iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 27/12/2025

Saddened to hear of the damage to the 36" dome at Lick Observatory. It's unknown how this will impact our public programs in the spring, but I'm just glad no one was hurt and that the historic telescope itself doesn't seem to have been damaged. news.ucsc.edu/2025/12/hist...

Photo shows a huge section of the 36" telescope dome ripped off and fallen onto the roof of the building next door.

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 15/12/2025

Penultimate image from my 2024 dark sky observing trip: the California Nebula. And by golly, it really does look like California! 😆 1h 6' integration time, stacked using Siril and lightly processed with Adobe Photoshop & Lightroom. #astronomy #astrophotography #astro #siril #photoshop #lightroom

Nebula stretching up and down the screen, that very much resembles the state of California on a map. Lots of reds and oranges and yellows in the image.

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 14/12/2025

Look up! It's the Andromeda Galaxy coming directly for us! ETA 4.5 billion years 👀 From the 2nd night of my 2024 observing trip to the Sierra Nevada mountains. Only 51' integration time because brr it was cold 🥶 #astronomy #astrophotography #andromeda

Beautiful spiral galaxy viewed from a diagonal angle. You can see details of the arms and a bright core. There are 2 other galaxies in the image, above and below.

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 12/12/2025

Well this is kind of wild. I hadn’t checked my stats on @unsplash.com in months. And suddenly I’m in the top 25% of contributors?? Top 10% in the last 30 days! 🤯 #astrophotography #astronomy #unsplash

A chart showing how many people have viewed my astrophotography photos over time. The most popular is my image of the Andromeda Galaxy.

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 12/12/2025

More from my 2024 dark sky trip... Here's the Eagle Nebula (M16) & Omega Nebula (M17). 1h 51′ total integration time. Taken with my Redcat 51 & Canon DLSR on a VERY cold night high in the Sierra Nevadas 🏔️ If you squint - or zoom - you'll see the Pillars of Creation. #astrophotography #astronomy

2 nebulae amongst a sea of background stars. Image is centered on the Eagle Nebula which contains the famous "Pillars of Creation".

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 10/12/2025

More from my 2024 dark sky trip... North America Nebula (NGC 7000) & Pelican Nebula (IC 5070). Prior to this, I had never captured the Pelican in its entirety in a single photo. But thanks to the huge FOV on the Redcat 51, I see it really does look like a giant bird! #astronomy #astrophotography

The dominant feature in this photo is the Pelican Nebula. It literally looks like a giant winged bird, with the head looking to the right and 2 huge wings below it.

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 10/12/2025

Resharing images from my September 2024 dark sky observing trip to the Sierra Nevadas. First up: the Lagoon (M8) & Trifid (M20) Nebulas. 2h 9' total integration time with my Redcat 51 & Canon DSLR camera mounted on ZWO AM5. #astrophotography #astronomy

Lagoon Nebula on the left and Trifid Nebula on the right. Lagoon appears much larger than the Trifid. Both display vibrant hues of red, blue, steel-grey/white.

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 14/12/2024

Excited to be making the space nerd pilgrimage: catching the midnight showing of Interstellar being re-released in IMAX 🍿🥤🚀🪐 Half the theater look like they weren’t born yet when the movie first came out but nevertheless so excited for this!

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 20/11/2024

Done! And I reported and blocked a couple more 🫠

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 29/09/2024

I’m OFFICIAL y’all! Well actually I’ve been official for a few months now but this seals the deal 😂 Loving my gig at Lick Observatory! Come by for a tour & view through the Great 36” Lick Refractor before we close up for winter 🔭

My official Lick Observatory Public Programs Telescope Operator name tag

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 28/09/2024

I’ve set up a retail shop for my #astrophotography! If you’re in the market for some fun astronomy-themed phone cases, notebooks, and more, check out queerastro.space 🔭 I plan to keep adding more to it over time. Next up: tote bags! Thanks for your support! 🏳️‍🌈

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 24/09/2024

Nice! Here’s my recent go at this one from just a couple of weeks ago.

