2016 Perseid over Sunset Crater

A brilliant Perseid meteor streaks along the Summer Milky Way as seen from Cinder Hills Overlook at Sunset Crater National Monument—12 August 2016 2:40 AM (0940 UT). It left a glowing train that obvious visually for about 30 seconds. The camera continued to capture a twisting smoke trail that drifted southward over the course of about 45 minutes.

A Shower of Perseids on Sunset Crater

The 2016 Perseid meteor shower was excellent from dark skies during the early morning of August 12th. This is a composite of several exposures shot over nearly 2 hours between 2:36-4:29AM (0936-1129 UT). There are 48 Perseids—including two spectacular fireballs—and 5 sporadics included in the shot. Each shot has been de-rotated/repositioned to account for Earth's rotation and to align the meteor to the star field that it crossed at the time of the exposure. All but four of the exposures were shot with a Canon T3i/600D and Rokinon 16 mm f/2 at 10 seconds, f/2, ISO 3200. The remaining four were captured by a Canon T3i/600D and Canon EF-S 10-22 mm at 10 seconds, 10 mm, f/3.5, ISO 6400.

Legacy of a Fireball

A brilliant Perseid meteor streaks along the Summer Milky Way as seen from Cinder Hills Overlook at Sunset Crater National Monument—12 August 2016 2:40 AM (0940 UT). It left a glowing train that obvious visually for about 30 seconds. The camera continued to capture a twisting smoke trail that drifted southward over the course of about 45 minutes. The first three minutes of that progression are captured in the 6 frames at the bottom of the image.

Skull Valley Moonrise

Moonrise from Tonelea Trail near I-17 and Bloody Basin Road — 21 April 2016

Celestial Blossom

The Summer Milky way merges with evening twilight and the Flagstaff light dome as seen from just west of Sunset Crater National Monument. The view combines a stack of 3 exposures into the sky to increase signal to noise ratio.

Evergreens Under the Great Rift

The summer Milky Way graces the sky over the forest northeast of Flagstaff, Arizona—24 September 2014.

Sky Ablaze at Antelope

After documenting a long-track tornado between Solomon and Abilene, Kansas, we ended our day watching a line of thunderstorms that flicked with constant lightning northeast of Antelope, Kansas—25 May 2016.

Golden Valley Starlight - I

The heart of the Milky Way descends into the lights of Golden Valley, Bullhead City and Laughlin—4 October 2015.

Perkins and Hall Domes at Anderson Mesa

The Perkins Dome (left) and Hall Dome (right) reflect the light of a nearly full moon at Anderson Mesa. The Hall Telescope was busy this evening slewing and imaging objects every few minutes. Perkins Telescope: http://www.lowell.edu/research_telescopes_perkins.php Hall Telescope: http://www.lowell.edu/research_telescopes_hall.php

Ursa Minor over the LONEOS Dome

The LONEOS Dome (Lowell Observatory Near Earth Object Survey) at Anderson Mesa no longer searches for new near-Earth objects—this work is now covered by other NEO surveys. However, the telescope is still used by the observatory to image and provide data for existing NEOs.

NURO Dome at Anderson Mesa

The NURO Telescope is an undergraduate research instrument administered through NAU. The view on this evening was illuminated by a nearly full moon while Ursa Minor leaps overhead. While I was making exposures, one of the researchers got in their car to leave or make a snack run and added some nice color to the scene for me. NURO Telescope: http://lowell.edu/research_telescopes_nuro.php

Jade Passage

Strong air glow colors the night sky west of Sunset Crater National Monument. The Summer Milky Way crests the San Francisco Peaks along the horizon.

Astronomy Day Slipher Rotunda

Slipher Rotunda at Lowell Obervatory - Astronomy Day. May 6, 2006 More images and discussion here: http://www.perezmedia.net/beltofvenus/archives/000561.html

Rift on the Fringe of Flagstaff

The Summer Milky Way merges into the Flagstaff light dome as seen from west of Sunset Crater National Monument.

Winter Night at Table Mesa Road

The Cassiopeia Milky Way stands on end over Table Mesa Road north of Phoenix, Arizona.

