iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Rav BOO!dram 🎃👻 @rvbdrm.com · 09/01/2026

BIG FIGHT AT POLAND’S WROCLAW ZOO!!!

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

The Veil nebula, imaged from my deck👇🏽! Named for the delicate, draped filamentary structures, but is actually the debris of one of the best-known supernova explosions! More in the Alt-txt

The Veil derives its name from the delicate, draped filamentary structures, but is actually the debris of one of the best-known supernova explosions. About 10,000 years ago, a massive star – which was 20 times the mass of the Sun – lived fast and died young, ending its life in a cataclysmic release of energy called a supernova. At the time of explosion, the supernova would have appeared brighter than Venus in the sky, and visible in daytime. Despite this stellar violence, the shockwaves and debris from the supernova sculpted the Veil Nebula’s delicate tracery of ionized gas – creating a scene of surprising astronomical beauty. The fast-moving blast wave from the ancient explosion is plowing into a wall of cool, denser interstellar gas, emitting light.

The Veil Nebula lies around 2,400 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Cygnus (the Swan), making it a relatively close neighbor in astronomical terms. The entire nebula is 110 light-years across, covering six full moons on the sky as seen from Earth. Using images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope between 1997 and 2015, the expansion of the Veil Nebula has been directly observed, at the rate of about 1.5 million kilometers per hour.

The Eastern segment of the Veil nebula is also sometimes referred to as the Bat nebula. It spans about 1/2 degree in our skies, which translates to 12 light years across at its estimated distance of 2,400 light years.

The Western segment of the Veil nebula carries the moniker "Witch's Broom". It spans about 35 light-years. The bright star in the frame is 52 Cygni, visible with the unaided eye from a dark location but unrelated to the ancient supernova

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

The Veil nebula, imaged from my deck👇🏽! Named for the delicate, draped filamentary structures, but is actually the debris of one of the best-known supernova explosions! More in the Alt-txt

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

#Saturn in 2025 and over the last 5 years👇🏽 I imaged Saturn two nights back & have been imaging since 2020. Notice how the rings have gone from nearly face-on to edge-on? This is a 13 to 15 year cycle and is due to Saturn's ring tilt of 27deg to Earth's orbital plane. Saturn just had Equinox in May!

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

Haven’t posted anything in a while but here’s something that always amazes me: the Markarian Chain in Virgo is a gravitationally interacting set of 7 galaxies (or 8 depending on who you ask) but there’s many more lurking in the background… in fact 35 more!!👀🤩 Taken from my deck in SF Bay Area👇🏽

This is an approximately 2 deg field of view of the Markarian Chain of galaxies in Virgo. Besides the 8 galaxies in the chain itself, there are about 3 dozen more galaxies in the background, for a total of 43 galaxies.

Annotated image of the Markarian chain of galaxies in Virgo

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 24/05/2025

Did some first-time imaging with the ASIAir in the live-stacking mode, and boy did I catch some galaxies in their act! 🤩 👇🏽Just 10 min exposures (each 5sec)

Markarian’s chain in Virgo: M84, M86,and more. M87, not a part of the chain, is at the bottom of the photo

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

At Yosemite Valley for spring break, and trying to stay away from the 24 hour news cycle (highly recommended for the times). The scenery is not only spectacular but the size of some of these formations is also truly mind boggling😳

Bridalveil Falls, Yosemite National Park

Upper Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

There was a rainbow 🌈 earlier today, right across my work place.. amazing part was that it was almost at eye level.. felt like you could reach out & grab it.. hint of turning a corner?🤗

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

Happy Saturn ring-plane crossing Day!👇🏽😎 This is a composite of my own takes of Saturn over the last few years. Looking forward to imagining Saturn in the fall when the rings will still be near invisible!🫥

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Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

It's #Saturn ring-plane crossing day! A once in a 13-15 yr event when Saturn's rings are edge on, as viewed from Earth, making them appear to disappear! I'm so infuriated that the Sun is in the way meaning no-one will see it! 😡 We'll just have to imagine it 😞 👇The last time it was seen in 1995. 🔭🧪

Two images of Saturn, one from December 1994 when you can the gorgeous ring is prominent around the planet. The one from May 1995, the ring has vanished leaving only two bright dots which are two of Saturns moons.

