Launch of Antares NG-16 from Wallops Island, Virginia.  What I remember about this launch were the weather conditions and the lighting.  The sky was a perfect blue with zero clouds.  The launch time was late afternoon and the sun was behind me so there was no shadow on either side of the rocket from my position.  When the rocket launched to the space station, the sun gave almost a glow to the rocket’s body and the flame was extra orange.  It was a beautiful launch to behold and to this day, this is my favorite launch photograph I have taken.

LFG Day #7

M81 and M82 are 2 galaxies located near the Big Dipper.  M81 (upper right) is called the Bodes Nebula.  M82 (lower left) is called the Cigar Galaxy.  This image is HaRGB, meaning I combined regular broadband colors with hydrogen alpha (narrowband) data. The red/pink regions are where nebulae are in the galaxies and where new stars and planets might be forming.  Both are about 12 million light years from Earth. 

This is my 1 year in NFTs anniversary edition!  

M81 and M82

The Eastern Veil Nebula is part of the larger Veil Nebula Supernova complex.  It is the remnants of a super-massive star that blew up as a supernova an estimated 5 to 8 thousand years ago.  What you're seeing is part of the shock-wave that is still expanding today.

Photographer: Jason Betzner

Edition: 1/1

Genre: Astrophotography

Year Created: 2023

License: Extended Editorial

Supernova Veil

From above, Las Vegas is like an oasis in an otherwise black desert. In fact, you can see the city's lights over 50 miles away. People travel from around the world to visit the city and it's a hub for those traveling to the Grand Canyon or making the trip down the Alien Highway. From this height, the cars look like toys but the city is alive.

Sin City

On August 1, 2023, Northrop Grumman launched an Antares rocket to the international space station with supplies for the astronauts onboard.  It was the final launch of the current Antares rocket, because parts made in Russia and Ukraine are no longer available due to ongoing conflict. 

The commercial resupply mission (CRS) launched from NASA Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore. 

This is a single, 2-minute exposure at blue hour (8:31pm).  I used a ND 8 filter.  The location of the photo is about 2.1 miles from the launch pad at some old ferry docks. 

Photographer: Jason Betzner

Photo Details: f22, ISO 100, 20mm lens, 120 seconds exposure, ND8 Filter, Canon 6D

Year Created: 2023

Genre: Photography

License: Extended Editorial

Launch of CRS-NG 19

During COVID, I had nothing to do but take photos.  I went to one of my favorite spots to watch the sun set.  It didn't disappoint.  This sunset over the James River in Virginia is a reminder that the world goes on even when humans are dealing with the seemingly insurmountable.  

Photographer: Jason Betzner

Year Created: 2020

Camera: Canon 6D with ND filter

Genre: Photography

License: Extended Editorial

Sunset on the James

Launch of Antares NG-14 from Wallops Island, Virginia.  This was the first night launch I photographed.  I had gone up to Wallops Island the day of the original launch date and waited for 6 hours for the rocket to launch.  As night came along, the excitement was palpable in the crowd.  The weather was perfect, the range was green, and then 30 seconds to lift off we get the tragic news; a scrub.  There was an issue with a ground sensor.  Any launch photographer knows this can happen, but it’s still disappointing. The new launch date was scheduled for the next day, but I wasn’t able to drive back to Wallops.  So I decided to find a unique location from my home 80 miles away.  The reservoir would make a nice reflection of the launch and the full moon would add extra interest.  The long exposure worked out perfectly!  I got to see the launch, just not in the way I expected.

LFG Night #9

LFG: To Space! I’m lucky enough to live 80 miles from Wallops Island, Virginia, where Antares rockets launch to resupply the astronauts on the International Space Station. I’ve photographed 5 launches since 2019 and these are some of my favorite shots. If you’ve never been to see a launch, you’re missing out on an adrenaline rush. When that candle ignites, you not only see it but you hear and feel it in your gut. Everyone cheers. It’s a beautiful moment.

For this gatcha series, there are 20 numbered editions and a 1/1. The collector who gets the 1/1 will get an 8x10 print of the image and an official mission patch from the launch that I would mail; both free of charge. In addition, if anyone collects both editions, LFG Day and LFG Night, they will get a mission patch mailed to them free of charge and a free 8x10 print of the edition of their choice.

LFG by Jason Betzner

Jason Betzner 1 Year in NFT

Merry Christmas...from deep space!  This nebula is known by a few names, but to me its best name is the Christmas Tree Cluster because of its resemblance to a Christmas Tree with the stars as ornaments.  The cone at the top is also called the Cone Nebula but here it makes a nice tree-topper.  

I photographed this nebula for over 10 hours to bring out the details in the gasses since it is a very dim target.

This is my gift for Christmas 2023.

Photographer: Jason Betzner

Genre: Astrophotography

Year Created: 2023

License: Extended Editorial

 

Christmas Tree Cluster

Deep Space - n9vAd9Al79

Las Vegas Boulevard, otherwise known as The Strip, is the main thoroughfare through Las Vegas. The Strip starts at the south end with Mandalay Bay and ends at the north end with The Stratosphere. Mid-strip, you'll find Paris Las Vegas which is pictured here. There are so many cars on the strip I knew I wanted to show the movement of the city with a long exposure of light trails. This is harder than you think in Vegas because there are so many people on the sidewalks that it's difficult to get a spot to put down a tripod.

The Strip

Vegas Baby! by Jason Betzner

Rockets

The Helix Nebula, sometimes called "Eye of God" or the "Eye of Sauron" is a planetary nebula in Aquarius.  A planetary nebula forms when a star sheds it outer gasses as it cools and nears the end of its existence.  Our own Sun will one day become a planetary nebula. 

Helix Nebula

A blue morning at the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier.

Have you ever gotten up early to photograph the sunrise and were hoping for brilliant colors that just didn't pop?  That was this morning.  However, I saw a chance to capture the fast moving clouds and the reflection of the pier in the water.  It turned out to be one of my favorite shots I took on this trip.  

Photographer: Jason Betzner

Year Created: 2019

Location: Virginia Beach, VA

Camera: Canon 6D with ND Filter

License:  Extended Editorial

Blue Morning

When I was in Miami Beach, I challenged myself creatively by using only a 135mm prime lens.  This forced me to look for small details in many of the art deco buildings.

One of my favorite finds were these three circles of increasing size on the side of a, now closed, Senor Frogs restaurant. 

The geometry was clean, the pastels were perfect against the blue sky, and the hint of a palm tree gave it a sense of place.

Circles a la Deco

Believe it or not, this is a Walgreens.  Sometimes I see a space-ship and other times I see a submarine, but it fits with the art deco style of curved lines and nautical port holes.  

Going into the building, it looks like any other drug store, but from the outside it looks to fit right in with other art deco architecture along Collins Ave in South Beach, or SoBe, as the locals call it.

Originally, I took this photo as a joke to show people later and have them guess what the building was, but the photo grew on me.  

Drug Store Deco

Miami Beach Deco

A solar system wanderer, Comet Atlas, encounters Earth.  It will not be back for another 80,000 years.  This dirty ice ball put on a brilliant display for weeks.  Here, the comet is captured under a nearly full moon.

Astral Encounter 3: Comet Atlas

A coronal mass ejection from the sun encounters Earth's magnetic field and creates a brilliant display of the northern lights in Virginia on October 10, 2024.

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