International Space Station Passes Over New Mexico At Dusk
Posted in Uncategorized on April 7, 2021 by budbranchThe International Space Station passed over us yesterday evening, very bright. I used the native intervalometer in the Sony A7III to robotically make 50 30-sec exposures, while we watched from the hot tub. I merged the 50 into one using StarStax, and included a single 30sec frame here, for reference.
I use an app on my phone to notify me when the ISS due to make a visible pass. It is always at dusk or sunrise, (since it is lit by sunlight only), and often predicted to be dim, or low, or the skies are cloudy, but sometimes everything lines up for a good view! This session also captured the rotation of the star field around the northern axis of the sky.
Looking forward to the Lyrid meteors later this month!


Taos Community Auditorium: High Desert Drive-In
Posted in Aerial, DJI Mavic 2 Pro, Long exposures on March 19, 2021 by budbranchNew Year’s Photos
Posted in Aerial, Astrophotography, DJI Mavic 2 Pro, interval exposure, Long exposures, Sony A7III on January 5, 2021 by budbranchAs always, wall art can be yours: https://budbranch.smugmug.com/
The Grand Conjunction
Posted in 600mm, Astrophotography, Sony A7III on December 22, 2020 by budbranchWell, that was fun!
We’ve been watching Jupiter and Saturn ease closer for months. Knowing that this was a once in a lifetime thing, I studied up and practiced a little. In the final analysis I think it boils down to 1) stabilizing the camera, 2) focusing carefully and, 3) taking LOTS of frames of varying exposures.