A star-studded sky is beautiful and awe-inspiring. Space has always been very captivating for me. Its sheer immensity evokes a sense of wonder about our place in the universe, how small we are in the grand scheme of things, and how very blessed we are to be on this planet which is perfect for life. Alhamdulillah. 

Since a young age, I've been fascinated with the night sky, the majesty of it all. It all started in my teens when I had the opportunity to visit a dark sky location in India. However, life, studies, and other priorities prevented me from pursuing astronomy further. Once I was settled in Canada, I started looking into dark sky areas, star parties, and around 2010, I purchased a basic telescope. This Meade 70mm F/10 was good for seeing the Moon, but I didn't use it much beyond that as I did not know how to navigate my way around the night sky. Later, I purchased a Celestron Nexstar 130SLT 5-inch F/5 Goto scope thinking the Goto functionality would make it easy for me to find celestial objects, but at that time I found it overwhelming to use.

I really started to delve more into astronomy during the 2020 Covid lockdown when I joined RASC (the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada). Because of the lockdown, they moved all their presentations online which made it very accessible to me. I purchased the Celestron SkyMaster 8x56 binoculars and used them for RASC's beginner observing program, a self-guided program in which one is required to observe at least 55 astronomical objects across five categories.

Comet NEOWISE showed up during the same time (July 2020) which piqued my interest even more. I started seeing these beautiful pictures of the comet posted online by astrophotographers, and that got me interested in trying to take astro pics myself. Now, I have a Celestron 8-inch scope which is portable and great all-round for both planetary and deep sky objects.

I have many favorites!

• Planets Jupiter and Saturn especially around opposition (when they are on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun) and Mars every 2 years. At opposition planets appear bigger and brighter, and more surface details can be observed.
• The Sun using an H-alpha scope is magnificent. It's amazing to see solar prominences (magnetic plasma loops, often eruptive) and surface details.
• The Pleiades and Hyades star clusters are spectacular through binoculars as is Orion's belt.
• The Great Globular Cluster (M13) is beautiful with a modest scope from the city.
• The brighter nebulae including the Orion Nebula, the Ring Nebula, the Dumbbell nebula which are all easily observable from city using a modest scope.
• The Milky way every summer when its core is visible.
• Scorpius, one of my favourite constellations, highly resembles a scorpion with its curved tail and stinger. And the beautiful red star Antares is at its heart. This constellation also has beautiful star clusters including M4 the Globular Cluster.

I could go on!

Lunar Features: What would it be like to hike around one of those craters!

Planets: Whole new worlds suspended in space, moving like clockwork.

Nebulae: A star dying or new stars being born.

Constellations: The interesting shapes and stories that ancient civilizations used to describe them, and how these stories were central to their lives.

Binary Stars: Mizar and Alcor – a good test of eyesight in ancient times. And I would have passed that test!

Galaxies: It's mind-boggling to think of how many galaxies are out there.

Comets: When relatively close to the Earth, these are the most beautiful objects to look at as they appear bigger and brighter, trailing a dramatic dust tail.

Star Clusters: Beautiful, like jewels in the sky.

The Sun: Our dynamic star, the centre of our solar system that sometimes hurls those hot plasmas our way causing those beautiful auroras.

In terms of observing, I've completed RASC's beginner 'Explore the Universe' and 'Explore the Moon' programs and am now undergoing their 'Messier Catalogue' observing program. I highly recommend these programs because they're motivating and challenge you to observe more than one would think of noticing on their own.

Observing from the city is limited to our solar system and a few deep sky objects. However, astrophotography is something that I can enjoy from the city as well. While deep sky imaging from the city is not ideal, you can still capture impressive results. It's all very exciting for me as long as I'm learning something new. Sometimes I find ways to improve my set-up and other times I notice subtle details I had never recognized before after closely inspecting my astro photos.

I find the astronomy community to be very knowledgeable and willing to share their knowledge with others. The feedback and encouragement that I receive from fellow RASC members has been incredibly helpful. A special shout-out to all the volunteers who dedicate so much of their time and energy for public outreach. I myself have found it a very rewarding opportunity to be able to show the night sky and the Sun (with proper protection) to my family, friends, and neighbours.

Here are five of the many special astronomy experiences I've had:

DARK SKY IN INDIA
I spent my entire childhood and a good bit of my adult life in Mumbai, India under heavy light pollution where only the Moon and a few bright stars were visible. In grade 10, our school took us on an overnight trip about 140 km north of Mumbai to Dahanu, a rural area along the west coast of India. At night, our teachers gathered us outside for a function. I looked up and was immediately struck by what seemed like a carpet of densely packed stars overhead. That image has stayed with me forever. The closest I have seen to a sky like that is from the Gordons Dark Sky Preserve, a privately owned eco park in Manitoulin Island (Canada).

TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE
My first total solar eclipse experience happened in 2017 for which we made a family trip to Carbondale, Illinois. It was an incredibly exhilarating experience seeing the Sun's corona for the first time. The changing environment: twilight during daytime, the sudden chill in the temperature around totality, insects buzzing, crickets chirping, and the eerie silence as if approaching dusk. The 2024 total solar eclipse was equally memorable; it never gets old.

COMET NEOWISE
Comet NEOWISE showed up in June 2020 during the Covid lockdown. I remember going to a neighborhood park and being able to spot it with the naked eye. I was blown away by how clear its shape and tail were when I trained my binoculars on it.

