Atlas Meets Aurora
Taken by Mike White on February 2, 2025 @
Twizel, New Zealand
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Camera Used: Canon Canon EOS R6
Exposure Time: 8/1
Aperture: f/1.4
ISO: 3200
Date Taken: 2025:02:03 15:15:48
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Details:
22:56 NZDT Sunday 2 Feb 2025
Twizel, New Zealand
'Atlas Meets Aurora'
As a number of images on social media today suggest, a good many of us experienced something last night that is the stuff of myth and legend so a fitting title I thought. I'd initially considered a wide-angle composition featuring Venus, Saturn and the Moon, with Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS). As the Moon lowered and set behind the mountains, the sky remained filled with too much twilight to allow for a composition including the comet. Having already previsualised this composition, I set up the first of two cameras, this one with a 40mm lens, capturing a time-lapse sequence. The second camera had a 100mm lens capturing more detailed images of the 'headless wonder'.
This is a blend of a single exposure (sky and reflection from a single frame to capture the structure in the aurora) and a stacked blend of 10x frames for the foreground detail (shadow tones).
I wasn't sure the wind would ease enough for nice reflections, but I needn't have worried.
The comet remnants continue to remain visible to the naked eye - even through the Southern Lights! I estimated the brightness to be a little dimmer than the SMC with a visible tail length of approx 4°.
We've had many a cloudy night in the Mackenzie Basin throughout the summer period, making astrophotography and stargazing a relatively rare thing. I guess it makes the rewards even sweeter.
Photographer's website:
https://mikewhite.co.nz
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