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Dave

@photonphanatic.bsky.social
960 followers 670 following 114 posts

I shoot astrophotographs for fun. Retired/recovering engineer. Husband, dad, stepdad, granddad, bird dad, snowbird.

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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
After a couple of years of use, I wrote about my experience with the Sky-Watcher Wave 150i: photonphanatic.com/2026/09/03/t... #astrophotography
photonphanatic.com
Thoughts on the Sky-Watcher Wave 150i
The Sky-Watcher Wave 150i is an excellent mount for light-duty astrophotography.
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
I photographed the Pinwheel Galaxy with my 6" scope: photonphanatic.com/2026/08/18/t... #astrophotography
photonphanatic.com
The Pinwheel Galaxy With My 6″ RC - Dave's Astrophotography Blog
How I photographed and processed the Pinwheel Galaxy (Messier 101)
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
I've spent a lot of time figuring out how to organize my astrophotography data, and I wrote about it in my blog: photonphanatic.com/2026/07/27/o... #astrophotography
photonphanatic.com
Organizing Your Astro Data - Dave's Astrophotography Blog
My approach to organizing my astrophotography data to streamline preprocessing with PixInsight's WBPP script.
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
After two months of cloudy nights, I finally got a few relatively clear, dark nights to shoot. This is the Pinwheel Galaxy (M101), shot in LRGB + Ha using my 6” RC. A total of 12 hours of exposures using an ASI533MM Pro camera. More tech info on Astrobin: app.astrobin.com/i/s8mu2p #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
After two months of crappy skies, I finally got a break with three nights of clear skies. Tonight is the third night shooting the Pinwheel Galaxy and all is going smoothly. Sub 0.5-sec guiding tonight with my 6" f/9 RC. Seems like I remember how this goes... #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Read about my successes (and failures) collimating my 6" Ritchey-Chretien telescope. You can really see the difference between bad and not-so-bad collimation. photonphanatic.com/2026/04/21/r... #astrophotography
photonphanatic.com
RC Collimation: the Struggle is Real - Dave's Astrophotography Blog
I unwittingly demonstrated to myself the importance of good collimation which can only be confirmed under the stars.
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
There's actually an iPad app called Dragonlight Mobile that works with ASCOM Alpaca to turn it into an adjustable brightness flat panel. I used it a few times with NINA but it seemed to disconnect at random for me.
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
Shot this with my 6" RC, which I'm still figuring out. 7 hours in LRGB and Ha with an ASI533MM Pro camera. Not as sharp as I would like, and I've since reconfigured and recollimated. Waiting for a chance to fine tune the collimation under the stars and shoot again. #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
My super high-tech equipment for shooting flats: photonphanatic.com/2026/04/18/m... #astrophotography
photonphanatic.com
My (Mostly) Pain-Free Method for Shooting Flats - Dave's Astrophotography Blog
My high-tech method for shooting reliable flats, using nothing more than a white T-short and an embroidery hoop.
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Mark, that seems to make a decent difference. In one case, anyway, the minsub value cut in half with the newer calculator. Thanks for looking into that!
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Thanks, Mark. I wondered if maybe there might be some limitations like that. Great calculator, though. I love that it uses actual images to perform the evaluation rather than just camera specs and other guesstimates.
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
@deepskydetail.bsky.social recently posted a neat tool for estimating minimum sub exposure times. I played around with it and wrote some general thoughts on noise and subs. photonphanatic.com/2026/04/12/a... #astrophotography
photonphanatic.com
Are Your Subexposures Long Enough? - Dave's Astrophotography Blog
How long should my subexposures be? I'm not sure how many of us put a ton of thought into this. I myself have some rules of thumb that seem to work reasonably well for me. I've done a little reading o...
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
You can get a great bargain on a great small refractor thanks to Sky-Watcher discontinuing their Esprit ED line of refractors. (No financial interest here--wish I could have bought mine at this price.) photonphanatic.com/2026/04/04/s... #astrophotography
photonphanatic.com
- Dave's Astrophotography Blog Sky-Watcher Esprit 80ED on Clearance!
Sky-Watcher has discontinued its Esprit ED line of refractors, but you can still purchase the 80ED at a clearance price.
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Nice shot. The Esprit 80 doesn't get the respect it deserves, IMHO.
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Barnard 18, a dark nebula in Taurus. About 10 hours of integration in LRGB back in January using my SW Esprit 80ED f/5 refractor and ASI2600MM Pro camera on a Wave 150i mount. Details on Astrobin: app.astrobin.com/u/PhotonPhan... #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
I got four nights in before I ran out of clear skies.
