The best camera is the one you have with you, or so the old saying goes. That statement has never been more powerful than now. I recently took a break from Adobe MAX to hit the desert for a short adventure with Russell Brown from Adobe. I wanted to shoot some star trails with a mirrorless camera, the Nikon Z6, but I also wanted to put my iPhone through its paces. Here’s what happened.
Unveiling the Mysteries of Socotra’s Night Sky: A Photographer’s Journey
“A Celestial and Botanical Wonder” – As an avid photographer and nature enthusiast, I had the opportunity to visit Socotra Island on my latest photography tour. Socotra is a remote island off the coast of Yemen, where I captured some breathtaking images. Those include the island’s unique flora and fauna, including its famous bottle trees and dragon trees.
In addition to the island’s remarkable plant life, I was also struck by the beauty of the night sky. Far from the light pollution of civilization, the sky over Socotra Island is a canvas of stars and galaxies, providing an awe-inspiring backdrop for my photographs.
If you’re unfamiliar with the island of Socotra, let me briefly introduce its location and how I stumbled upon this hidden paradise.
This stellar nurseries atlas was from over one million images stitched together
While scientists know some facts about the stars’ birth, there are still many details that they don’t yet fully understand. There are some questions still unanswered, such as how many stars are born out of each gas cloud, how big they are, and how to know which of them will also have planets.
In an attempt to answer these questions, scientists surveyed five nearby star-forming regions, creating a zoomable atlas stitched out of more than one million images! It helps to answer important questions astronomers have about star formation and lets everyone explore magical places where the stars are born.
When lightning strikes: how to make great images out of any situation
I’ve heard that a bad day fishing is still better than a good day at the office. That’s how I feel about chasing the Milky Way. It’s not only about capturing a beautiful image but is a way to unplug from the hyperconnected world. Before that happens, you typically have to walk up or down a dark trail on a moonless night while trying to talk some sense into the imaginary voice in your head that’s telling you every stray sound is a starving bear or mountain lion with a taste for human flesh.
One’s imagination tends to go into overdrive in total darkness. But when the voice calms down, as it eventually does once your eyes adjust to the dark, you can relax, connect with nature, and revel in awe at the mysterious, starry band of lights called the Milky Way. On this occasion, I didn’t manage to capture the Milky Way as planned. This is how a surprise storm actually made the shot even better than I’d imagined. Sometimes lightning strikes, and you just have to go with it.
Most detailed images ever of Mars’ moon captured by ‘Hopeful’ space probe
The most detailed images to date have been captured of one of Mars’ moons. The space probe was part of a mission sent by the United Arab Emirates Space Agency. The images show incredibly detailed and clear views of Deimos, the smallest and farthermost of Mars’ two moons.
The Amal spacecraft, nicknamed “Hope” in English, was sent to within 62 miles of the moon as part of the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM).
James Webb telescope captures smash-up of two spiral galaxies
The James Webb Telescope captured two galaxies merging together to form one enormous “smash-up” brighter than a trillion suns. It is, in fact, an infrared capture of the birth of a star.
Catchily known as Arp 220, this spiral of two galaxies was captured by Webb’s onboard Near Infrared camera, the NIRCam, and the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). The light is so bright in the centre it appears as a powerful starburst of light.
Amateur astrophotographers shoot the oldest known nebula in the universe
Back in 2017, my wife and I went out to the desert to take a picture of a small open cluster known as Messier 37. The picture came out nice, it shows the bright cluster, full of blue, white, and yellow stars, in front of a very dark background. One thing we did not know, though, was that this cluster hides the oldest planetary nebula ever found in the universe!
Astrophotographers, don’t miss the “celestial parade” as five planets align this week
Astrophotographers and astronomy enthusiasts rejoice, as this week we’ll be treated to a “planetary parade.” Starting tonight, as many as five planets of our solar system will get aligned in the sky: Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus, and Mars.
This epic timelapse shows the glory of the “blood moon” lunar eclipse
The “blood moon” lunar eclipse is always something to look forward to if you enjoy star gazing or astrophotography. Last year we saw two of them, one in May and the other in November, and they were both spectacular both from the Earth and from space.
The November lunar eclipse was the last “blood moon” before 2025. It’s a lot to wait, I know, but photographer Miguel Claro makes the waiting more bearable. He released a gorgeous timelapse called Earth Shadow – The Beauty of a Total Lunar Eclipse. In this video, Miguel shows a close-up of the moon as it turns blood red during the total eclipse. It’s magical!
SpaceX shares unique view of Earth in latest video
SpaceX just shared some stunning footage of planet Earth from the second stage of its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket. The video shows Earth as a tiny blue marble, spinning in the middle of a black expanse.
The ocean, clouds and land are clearly visible from thousands of miles away, and the video recalls the iconic view of Earth from the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
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