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Rich Wilbourn

@astrorich.bsky.social
540 followers 110 following 142 posts

Retired project manager living in Houston, Texas. Nature photographer, amateur astronomer, birder, music lover, movie fan, animal lover, Progressive in a Red State, happily married, grandfather. All photos are my own unless otherwise stated.

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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
Jupiter and the Great Red Spot, a centuries old storm with 180mph winds twice the size of Earth. #astronomy #sky #jupiter #nightsky
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
I’m a big believer in taking the extra step to print your images. I use an Epson P900 printer that can take paper sizes up to 17”x20”. It really makes the image come alive. #stars #photography #astronomy
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
The Bubble Nebula 10,000 light years away in the constellation Cassiopeia. #stars #nebula #astrophotography
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
Mauna Kea Milky Way Got to visit the iconic Mauna Kea observatory in Hawaii recently and had to take some Milky Way shots from high altitude. This is a stack of 3 minutes total integration time. The MW was more clearly defined to the unaided eye. #stars #milkyway #maunakea
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
Kilauea eruption. We booked a room at the Volcano House in the Volcano National Park in Hawaii and lucked out when this happened. #volcanos #Hawaii #Kilauea
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
Can you see it?
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 14/09/2025
Announcing the discovery of the Possum Nebula tucked in between the North America and Pelican nebula. The search is on for the Raccoon Nebula. #stars #humor #milkyway #funny #astronomy
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
The Iris Nebula A blue reflection nebula surrounded by dark nebula in the northern Milky Way. I shot 80 five minute exposures over two nights under dark skies to capture this beautiful portion of our galaxy. #stars #space #nebula #astrophotography
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
The Eastern Veil Nebula. Part of a supernova that exploded thousands of years ago in the constellation Cygnus. In this false-color image, red shows hydrogen gas and green/blue shows oxygen. #stars #astrophotography #nebula #veilnebula #space
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
“The Cygnus Wall” Part of the rich nebula of the Milky Way in the constellation Cygnus the Swan. This is a false-color image captured with special filters. I love the stormy looking tendrils like a scene from Star Trek. #stars #nebula #milkyway #nightsky
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
Rho Ophiuchi This region of the summer Milky Way has it all - red emission nebula, blue reflection nebula, dark nebula and a globular cluster. 2 1/2 hours of total integration time. Five minute exposures. #stars #nebula #astrophotography #milkyway #rhoophiuchi
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
Storm A few more dramatic images of storm clouds from my astrophotography trip to the Texas Hill Country a while back. Sometimes the most beautiful “nebula” are closer to Earth. #photography #storms #clouds #nature #thumderstorms
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 08/06/2025
Hill Country Storm An astrophotography trip last year began with a spectacular thunderstorm. We even spotted a small tornado that formed briefly. #photography #nature #storms #lightening
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
New Wings Here’s one of the great blue heron chicks from earlier this year testing out his new wings. #birds #photography #greatblueheron #nature
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
The Needle Galaxy NGC4565 A dramatic and beautiful edge-on galaxy at roughly 40 million light years distance. Note the other galaxies nearby. #stars #astrophotography #galaxies
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
The Orion Nebula I created this image from 103 ten second exposures (about 17 minutes total). #stars #astrophotography #Orion #photography
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Ancient Starlight While processing my picture of the three galaxies in Leo, I spotted a couple of small, fuzzy objects that are other galaxies. To my surprise, the one labeled IC2729 is documented at a distance of 1.06 BILLION light years! #stars #astrophotography #galaxies
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
Three Galaxies in Leo M65, M66 and NGC3628. Approximately 35 million light years away. #stars #astrophotography #galaxies
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
Snowy Egret Gaze The herons and egrets put on a tremendous amount of showy feathers during mating season which makes them really fun to photograph. #birds #wildlifephotography #outdoor #egrets
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 30/03/2025
Galaxy M83 15 million light years away in the constellation Hydra. A rotating mass of 40 billion stars and billions of planets essentially quarantined from us due to sheer distance. Is anyone or anything looking back? #stars #astrophotography #astronomy
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
Flying Solo A lone roseate spoonbill returning to its nest as a foggy twilight closes in. Taken at the Houston Audubon Smith Oaks Rookery at High Island, Texas. #birds #photography #wildlifephotography
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
Lunar Eclipse March 14, 2025 #stars #astrophotography #moon #eclipse #lunareclipse
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Cantankerous Spoonbills There’s always a dispute among the spoonbills during nesting season. Prime locations are in short supply as are sticks and other building materials. Somehow it all works out. #birds #wildlifephotography #nature #highislandtexas
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Mating Season is Here A pair of great white egrets show off their mating feathers. Already paired up, they’re working on their nest where a couple of turquoise colored eggs will turn into a set of fuzzy dinosaur-like chicks, #birds #wildlifephotography #photography #nature
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
The Rookery One of my favorite places to see wildlife on the Texas Gulf Coast - the Houston Audubon Society’s Smith Oaks Rookery at High Island. The white ones are great egrets. There are plenty of roseate spoonbills and cormorants too. Sound ON for this one. #birds #wildlifephotography
