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For the last three years, the shiitake colony in my log garden have sent out little scouts in the week after the spring equinox. These are...

For the last three years, the shiitake colony in my log garden have sent out little scouts in the week after the spring equinox. These are smaller and more eccentric than the regular spring crop--which appears mid-April. Here are this year's early shiitake scouts, right on schedule!

#mushrooms #lichensubscribe

Photons from Messier 81 (Bode's Galaxy) and nearby Messier 82 (Cigar Galaxy) traveled for about 12 million years before being deposited...

Photons from Messier 81 (Bode's Galaxy) and nearby Messier 82 (Cigar Galaxy) traveled for about 12 million years before being deposited on the sensor attached to my telescope the night before last. These galaxies began interacting about 100 million years ago, triggering an intense burst of star formation. The red, glowing streams emanating from the Cigar Galaxy's core and the pink orbs dotting the spiral arms of Bode's Galaxy contain abundant hydrogen, and are rendered visible with the help of an optical filter whose narrow bandpass is centered on the H-alpha emission line.

#astrophotography

Howdy, y'all! I tracked the moon with two telescopes during the lunar eclipse Friday morning, and here are the results! The...

Howdy, y'all! I tracked the moon with two telescopes during the lunar eclipse Friday morning, and here are the results! The redder-looking images were captured with an astronomy camera sensitive to visible and near-infrared wavelengths, using a 150mm f/4 Newtonian. The rest were captured using a Canon M50 mark ii --which is sensitive only in the visible range-- attached to my 90mm f/14 Maksutov.

#astrodon #astrophotography #moon

Without contrast stretching:

Without contrast stretching:

The waxing quarter moon was high in the clear blue sky at sunset, so I snapped a few shots with a Canon M50 mark ii attached to a 90mm f/14...

The waxing quarter moon was high in the clear blue sky at sunset, so I snapped a few shots with a Canon M50 mark ii attached to a 90mm f/14 Maksutov. Here's the best frame;

Behold, "lunar x"!

#astrophotography #astrodon #moon

Satellites, drones, improper gain settings, image train issues, encroaching haze and repeated bumps by a local opossum somehow failed to...

Satellites, drones, improper gain settings, image train issues, encroaching haze and repeated bumps by a local opossum somehow failed to fully spoil my imaging session last night with IC 405, "Flaming Star Nebula"!

Here's a stack of the best 26 frames, totaling a little less than two hours of total exposure time.

Scope: 150mm f/4 Newtonian
Filter: Dual narrowband + broadband near-IR
Sensor: Cooled IMX-533 OSC
Processing: Pixinsight + GraXpert

#astrodon #astrophotography

Looks like it was starlink 5693.

Looks like it was starlink 5693.

If you zoom in on the leftmost star in Orion's belt, and then stare at it for an hour, this is how that integrated image might...

If you zoom in on the leftmost star in Orion's belt, and then stare at it for an hour, this is how that integrated image might (actually!) appear. The Horsehead Nebula and the Flame. ...from just 60 minutes exposure captured by a backyard telescope in light-polluted Western Illinois.
#astrodon #astrophotography

I just saw what looked like a satellite breaking up while reentering the atmosphere. It was moving west to east in the northern sky, as...

I just saw what looked like a satellite breaking up while reentering the atmosphere. It was moving west to east in the northern sky, as seen from western Illinois. Quite dramatic!

Night off work: ✅ Mostly clear skies: ✅ No moon: ✅ -20°C: ✅ Consistent focus: ❌ Consistent guiding: ❌ Crash-free slewing:...

Night off work: ✅
Mostly clear skies: ✅
No moon: ✅
-20°C: ✅
Consistent focus: ❌
Consistent guiding: ❌
Crash-free slewing: ❌ 😨
Aberration-free image train: ❌
55 acceptable 120-second subs: ✅

Target: NGC 2174; Monkey Head Nebula
Scope: 150mm f/4 Newtonian
Filter: Dual 7nm + broadband near-IR
Sensor: IMX-533 (one-shot color)

Result: Hey, not that bad, all things considered!

#astrodon
#astrophotography

First light with my new 150mm Newtonian and imx533 sensor!This is a stack of 60 1-minute frames towards NGC 2244 (Rosette Nebula) through a...

First light with my new 150mm Newtonian and imx533 sensor!
This is a stack of 60 1-minute frames towards NGC 2244 (Rosette Nebula) through a multi-narrowband filter.
The scope was a bit out of collimation, and I need to tweak the gain and focus a little -- but overall, pretty happy with the new rig!

#astrodon #astrophotography

Sky was clear Wednesday night, so I did "Backyard Astrophotography Attempt Number ~One Zillion"; and hey my calibration frames...

Sky was clear Wednesday night, so I did "Backyard Astrophotography Attempt Number ~One Zillion"; and hey my calibration frames actually worked! I think I'm finally getting the hang of this!
Here's 200 minutes of Andromeda, and just 28 minutes of Orion, taken with a Canon M50 mark ii attached to a low-cost achromatic refracting telescope (SV-48p: 90mm, f/5.6).
Somewhat light-polluted semi-urban environment -- about Bortle 5.5
#astrophotography #astrodon

more autumn macroshots#lichensubscribe #mosstodon #mushrooms

more autumn macroshots

#lichensubscribe #mosstodon #mushrooms

Autumn equinox in the log garden!#lichensubscribe #mosstodon #mushrooms

Autumn equinox in the log garden!

#lichensubscribe #mosstodon #mushrooms

shiitake incoming#mosstodon #lichensubscribe #mushrooms

shiitake incoming
#mosstodon #lichensubscribe #mushrooms

Recent (macro) photographs of one of the logs in my mushroom garden#lichensubscribe#mosstodon

Recent (macro) photographs of one of the logs in my mushroom garden

#lichensubscribe
#mosstodon

Clouds obscured the pulsating ionosphere for the first half of the night, but it cleared up around 2AM. I stitched-together all of the...

Clouds obscured the pulsating ionosphere for the first half of the night, but it cleared up around 2AM. I stitched-together all of the exposures into a movie:

Aurora Borealis in Western Illinois, 11 May 2024

Aurora Borealis in Western Illinois, 11 May 2024

Solar Eclipse - just before the end of totality. You can see prominence of solar plasma along the receding edge of the lunar...

Solar Eclipse - just before the end of totality. You can see prominence of solar plasma along the receding edge of the lunar occultation.

April 8 2024
Poplar Bluff MO
Maksutov-Cassegrain
Aperture: 90mm
Focal length: 1250mm
Sensor: APS-C 6000x4000
1/800 sec
ISO800

This is a big deal:https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ace101

This is a big deal:

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ace101