Spooky Halloween

What a night it was on Halloween. It cleared up, but the fog remained. I could make out a green arc in the fog that flickered a bit but was mostly just an arc. After a while, I saw orange light low over the treeline—it was the moon rising. When it had risen a bit, a beautiful and clear corona formed in the fog, so gorgeous. Above the moon, I saw the bright stars Castor & Pollux, Pollux about 35 light-years away and Castor 51 light-years. I could see fluorescent moss, mushrooms, and lichens on stones and rocks with the UV lamp—so much beauty out there.

Spooky Aurora

 Beautiful view of the moon rise in mist and the green Aurora on Halloween.

Happy Halloween

This image was particularly difficult to capture. I couldn’t see the spider in natural light; instead, I spotted it under UV light. It was resting on the side of a moss- and lichen-covered rock. It appears to be a type of wolf spider that has sought shelter for the winter, some distance away from the river—likely to avoid potential flooding. A truly beautiful and awe-inspiring spider.

In the sky, one can see, among other things, the bright star Talitha, located on the paws of Ursa Major (the Great Bear). It is a quadruple star system consisting of two binary pairs orbiting one another. The primary star is an A-type subgiant.

Talitha would be a fitting name for the spider.

Down on the ground—somewhere you might not even notice, or perhaps even step on—there is so much beauty to be found. These are lichens and fungi which fluoresce in a variety of lovely colors. They are vital, playing a major role in the ecosystem. Lichens lack roots; instead, they absorb nutrients and substances directly from the air, making them highly sensitive to air pollution.

Up in the sky, the Hunter’s Moon shines with such brilliance and beauty. #moon #macro #lichens #biology #science

Fungi and the night sky

 

Moon Watch Fungi

It looks as though this little mushroom is enjoying a moonset in the distance. The mushroom fluoresces in blue, and the moss in a beautiful green, with lovely colors in the distance from the setting moon. #nightsky #fungi #mushroom #macro #science

A session in the mist

 A lovely photo session in heavy mist and moonlight.

Green Moss & Faint Aurora

I had hoped to see the northern lights, but only caught a faint glimpse on the horizon before it clouded over. However, this beautiful, fluorescent-looking moss on a small rock in the forest—with the landscape illuminated by moonlight and a faint aurora in the north—made up for it a little. The bright star in the image is Capella, in the constellation Auriga. The distance to the star Capella (Alpha Aurigae) is approximately 42.9 light-years (or about 13.1 parsecs) from Earth. Capella is actually a quadruple star system. The two largest stars (yellow giants) orbit each other at a distance of just 0.74 astronomical units (AU)—less than the distance between the Earth and the Sun—which is incredibly cool!

 

Dusk to darkness

A little trip to darker skies to capture the Milky Way. I enjoyed the lovely colors of sunset together with the colors of autumn.

Faint Aurora

A quick and faint Aurora last night with some fluorescence of fungi and cliffs by a lake.

 

The spider and infinite

A tiny spider on planet Earth, with the infinite expanse above. I encountered the spider while examining a mushroom; I had removed a leaf resting on it, revealing the spider tucked away in its shelter. I took the opportunity to photograph it under UV light, though I avoided shining the light directly at it, out of consideration for its eyes. I hope it finds a new place to take shelter. Above this spider—which measures about 1 cm—lies the open star cluster known as the Pleiades (M45). Located approximately 440 light-years away in the constellation Taurus, it features a physical core with a radius of about 8 light-years, giving its central, densest region a diameter of roughly 15 to 17 light-years.

So beautiful

A small daisy in the darkness. There is so much beauty to see on our planet, especially the small things we don't always notice. In the sky, the constellations Auriga and Perseus are visible, along with the bright star Capella. Available as print. 

The small things and the starry sky

 The small and important things on the ground and the starry sky.

Glowing Fungi and Big Dipper

Plants fluoresce under UV light primarily because of chlorophyll and specific chemical compounds (like polyphenols) within their tissues that absorb invisible ultraviolet radiation and re-emit it as visible light. As always, I love photographing the small alongside the vastness of the sky—yet, in the end, everything is merely relative.

M45 Plejades the open cluster

The open star cluster the Pleiades (M45) is visible to the naked eye and resembles a miniature Big Dipper. The Pleiades—also known as Messier 45 (M45) or the Seven Sisters—is one of the most famous and easily visible open star clusters in the night sky. Located in the constellation Taurus, it is the Messier object closest to Earth.

Distance from Earth: Approximately 444 light-years.

An open star cluster surrounded by a reflection nebula.

Very young by cosmic standards—around 100 million years old.

Number of stars: Contains over 1,000 confirmed stars in total, though only a few are visible to the naked eye. It appears in all the images. 

Glowing rocks, lichens and mushrooms

The time-lapse shows 90 minutes of the Earth's rotation, captured while I was out photographing nearby. I found a small giant puffball hidden in the moss, as well as a fungus growing on a dead tree (a saprophyte). I also photographed lichens on rock outcrops. Certain minerals in the rock shift color when illuminated with UV light, fluorescing beautifully.

Small mushrooms and the nightsky

While searching the darkness for lovely little subjects, I stumbled upon these small mushrooms on a tree branch—beautiful! In the sky, one can see the section of the Milky Way containing the constellations Cygnus and Lyra. To the left of the star Deneb in Cygnus, a large and beautiful nebula—the North America Nebula (NGC 7000)—is visible. I photographed it using just a single 20-second exposure through the tree branches.