Southern Cross Over Dennistoun Bush

It's cold and clear outside, and the stars are shining bright in the crisp air.

-5ºC out there tonight, and unfortunately it means another morning with frozen pipes. My lagging last weekend doesn't seemed to have done any good, but having said that it was -9.5ºC last night, so maybe that's unsurprising.

This shot of the stars shows the Southern Cross and the two pointer stars of Alpha and Beta Centauri. I like the way the brightest stars have been softened in the exposure; this is the first time I've used my Fujinon 14mm f/2.8 for astro work (I usually use Samyang Lenses) and I'm pleased with the result. Whilst it might be a stop slower, I think it certainly is more useful overall than the 12mm when out in the field as that lens is manual focus.

Decisions decisions for the trip to Central Otago with GingerNan at the end of the month. I think the 14mm (and 18-135) might just sneak in the car...

I've just re-updated the photo, recropped. I thought the glow at the bottom was initally sky-glow from the streetlight at the end of the road. so I adjusted the colour. However it seems that we actually had a minor G2 Storm aurora last night, so that would account for the pinky glow!