iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 19/10/2025

NGC281 Pac-Man nebula. Within the constellation Cassiopeia. Estimated at 9,200 light years away. #astrophotography

Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 05/10/2025

NGC6960 Western Veil nebula. Not the best night with a near full moon but you take what you can. This is a supernova remnant from 10-20,000 years ago, spanning 3 degrees or 6 full moon diameters. Hydrogen is mapped to red and Oxygen is mapped to blue/green (HOO imaging). #astrophotography

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

Lobster Claw nebula and the Bubble nebula. Both are positioned in the constellation Cassiopeia. The Bubble nebula is 7,100 light years distant while the Lobster Claw is an amazingly 11,000 light years distant. The Lobster claw is the same width as two full moons.! #astrophotography

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

NGC7380 - Wizard Nebula Discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1787. Nebula illuminated by a young star cluster in Cepheus. Estimated to be between 7,000 to 8,500 light years away. #astrophotography

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

IC1396 - Elephant Trunk nebula Over 2,400 light years away. The nebula is dim but large, exceeding 4 full moons in diameter. The nebula gets its name from the prominent dark dust lane extending to its center. #astrophotography

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

Mosaic of the North American nebula (NGC7000) and Pelican nebula (IC5070). Narrowband using the Hubble pallet for Ha, S2, and O3. #astrophotography

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

NFC6992 Eastern Veil nebula. Captured in narrowband -Hubble pallet. 300 sec subs about 1.5 hours per Ha, O3, S2 filter. The square area to the right is called the Bat nebula. #astrophotography

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

I’m still here… Terrible weather and dealing with a freak torn rotator cuff = no Astro photos. Doesn’t look to be surgically fixable so some lifestyle changes in store. Get lemons, make lemonade. Tuesday is looking positive for clear skies so keeping fingers crossed.

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

No posts for a while. In the process of moving and it is fully consuming of my time. Hope to have more astro photos soon!

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

Great question. When I do a linear fit on the narrowband data, it balances the 3 narrowband images. O3, which is weakest in this image, gets a boost from that utility. In this case, the 3 masters show equal strength for that nebula. But with O3 promoted, it moves it closer to green and blue.

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

Great catch, I should have identified it in my post. It is NGC2261 - Hubble variable nebula. I had no idea what it was initially.

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

NGC2264 Cone Nebula taken with narrowband filters. I mapped red for Hydrogen, blue for Oxygen III, and blended Sulfur II as a complimentary yellow tone. Just over 2,700 light years away. #astrophotography

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

Rosette nebula NGC2237 with red=hydrogen, oxygen=blue processed as HOO. Sulfur was added as a yellow highlight. Located in the constellation Monoceros, it is 5,200 light-years away from Earth. This emission nebula spans about 130 light-years across.

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

M13 - The Great Hercules Cluster is one of 150 known globular cluster within the Milky Way. The associated stars of the cluster tend to be very old with some actually approaching being the oldest stars in the universe. #astrophotography

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

Today is perihelion, the day earth is closest to the sun. It also marks the period of the latest sunrise in the northern hemisphere. The two are closely linked due to the earths orbital speed increasing as it reaches perihelion and decelerating afterwards causing changes to the solar time.

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

Some background on the narrowband colors. For IC443 I mapped Hydrogen to red, Oxygen to blue, and Sulfur to green. Sulfur dominates the supernova shell so it has a primary green cast. You can see layers of oxygen (light blue) surrounding the shell. Others areas hydrogen (red) dominates.

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

IC443 Jellyfish nebula in Gemini shot across 3 nights. A supernova remnant created about 30,000 years ago. Over 5,000 light years away and 70 light years across. #astrophotography

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

Definitely. I just hope he can get it back.

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

My first astrophotography purchase in early 2019 was an iOptron SkyGuider Pro. It allowed me to take 45-60 second shots with my DSLR. It required manual polar aligning and of course no goto but I was fully impressed with the longer exposures.

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

Have a bud that lost his mount after sending it to Orion for repair just days before their announcement. He’s hoping to repurchase it if it shows up on the auction.

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

I see it available on Amazon but wondered if there a better/preferred place I can purchase?

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

NGC2174 also known as the Monkey Head Nebula is an emission nebula in the constellation Orion at about 6,400 light years away. I mapped Hydrogen to red, Oxygen 3 to blue, and Sulfur 2 to yellow. Ended up with a magenta area where the oxygen and hydrogen were strongest. #astrophotography

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

Wow! I forgot about the fast f/3.3 optics in that scope paired with a full frame camera. Nice!!!

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

Great job!!! How many panels did you have to combine for this image? I did this with my Esprit 100 and was able to get away with only two.

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

Looking to get into astrophotography? I started with a simple DSLR and tripod. Set your camera to take 30 seconds shots and point near Polaris There is free software that will allow you to stitch your photos into an incredible image!

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

Nice!!! I need a travel tripod and a possible 2nd tripod for my other scopes. Now just finding $2300 on a credit card 😀

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

I have the AM5N on my short list for a second mount. Currently using the EQ6-R. I have an older LX10 I recently deforked that by the looks of your setup should be fine. Do you need any counterweights on the LX200 for balance?

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

Below are YouTube astrophotographers I follow. AstroBackyard got me hooked 5 years ago that started my journey! - Adam Block, AstroBackyard, Cosgrove Cosmos, Dark Rangers Inc, Dylan O’Donnell, Easy Astro Images, Lukomatico, Nebula Photos, Peter Zelinka, Seti Astro, View into Space, VisibleDark

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

I can never get the O3 to pop like you have. Great job!

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

Thanks Paul for sharing! Such a beautiful area and culture. I will definitely let you know!

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

I just read about the festival of Matariki. What a beautiful celebration! Traveling to New Zealand is on my bucket list of trips

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

NGC2264 - Cone nebula. Dark V shaped object in the upper right and below it the Christmas Tree cluster of stars. Both are an incredible 2,300 light years away. I normally crop into the subject more but really liked the interplay with the dark nebula LDN1610 bottom left #astrophotography

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

M42 Orion Nebula. Taken in 2022, I’m overdue for an update to one of the jewels of the night sky. To the left is NGC1977 the Running Man Nebula. M42 by itself is 24 light years across. This is 5-6x further away in distance than our closest star Proxima Centauri!

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Mike Parker @mp63.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

Thanks. This is a fantastic way to show your audience everything in the image. I will be using this from now on.

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