A few weeks ago, I discovered 'Night Mode' on my camera and did some experiments on a clear night and also on a cloudy night. The results surprised and impressed me. However, I was sure that there was more that could be done with 'Night Mode' and I just had to wait for the weather conditions to be suitable for more experiments.

On the next clear night, I again took my camera and tripod outside and set them up to have another go at photographing the constellation of Orion. Whereas my previous attempt had been very dark, this time the Moon added more light than expected during the long exposure time. Even so, the stars in Orion's Belt are much more clearly visible than last time, so I was pleased with that.

I then pointed my camera at the darkest available patch of sky, somewhere in between the Moon and the street lights, and set up another long exposure. Not ideal conditions, as the light pollution and/or damp air created 'Orbs' in the picture, but I am impressed by the amount of stellar light that the camera was able to capture.

I can see the classic W-shape of Cassiopeia towards the right hand side of the picture, and the upside down U of the Segment of Perseus on the left, but the camera sensor managed to 'see' a surprisingly large number of much fainter stars too.

So, Experiment 2 was a success, but there is still more to explore with this feature on a clear night when the Moon is not so bright!

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SashaQ

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