My astrophotography 2021

[akdwivedi]

nice picture.. too bad, the clouds have been naughty past few days.

[hhzhang]

nice picture.. too bad, the clouds have been naughty past few days.

True! But from time to time we still have lovely clear night skies to enjoy.

[hhzhang]

After a long stretch of rainy/cloudy days, I caught a clear view of moon once again.

I never thought I would shoot another waning gibbous moon. But it turns out this shape blends well with the clouds today.

[hhzhang]

2021-Sept-3

After a few gloomy days of no sight of Venus, the evening of Sept 3 saw Venus blazing through high-clouds in Virgo.

Was quite happy to see the bluish halo surrounding Spica. It is indeed one of the bluest and bright stars.

[hhzhang]

2021-Sept-4

My new toy, a brand new Sigma super-telephoto lens has been added to my gear. It is the new version for the Sony mirrorless full-frame system.

At the far reach of 600mm FL, it is quite demanding on my little tracker.

[rcj]

this is lovely, and has a surreal 3D look to it. well done!

[hhzhang]

this is lovely, and has a surreal 3D look to it. well done!

Thanks. Am still learning how to best use this new super telephone lens. Imaging quality-wise, it definitely cannot compare to my APO scopes (with flattener), but to me, it is a game-changer as to what and how I want to do astro+landscape photography.

[hhzhang]

2021-Sept-5

Scattered clouds in the early morning spoilt my plan to shoot deep skies. So, again, the moonshot time.





The next moonshot opportunity has to wait until after the new moon -- probably on Sept 9 evening. Clear skies!

[hhzhang]

M22, one of the most prominent globular clusters. Through a remote telescope service.

Located in the Sagittarius section of milkyway , the background (or foreground actually) is full of galaxy-disk stars.

[hhzhang]

2021-Sept-6

Clearing clouds in the dusk skies lend me some opportunities to capture Venus and Mercury, with Venus just past Spica on its eastbound journey.