iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Thanks very much! My buddies in the astro society think I could get more color out of it so...again a work in progress, I guess.

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

I think the 30 hours of driving (and charging) to and from Nebraska may just have been worth it. Still would like better star color, but otherwise, Imma stick a fork. NGC 3718, 10.6 hours of LRGB with an 8" Richey-Chretien astrograph. 3 nights in WI, 3 in NE. #redwolfastro #astrophotography

The "peculiar" gravitationally-distorted galaxy NGC 3718 and some of its friends.

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Okay okay okay I realize now that I mislabeled a mountain range yesterday. My apologies!

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

The full illuminated face of the Moon at the first quarter. Taken immediately prior to the close-up on June 22. A little softer than the previous image, I don't think I had the focus quite nailed for this one. #redwolfastro #astrophotography

Almost all of the Moon's illuminated face at first quarter.

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Yeah, got a bit of a processing backlog, here! Next up: The Moon, taken with a 10" imaging Newtonian and an IMX585 camera. Super good seeing, I used 50% of the video frames and probably could have thrown in more. #redwolfastro #astrophotography

Surface of the moon at first quarter, with the terminator throwing topography into sharp relief. Near Cassini Crater.

Annotated version of the lunar image, showing mares, mountain ranges, craters, and the Apollo 15 landing site.

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

2nd camping trip to Merritt Reservoir, NE. AMAZING dark skies. Almost ran out of charge in the Bolt, got it hung up at the edge of the camp road, got stonkered on a single beer, had a mouse stow away on the return trip. Also, this. 15x240", 14mm, Pentax AstroTracer. #redwolfastro #astrophotography

The Milky Way core as seen from Merritt Park Reservoir Snake River Campground in western Nebraska. 14 June 2026.

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Work in progress -- < 3 hours on NGC 3718. So many sat trails that statistical elimination...couldn't. Well, much more time needed. 8" Richey-Chrétien astrograph, LRGB filters, heavily cropped from original APS-C frame. Finally got that little booger collimated! #redwolfastro #astrophotography

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

@jefftiedrich.bsky.social : Posting pictures of your beautiful late wife is hard on you, but: thank you. I hope that it helps to know that so many of us who didn't know her can still appreciate her, and share a tiny bit of your grief. To a greater or lesser degree, we're all in this together, right?

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

And some Moon shots! I find that selecting a field of view is a real challenge, there's always some cool crater or rill or mountain that I want to jam in. Gotta remember to be selective! #redwolfastro #astrophotography

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

My friend made his 14" Celestron available to me. I've been working on my planetary and lunar skills. #redwolfastro #astrophotography

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Reposted by @rick-wayne.bsky.social

GOLIKEHELLMACHINE @golikehellmachine.com · 04/03/2026

during covid when we were all trying to find new hobbies, i tried to pick up paper cutting. i was not very good at it, but i did enough of it to understand how stunning this is

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

No, I'm not rich enough to trot around buying 130 APOs. I did pay for it, but it was as much an inheritance as a purchase.

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Our long Madison nightmare of clouds finally over? NGC 2174, the Monkey Head Nebula (for the record, I don't see it), about four hours each of hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen emission wavelengths. Shot from my urban back yard with my gorgeous 5-inch refractor. #redwolfastro #astrophotography

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 19/10/2025

IDS! IDS! IDS! Thanks, Boilermakers. And it's nice to know that my first newspaper still has a spine.

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 19/10/2025

I will have a ton of #NoKings pics from Madison, but for now here's just one, which may be my favorite. Funny, gentle, peaceful, but perfectly captures the contempt we have for people who would make peasants of American citizens.

A dog at the No Kings protest in Madison, WI wearing a sign:
I GO #2 ON #47

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 18/10/2025

Got our signs. I've got my photojournalist gear. NO KINGS! Maybe I'll send video of tens of thousands of people protesting peacefully to Kimmel's (hashtag)showusyourhellhole!

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

BTW the Madison Astronomical Society's big community star party was a HUGE success. Thanks to the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center for hosting Moon Over Monona Terrace again this year. 1300+ attendees! Free event, over a dozen telescopes, electronic astronomy, kid activities, talks.