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 18/09/2024

Bluesky now has over 10 million users, and I was #4,699,061!

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 16/09/2024

I just launched my new website! 💥 Check out queerastro.space for all my astronomy & #astrophotography related stuff 🔭 It’s just my photography portfolio for now but I plan to add a #citizenscience section soon 🧪

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 10/09/2024

In honor of the 25th anniversary of the first ever detection of a transiting exoplanet HD 209458b, here is my direct observation of another exoplanet transit TOI-1259 Ab... ...captured from my backyard with a commercially available telescope (Unistellar eQuinox) 🔭🧪 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_2094...

Light curve showing an obvious dip in the center during the transit of the exoplanet

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 07/09/2024

12/🧵 All in all, it was a super productive & enjoyable trip ⛰️😅 Many thanks to the staff of Barcroft Station for making our stay so enjoyable ❤️ www.wmrc.edu/barcroft-sta... And shout out to East Bay Astronomical Society for organizing the trip. I can’t wait to go back next year! 🌌🔭

My setup with 3 telescopes & a pair of binoculars

The landscape at the top of the mountain. Very desert-like with small shrubs.

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 07/09/2024

11/🧵 Lastly, I did some #solar observing with my Unistellar scope. Here’s a short animation of multiple sunspot clusters over the course of 5 hours on Tuesday September 3, 2024. I took 1 image per hour. As you can see, there was lots of activity that day! 🔭🧪 #astronomy

At least 5 distinct clusters of sunspots moving across from right to left

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 07/09/2024

10/🧵 I also collected data on a new #supernova: ZTF24abejmqz. It was first detected just a few days ago on September 1, 2024 in the constellation Cepheus 🎆 I was able to measure its magnitude at 12.29 +/- 0.07. 🔭🧪 #astronomy #citizenscience

Chart showing the measured magnitude of the supernova

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 07/09/2024

9/🧵 I also had the opportunity to do a bit of #citizenscience with my other telescope, the Unistellar eQuinox. I captured the transit of exoplanet TOI-1259 Ab, a 0.441 Jupiters gas giant discovered in 2021. 🔭🧪 #astronomy #exoplanets

Light curve graph showing a clear and distinct dip during the transit

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 07/09/2024

7/🧵 [DAY 2] Orion Nebula (M42), Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33), Flame Nebula (NGC 2024). 36′ integration time. 🔭 #astrophotography www.astrobin.com/2q9zhs/

Cropped & zoomed in shot of the Orion Nebula

Cropped & zoomed in shot of the Flame & Horsehead nebulae

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 07/09/2024

6/🧵 [DAY 2] California Nebula (NGC 1499). 1h 6′ integration time. 🔭 #astrophotography www.astrobin.com/p0ofdh/

Large dusty red nebula that does in fact resemble the state of California

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 07/09/2024

5/🧵 [DAY 2] Andromeda Galaxy (M31). 51′ integration time. 🔭 #astrophotography www.astrobin.com/7ouuod/

Huge bright galaxy with lots of dust lanes visible in the shot

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 07/09/2024

4/🧵 [DAY 2] Eagle Nebula (M16) & Omega Nebula (M17). 1h 51′ integration time. 🔭 #astrophotography www.astrobin.com/1zm7fm/

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 07/09/2024

3/🧵 [DAY 1] North America Nebula (NGC 7000) & Pelican Nebula (IC 5070). 1h 45′ integration time. 🔭 #astrophotography www.astrobin.com/6k2ny5/

Lots of red colored gas & dark dust lanes. It supposedly resembles the continent of North America but I don't really see it.

