Monthly Archives: August 2009

Perseids meteor shower…well, just a moon and stars

By webmaster | Published August 12, 2009

We went southeast of Albuquerque last night just past the Manzano mountains, to try to get a view of the Perseids meteor shower.  We were about 30 miles outside of Albuquerque, but still had some artificial lights peering over the mountain peaks to our west northwest.  The moon (half) also made a bright appearance and limited our view just a bit.  We were still able to see quite a few, but I never was able to capture anything with my camera other than just the moon and stars.

Double exposure of moon and stars with Milky Way evident in the center of the frame. Some thin cirrus clouds were also in the frame in the lower right.

Double exposure of moon and stars with Milky Way evident in the center of the frame. Some thin cirrus clouds were also in the frame in the lower right.

A 15 minute exposure of star trails (motion of stars relative to earth's rotation...not meteors!)

A 15 minute exposure of star trails (motion of stars relative to earth's rotation...not meteors!)

A 30 second exposure of stars with the Milky Way evident just left of center. The redish color in the lower right is from the distant city lights of Albuquerque.

A 30 second exposure of stars with the Milky Way evident just left of center. The redish color in the lower right is from the distant city lights of Albuquerque.

A 30 second exposure with the city lights of Albuquerque contaminating the starry sky.

A 30 second exposure with the city lights of Albuquerque contaminating the starry sky.

2009_08_12_perseid_meteor-4

A high ISO shot (with a lot of digital noise) showing amazing detail of the Milky Way in the center of the frame. Cirrus clouds are in the lower right portion of the frame.

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trip to Ruidoso and Carlsbad Caverns…

By webmaster | Published August 3, 2009

Margie and I ventured around south central and southeastern New Mexico last weekend.  We spent a couple of nights in Ruidoso, just east of Sierra Blanca peak in the northern Sacramento mountains.  We then made our way to Carlsbad Caverns National Park for a day of guided caving tours.

Scenery off of Sierra Blanca near Ruidoso, NM

Scenery off of Sierra Blanca near Ruidoso, NM

Natural entrance into Carlsbad Caverns, NM

Natural entrance into Carlsbad Caverns, NM

Stalactites in Carlsbad Caverns, NM

Stalagtites and "draperies" in "The King's Palace" of Carlsbad Caverns, NM

Stalacmite formations in Carlsbad Caverns, NM

Stalagmite formations in Carlsbad Caverns, NM

Calcite formation in Carlsbad Caverns, NM

Calcite formation in Carlsbad Caverns, NM

Stalacmite and column formations in "The Big Room" of Carlsbad Caverns, NM

Stalagmite and column formations in "The Big Room" of Carlsbad Caverns, NM

Thick stalagmite and thin stalagtites in Carlsbad Caverns, NM.

Thick stalagmite and thin stalagtites in Carlsbad Caverns, NM.

Stalagmite and other formations in Carlsbad Caverns

Stalagmite and other formations in Carlsbad Caverns

Wide angle view of "soda straw" stalagtite formations in Carlsbad Caverns

Wide angle view of "soda straw" stalagtite formations in Carlsbad Caverns

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