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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

IC 1396 is a large cloud of glowing gas and dust in the constellation Cepheus, about 2,400 light-years from Earth. A bright star in its center, HD206267, lights up the gas and makes it glow. Image taken 09/20/2026 and is roughly 5 hours total exposure. #Astrophotography

The large (3-degrees across) glowing cloud of dust and gas called IC1396. The "Garnet Star" (lower left) is a star 1500 times the size of our own sun. The Elephant's Trunk nebula (IC1396A) is the elongate feature near the top.

Same image but tweaked a bit to show more detail. Used narrowband normalization (still a novice with this Pixinsight tool).

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I am still testing a small wide-angle astrograph (Askar 50P) that, with my ASI2600mc camera, gives a FOV of 7 degrees x 4 degrees. Here is an image of M31 (Andromeda Galaxy) using this combination. Taken over two nights (9/15 and 9/19, 2026) with a total exposure of around 12 hours.

This is M31 (The Andromeda Galaxy), a favorite target amongst astrophotographers. As viewed from the Earth, it is about 6 full moons across.

• Size: Larger than the Milky Way, spanning roughly 150,000 to 200,000 light-years across.

• Stars: Contains an estimated one trillion stars.

• Type: It is a barred spiral galaxy with a bright center and distinct dust lanes.

• Black Hole: A massive black hole sits at its center.

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Not an eclipse photo but a setting full moon nine hours after the eclipse. (6:30 am PDT yesterday on Oregon Coast). Good example of a dual-layer fog bank. Colder stuff on the bottom (light blue) and warmer stuff on the top (darker blue) all topped off with Western US fire smoke. #Astrophotography

Image showing a setting full moon over the Pacific Ocean (Oregon coast). Taken early yesterday morning and nine hours after a partial eclipse. Of interest is the fog bank layering. That rock in the foreground is one mile offshore.

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Here are a couple of cropped images from my original image from prior post representing the Eastern Veil Nebula (left) and Western Veil Nebula (right)

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

My coin flip last night was spot-on. Forecast clouds did not materialize and the smoke was not so bad, so got a second night in on this target. This is the Veil Nebula over two nights (12 hours total exposure). Askar 50P wide-field scope with narrow band filter. #Astrophotography

This image shows the expanding remains of a massive star that exploded about 8,000 years ago, called the Veil Nebula. The debris is one of the best-known supernova remnants, deriving its name from its delicate, draped filamentary structures. The entire nebula is 110 light-years across, covering six full moons on the sky as seen from Earth, and resides about 2,100 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus, the Swan

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

With the heat and smoke in the western US, a little levity is in order to lighten the mood. Going to step outside in a couple of hours, look up, and flip a coin. I would like to get one more night on the Veil Nebula.

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

This is the Sadr Region. Sadr is that bright supergiant star in the middle of the image. It sits directly in front of the Gamma Cygni Nebula, otherwise known as the Sadr Region. This is a 6-hour total exposure from last night. Same equipment and conditions as last post. #astrophotography

The Sadr Region is a broad and diffuse region of glowing hydrogen gas and dark dust lanes. The bright star in the center is Sadr, a supergiant, and is not bound gravitationally to the nebula behind it. Also seen in image is the Crescent Nebula (lower left), Cooling Tower Cluster (above the Crescent maybe 2/3 up) and the Inchworm Nebula (just above Sadr)

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

I tested out some new kit last night: Askar 50P scope and Optolong L-Ultimate narrow-band filter. Conditions are not great here. Bortle 8 light pollution with patchy smoke from current western US fires. Target was the North American Nebula (NGC 7000) with 6-hour total exposure.

The North America Nebula (NGC 7000 or Caldwell 20) is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, close to Deneb (the tail of the swan and its brightest star) in the night sky. It is named because its shape resembles North America. On the right is the Pelican Nebula, also named because of its shape..

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Messier 5 or M5 (also designated NGC 5904) is a globular cluster in the constellation Serpens. It was discovered by Gottfried Kirch in 1702. Captured on 07/08/2026 using a Seestar S50, Oregon Coast. 45-minute total exposure. #astrophotography More info: science.nasa.gov/mission/hubb...

The "star" at bottom left is actually a binary star, 5 Serpentis. It appears as just one star in this image because one of the stars overwhelms the other in terms of brightness. The main object center-top is M5, a globular cluster some 25,000 light-years distant.