From: https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/1995/news-1995-25.html

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

Caught this pair a short while back. Bay Area, Calif Venus (upper right) and Mercury (lower left)

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

The magnificent pair of interacting galaxies, M81 and M82 from my deck👇🏽 M81 aka Bode’s galaxy is a grand design spiral galaxy. M82 aka the Cigar is a starburst galaxy. Repeated encounters between the two is triggering star formation in M82 but also tearing it apart #astronomy #astrophotography

The M81 Group is a galaxy group in the constellations Ursa Major and Camelopardalis that includes the galaxies Messier 81 and Messier 82, as well as several other galaxies with high apparent brightnesses. The approximate center of the group is located at a distance of 3.6 Mpc, making it one of the nearest groups to the Local Group. The M81 Group, the Local Group, and other nearby groups all lie within the Virgo Supercluster (i.e. the Local Supercluster).

Messier 81 (also known as NGC 3031 or Bode's Galaxy) is a grand design spiral galaxy about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. Messier 81 was first discovered by Johann Elert Bode on 31 December 1774. Thus, it is sometimes referred to as "Bode's Galaxy". In 1779, Pierre Méchain and Charles Messier reidentified Bode's object, hence listed it in the Messier Catalogue.

Messier 82 (also known as NGC 3034, Cigar Galaxy or M82) is a starburst galaxy approximately 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It is the second-largest member of the M81 Group, is about five times more luminous than the Milky Way and its central region is about one hundred times more luminous. The starburst activity is thought to have been triggered by interaction with neighboring galaxy M81.

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

This is the last four years of Saturn … Equinox is coming 🔜!

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 18/01/2025

Venus & Saturn conjunction earlier today 👇🏽 While they are two degrees or four Moon-widths apart from one another in our skies, in reality they are over a billion and a half kms apart Their true distance scale in the alt-txt

Venus, currently exhibiting a half-phase is about 93 million kms & inside of Earth’s orbit
Saturn, with its rings nearly edge-on is 1535 million kms in the far reaches of the Solar System

Venus, about 12,000 km in diameter is currently exhibiting a half-phase and is about 93 million kms, inside of Earth’s orbit

Saturn, about 120,000 kms in diameter is seen with its rings nearly edge-on currently. It is about 1535 million kms in the far reaches of the Solar System.

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 18/01/2025

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

I didn’t get to capture the occultation of Mars by the Moon on video this time (too low / clouds) but I did make a video last time it happened (on 2022-Dec-7) This is ingress👇🏽 1/2

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 12/01/2025

👇🏽Eath’s “evil twin”, our closest neighbor in space (apart from the Moon) About the same size as the Earth and formed of the same materials, but a runaway greenhouse effect means surface temps over 900F and clouds formed of sulfuric acid This is Venus! #astronomy #astrophotography

Picture of Venus in a gibbous phase, about 50% lit

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 12/01/2025

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 09/01/2025

Jupiter, Ganymede (left) and Io (right) from last week #astronomy #astrophotography

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

👇🏽this is 2 hrs on #Jupiter compressed… my best video yet!😎🤩 Watch the Great Red Spot rotate in & out from our perspective, Io (right) and Ganymede (left) in their orbit The best part? In the first frame, Ganymede is in a partial phase as it has just emerged.. that’s Jupiter’s shadow! #astronomy

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

My best ever pic of #Jupiter, from last night. Ganymede on the far left and Io on the right. The Great Red Spot bang in the middle🤩 Specs in the alt text #astronomy #astrophotography

Jupiter from the night of 2025 Jan 2nd.
Io is on the far right and Ganymede on the left.

