Venus in Pleiades

Venus captured inside the constellation Pleiades.

Photography set up:
Nikon D7500 on Celestron 5SE mounth.
Focal Length: 195mm.
ISO:400.
Total integration time ~7 mins. 

Occultation of Mars - February 2020

On the morning of 18th February, 2020 Mars disappeared behind the moon for about an hour. This is called as an occultation.

Even though the moon and the planets travel along roughly  the same path in the sky, called ecliptic, their paths diverge slightly. On rare occasions, the geometry is just right and the moon passes over the planet causing an occultation.

Below are some pictures taken by me of today's occultation.

Mars about to disappear behind the moon. 

Moments before the occultation.

Moments after the occultation.

लक्ष्मी नरसिंह मंदीर, हंपी (Lakshmi-Narashimha Temple, Hampi)

16th century monolithic sculpture of Narasimha-Lakshi at Hampi, Karnataka, India. The sculpture has seen some damage and the statue of Lakshi is missing (broken). But the hand of Lakshmi can be clearly see at the left hand of Narasimha. Laxi sat on the left lap. The roof of the temple has collapsed as well.

Mercury Transit of 2019

Transit of Mercury is an astronomical event when the planet Mercury appears to be traveling across the disc of the Sun. This event is quite rare and may happen about 13-14 times in a century.

Below is picture taken by me during of the transit of Mercury on November 11, 2019.

Rattlesnakes Mating

I recently spotted two rattlesnakes, basking in the morning Sun, mating.

Here is the video:

Orangutans of Borneo

A young female Orangutan, Sandakan, Borneo.

Orangutan means 'person of the forest' in the local (Malaya/Indonesian) language(s). When you observe them for a while, you know why they must be called that. The above picture is taken in the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre of Sandakan in Borneo.

Borneo is the third largest island on the planet. It also has one of oldest tropical rain-forest on the planet.

Palm oil fruit.

Orangutan's are critically endangered. Mainly due to the loss of habitat. Local farmers are cutting down the rain-forest to harvest the cash crop of oil palm. Local people also burn the forest to make the clearings easy. Which sometimes causes massive wildfires not only destroying habitat, but also killing various species of animals.

Similar to plastics, palm oil was discovered at the right(?) time for the voracious global consumption needs. It is a cheap and versatile product that is used in multitude of things. Its consumption is increasing rapidly.¹ Palm oil is also used as a bio-fuel. The US policy of using renewal fuels ultimately resulted in using cheap palm oil in huge quantities². A reminder that the first step in conservation should be 'reduce'. The consumption of palm oil is expected to keep increasing around the globe in the coming decades. For the poor countries like Malaysia and Indonesia it is an effective product to bring the masses out of abject poverty.

Aerial views of Borneo.

Humans have probably lived here for 40,000 to 50,000 years, but the scale of destruction on the island is unprecedented. If you fly over the island the signs of deforestation are quite obvious.

New species are still being discovered in Borneo. And quite likely, some species are being wiped out by humans even before they are discovered.



Wandering in Borneo's rain-forests is a unique experience. Global awareness and active conservation efforts are perhaps the only ways to save this sanctuary.


References:-
1. How the world got hooked on Palm Oil.
2. Palm Oil Was Supposed to Help Save the Planet. Instead It Unleashed a Catastrophe.
3. Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. 

Wildlife-Borneo

Crimson Sunbird, Borneo. (May 2019)

The Whirlpool Galaxy- M51

M51 - Whirlpool Galaxy. Single shot- 3 min exposure.

The image shows two galaxies merging with each other. M51 is about 23 Million light years away.

Orion-Wide Field

Here is another shot of the Orion Nebula.

This time, the camera is a little more from this era, which allows higher ISOs and also better sensor quality. Thin clouds and hazy yet better performance than the Rebel XSi.

Rebel T6i @ 160mm and ISO 3200.

Orion Constellation-Wide Field

This is a wide-field picture of the Orion Constellation showing the belt of Orion, Rigel, Saiph and the Orion Nebula in the middle. 

Equipment:-
1. A Alt-Az mount- Celestron 5 SE
2. Canon Rebel XSi (450D) with 75 mm zoom lens. (@ F4.0) with LPF-2 filter removed.


Data:-
4 Light Frames @ ISO1600. Shutter speed 60s.
2 Dark Frames @ ISO1600. Shutter speed 60s.