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
Another galaxy I was able to image last week--NGC 2403, a spiral galaxy about 10 Mly away in Camelopardalis. Shot with my 6" f/9 RC telescope and ASI533MM Pro camera in LRGB+Ha. 13.5 hours of exposures. More info on Astrobin: app.astrobin.com/i/64hn5z #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
Trying to make hay while the skies are clear and dark. M106, a galaxy in Canes Venatici. Shot with my 6" f/9 RC and an ASI533MM Pro camera on an iOptron GEM45 mount. Shot in LRGB + Ha. About 6.5 hours of exposures. More technical info on Astrobin: app.astrobin.com/i/q3z2l0 #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Shakedown cruise for my 6" f/9 Ritchey-Chretien telescope last night. Was able to get 5.25 hours on M81 in LRGB+Ha with an ASI533MM Pro camera. More info on Astrobin: app.astrobin.com/u/PhotonPhan... #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
Another recent shot--this time the Orion Nebula, shot in LRGB using my SW Esprit 80ED refractor on my Wave 150i mount. Shot with an ASI2600MM Pro camera. 3.4 hours total integration. More info on Astrobin: app.astrobin.com/i/lvm6s9 #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Wide field shot of M81, M82, and companions. Note the wispy integrated flux nebula throughout. 26 hours of exposures in LRGB + Ha through my SW Esprit 80ED f/5 refractor. More info on Astrobin: app.astrobin.com/i/9qkpit #Astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
NGC 7822, an emission nebula in Cepheus. Shot in narrowband (plus RGB for stars) with my SW Esprit 80ED reduced to 260 mm FL using a Starizona Apex ED-S reducer. 11 hours total integration. Hubble palette. More info on Astrobin: app.astrobin.com/i/jwte1m #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 25/12/2025
The Christmas Tree Cluster, shot in narrowband using my Sky-Watcher Esprit 80ED refractor. I initially processed this in HOO, and then blended in SII data as a shade of green, yielding the gold color you see. More info on Astrobin: app.astrobin.com/i/fqwgeh #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
Dark nebula LDN 1452. 18 hours of data. Shot in LRGB with my SW Esprit 80ED refractor, ASI2600MM Pro camera, SW Wave 150i mount. I tried out the new Veralux Hypermetric Stretch tool on this image, and it did quite well on the nebulosity. More on Astrobin: app.astrobin.com/i/f0ln5e #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
This is a quick-and-dirty version of a dark nebula image I shot over the past week. This is about 18 hours of data, processed in true color. Veralux Hypermetric Stretch kept popping up on my radar, so I tried that with this image. Space is a dusty and dirty place. #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
The California Nebula (NGC 1499), shot in narrowband (RGB for the stars) and processed in the Hubble pallette. About 13 hours of data shot over two evenings. Shot with my 80-mm f/5 refractor. More details on Astrobin: app.astrobin.com/i/fbhw1e #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
A couple hours on the Perseus Double Cluster in LRGB last night, using my 80-mm f/5 refractor and ASI2600MM Pro camera. Not the most spectacular target, but worth a couple hours. Details on Astrobin: app.astrobin.com/i/bf4f1r #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Shooting astro from the middle of an RV resort around Christmas presents some extra challenges. At least we're past full moon. Trying out a Pegasus Falcon V2 rotator this evening. Shooting the Double Cluster in Perseus for a couple hours, then moving onto the California Nebula. #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
The Seagull Nebula (IC 2177), shot at 260 mm FL in narrowband using my Sky-Watcher Esprit 80ED f/5 refractor with a Starizona Apex ED-S 0.65x reducer, riding on a Sky-Watcher Wave 150i strain wave mount. More equipment and exposure details on Astrobin: app.astrobin.com/i/xtfoe5 #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
Another couple of clear nights gave me a chance to collect about 12 hours of photons on M33. Shot in LRGB + H-alpha with my SW Esprit 80ED 80-mm f/5 refractor and ASI2600MM Pro camera. More info on Astrobin: app.astrobin.com/i/4tmgil #Astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
Managed 5 hours on the Andromeda Galaxy last Friday (Nov 14). Shot with my 80mm f/5 refractor. LRGB + Ha. Seems I shoot this one every year. More info on Astrobin: app.astrobin.com/i/95kz13 #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
A redo of my Heart and Soul Nebulae image from a few days ago. I think the color and contrast in this one is a bit better. #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
Redo of my North American Nebula data from a few days ago. This time I used the approach that Adam Block recently published for narrowband processing. Started with SOO and then blended Ha in across mostly the R and G channels. Maybe SH-OH-O? Definitely still false color. #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
The Heart and Soul Nebulae, shot over four nights using my Esprit 80ED refractor shortened to 260mm FL using a Starizona Apex ED-S reducer. SHO with RGB stars. More info on equipment and exposures is on Astrobin: app.astrobin.com/i/t38a7c #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
The North American Nebula (NGC 7000) and the Pelican Nebula (IC 5070) captured in a wide field image, shot at 260mm FL with a SW Esprit 80ED f/5 refractor reduced to f/3.25 with a Starizona Apex ED-S reducer. Hubble palette with RGB stars. About 10 hours of integration total. #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
My ASI2600 has been a joy. Previously shot with the ASI533MM Pro, which has a much smaller sensor. Glad your 2600 got fixed.
