iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Andrew McCarthy

Cathrin Machin Space Art @cathrinmachin.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Guys… if took us *months* of work. But here it is…. Andrew McCarthy photographed the area around the Pillars of Creation originally shot by Hubble… and he asked ME to edit it 🥹 Freaking oh my god look how it turned out!!! @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social

A lady with brown hair, glasses, and a big smile, holding a picture frame with a nebula she proudly made with her friend andrew. The nebula is magical and has blue and orange pops of colour.

320934

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Glad you like it!! It’s my favorite product I’ve ever made, I can’t wait to design the next one!

020

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

Yes! You might have an import tax though :(

000

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

I wrestled with the idea of doing this because it felt like exploiting Gregory- so each photo was only captured while he was just doing his normal routine. I will also be making a donation to the shelter I got him from with calendar proceeds (will post the actual amount EOY)

2864

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

He went from being miserable in a shelter to bringing millions of people closer to the stars. It's hard to imagine a more perfect glow-up! He's also now starring in his own cosmic calendar, which you can see here! cosmicbackground.io/products/202...

411414

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

One year ago today I found Gregory in the back of a cage at a shelter. He was the oldest cat and had been there the longest... and his sad eyes broke my heart. Today he's a sassy, talkative friend who sits with me while I take photos of space. Happy adoption day Greggers!

1222627

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

Shadow is static because I masked in a single frame from the stack so the shadow wasn’t blurred

020

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

That would be true if these were trails from earth’s motion, which they aren’t. These are trails from lunar motion! Roughly 1.5 hours of exposures were used for the trails here

120

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

I used two telescopes taking thousands of photos while tracking the moon to capture star trails that visualize the motion during a lunar eclipse.

613828

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

I’m starting to suspect his stuffed carrot may actually be filled with drugs

3954

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

I spent months shooting a specific part of the Milky Way to reveal all the hidden nebulae. I call it “Above the Rift”, a 337 megapixel, 140 hour exposure. My deepest look at the Milky Way yet. Available in print until tomorrow night at the link in my bio.

2161871

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

This is incorrect. It was captured in hydrogen-alpha light, which is perfectly visible. 6562.8 angstroms. Source: am the photographer.

160

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

I call this piece "Kardashev Dreams" as it represents the humble beginnings as our civilization grows I released it in two versions: This one, and one that's an uncropped panorama you can see on my website here: cosmicbackground.io/pages/kardas... Prints available for a short time!

1847

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

On Sunday I traveled to the middle of the desert to capture this: The ISS against our sun. What I didn't expect: the sun producing a magnificent flare at the same time A once-in-a-lifetime shot I'm thrilled to share with you. See the uncropped shot or get the print in the reply

17727231

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

Right now the night sky is pointed away from the galactic plane, which means you're seeing deep into intergalactic space when you look up. This is what the intergalactic space looks like through my 12" scope, captured from my backyard last night. So many galaxies!

610413

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 22/03/2025

Venus is currently at inferior conjunction, which mean's it's the closest it'll get to the sun when seen from Earth. This photo I captured this afternoon shows the slim phase of the planet as it slips between us and our star.

5959

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

Last night I used 4 cameras to capture the ultimate HDR view of the lunar eclipse This 300GB/440 megapixel image shows the lunar surface in extreme detail, while revealing all rich color that was projected onto the surface Get a print for a short time, linked in my bio.

16442112

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

Here’s some of my favorite photos I captured in 2024. Several bucket-list shots were captured! Theres so much more I’m planning for 2025. I hope you’ll follow along! ☺️

79811

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 25/12/2024

Got him! It’s tricky to capture since he moves so fast, but with good equipment and a bit of perseverance, magic can happen! Merry Christmas!

261364140

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

He went from the saddest cat in the shelter to claiming all my stuff as his in just 3 short months. This was the exact glow-up I hoped for!

41128

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

I spent 10 years curating that community and my career depends on it, I’m not giving up on it!

210

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

Thank you. It was hard :( Bailey is doing well, but she’s an old girl now so I have to pay close attention to her!

120

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

Calvin passed last year :( Thanks for the heads up. I’ll consider being less explicit but it’ll be a difficult adjustment.

120

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

Gregory pic since that’s the real reason everyone follows me

1916011

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

Twitter takes some work, but it is quite pleasant for me. I stay out of politics and don’t engage with content that upsets me. My algorithm shows me mainly space and cats. It’ll take work to do the same thing here. My entire feed is nothing but angry politics on this app.

050

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

🙏 I’ll try and be more active here. It’ll just take time to get in the habit of posting.

110

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

I’m committed to remaining apolitical no matter how crazy things get. I firmly believe that even the worst people can benefit from taking a moment to appreciate the cosmos, meanwhile we can all use a break in our stressful feeds. I don’t want to contribute to divisiveness, it’s counterproductive.

110

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

Yeah I think our government overspends like crazy. That doesn’t mean I want to take peoples rights away 😭😭😭 I’m pretty left on most issues and can’t stand Trump. Unfortunately these days not being extremely vocal about it can give people the wrong idea.

230

Andrew McCarthy @ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

Hi 👋 Andrew here. Managing yet another social media account sounds daunting to me so I will likely not be super active at first, but I want to be everywhere you guys want me to be. If this account grows I’ll be more active- so tell your friends!

2919633