iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

NGC772 Nautilus or Fiddlehead Galaxy as imaged from the driveway last night. Esprit120 | ASI1600mm | CEM70 L109 R45 G35 B30 x 120s #space #astronomy #astrophotography #pixinsight #science

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Processing another data set from the Liverpool Telescope, this time NGC1073 using publicly available data from 2014-21. There were relatively few usable frames for this target, I was struck by how many bad frames there were. A feature of v.large scopes maybe? #space #science #astronomy #PixInsight

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Continuing to raid the Liverpool Telescope data archives for stuff to process. Here's NGC3184 using data from r, V + B filters as captured between 2014-21. #space #astronomy #pixinsight #science

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

yes fair, the plausability caught me out. I wonder if any of us will catch this kind of thing after a decade or so of delegating our thoughts to some external platform.

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I read this response a number of times. It seems deeply plausible, but it really doesn't make much sense. At the risk of providing feedback to a commercial llm, I can't see how the photography related act of balancing colour channels has anything to do with the position of the galaxy's central bar.

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I'm still raiding the Liverpool Telescope data archives for stuff to process. Here's the less often imaged NGC5850 using data from the r, V + B filters collected between 2014-21. Getting the data to balance in RGB was a bit of a challenge with this one. #space #astronomy #pixinsight #science

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

The archive is pretty clunky to work with so I had to create a python file to download and unzip each file into a common folder by filter. Working with the LT data I was struck by the noticeable gradients and the number of frames with trailing stars, which made me feel better about my own data

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Older data from the 2m Liverpool Telescope in La Palma Spain is publicly available for download. I thought I'd have a play with some M74 data. For an approximation of RGB I used the r, V and B filters. #space #astronomy #science #pixinsight telescope.ljmu.ac.uk/archive/cgi-...

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Well I live in the UK and do most of my imaging from the driveway in the middle of a small town. We don't get much in the way of clear skies here. This is the current astronomy forecast. To be fair we currently have a full moon so that rules out most types of imaging anyway!

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

A reprocessed NGC6946 from August, using the latest version of PixInsight and RCAstro processes. Skywatcher Esprit120 | ASI1600mm | CEM70. #NiNA #PIXINSIGHT #SPACE #SCIENCE #ASTRONOMY

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Ah, quality for sure. As a photographer, pixel peeping (zooming in for sharpness, noise and other stuff) is somewhat frowned upon. In reality just getting something centred in the frame with good noise and detail is everything, nevermind the composition. The 120mm is a joy to work with.

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

The 120mm refractor and mono camera win for sure, but having lugged the 120mm to various fields over the last few years, the 65mm is very definitely more portable!

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Hi, quite substantial, even under poor seeing conditions. I put a comparison image up on the astro post before this one, which was the M33 from the 120mm. It's a little unfair though as the smaller refractor is using an OSC, rather than a mono

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

A view from my new wide-field refractor. M33 from a few nights back. I had a ZenithStar. Things went wrong after I added a focus motor. I spent a very long time trying to fix this. It didn't work out. Aksar65PHQ, thank you for existing. Finally, a flat field! #space #astronomy #science #askar

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

In a brief respite from relentless space photos, allow me to introduce you to Hermione, our rescue cat. #cats #tortoiseshell #catsofbsky

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Ok, so I was tempted to image the SN in NGC7331, but wanted to follow through with some more data on M33 from last night. Updated image (4hrLum, 1hr+R,G,B), plus a comparison between the 120mm triplet and a very good 65mm quintuplet. #science #astronomy #astrophotography #space #pixinsight

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Here's NGC 6946, aka the Fireworks Galaxy as imaged over the last few evenings. Grabbing some more data this evening as the skies are still clear here in the UK. ~9hrs LRGB | ASI1600mm | Esprit 120 | CEM70 #space #astronomy #science #astrophotography #PixInsight

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Always working to improve my images, even if the weather and ever increasing levels of space junk would have otherwise. Here is an unscientific comparison between images taken just under 2 years apart with slightly different gear. This is NGC7129, the Cosmic Rosebud #science #space #astronomy

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

SH2-82 The Little Cocoon Nebula, as imaged from my driveway a few nights back Details: 6 hours LRGB Esprit120 | ASI1600mm | CEM70 NINA | PixInsight Oxfordshire, UK #science #astronomy #space #

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

I don't want to give the impression that all I do is wander around taking pictures of Sanctuary Knockers, but here's one from Stratford upon Avon, on Saturday. Worth a Google. This one reminds me of Agent Smith for some reason. #history #medieval #nikon

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

I thought that this was an oil or acrylic painting for a moment there.Nice composition!

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

This is the Sanctuary Knocker at Durham Cathedral. Until 1624 it was possible to claim sanctuary with it, if you happened to have committed a grave crime for good reasons, such as murder in self defense. I happened to be there for my daughters last concert as an undergrad. #history #durham

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

Just realised that I forgot to post this image from 11 May. This is the less often imaged NGC 4725, which is actually quite a pretty galaxy in Coma Berenices. I only managed a couple of hours of imaging time on it. #science #deepsky #astronomy #pixinsight #astrophotography

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

A slice of the Cygnus star cloud, including the Tulip Nebula, SH2-101. It doesn't get fully dark now here in my part of the UK. This is a composite image, with Lum from the main scope mono camera and RGB from a OSC on a small refractor on top, approx 4 hours in total. #space #science #astronomy

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

Another M101, this time from 21st to 23rd April using an old mono camera. Some small but noticeable improvements over a modern OSC. ASI1600mm microlensing artifacts are a bit of a pain to process out, to be fair. Esprit120 | CEM70 | NINA | PixInsight #astronomy #science #astrophotography #space

