Seein' Stars

I had so much fun last night I just couldn't wait to post these pictures! I learned a lot last night while taking pictures of the stars, not the least of which is that I have a lot to learn about taking pictures of stars! Still, I don't think these are half-bad for my first try. Enjoy!

The Pleiades is a star cluster, and one of my favorite objects in the night sky. It's the shiny, fuzzy blob in the center of the picture. The bright star in the upper left of the shot is Algol, the ghoul star. It represents Medusa's head in the constellation Perseus.


This shot packs a lot of stellar punch! We've got Orion in the top right corner, the star Sirius (of Canis Major) just below him by the tree, and Canis Minor in the bottom left.

Here's another image with lots going on. Cassiopeia is in the center (shaped like a lopsided M). Just above her are two fuzzy spots-the Double Cluster of Perseus. Continuing up, we have part of Perseus, too!

Planets move fast! This is Venus in the Western sky over a one-minute exposure. The blur is due to its movement (Earth's too), and has nothing to do with me doing the happy dance.

My first batch of kiddos will be arriving soon, so I'm off to launch rockets to infinity and beyond. :)