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

1st go at last night's data. Think I can do better. Best 40% of 18,000 frames, AutoStakkert2!, sharpened (maybe too much!) in WaveSharp. Acquired with SharpCap with a 12" Richey-Chrétien, 2.5X PowerMate, and Uranus-C camera. Will follow up if I manage better! #redwolfastro #astrophotography

Saturn with rings edge-on. Bit oversharpened.

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Some more data on this field -- it's really shaping up! I like this orientation better. Also, I just noticed the "hobbit door" toroid in the lower left. What's up with that? Star Rucba, reflection neb VDB 134, and "bubble" planetary PK86+5.1. #redwolfastro #astrophotography

Hydrogen-alpha emission near the star Rucba (45 Cyg), with reflection nebulae (including VDB 134) and the bubble-shaped planetary nebula PK86+5.1. Stars are photometrically color-calibrated.

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

My pal Bonnie just got a Photoline APO, my scope's little brother. Found an Astrobin pic of this field and suggested a two-scope collab. This is a quick 'n dirty of my first 2 nights' data, I think it's gonna be spectacular! Stars RGB, H-alpha is red. Note spherical planetary nebula PK86+5.1.

Centered on the star Ruchba, this work in progress will include reflection nebula vdb 134 (not visible yet), planetary nebula PK86+5.1 (small bubble at lower-center-right), and a bleep-ton of hydrogen.

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

I probably should! Then again that 300-character limit is a challenge for me even when I'm writing telegraphically.

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

Oh, you think you're *so clever*, don't you? Fortunately you appear to be perfectly correct. Good one.

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

And ANOTHER one! One night's worth of Ha data with that gorgeous, reliable 130 APO. What a rock star! This is the hydrogen data (Crescent Nebula) with the stars removed, and cropped off-center to give the impression of motion. Very much in-progress. More soon. #redwolfastro #astrophotography

Black and white image of the Crescent Nebula imaged at the 656nm hydrogen-alpha wavelength, showing surrounding nebulosity.

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

I find that BlurXTerminator, NoiseXTerminator, and StarXTerminator really make the PixInsight purchase worthwhile. I love Astro Pixel Processor but I'm using it less and less as PI acquires new features.

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

I used to use the free standalone Python script Starnet++, and got good results. But I switched to PixInsight for almost all of my processing early this year, so I tried out Russell Cronan's StarXTerminator. Same idea, a machine-learning program trained on astrophotos, but visibly better results.

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

Finished this one just today: The Cygnus Wall portion of the North America Nebula. Liked the starless version so well I decided to keep it too. 4.5 hours NB, 1.5 RGB. PixInsight, then combined channels with Astro Pixel Processor's HSORGB preset. #redwolfastro #astrophotography

The Cygnus Wall in Ha, OIII, SII, and RGB.

The Cygnus Wall in Ha, OIII, SII, and RGB, with stars removed.

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

The Dark Shark is another dim one that the 130 just casually brought to life. "No big". I kept stretching until I was amused by the result. 2 hours of LRGB. Love the eyeliner. Someone beat me to APOD with their Dark Shark, or else I would have submitted this. #redwolfastro #astrophotography

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

The 130 APO continues to just keep cranking gorgeous data. Here's the Phantom of The Opera Mask, very dim but the 5" pulls it out. My own synthetic color for hydrogen, stars are catalog-calibrated. 4.5 hours of H-alpha, 1.5 of RGB for stars. #redwolfastro #astrophotography

The Phantom of The Opera Mask emission nebula

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

Up next: Titan, with its shadow transiting Saturn. There are a handful of these transits, visible for a few weeks only every 15 years. 12" Richey-Chrétien with 2X Televue compressor, color planetary camera, couple hundred frames from several minutes of video. #redwolfastro #astrophotography

Saturn with its moon Titan, with the moon's shadow transiting the face of the planet

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

Boy, I've gotten behind in my posting! This pair of interacting galaxies is one of the closest such to us, at 85M LY. The Cocoon Galaxy and its companion have passed by each other with stellar stream trailing between them. Uncooled color planetary cam and the 8" RC. #redwolfastro #astrophotography

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

Details in the alt-text. It turned out that the hydrogen-alpha filter really made the supernova pop, so the inset is 25 minutes of that.