Taken with Celestron 8” SCT and ZWO ASI462MC CMOS camera and 2X TeleVue Barlow. Stacked top 25% of 1225 frames in AutoStakkert. Wavelet processing in Registax

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

Here’s the close up of the first frame showing the partial phase of Ganymede

Zoomed out view showing Ganymede to the left and Io the right. Jupiter showing the Great Red Spot in the southern belt in the center of the frame

Close up of Ganymede. It appears in a partial phase due to still being in Jupiter’s shadow

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

My best ever pic of #Jupiter, from last night. Ganymede on the far left and Io on the right. The Great Red Spot bang in the middle🤩 Specs in the alt text #astronomy #astrophotography

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Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · 03/01/2025

Origami Black Hole xkcd.com/3033

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

Just returned from a trip to Bodega Bay, 60 mi up the CA coast from the Bay Area. Bortle 3 zone. Not the darkest skies but oh boy was it AWESOME! WE COULD SEE THE ANDROMEDA GALAXY WITH OUR BARE EYES!👀 And so many other Messier objects! 👇🏽DSLR pics at 20 sec exp Happy New Year to all! #astronomy

Nightscape photo taken from Bodega Bay with Jupiter on the right, the Pleiades on top and the constellation of Auriga on the left. Many Messier objects are also visible.

Annoted pic of the previous photo identifying major stars, Messier objects and NGC objects

Nightscape photo taken from Bodega Bay. The Andromeda galaxy is visible at the bottom

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

2025 is a centennial year, one that marks the end of the classical world for both the Largest and Smallest structures in the Universe, as had been known until then to Science. A short thread below 👇🏽

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

2025 is a square year coz 45^2 =2,025 January 1, 2025 is a Wednesday The last square year was 1936 (44^2) January 1, 1936 was a Wednesday The next square year will be 2116 (46^2) January 1, 2116 will be a… (wait for it).. Wednesday! 😎😎😎 #funfact

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

Watch Io emerge from #Jupiter ‘s glare👇🏽 in this 10 sec video (covering a little over 2 hours on Jupiter) The dark “spot” on Jupiter’s southern band is not Io.. it’s Io’s shadow 🕶️ #astrophotography

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Happy #Festivus to all who celebrate! Even if you don’t, make the merry of it with a space🎄!

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Dr. Benway @jbozeman47.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

M1 The Crab nebula Telescope: GSO 12" f/8 Ritchey-Chretien Truss Tube Camera: QHYCCD QHY268 M Mount: AP1200 Collaboration: Dave Raphael & John Bozeman Processed with PixInsight and Photoshop 2025 #astrophotography #space #astronomy

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

Jupiter and moons from a few nights back👇🏽 The Galilean moons seen here are (L to R): Europa, Io and Ganymede #astrophotography

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

My best pic of Uranus, from a couple of weeks back👇🏽 I’m pretty chuffed that I was able to get this with my setup😍 #astrophotography

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

Saturn from a couple of months back👇🏽 That’s right, Saturns rings are closing in from our perspective, and will be entirely edge-on by March (if we can see it then). This is a 27 year cycle (just like Earth, Saturn’s rotational axis is tilted wrt to its orbital plane) #astrophotography

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

Mars from a few nights back👇🏽 #astrophotography

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

Happy winter solstice! Not only is it the shortest day of the year in the N Hemi with the Sun at its lowest point in the daytime sky but the ecliptic plane is high at night and the planets are primed for best viewing! All due to the Earth’s tilt! 👇🏽how to find the ecliptic and more in the alt-text

Looking east at the night sky from 40deg N at around 10pm PST in mid December, with many bright stars and planets visible. See the annotated pic for a description of what’s visible.

Annotated pic of the night sky from 40deg N, looking east at around 10pm PST in mid December. The line joining the Moon, Mars and Jupiter defines the ecliptic plane, the plane of the Solar System. The ecliptic plane is high at night during winter for the same reason that the Sun is low in the daytime sky - the Earth is tilted away from the Sun.
Some prominent stars of the winter sky are also labeled - Betelgeuse, Sirius and Procyon form the winter triangle. Castor and Pollux are the twins of Gemini. Aldebaran is the eye of the bull in Taurus.