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

The fog lifted last night here on the Oregon Coast - so dusted off the Seestar S50. I was able to capture the Eagle Nebula (M16) with about a 2-hour total exposure. And a bonus - The Pillars of Creation are easily identified. More info here science.nasa.gov/mission/hubb...

The Eagle Nebula (Messier 16 or M16) is a young, active star-forming region located about 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Serpens. Spanning roughly 70 by 55 light-years, it is best known for the towering "Pillars of Creation" at its center, where scorching ultraviolet radiation from young stars is actively shaping clouds of gas and dust into new stellar nurseries.

Hubble image on the left, Seestar S50 on the right. The Seestar is a terrific travel scope.

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

This is the Spindle Galaxy (NGC 5866), taken from my backyard over a couple of nights (6/15-6/16), and represents 8 hours total exposure. One of the most outstanding features of NGC 5866 is the extended dust disk, which is seen almost exactly edge-on. This image has been cropped from the original.

This is an image of the Spindle Galaxy that shows its very distinct dust lane. It is approximately 50 million light-years distant. NGC 5866 was most likely discovered by Pierre Méchain or Charles Messier in 1781 and independently found by William Herschel in 1788.

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

This is the Hercules Galaxy Cluster, roughly a half-billion light years away! Photons hitting my camera sensor departed this region 250 million years before the dinos first showed up on earth. It consists of roughly 200 galaxies gravitationally bound to one another.

The cluster is roughly 500 million light years distant, so it truly does fall in the category of “deep sky target”. A larger scope than mine is advantageous here, like a 14” or larger. Mine is only 9.25” That “hockey stick” (NGC 6045A) in dead center was what I used as the target. The image was taken over three nights (06/11 - 06/13) from my backyard.

This is the same image that has been plate solved. Some, but not all of the galaxies have been identified. The galaxies in the Hercules Galaxy Cluster (Abell 2151) are gravitationally bound to one another. They orbit a common center of mass and form a cohesive cluster in the cosmic web, bound together by their combined gravity along with dark matter.

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Setting up the scope just now after a few months of non-ideal conditions. Had a visitor. Guess he is not intimidated by that 3-legged monster that is known to devour wabbits from time to time. Imaging the Hercules Galaxy Cluster for the next few nights. #astrophotography

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Stephan’s Quintet was discovered in 1877. Despite its name, only four of these galaxies are a true, physically interacting group (Hickson Compact Group 92) locked in a cosmic collision about 290 million light-years distant. From last October, 22 hours total exposure over 3 nights, Bortle 6 backyard.

Stephan's Quintet, a grouping of galaxies about 290 million light years distant. This image is before stars were digitally removed and resulting image cropped.

The cluster has an apparent magnitude of roughly 13.6, making it a challenging but rewarding target. Observers typically need a telescope with an aperture of at least 8 inches (20 cm) and dark, unpolluted skies to spot the faint grouping.

This is a cropped image of Stephan's Quintet with the stars digitally removed.

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

This is M51 (Whirlpool Galaxy), taken with my Seestar S50 last night after a month of waiting for a clear sky! The image represents about 4 hours total exposure using 10-second subs in the stack. M51 is about 30 million light-years distant and consists of around 100 billion stars. #astrophotography

The graceful, winding arms of the majestic spiral galaxy M51 appear like a grand spiral staircase sweeping through space. They are actually long lanes of stars and gas laced with dust. Such striking arms are a hallmark of so-called grand-design spiral galaxies. In M51, also known as the Whirlpool Galaxy, these arms serve an important purpose: they are star-formation factories, compressing hydrogen gas and creating clusters of new stars.

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

Clear skies are a premium on the Oregon Coast. I lucked out last night! I needed to get my astrojollies after 10 days of overcast. Here is M42 (Orion Nebula). 1.25 hours total exposure (450 10-second subs stacked). Seestar S50. #astrophotography

Visible to the naked eye as a fuzzy "star" in Orion’s sword below his belt, it appears as a greenish-red, luminous, glowing cloud of gas and dust. M42 is the most prominent star-forming region near Earth, allowing astronomers to observe "stellar nurseries"—places where new stars, often surrounded by protoplanetary disks, are actively born.

