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David Ridge

@dridge.bsky.social
643 followers 661 following 159 posts

Husband, father, grandfather (my most important roles), retired minister (not considering myself a Christian, given what that has come to mean), left of center, follower of science and advocate for human rights. Politically outspoken but on hiatus now.

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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 14/06/2025
Well done, Boulder! I got tired of taking pics and I got there as many people were leaving... 5,000? 6,000? A LOT of people🥰
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 01/06/2025
🔭 A cache of photons collected on my prior telescope has finally been processed... NGC7822, the largest galaxy of the Deer Lick group. It's about 127,000 light years across.
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 18/05/2025
🔭 A bit negligent in my recent image posting
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
The Sunflower Galaxy hangs out about 30,000,000 light years and it's overhead at about 10pm at the end of May.
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
Near the end of the handle of the Big Dipper, M51 hangs out in our cosmic backyard (if the back fence was 31mly away 😉). At 75% the size of the Milky Way, one might wonder how many civilizations call it home. 🔭
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 12/04/2025
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
The Tiger's Eye galaxy, NGC2841, hangs out about 46m ly away around 9pm overhead these nights. This is processed in pixinsight with the Foraxx palette. About 15 hours collecting photons with a 1000mm focal length.
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
Revisiting an early image with more processing experience. The Cocoon Nebula...
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
The latest astroproject was the Leo Triplet, located overhead at about midnight these nights. 35,000,000 light years away, these three galaxies occupy a region about 500,000 light years in diameter. The light left there about half way back to the age of dinosaurs and just dropped into my 5" scope. 🔭
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
The data hasn't changed but the "processor" is more experienced 😉
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Nice image! What did you use for processing it? My recent image was a 12 hour, 2 pane mosaic shot thru a 5" and 990mm focal length, processed with pixinsight.
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 08/03/2025
Nice! My recent...
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Hmmmm. Maybe this is a more compelling image....??
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Among the several cosmic targets I've collected this far, the Crab has been on a "slow simmer". Having collected enough photons, I've now cooked it sufficiently for your consumption... Zoom in for a tasty meal. Metaphoric enough? 😁🔭
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Havin' fun with the nighttime skies again🔭. The Rosette mezmerizes me.... Zoom in and be mezmerizes as well...
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
For those that want to write your own Valentine's day card, here's an image for you... It's the Heart Nebula, located 7500 light years away in the Cassiopeia constellation. It's about 160 light years wide. Have fun with it. Right click on the image and save it to your device.
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 01/02/2025
For those keeping track of dates, here's February's wallpaper for you. That's the Jellyfish Nebula, also called SH2 248, located about two and a half fist widths (held at arms length) north of Orion's Belt at about 9PM during the first part of February. 🔭
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
To put this in a more earthly perspective, with the Jellyfish being about 20 lightyears in width, the two stars marked (if they're in the vicinity of the Jellyfish) represents the distance from our sun to the nearest star. THAT distance is 77,000 times the distance from the earth to the sun.
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
Lurking about 25* (five fist widths held at arms length) above Orion's Belt, the Jellyfish Nebula chases Orion across the sky. Perhaps the Hunter is actually the Hunted? 🔭
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
Ok, astrobugs, I thought I'd run this up the flag pole. If you'd like an old school calendar on your pc desktop and an astro image, you can download (save) this image, open Settings, choose Personalization, select Background, Browse photos, navigate to your download folder to select this image.
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
Here's a little thing I happened upon the last few nights... SH2 229 the Flaming Star Nebula, overhead at about 8pm these nights (40* N).
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 29/12/2024
Just another cloud of dust and gas... Captured with an RCX400 - 12 and QHY183C with a Starlight SX-AO. The Cocoon Nebula, aka IC 5146. Overhead at about 9pm during October.🔭
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 24/12/2024
Oh boy! I get to post here 🤓. I'm a newbie but with a fairly thick skin. Here's a just completed one (at least for this season) SH2 199 Soul Nebula. 10hrs Tak 130NFB on Temma2M, Player One Poseidon OSC, PixInsight
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 24/12/2024
Do you need proof 😂
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 24/12/2024
@bot.astronomy.blue SH2 199 hot off the sensor... 😁
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 23/12/2024
Still getting used to this UI, this didn't post in Astronomy... (sigh) Here's my contribution to the study of the Soul (SH2 199) - a two panel mosaic at 1000mm, 10 hrs RGBHa each, Tak 130NFB w/ Temma2M and Starlight SX-AO, Player One Poseidon. NINA and Pixinsight.
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 23/12/2024
Here's my contribution to the study of the Soul (SH2 199) - a two panel mosaic at 1000mm, 10 hrs RGBHa each, Tak 130NFB w/ Temma2M and Starlight SX-AO, Player One Poseidon. NINA and Pixinsight.
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 15/12/2024
I have mine per mounted and covered. I also use a gun case heater to prevent condensation inside the cover and leave that on continuously. No reason to corrode the camera or mount. 😊
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David Ridge @dridge.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
Getting my feet wet in astrophotography.... Bubble Nebula, NGC7635 - located about a fist width (held at arms length) west of Cassiopeia's chair (a flared out 'w' located overhead at 7pm these nights).
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