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
(4/4) Even shooting at 260mm FL, guiding (using PHD2) has been consistently in the 0.5" - 0.6" range, sometimes as low as under 0.4". This is the first year that I haven't had to debug my travel rig. FWIW, my software stack for image capture is N.I.N.A., PHD2, and Green Swamp Server.
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
(3/4) Pegasus FocusCube 3 Universal Pegasus Pocket Powerbox Advanced Sky-Watcher Wave 150i strain wave mount iOptron LiteRoc tripod (originally shipped with the GEM45 mount) iOptron Mini Pier (mates the mount and the tripod) This stack has given great results over my first three nights of imaging.
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
(2/4) Sky-Watcher Esprit 80ED f/5 apo refractor (with flattener) Starizona Apex ED-S 0.65x reducer/corrector ZWO ASI2600MM Pro camera ZWO ASI2900MM mini guide camera ZWO off-axis guider ZWO 7-positon 36mm filter wheel #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
The last few years we've been wintering in our 5th wheel in AZ, and I always drag along some travel-friendly imaging gear. In previous years the gear I've brought along as not met expectations. Not so this year. This hardware has exceeded my expectations (1/4): #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 14/06/2025
You just described my entire career. Funny thing, when you become "good enough" you appear elite to those who aren't.
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
This is what I get almost immediately when I follow back indiscriminately on Bluesky. All bots, no doubt. (Yes, I knew they were bots when I followed them back.)
My chat window showing all the bots that messaged me after I followed them back
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
Another image I processed using Telescope Live's data. This is M66, a galaxy about 31Mly distant, shot with a 27.5" scope. I processed this using PixInsight and Affinity Photo. More on Astrobin: app.astrobin.com/i/076cr4 #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 19/04/2025
@debf56.bsky.social thanks! Very kind of you to say.
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 19/04/2025
Another image using data from Telescope Live, processed by me using PixInsight and Affinity Photo. The Fighting Dragons of Ara--too far south to shoot myself. More info on Astrobin: app.astrobin.com/i/v5081t #Astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
NGC 253, The Sculptor Galaxy. Too far south for me to shoot myself so this data is from Telescope Live, processed by me with PixInsight and Affinity Photo. More info on Astrobin: app.astrobin.com/i/tnmpnm #astrophotography
The Sculptor Galaxy is seen nearly edge-on so it appears as oval-shaped. Its center is bright and it has spiral arms that show dust and nebulosity.
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
This one's too far south for me to shoot myself. The Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, data from Telescope Live in Chile (24" scope!), processed by me in PixInsight. More info on Astrobin: app.astrobin.com/u/PhotonPhan... #Astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 06/04/2025
The Dolphin Nebula (SH2-308). I used data from Telescope Live's observatory (20" telescope!) in Chile to create this image in HOO. Would like to shoot this myself someday, but it's tough to shoot where we are right now. More on Astrobin: app.astrobin.com/u/PhotonPhan... #astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 06/04/2025
Old data, new image. M 51, shot in Apr 2023. This time I added the H-alpha data I originally shot but never used. Less than 3 hours on this target, barely does it justice. More info on Astrobin: app.astrobin.com/i/e10t0a?r=D #Astrophotography
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Dave @photonphanatic.bsky.social · 05/04/2025
Another new image from old data. Shot in March 2022. Bode's Galaxy (M 81) and the Cigar Galaxy (M 82). Shot with a color camera through my 100-mm f/5.5 refractor. More info on Astrobin: app.astrobin.com?i=f7osza #Astrophotography
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