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 07/09/2024

2/🧵 [DAY 1] Lagoon Nebula (M8) & Trifid Nebula (M20). 2h 9′ integration time. 🔭 #astrophotography www.astrobin.com/9404jv/B/

Cropped & zoomed in shot of the 2 nebulae

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 07/09/2024

I recently spent 2 days doing #astrophotography at Barcroft Station in the White Mountains of the Sierra Nevadas. It’s located at 3,800 meters (12,470 ft) above sea level, with pristine Bortle 1 skies and sub-arcsecond seeing 🔭 Check out these images from my trip 1/🧵

Me on the road pointing to the Barcroft 8 miles ahead sign]

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 07/09/2024

Here are the images referenced above without having to link out to my Astrobin page, plus alt text for each. 1/multiple

Cropped & zoomed in shot of Lagoon & Trifid nebulae

Wide field shot of Lagoon & Trifid nebulae

North America nebula. Lots of red colored gas & dark dust lanes. It supposedly resembles the continent of North America but I don't really see it.

Wide field shot of Eagle (center) & Omega nebulae

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 07/09/2024

11/🧵 Lastly, I did some #solar observing with my @Unistellar scope. Here’s a short animation of multiple sunspot clusters over the course of 5 hours on Tuesday September 3, 2024. I took 1 image per hour. As you can see, there was lots of activity that day! 🔭🧪 #astronomy

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 07/09/2024

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 07/09/2024

9/🧵 I also had the opportunity to do a bit of #citizenscience with my other telescope, the @Unistellar eQuinox. I captured the transit of exoplanet TOI-1259 Ab, a 0.441 Jupiters gas giant discovered in 2021. 🔭🧪 #astronomy #exoplanets

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 20/08/2024

Veil Nebula (Western Veil, Eastern Veil, & Pickering's Triangle). Cloud of heated & ionized gas & dust in the constellation Cygnus. It is 2,400 light-years away & spans 3 degrees across, or roughly 6x the diameter of the full Moon. Imaged on August 18, 2024 from my backyard with my Redcat 51 🔭

Roughly a C-shape. The Western Veil is a semicircle on top of the image. Eastern Veil is a similar semicircle on the bottom. Pickering's Triangle is the center of the C.

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 16/08/2024

Every time Donald Dump says something infuriating, I make another donation to the Harris-Walz campaign. I'm going to go broke, aren't I? 🥴 #KamalaHarris2024 #YesWeKam2024

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 23/06/2024

Photos from last night at Lick Observatory! 🔭🧪 The first is of the laser shooting out from the dome of the 3-meter Shane Telescope. It creates the artificial guide star for the adaptive optics instrument. The second is of the open dome of the Shane Telescope 🤩

Yellow laser beam emanating from the telescope dome.

The open dome of the Shane Telescope. It looks a little like Pac-Man.

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 08/05/2024

This is the telescope I’ll be working with in my new role as a telescope operator at Lick Observatory! The “Great Lick Refractor” is 57 feet long, 4 feet in diameter, and weighs over 25,000 lbs! 🤯 It was built between 1880-1888 and is the second-largest refracting telescope in the world. 🔭🧪

$The Great Lick Refractor under an open dome.$ 3 telescope operators getting the scope set up for public viewing.

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 06/05/2024

I’m beyond thrilled to share that I’ve been hired as a telescope operator at Lick Observatory!! 🔭🧪 I'll mostly be working with the 36-inch Lick Refractor for their public outreach programs. But I may also get to work with the 3-meter Nickel Telescope which is used by the NIROSETI researchers 👽

Offer email from Elinor Gates; PhD to become a telescope operator.

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 01/05/2024

Markarian’s Chain of galaxies in the constellation Virgo, imaged from my Bortle 8 backyard at 37.8N on April 29, 2024. ⏱️ 1.5 hours total integration time 🔭 William Optics Redcat 51 (250mm f/4.9) 📸 Canon EOS 6D DSLR 🟣 Optolong L-Pro 🏔️ ZWO AM5 👨🏻‍💻 Siril, Photoshop, Lightroom #astrophotography

Line of galaxies from the top left to the bottom right. They're arranged as if there is a "face" at the bottom right (eyes and mouth), with a "body" behind it. To me, it looks like a smiling caterpillar.