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

My best pic of Uranus, from a couple of weeks back👇🏽 I’m pretty chuffed that I was able to get this with my setup😍 #astrophotography

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

Jupiter and moons from a few nights back👇🏽 The Galilean moons seen here are (L to R): Europa, Io and Ganymede #astrophotography

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

Found this on another site. Attribute unknown

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

Some nebulae in the constellations of Orion & neighboring Monoceros… or should I say the “Drone” constellation? 🙄Will that catch on? 🤔 #astronomy #astrophotography

The Horsehead Nebula is a small dark nebula in the constellation Orion. The nebula is located just to the south of Alnitak, the easternmost star of Orion's Belt, and is part of the much larger Orion molecular cloud complex. The Horsehead Nebula is approximately 422 parsecs or 1,375 light-years from Earth. It is one of the most identifiable nebulae because of its resemblance to a horse's head.

The Orion Nebula, also known as Messier 42 (M42), is a stellar nursery and the closest major star-forming region to Earth, located about 1,350 light-years away. It's visible to the naked eye as the middle "star" in Orion's Sword constellation, appearing as a bright nebula with an apparent magnitude of 4.0. The nebula is a vast expanse of gas and dust with valleys and pillars, where thousands of stars are born.

The Running Man Nebula is a reflection nebula embedded in the larger H II region Sharpless 279 (Sh2-279). It lies 1,500 light-years away in the constellation Orion. The nebula is part of the asterism known as Orion’s Sword, along with its brighter and larger neighbour, the Orion Nebula (M42).

The Monkey Head Nebula is an emission nebula located in the constellation Orion, the Hunter. The nebula is an H II region, a large cloud of ionised gas in which new stars are being formed. The low-density cloud is a site of intense star formation. The Monkey Head Nebula lies about 6,400 light years from Earth.

The Monkey Head Nebula is located in the same region of the sky as the famous Orion Nebula, one of the brightest diffuse nebulae in the night sky. The Orion Nebula (Messier 42) was the first known H II region. While M42 lies in Orion’s Sword, the Monkey Head can be found above Betelgeuse, near Orion’s head.

The Cone Nebula is an H II region in the constellation of Monoceros. The nebula is located about 830 parsecs or 2,700 light-years from Earth. The Cone Nebula forms part of the nebulosity surrounding the Christmas Tree Cluster.

The diffuse Cone Nebula, so named because of its apparent shape, lies in the southern part of NGC 2264, the northern part being the magnitude-3.9 Christmas Tree Cluster. It is in the northern part of Monoceros, just north of the midpoint of a line from Procyon to Betelgeuse.

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Kumar S @starryknightone.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

Our nearest large galactic neighbors are the Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies and you can image them right from your backyard like I did!👇🏽 Fun-fact: While Andromeda is heading towards us for a collision and merger, the Triangulum could also be joining in the fun! Whatshallwecallit? Milkomedulum?

The Andromeda Galaxy is a barred spiral galaxy and is the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way. It was originally named the Andromeda Nebula and has a diameter of about 46.56 kiloparsecs (152,000 light-years) and is approximately 2.5 million light-years from Earth.

The Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies are expected to collide with each other in around 4–5 billion years, merging to potentially form a giant elliptical galaxy or a large lenticular galaxy.

The Triangulum Galaxy is a spiral galaxy 2.73 million light-years (ly) from Earth in the constellation Triangulum. It is catalogued as Messier 33 or NGC 598. With the diameter of 18.74 kiloparsecs (61,100 light-years), the Triangulum Galaxy is the third-largest member of the Local Group of galaxies, behind the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way. It is believed to be a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy or on its rebound into the latter due to their interactions, velocities, and proximity to one another in the night sky. It also has an H II nucleus.

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