This morning, I captured another image of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) from the @LCOAstro site in the Atacama Desert, Chile 🇨🇱✨😱. The view was absolutely stunning !!! The comet is clearly visible visually. My gear: Nikon D810a camera with a 135mm lens. Exposure: 20 x 30 seconds. #Comet #Astronomy #Atacama #chile #TsuchinshanATLAS #cometa #CometC2023A3 #Tsuchinshan #C2023A3 #FollowTheComet
@GalacticRAVE Indeed 👍 Sometimes planning of such alignments is quite tricky due to a number of missing / uncertain paraders and some assumptions have to be made 😅
Blue Moon over The Cruz del Cerro Renca in Santiago, Chile 🇨🇱 We planned, we tried, we failed :) This is one of the examples when you still need to go for a shot even if you are not completely sure. In this particular case there were some uncertainties about the precise location of the cross, but it turned out the cross itself was the challenge.
Yesterday's very early morning moonset in the Netherlands. Such a calm atmosphere with the moon setting on top of the windmills with the countryside covered in fog.
In this particular case there were some uncertainties about the precise location of the cross, but it turned out the cross itself was the challenge. The 3D model was great, however we didn’t take into account the pedestal 😅
That’s why the Bortle scale should be used with caution when judging night-sky quality. In professional astronomy, modest light pollution near the horizon is usually tolerable because we rarely observe at such low elevations. A site may therefore receive a poorer Bortle rating, yet still be excellent for serious astronomical work. Context matters.
@astrophoto1976@JAtanackov@GeminiObs It has indeed increased over the past decade or so, however the observing conditions are still very good. In professional astronomy we rarely observe below 45 degrees elevation. Visually, from that location, you certainly see the distant city glow.
Bortle scale is subjective. It integrates the whole visual experience, such as horizon glow, extended-object contrast, color perception. Therefore a site with zenith SQM of 21.8 (typical for an excellent sky) can still feel like Bortle 4 if there are bright city domes on the horizon.