COOL IN CAPE TOWN. COLDER IN SUTHERLAND.

Interesting pre-dawn shoot at the Southern Africa Large Telescope a the SA Astronomical Observatory near Sutherland.


Photo  taken over a 10 minute exposure at 5 mins 20 secs. Shutter button was pressed at approximately 6 a.m. This was about 1 hour 45 minutes prior to sunrise, but the reflected glow from the eastern horizon bounces off the side of the SALT scope.  Later, during the exposure, a vehicle occupied by off-duty astronomers pulled up alongside and spoiled the lower half of the picture with red and orange light from their brake lights and flashers. Fortunately this did not affect the upper area of the image, where the main action is. The lens flare near dead centre however comes from that vehicle.

Astronomers posted at SALT and the other SAAO scopes are not only permanent staff but also come from all over the world to do observations and research. SALT is one of only two such facilities in the world. The other unit is at Austin, Texas.

Yes - and it was cold. Especially the chill factor (-5 degrees guesstimate)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FIRE IN NOORDHOEK - ON THE GROUND REPORT

Image
Living in the Noordhoek Valley the past 36 hours has been rather like being on the set of Apocalypse Now (remember the epic movie?) Social media reports of the big fire particularly in the Noordhoek Valley have been rather misleading and possibly contributed to panic rather than helped he situation. A tweet by @vanhaywood that did little to help matters on Monday: The tweet was picked up by big tweeters such as @KFM and @CapeTown and retweeted without verfication, even by the Lodge itself, which may have retweeted under some pressure. However, this was the area looked like, via a photo from the beach taken at about the same time as the tweet: The fire at 6.30 pm Monday. The Chappies road separates the lower Chapman's Peak area from the mountain. This is how things played out after the arrival of the "Muizenberg Fire" #capefire late on Sunday 1 March. Living in the area as I do with my family, my first inkling of the big fire was 01h00 Monday morning
Read more

PLANNING A WEDDING

Image
Are you in the middle of organising a wedding and are looking for a great photographer? I'm an experienced photographer who has invested the right amount of time in developing my skills and I have made right investment in good equipment. As a busy commercial photographer, I undertake a few weddings each year. The brides, grooms and families are never disappointed.  A word of advice. Book me early, since my calendar is filling up. Shoots are custom made to your wedding programme and your budget. No standard and boring service offering when you hire Gareth Griffiths Imaging and Photography! I would love to help you. Want more advice: Click here and check out wedding photography advice .
Read more