Audience to Andromeda

Prairie sunflowers crowd a hillside beneath the Milky Way west of Sunset Crater National Monument. The Andromeda Galaxy is prominent above and to the right of center.

Asilomar Boardwalk I

A night view of Asilomar Resort from the boardwalk. Near Monterey, California.

Summer Lights at Bonito Lava Flow

Ribbons of green and red air glow paint the night sky over Bonito Lava flow at Sunset Crater National Monument, Arizona. Cassiopeia anchors the Milky Way at the center of the frame while the Andromeda Galaxy peers over the shoulder of our own galaxy just right of center. About an hour later, a rare, southerly burst of aurora illuminated this northern horizon with red and pink.

Cone by the Light of a Crescent Moon

Sunset Crater Volcano and its surroundings are illuminated by the light of a thin crescent Moon while the Milky Way and Great Rift descend - 12 July 2015. Bright blue Vega at upper right is blurred by a high, thin cloud along the right edge of the frame. The yellowish light at lower left comes from Flagstaff, 12 miles to the southwest.

Dawn at Cinder Hills Overlook

The crescent Moon, Pleiades, Perseus and Auriga rise over the Painted Desert as seen from Cinder Hills Overlook. 13 July 2015.

Schultz Pass Eclipse - I

The Earth's shadow bites into the moon as it rises over a ridge surrounding Schultz Pass, north of Flagstaff, Arizona—27 September 2015. This is a single image processed in Lightroom.

Schultz Pass Eclipse - II

The Earth's shadow bites into the moon as it rises over a ridge surrounding Schultz Pass, north of Flagstaff, Arizona—27 September 2015. This is a composite of two images shot several seconds apart—one was exposed for detail in the moon while the other was exposed for better detail in the trees. The two images were combined in Photoshop.

Eye on the Pleiades at Lomaki Pueblo

The Pleiades peer through a window inside a room at Lomaki Pueblo, Wupatki National Monument. Cassiopeia decorates a ribbon of the Milky Way above the structure. This is a stack of four 20-second exposures to increase signal-to-noise ratio in the sky and include light painting of the pueblo stonework.

Ascent from Lomaki Pueblo

The Summer Milky Way lingers above Lomaki Pueblo at Wupatki National Monument. The structure was built around 800 years ago and portions still stand today with windows and doorways open to the beautiful dark skies of Northern Arizona. This is a stack of three 20-second exposures to increase signal-to-noise ratio in the sky.

Sparkle of Taurus

The Pleiades and Hyades crest the rim of Sunset Crater while the Milky Way hosts the bright stars of Perseus and Auriga. This image was taken along Lava Flow Trail and features the fallen snags, wild flowers, and ponderosas that decorate this stunning landscape. The image is composed of five overlapping exposures to average out noise in the sky and to provide sharp focus for both sky and foreground.

Star Party Caffeination

The Froth Coffee and Tap Truck serves a little warmth and wakefulness on the first night of the 2016 Flagstaff Star Party. An inbound cold front clouded things up, but a number of hearty visitors and amateur astronomers drifted with the clouds to grab views of Saturn, Mars and a few of the brighter deep sky objects. 22 September 2016.

Venus at Elden's Crest

Venus rises amid patchy air glow over burned snags at the summit of Mt. Elden. 30 June 2017.

Flagstaff Lights from Mt. Elden

Looking southwest at central Flagstaff on a windy night at the top of Mt. Elden. The summer Milky Way merges into an illuminated layer of smoke from nearby wildfires. 30 June 2017

Night with Elden's Towers

Starlight and the lights of Flagstaff illuminate transmission towers and fire tower at the summit of Mt. Elden.

Stars of the Panamint Range

Moonset shares the sky with Orion and the Pleiades on the road from Stovepipe Wells to Panamint Springs—Death Valley National Park.

Flare over Elden

A satellite flare leaves a trail over the towers at the summit of Mt. Elden. The terrain and sky are illuminated by the lights of Flagstaff below and to the right. 30 June 2017.