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

Here's the latest one-night wonder. From 40M LY away, NGC 7331 featuring supernova 2025rbs, here for a limited time! This imaging session was going great even with encroaching clouds till it started RAINING ON MY TELESCOPE. That was a charlie-foxtrot of car-stuffing. #redwolfastro #astrophotography

$Deer Lick galaxy group, with NGCC 7331 at left. Inset is a hydrogen-alpha image showing supernova 2025rbs. 130mm APO refractor, mono camera, about 3 hours of total imaging time.$

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

Welp, several clear nights around the new moon and nothing is broken. I'm pretty amazed how productive the new scope and camera make me. Actually I've imaged a dozen targets so far in 2025, but quite a few just didn't pass the so-what test so I've actually finished and published half of that.

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

Hey, we're all learning, here. Pretty amazing what a cell can do, eh?

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 26/07/2025

New scope won't quite frame both Trifid and Lagoon. So here's M20 (Trifid) & M21 star cluster. Couldn't stop looking at the starless image so finish-processed that too. Neighbor's comment ruined it forever, though: "South end of a northbound baboon?" Dammit Sue! #redwolfastro #astrophotography

M20, the Trifid Nebula, red hydrogen emission and blue reflected starlight, with M21 star cluster at upper left.

M20, Trifid Nebula with stars removed from image (RC Astro StarXTerminator). Calibrated RGB image with red hydrogen emission and blue nebulosity by reflected starlight.

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

Thanks. I should have mentioned BlurXTerminator in the original post, but I promise the original was pretty sharp to start with.

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

Took the new 130mm APO refractor out for a good trot over several nights. The Eagle Nebula, H𝛼=R, SII=G, OIII=B. About 5 hours total. Really quite taken with how sharp this scope is. #redwolfastro #astrophotography

M16, the Eagle Nebula, in narrowband false color (HSO palette).

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

I should point out that these are basically unprocessed. An "autostretch" to raise the levels and enhance contrast, and that is is. No sharpening or deconvolution or any of that tricky stuff.

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

And another -- this is a SINGLE 30-second frame on the Eagle Nebula, M16, with the red filter. What's really shocking is the 100% zoom showing the Pillars of Creation (remember that Hubble image?). Yeah, gonna like this scope and camera *just fine*! #redwolfastro #astrophotography

100% crop of Eagle Nebula, showing the "Pillars of Creation" made famous by the HST.

One single 30-second mono (red filter) exposure on the Eagle Nebula through the Photoline 130 APO with the 2600MM

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

First light for the new refractor. Sorry Mark is no longer with us, but I hope he'd be happy his scope is getting the love it deserves. Photoline 130 APO, just an hour worth of testing from a Bortle 4 site, LRGB on my also-new-to-me 2600MM. #redwolfastro #astrophotography

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

Well, thanks! This is with an uncooled IMX585 (Uranus-C) through an 8" RC, riding on a CEM70. All the grubby details on Astrobin, if you want to dig deeper!

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 15/06/2025

Better take on the Iris. Two nights' data this time -- one with 30" subframes due to wind gusts, the other 60". From Merritt Reservoir in Nebraska. #redwolfastro #astrophotography

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

Next up on the Mad Astro Nebraska feed: One (windy) night's take on the Iris Nebula through the 8" RC with a Player One Uranus-C camera. ~4 hours integration time, had to drop to 30" for a better "keeper" ratio. #redwolfastro #astrophotography

The Iris Nebula through a 1625-mm focal length Richey-Chrétien scope.

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

Madison Astro Society members did a campout at Merritt Reservoir in Nebraska (site of the famous Star Party). I took some pictures! :-) This one is practically unedited -- much brighter than was to the eye, of course, but colors are straight out of the camera. #redwolfastro #astrophotography

Bright red, green, and blue auroral pillars from Nebraska's Merritt Reservoir.

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rick-wayne.bsky.social @rick-wayne.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

And another first look -- this one is M104, the wonderfully-named "Sombrero Galaxy". Again the issue with the walking noise, gotta solve that. 70' of integration time from my back yard. This one will definitely improve as I add more data. #redwolfastro #astrophotography

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