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

M100, as imaged between 23rd - 25th April. We only have a few hours of astronomical darkness here in the UK at this time of year, but we've had a run of clear nights recently. Details Esprit 120 + flattener | ASI1600mm Pro | CEM70 NINA | PixInsight #Astrophotography #Science #Astronomy #Space

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

Hi, here's the Leo Triplet of galaxies from last night. I took a few days off work this week and for some inexplicable reason the UK weather has actually turned out ok. Esprit 120 | ASI1600mm | CEM70 ~3 hrs Luminance, 1 - 1.5 hrs each R,G,B #Science #Astronomy #Astrophotography #PixInsight

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

M63 Sunflower Galaxy I wasn't happy with the colour in my previous processing run, so I got some more data, and reprocessed. ASI1600mm | Skywatcher Esprit 120 | CEM70 230 x 120s L, 97 x120s R, 97 x 120s G, 109 x 120s B Acquired with NINA, processed in PixInsight #Astronomy #astrophotography

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

M63, this time with added colour Esprit 120 | CEM70 | ASI1600mm ~5hrs Lum, 2hrs each R,G,B #pixinsight #astronomy #science #astrophotography

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

A first look at some M63 data from last night. I'm hoping to grab some more data this evening so that I can process the full LRGB image tomorrow. Details ~3hrs Lum x 120s ASI1600mm | Esprit 120 | CEM70 #astrophotography #pixinsight #space #science #astronomy

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

M97 Owl Nebula + M108 Surfboard Galaxy, 14th March. Not much time between clouds, but the end result came out okay given the short integration time. ASI1600mm 1hr x 180s Lum ~20min x180s R,G,B Esprit120 | CEM70 #science #astrophotograpy #astronomy #pixinsight

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Finally a clear night, albeit somewhat moonlit. Here's the first colour image from my (new to me) mono camera, which may not make sense now that I read that back to myself. These are Bode's galaxy (M81) and the Cigar Galaxy (M82), with a hint of integrated flux nebula. #space #astronomy #astrophoto

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

If you'd like to have a go at processing this data, I've made it available at: drive.google.com/file/d/1alXd...

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

thanks! For the record, I struggled to control the star to the left. One of the most incredibly infuriating things about living in the UK is the cloud cover, but also the incredibly bad seeing. I am seriously considering sending my gear off to somewhere better and imaging from there :)

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

It's still cloudy so I'm reprocessing old data. This is M101 from March. In the original version, I used the wrong dark calibration files. I really like the new multiscale adaptive stretch in PixInsight. If you haven't used it yet, it's worth a look. 307 x 180s | Esprit 120 | CEM70 #astrophotography

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

Thanks! Chipped RA worm gear, needed replacing. I bought it used, and it came with lower than expected performance. This then got worse after a few field trips, as I had left the RA axis locked in transit. This is something you're absolutely not supposed to do with a CEM70...

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

A reprocessed Mesiier 33, using OSC data from earlier last year, plus December's luminance data from my new, but old, mono camera. Esprit120 | ASI1600mm | Altair 26C | CEM 70 | Pixinsight #science #astrophotography #astronomy

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

thanks! yes, the old camera looks to be quite promising :)

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

So I picked up an old mono camera on eBay. I don't have any L-RGB filters yet, so no colour images just now. Hoping to do great things with it in 2026. Here are some test shots taken over the last few evenings. #science #astronomy #space #astrophotography

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

NGC 1333 Great to have my mount back after repair. 84 x 180s Altair 26C | Esprit 120 | CEM70 #science #astrophotography #astronomy #space

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

Our nearest galactic neighbour, the Andromeda galaxy, isn't really very pretty. Way back when, Apple pulled a satellite galaxy, M110 bottom right, out of its wallpaper for OSX to make everything more aesthetically pleasing. #science #astrophotography #astronomy Zenithstar 61ii | Altair 26C | CEM70

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

This is something of a target rich environment for amateur scopes. The Dear Lick Group and Stephan's Quintet from yesterday evening, Oxfordshire, UK 115 x 180s Altair 26C | Esprit 120 | CEM70 #science #astronomy #astrophotography #skywatcher

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

Messier 33, from last night 146 x 180s | Altair 26C | Esprit 120 | CEM70 Oxfordshire, UK #space #astrophotography #astronomy #science

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

Cygnus region, with Crescent and Veil nebulae Somehow managed to get COVID again, but summoned just enough energy to put a regular camera out on the driveway. Feeling better now anyway. Nikon Z6 + 85mm 1.8S | iOptron SkyTracker 106 x 60s | ISO 800 @f4 | BackyardNikon | PixInsight #astronomy #space

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

NGC 6888 again, from a few weeks back Details: 174 x 180s | Altair 26C + dual band filter | Esprit 120 | CEM70 #astrophotography #space #astronomy

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

NGC 6946 from last night. I've processed it to show up the foreground dust from our own Galaxy. I think that I may still have some internal reflection issues to fix though. Details: 116 x 180s | Altair 26C | Esprit 120 | CEM70 #astrophotography #space #science #skywatcherusa

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Roland Gooday @misplacedphotons.bsky.social · 09/08/2025

NGC 6888 Crescent Nebula, from southern UK. Still battling guiding issues. The CEM70 mount is not really living up to expectations, it's just too high maintenance. I miss the EQ6R. 10 x 300s | Altair 26C | Skywatcher Esprit 120 + L-Extreme | iOptron CEM 70 #space #astronomy #astrophotography

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