THE NORTHERN LIGHTS
The Northern Lights of May 2024 from a dark sky preserve. Although I had seen the aurora on previous occasions, this one was special - the fast-moving curtains, the rapidly forming auroral corona overhead, and the visible reds and greens. The Aurora in October 2024 was memorable as well because I could clearly see its corona and pulsating curtains all from my light-polluted backyard and neighbourhood park.

SATURN
And who can forget the first time seeing Saturn and its beautiful rings, and Jupiter with its Galilean moons. The feeling of looking at other worlds with their moons is surreal.  

I enjoy observing especially from dark skies when possible; the amount of detail that can be observed from dark skies is just amazing. I like being able to find my way around the sky using sky charts instead of GoTo scopes. Observing the movement of planets and their moons over a period of time is exciting and so is observing our dynamic Sun. For astrophotography, I enjoy learning about new techniques, the set-up and acquisition process - post processing not so much.

I also enjoy creating timelapses because they reveal the dynamic nature of celestial objects; for example, my shadow transit photo of one of Jupiter's moons across its surface, or the different phases of the eclipses. The challenge with these shots is ensuring the individual pictures are properly aligned.

Yes, astrophotography is quite challenging, especially image post processing. Long exposure photography of deep sky objects (DSO) requires perfect polar alignment, a solid mount and proper guiding. When starting out with basic equipment this process can get overwhelming; add to that the difficulty of locating the object from a light-polluted sky. But this gets easier with practice and equipment upgrading.

Photographing DSO from the city means I have to spend more time collecting data in order to overcome the light pollution. Even then, it is hard to bring out all the fine details in processing - this is where one must take advantage of the many features in the related software. It's just difficult for me to master them all, especially since I mainly use free open-source software for which there are not many tutorials readily available.

Post processing also means I have to spend a lot of time in front of the computer screen which I don't particularly enjoy. On the other hand, solar system imaging (e.g. planets) is relatively faster and easier; one takes high speed videos, stacks the individual frames together, and sharpens the final image using readily available free software.

I like a few of them; but if I have to pick one, it would be the 2024 total solar eclipse. I captured all its phases and details including the diamond ring, Baily's Beads, prominences, and even managed the HDR processing of the corona. A close second is my timelapse of the moon Europa as its shadow transitions across the planet Jupiter. I like that it shows all the features of Jupiter including the great red spot (GRS) and captures the real-time motion of the planet and one of its moons.

Total Solar Eclipse Phases (Click to Enlarge)
Photo Credit: Nishat Khan

Here is the above-mentioned montage of the 2024 solar eclipse. We travelled to Kingston, Ontario the day before the eclipse, but since the weather forecast was unfavorable, we woke up early the next morning and travelled to Sherbrooke, Quebec for wonderfully clear skies. I setup my equipment at a park along Magog Lake where I would enjoy this rare celestial event.

I used my full frame Nikon D750 camera with a Tamron zoom lens @600mm mounted on a sky tracker (iOptron Skyguider Pro) to track the Sun. The sky tracker when properly polar aligned can track the Sun so you don't have to adjust the camera view every few minutes leaving you more time to enjoy the eclipse. Since it was daytime, my polar alignment was done roughly which means the Sun drifted slightly in my camera view and had to be centered every 15 mins or so. I took pictures at regular intervals to capture all phases of the eclipse and then adjusted the exposure before, during and after totality to capture Baily's Beads, the diamond ring effect, and the corona with its beautiful prominences. At the center of the image is the processed HDR (High Dynamic Range) image which is basically the blending of multiple exposures of the eclipsed sun to bring out the details of the corona. I am very pleased that I was able to capture this beautiful experience in detail, but did feel very rushed during totality. If I get a chance to witness the eclipse again, then I will probably just do simple wide-angle photography and spend more time enjoying the experience. I hope anyone witnessing it for the first time does not bother with any photography but just enjoys this incredibly moving and beautiful celestial dance!

I highly recommend beginning with binoculars and getting acquainted with the sky before purchasing any telescopes. Start with a basic beginner observing program (e.g. RASC's beginner programs); these help you to observe and lookout for objects that you probably wouldn't know to look for. In addition to increasing your observing skills, RASC's 'Explore the Moon with Telescope' program helps you to get comfortable using a telescope and observe fine details of the Moon. For astrophotography, start with what you have, for example a DSLR camera with a kit lens and a tripod. Keep track of your budget because astrophotography expenses can quickly get out of hand!

And remember, this is a hobby. Too often I find myself getting frustrated either because it's constantly cloudy, or it is not dark enough, or because of equipment failure... Just try to enjoy and learn when an opportunity arises. Easier said than done, I know!

Insha Allah, for astronomical observing, I hope to finish the Messier Catalogue this year. The Messier catalog is a list of 110 bright deep-sky objects that was compiled by the French astronomer Charles Messier in the 18th century. After that I hope to start RASC's double star observing program which can easily be done from the city. Other deep sky programs will probably have to wait until I retire! Observing from the southern hemisphere is also on my bucket list.

In terms of astrophotography, I hope to improve my imaging skills. There's always more to learn, especially with post processing. And I hope to automate my setup as much as possible, so I spend less time fidgeting with equipment, and more time looking up.

Astronomy is an incredibly humbling experience. Astrophotography allows me to capture the beauty in the universe. Both are a way to pause and reflect on what we know and what is still a mystery. From the wealth of information at our fingertips to the advancements in optics and software, I feel very blessed to live in an age in which technology has made outer space so accessible to all of us!


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