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
The Veil Nebula in Cygnus Part of an arc of gas that’s the remnant of an exploded star. 1500 to 2500 light years away. #stars #astrophotography #photography #milkyway #nebula #astronomy
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
Happy Valentines Day #birds #photography #wildlifephotography #nature #greatblueherons #herons #valentinesday
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Great Blue Herons Build Their Nest I’m actually following three different nests that are all close neighbors to one another. Here’s one pair trying to find the perfect fit for this new stick. #birds #wildlifephotography #photography #greatblueherons
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
Great Blue Herons It’s only February but these two have paired up and started a nest. I hope to follow their progress and photograph the chicks. #birds #wildlifephotography #nature #greatblueherons #photography
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Great Blue Heron Having a Moment Not sure what this bird was up to! It’s mating season already here close to the Gulf Coast so the courtships and nest building has begun. #birds #wildlifephotography #nature #wildlife #greatblueherons
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
Oregon Squirrel Oddly enough, on a trip to photograph the magnificent Oregon coast, my favorite shot was this squirrel against the turquoise sea. The lesson: look around, don’t get locked into your expectations. #wildlifephotography #photography #wildlife #Oregon #nature
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
Milky Way and Perseid Meteors #stars #astrophotography #milkyway
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
The Pinwheel Galaxy, M101 This magnificent galaxy with roughly 1 trillion stars is 21 million light years distant. Look close at the fuzzy spots nearby, they’re other galaxies. The Universe is swarming with galaxies. #stars #astrophotography #nightsky #galaxies
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
NGC2174, the Monkey Head Nebula in Orion. 6400 light years away. Shot this recently from my light-polluted backyard thanks to some specialized filters. 3hrs, 50min total exposure time. #stars #astronomy #space #nebula
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
Great Horned Owls, family portrait Taken a few years ago at Brazos Bend State Park outside of Houston, Texas. #birds #wildlifephotography #nature #photography #owls
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
Zooming in on the Heart Nebula. 7500 light years away in Cassiopeia. I shot this with special nebula filters so the red shows glowing hydrogen gas, the green is oxygen and the blue is sulphur. #stars #astrophotography #photography
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 05/01/2025
Sandhill Cranes by the Thousand Nebraska Sandhill crane migration. Landing on the Platte River. An awesome sight not to be missed. Dr Jane Goodall calls it “one of Earth’s great migrations”. #wildlifephotography #birds #nature #photography
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 05/01/2025
Sandhill Crane Landing If you love birds, you’ll want to see the sandhill crane Spring migration in Nebraska. Up to half a million birds gather there and overnight along the Platte River. One of Earth’s “great migrations”. #wildlife #birds #photography #nature #cranes
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 01/01/2025
The famous Horsehead Nebula in Orion #stars #astrophotography #astronomy #wintersky
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 28/12/2024
Great Egret Windy Day Mating display feathers are getting ruffled for this egret on a windy day in early Spring. #birds #wildlifephotography #photography #nature #wildlife
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 27/12/2024
Great Blue Heron Love it when the GBHs put on their mating feathers in the Spring. #birds #wildlife #wildlifephotography #photography #naturw
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 22/12/2024
Zooming in on the Milky Way On the left, the North American and Pelican Nebula taken last Summer. On the right, a crop of just the upper left corner of the first image. All those little speckles are individual stars in our galaxy and most of them have planets. #stars #astronomy #photography
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
Crested Caracara I’m always excited to see one of these birds. Their range is mostly in Mexico and Central/South America. Captured this image at Anahuac NWR on the Gulf Coast, not far from Galveston, TX. #birds #wildlifephotography #nature #wildlife #birdsofbluesky
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
NGC253 One of my favorite galaxies because of all of the dark nebula visible in the disk. Located in the southern constellation Sculptor, it’s not easy to see from most of the US. 11M light years away. #stars #astronomy #astrophotography #photography #galaxies
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
NGC 6888, the Crescent Nebula A cloud of gas 5000 light year distant in the thick of the Cygnus Milky Way. Captured this last Summer with my new 130mm refractor under dark skies. About 3 hours of total exposure. #stars #astronomy #astrophotography #photography
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
Cattle Egret Even the humble cattle egret looks pretty awesome when they put on their mating feathers each Spring. Photographed this one at a small county park near Alvin, Texas. #birds #wildlife #wildlifephotography #nature #photography
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 15/12/2024
Oregon Wave The Oregon coast is a photographer’s dream location. #photography #landscapes #Oregon
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 14/12/2024
Omega Centauri The largest of all the globular clusters. 10 million stars, 150 light years across, 17,090 light years away. Captured this from the dark skies of the Texas Hill Country. #stars #milkyway #astronomy #starclusters
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
Adult and juvenile roseate spoonbills on the Texas coast at High Island. My favorite bird photography location. #birds #photography #nature #wildlife #pink #smithoaks #highisland
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Rich Wilbourn @astrorich.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
Dark Nebula - Barnard 150, the Seahorse Nebula. 1200 light years away in the constellation Cepheus. #stars #astrophotography #nebula #milkyway
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