitor
Comet NEOWISE over lavender fields on San Juan Island in Washington state.
A beautiful night on Washington's San Juan Island. Comet NEOWISE at the Lime Kiln Point lighthouse. #CometNEOWISE
Point No Point lighthouse with Comet NEOWISE above it - near Hansville, Washington.
What time is it? Comet time! A large sundial clock here on Bainbridge Island marks the passage of Comet NEOWISE last night.
Here's a close-up view of Comet NEOWISE from a couple nights ago. Quite visible to the naked eye, despite a lot of light pollution this close to Seattle. To create this image I "averaged" 20 identical exposures to cut thru the light pollution & reduce noise. Look closely, and you can just *barely* see the secondary faint blue "ion tail" above the bright main dust tail. #CometNEOWISE
Excellent comet viewing tonight after sunset! Just got home, downloaded photos, and quickly edited this image of Comet NEOWISE over the Eagle Harbor ferry dock here on Bainbridge Island. #CometNEOWISE
Comet NEOWISE over Washington State Ferry on Bainbridge Island.
Worth getting up early for - Comet Neowise over Mount Baker at 3:15am this morning!
Night Shining Clouds
Noctilucent ("night-shining") Clouds over Bainbridge Island, WA tonight. Earth's highest clouds - 50 miles up, at the edge of space - they're visible from high latitudes for a few weeks around the summer solstice. They "shine" at night an hour or two after sunset (or before sunrise) because the sun is still hitting them at their altitude. Made of ice crystals believed to form around particles of meteor smoke.
Milky Way over Lime Kiln lighthouse last night. Lots of light pollution from Victoria (right) and Port Angeles (left) - but it turned out better than I feared.
Milky Way over the Cattle Point Light on San Juan Island, Washington
Astronomical Twilight
Did you know there are actually three different phases of twilight? Civil Twilight is immediately after sunset. Nautical Twilight comes next when it's just dark enough to see the stars (think old-time navigation). Then Astronomical Twilight, which looks quite dark to the naked eye but still not as dark as it can get. In this photo of the Cattle Point Light during Astronomical Twilight, the Milky Way is just starting to be visible. Another 20 minutes and it was totally dark.
A wider view of last night's Hunter Moon rising over Point No Point lighthouse.
Hunter moon rising tonight, over Point No Point lighthouse near Hansville, WA.
Milky Way over sea stacks - Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park
Galactic Plane
The Milky Way lines up almost exactly with one of the sea stacks at Ruby Beach, in Olympic National Park.
Camping under the Milky Way!
Just another beautiful night, somewhere in Utah...
Crossing Arches
Milky Way rishing behind Hickman Natural Bridge, in Capitol Reef National Park.
River of Light
Clear Utah night skies reveal the Milky Way in all its splendor, rising over Chimney Rock in Capitol Reef National Park.
Star trails above campsite. San Rafael Swell, Utah.
Goblin Galaxy
Midnight in Goblin Valley! The night sky looking toward the north arm of the Milky Way, with Andromeda Galaxy visible just right of the tallest spire.
Wild Horse Butte in Goblin Valley State Park, with the Milky Way rising overhead.
Milky Way and Meteor
Night vista with our galaxy rising over the San Rafael Swell countryside in central Utah. Fortunate to catch a meteor in this frame.
Super Blood Wolf Moon! Don't remember all these moon names when I was younger - I think the Moon has hired much better marketing people since then. Got lucky with some breaks in the clouds tonight...
Canadian Auroras
Timelapse video of Aurora Borealis in Whitehorse and Nunavut, Canada.