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

I have just finished cobbling together an all-sky camera from mostly bits and pieces I already had. I upgraded the ZWO camera (ASI178mc) fisheye with a better one Waiting for a clear night to test this contraption. 1st image is the camera and 2nd is my planned next iteration. #astrophotography

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

This is Jones-Emberson 1 (Headphone Nebula) discovered in 1939 by Rebecca Jones and Richard Emberson at Harvard Observatory. It is a planetary nebula 1600 light-years distant and about 13,000 years old, when a star shed its coat (the nebulosity) and left a white dwarf in the middle.

This is the Headphone Nebula (looks to some like headphones or a dumbbell) - also known as Jones-Emberson 1. It is a very faint planetary nebula in the constellation Lynx. About 10 hours total exposure on Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, 2026.

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

M81 (Bode's Galaxy) is a grand design spiral galaxy about 12 million light-years distant. The galactic nucleus contains a supermassive black hole of roughly 70 million solar masses. Image was taken over two nights (12/29 and 12/30) and represents about 16 hours total exposure. #Astrophotography

Messier 81 (Bode’s Galaxy) as a grand design spiral galaxy about 12 million light-years distant with a diameter of about 96,000 light years. The spiral structure with dust lanes makes it a very beautiful (and popular) target. This was a good test of my equipment at low temperatures. It got down to 20F on the first night with no glitches. Taken from my back yard.

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

This is M1, the Crab Nebula, also known as NGC1952. It is the remnant of a supernova explosion observed in the year 1054. There is a neutron star (Crab Pulsar) about 19 miles in diameter spinning 30 times a second at its center. Eight hours total exposure on 12/11/2025. #astrophotography

The remnants of a supernova exhibiting a complex oval-shaped filament structure. Image captured with a Celestron 9.25 Edge HD telescope and ASI2600 mc pro camera.

A cropped and digitally sharpened version showing the intertwining filaments. The stars have been removed on this image to accentuate the structure of the nebula.

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

Sunset on the Oregon coast this evening. As it is the sun, I figure it is legit to add the tag #astrophotography. I know it is a stretch. Forgive me😁

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

This is Copelands Lost Galaxy (NGC4535) and represents a 5-hour total exposure (see equipment list in my bio) taken last May. It was first observed by William Herschel in 1785 and is about 55 million light years distant.

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

Probably my only clear night for two weeks here on the Oregon Coast! Helix Nebula (NGC 7293) using Seestar S50 on 11/21/2025. Two hours total exposure. Here is a time lapse over 100 years of its expansion: skyandtelescope.org/wp-content/u... From this article: skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-ne...

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

NGC891 (Silver Sliver Galaxy) last night, 80% of 160x180s exposures. First test of the new ASI2600mc pro with replacement fan deployed (see prior post). More info on this target here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_891. A definite improvement over those elongate stars I was getting from imbalanced fan.

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

1/2: PSA: Do you get oblong stars like this but have good guiding? Are you using a ZWO cooled camera at long focal lengths? Is the elongation independent of exposure time? The problem is likely an imbalanced fan in the camera (in my case a brand new ASI2600mc pro). #astrophotography

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

Here is another screen capture this morning from the Mauna Kea Live webcam. Lasers are used to create an artificial laser guide star used for correcting for atmospheric turbulence. This technology is called adaptive optics and is a crucial tool for modern ground-based astronomy. #Astrophotography

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

This morning, I brought up the webcam at the Subaru Telescope, Mauna Kea, HI. The image was spectacular, so I am sharing the screen shot I took. Here is a link to that webcam for those interested. www.webcamtaxi.com/en/usa/hawai... #Astrophotography

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 05/10/2025

An amateur star-gazer’s pain, Who wished for the skies clear again, Sat watching the rain, With a hopeful refrain— “Let me glimpse through this clouded domain!” #Astrophotography

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

M81 (Bode's Galaxy) this morning. I had an hour to kill before sunrise so gave it a shot. 48 minutes total exposure in Bortle 6 light pollution. Just tossing this out as an example of squeezing in all the dark you can in an imaging session. A "shot in the dark" maybe? #Astrophotography

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

ICE better not come after this badass alien! #astrophotography

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

After a bit of a hiatus from astrophotography, I gave my new camera (ASI2600mc Pro) a spin around the block last night (09/17/2025). Here is M31 (Andromeda Galaxy) with very little post processing. 120 X 180s exposures (stacked best 80%). C9.25 Edge with Hyperstar V4. #astrophotography

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

For something different, and good for a change! There has been a die off of starfish on this particular section of Oregon coast over the last few years. I am very happy to report that they are making a comeback. But slowly. Lessons learned. There is really hope for lost causes.

