Northern lights by Dale Boan | Astrophoto of the week

The image that won the April 2, 2021, Photo of the Week is haunting in more ways than one. Dale Boan’s picture of the northern lights, taken from a ghost town in Saskatchewan, took the title with good composure and processing.

The northern lights over a ghost town in Saskatchewan, by Dale Boan. | SkyNews — Northern lights over a ghost town in Saskatchewan by Dale Boan

Boan took the 10-second exposure of the three buildings on March 20, 2021, using a Canon 5D Mark IV with a Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 lens.

“The trio is comprised of a home, general store and the town’s grain elevator,” he wrote. “The elevator was badly damaged in a recent winter storm resulting in its unusual roofline. This was the start of a Kp 6 geomagnetic storm that lit up 90 per cent of the sky at its peak.”

“Very powerful image, with a strong emotional appeal,” said one of the judges. “Well composed and processed.”

A beautiful image of NGC 3333 by Luc Bellavance. | SkyNews — NGC 1333 by Luc Bellavance

Our honourable mention this week goes to Luc Bellavance for his image of NGC 1333, taken from Rimouski, Quebec.

Bellavance used a QHY168C camera on William Optics 132mm refractor at f/5, with a focal length of 666mm. He said he took 30 subs at 15 minutes each and 42 subs at five minutes for a total integration time of 11 hours, and used PixInsight and PhotoShop CS6 to edit the images. He added a StarsShot autoguider was used on a Meade telescope.

Keep your eyes on the skies — and on the prize! Prizes for the 2020-21 SkyNews Photo of the Week contest are sponsored by Sky-Watcher, Celestron, iOptron and The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Click here for more details on the prize packages that will be awarded to the best photos this year.