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Peter Herth @peterherth.bsky.social · 6h

The moon today - its finally back!

Four days after the new moon, I was finally able to spot it at the early evening sky. The moon is still a thin sickle, the sky isn't black yet. As it is not clear, the color is red, with a little pink in it. Some thin veils of clouds are partially covering the moon.

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Peter Herth @peterherth.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Heute sind hier die Bedingungen... schlecht!

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Peter Herth @peterherth.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Here the same picture with labels.

This picture marks the two main objects from the picture above.

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Peter Herth @peterherth.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

The moon today - its the full moon!

At the time of the full moon the whole moon is lit in bright sunlight. While this shows the full disk, the contrast are lowest, as the sunlight comes exactly from the same direction as we look towards the moon.

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Peter Herth @peterherth.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

The moon tonight. What was shown as the "golden handle" yesterday, which stuck out of the dark is now just the rim of a crater which is fully illuminated.

The moon on the black sky of the night. The disk is now mostly lit, the full moon is coming soon.

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Peter Herth @peterherth.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

The moon - today it shows the "golden handle".

The two thirds lit moon in front of the black sky. Today is the special day where a crater on the north-west corner of the lit region is half-lit by the sunlight. The rim is brightly lit, the floor still completely black, creating the illusion of a handle sticke out from the moon.

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Peter Herth @peterherth.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Kurz vor Sonnenuntergang hat sich eine Libelle an meiner Balkonwand noch mal kurz gesonnt.

Eine Libelle, die offensichtlich die letzten Sonnenstrahlen des Tages genießt. Sie hängt, mit allen 4 Flügeln abgespreizt, an der Hauswand. Der Körper der Libelle hat ein tiefes und kräftiges Rot. Man erkennt gut die Struktur in den Flügeln. Selbst die Facetten der Augen sind zu erahnen.

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Peter Herth @peterherth.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

The moon today in the early evening hours.

Early in the evening the moon is in front of a dark blue sky. As the weather is a bit hazy it is surrounded by a faint mist.

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Peter Herth @peterherth.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The elephant trunk nebula in the constellation of Cepheus. #Astrophotography #S50Pro

The elephant trunk nebula in the constellation of Cepheus.The elephant trunk nebula is an elongated and meandering structure in front of a gas nebula which glows in red and blue hues. It has a black part of interstellar dust and some bright accents where the glowing gas seems to be more dense. It has roughly the for of an elephants trunk, giving this structure its name.

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Peter Herth @peterherth.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The moon tonight - the first time I caught it after the new moon.

Just a few days after the new moon, the moon still is a thin crescent on the early evening sky, setting before it gets really dark.

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Peter Herth @peterherth.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

The crescent nebula NGC6888 in Cygnus.

An emission nebula, dominated by shades of blue and red coming from the emissions of oxygen and hydrogen, excited by the star the gas was eject from It has a roughly elliptical shape with one side being brighter, forming a crescent. The gas in the nebula has a lot of fine structure. The region of the nebula is surrounded by fainter gas clouds.

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Peter Herth @peterherth.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

The western veil nebula NGC6960.

The veil nebula is a huge region of interstellar gas in the constellation swan. It is especial, as these are not diffuse clouds but long strands of colorful glowing gas which meanders through space. Also especial is the clear contrast between the cyan-blue oxygene strands and the separated strands dominated by hydrogen, glowing in a deep red.

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Peter Herth @peterherth.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

NGC7000 or as I call it, the Mexico nebula.

A spectacular gas nebula shining in bright colors. The blue hues are caused by oxygen, the red and orange hues by sulfur and hydrogen emissions. It is shaped as the map of middle and north America, with Mexico pretty much in the center of the image.

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Peter Herth @peterherth.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Something beautiful at the end of the day, the pillars of creation. A region where new stars a born from interstellar gas clouds. A magnification of the picture of M16.

In the center a structure can be detected, looking like three pillars or a three-fingered hand raised upwards. This structure is known from a very iconic Hubble telescope picture.

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Peter Herth @peterherth.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

The M16 emission nebula, called the "Eagle Nebula" in the constellation Serpens.

A fiery red nebula in front of the black back ground of space and a lot of stars. It looks a little bit like an eagle spreading its wings, hence its name. The red color comes from the emissions of hydrogen, the core is brighter an more white as the blues from oxygen are contributing to the color. In its center the fameous "pillars of creation" can be found, a region of star creation.

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Peter Herth @peterherth.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

M57 in the constellation Lyra, a planetary emission nebula. It is about 1 light year in diameter and 2500 light years in distance.

A tiny colorful donut in front of the black of space, filled with a lot of dotlike stars. The nebula was created when a star ejected its outer gas hull. It still excites the gas, causing it to glow in bright colors. While such nebulas are not uncommon, this stands out because it is almost perfectly round, giving it its donut shape.

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Peter Herth @peterherth.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

The moon this morning. It is now the early morning hours rather than the late night hours, where it is the perfect time to catch the moon.

The waning moon is approaching the half moon. The terminator shadow goes only slightly right of the center. The craters along the center are now shown in the maximum contrast.

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Peter Herth @peterherth.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

M27, the "dumbbell nebula". It is an emission gas nebula.

The image is mostly the black sky of the night, filled with many stars. In the center there is the colorful emission nebula. The colors are created by the light emissions of hydrogen, oxygen and sulfur gas in space, excited by a nearby star.

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Peter Herth @peterherth.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

NGC6992, part of the veil nebula in the swan.

A colorful emission nebula in front of the black sky, filled with stars. A thin long stream that is glowing in rich colors.

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Peter Herth @peterherth.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

The moon tonight is the full moon. And on top of that, we are getting a lunar eclipse later this night, which also marks the exakt time of peak full moon, as the moon is precisely behind the earth.