Photoclubalpha

Last night there was a nice halo around the moon, so I put the a200 on my tripod and had a go with the Sigma 10-20. I got lucky with the jet passing through. You can see Orion, Taurus, and the star cluster Pleiades at the top right of the halo. I was suprised they came out so well, given that I live in the light-polluted suburbs. ISO 100, 10mm, f8, 27 sec. Hope you like it. C&C always welcomed. John

Hi John,

Nice halo, almost a perfect circle. It's hard to get such astro photos photos within city borders with so many street lights and light-washed buildings. You still got a good clear scene in spite of that.

Thanks for sharing,
Yildiz

That's in the class of a great shot I think, the plane was the finishing touch, but I'm having trouble with the constellations, ( I know em right way up ), you guys look at them upside down I can see the handle in Orion, but I can't decide if it's Betelgeuse or Rigel that I can't see...hmm and that could be Aldebaran over on the left.....
Greg

Thanks for the high praise Greg! I think it is Saiph (I think) that is hidden by the tree (I had to look that one up!) Betelguese is his right shoulder and Rigel is his left foot. You can just see Aldeberan. Taurus and the Pleiades are easier to see at 100%.
Aster: Thank you! We live a good ways from Dallas proper, and it is still farm land to the north of us so It isn't as bad as living in 'the big city'.
BTW I toyed with not having any trees or other signs of terra firma in the shot, but I thought that would be a little boring. What do you think? John

Ah of course, I AM seeing the two bright stars after all, including Bellatrix, what's the bright one over on the other side of the moon then, Algol? Capella? couldn't be Sirius or Canopus surely, the direction doesn't look right even upside down...
Greg

Hi John, love it - thumbs up for the trees

There must be an indie rock group in need of an album cover who would love this picture? (Perhaps I'm showing my age here - do album covers still sell records, sorry, discs, errr downloads?)

Greg- I will check with my Starry Night program when I get home to know for sure. It is hard to tell with some stars obscured by the clouds.
Birma- Great idea. I hear vinyl is making a comeback! My wife just thought I was being a packrat by keeping all my old LP's and remix 12" vinyl- I was just hip ahead of my time!

Greg- My best bet is that the bright star across the Moon from Orion is Capella. It is raining right now, so I can't take another photo and confirm. As soon as I can I will take another photo. I plan to take more astro shots as that is one of my 'photographic New Years resolutions'. Along with making a little money from my hobby.. Lens lust and all...