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 24/04/2024

Re-processed a couple of my recent observations: Leo Triplet & M104 Sombrero Galaxy 🔭 I’m happier with these 🤩 But also I hope to gather more photons on these later this week✌🏻

Sombrero Galaxy. It literally like a sombrero hat.

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 21/04/2024

M5 Rose Cluster imaged from my Bortle 8 backyard on April 11, 2024 at 37.8N. It is a globular cluster in the constellation Serpens. ⏱️ 0.9 hours total integration time 🔭 William Optics Redcat 51 (250mm f/4.9) 📸 Canon EOS 6D DSLR 🏔️ ZWO AM5 👨🏻‍💻 Siril, Photoshop, Lightroom

In the center is a tight cluster of stars with a very bright core. It is located in a sea of other stars, with some discernible differences in color. Some are golden yellow & others appears light blue.

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 20/04/2024

M104 Sombrero Galaxy From April 15, 2024 at 37.8N. 69 x 60 second exposures. Stacked & processed with Siril. Edited in Photoshop and Lightroom. 🔭: William Optics Redcat 51 (250mm f/4.9) 📸: Canon EOS 6D DSLR Mount: ZWO AM5 #astrophotography #astronomy #redcat51 #zwoam5mount #canonphotography

Sombrero Galaxy in the center of a field of stars. It literally looks like a sombrero hat if it was tilted on its side vertically.

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 18/04/2024

Close-up of the Leo Triplet of galaxies (M66, M65, NGC 3628), imaged from my backyard on April 11, 2024. 🔭 Observed with my Redcat 51 APO refractor & imaged with my Canon EOS 6D DSLR camera.

3 galaxies arranged in a triangle, with 1 on the left and 2 on the right of the image.

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 13/04/2024

Leo Triplet (M66, M65, NGC 3628). 97 minutes stacked and processed with Siril, Photoshop, and Lightroom. 🔭: William Optics Redcat 51 (250mm f/4.9) Mount: SWO AM5 📸: Canon EOS 6D DSLR #astrophotography #astronomy #galaxies

3 galaxies arranged in a triangle admist a sea of stars.

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 09/04/2024

Still coming down off of the #eclipse high, so I figured I’d get a jump start on setting up my gear for my first “real” observing run tonight. I’m planning to go for the Leo Triplet since I’ve never captured all 3 galaxies in a single view. 🔭

My astrophotography rig set up outside in my yard: ZWO AM5 mount, Redcat 51 telescope, Canon camera, and tripod.

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 08/04/2024

GIF of the 34.25% partial #eclipse from my yard in northern California! While it doesn't compare with totality, you can see 2 huge sun spots moving over the course of the eclipse, which is pretty cool IMO ☀️🌕🔭🧪

Animated gif of the Moon moving across the Sun from right to left, covering about 34% of the Sun at maximum. You can also see 2 prominent areas of sun spots moving left to right over time as well.

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 07/04/2024

FIRST LIGHT with the new astrophotography rig! 🔭 Rosette Nebula with only 8 minutes of data, so it's super noisy. But at least I got some end-to-end practice, including stacking & pre-processing in Siril, then editing in Photoshop & Lightroom.

Rosette Nebula. It vaguely looks like a red rose when viewed from above, hence the name.

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Ethan Teng @citizenskies.com · 17/03/2024

Northern Hemisphere observers! Get out your telescopes & take a gander at Mercury tonight after sunset. It'll be shining at brilliant magnitude -0.9 over the western horizon 🤩 It will span about 6.4″ and appear about 70% illuminated. 🔭

Map of the evening sky tonight (March 17) showing Mercury almost directly over the western horizon. Jupiter will also be shining brightly higher up in the sky in the west.

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