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 10/08/2025

Sun's got freckles today! Took this short video earlier today using Seestar S50. At Oregon Coast. #Astrophotography

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

This is NGC7380 (Wizard Nebula) shot from my backyard over three nights (7/05-7/07 2025). 14 hours total exposure. NGC7380 is an emission nebula located in Cepheus and is approx. 7200 LY distant. Hubble palette on right. OSC camera, dual narrow band filter. Equipment in my bio. #astrophotography

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

NGC6888 (Crescent Nebula) is a cosmic bubble shaped by the interaction of a Wolf-Rayet star's stellar wind with material ejected by the star when it was a red giant. It is about 5000 light-years distant. Hubble palette on right. 20 hrs. exposure 7/05 to 7/13 2025 from backyard. #astrophotography

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

This is NGC7023 (Iris Nebula) shot from my backyard 06/26/2025-06/29/2025. About 11 hours total exposure. NGC7023 is a reflection nebula in the constellation Cepheus and is roughly 1300 light-years distant and 3 light-years in radius. Here is a zoom in on it youtu.be/Vhlesz-Knuw

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

A brain-cleanser after witnessing that vanity parade yesterday. Tide pools on Oregon Coast taken a few days ago. Evolution suggests that at one time in the distant past, we crawled out of these. I am thinking at this point that we did not get far, but I remain hopeful.

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 11/05/2025

I just finished up a third night on M82 (Cigar Galaxy) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier.... About 9.5 hr. total exposure. I then applied the Hubble Ha-OO palette to the final image and did a comparison. My image on the left, a Hubble image on the right. No complaints but I now want an orbiting scope!

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

This is M27 (Dumbbell Nebula). Six-hours total exposure from my backyard on 05/07 and 05/08 2025. M27 is a planetary nebula (nebulosity surrounding a white dwarf) at a distance of about 1360 light-years. Dual narrow-band filter and Ha-OO Hubble palette. More here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumbbel...

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

The Owl Nebula (also known as Messier 97, M97 or NGC 3587) is a planetary nebula approximately 2,030 light years away. Estimated to be about 8,000 years old, it was formed from the outflow of material from the stellar wind of the central star. Six-hour exposure on 04/21/2025 from my backyard.

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

This could be an image of your 401K blowing up, our economy blowing up or our democracy blowing up. Nope. It is Messier 3 (NGC 5272), a rather spectacular globular cluster consisting of a half-million stars. Took it last night. Here is more info on it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_3. Stay strong.

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

This is M100 (The Blow Dryer Galaxy) It is 55 million light-years distant. The light that hit the camera sensor started its journey at the same time that Earth was undergoing mass extinctions in the oceans due to global warming. History may repeat itself. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier...

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

Give me warp speed, Scotty! There are many galaxies to be explored, and Elmo has just cut NASA's budget... no time to dilly dally. This is Markarian's Chain, total exposure about 10 hours over two nights from my backyard. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markari...

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

I ran across this quote recently: "Reality is the leading cause of stress for those in touch with it!" (Credit. Jane Wagner). It struck a chord with me and seems especially appropriate for these times.

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 15/03/2025

Credit: Eugene Astronomical Society

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

This is the Leo Triplet (M65, M66 and NGC 3628), image taken 03/09/2025 and represents a 6.5-hour total exposure. The three galaxies are 35 million light-years distant and are interacting gravitationally with each other. The one with the dust lane (NGC 3628) is known as the Hamburger Galaxy.

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

Credit: The Eugene Astronomical Society.

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Starman-X @starman-x.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

This is NGC 4631 (Whale Galaxy), an edge-on barred galaxy roughly 30 million light-years distant. The image represents a 7.8-hour exposure over two nights from my backyard (4/11/2024). NGC 4631 has a nearby companion, dwarf elliptical galaxy NGC 4627

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