View allAll Photos Tagged stilllearning
...I'm so mean, for taking this. I just have to make sure I never fall asleep in the presence of my kids.
So many clear nights in a row has allowed me to explore the various components of the #VeilNebula, the remnants of a supernova in the #Cygnus constellation. This image is 5.5 hours (33x600 seconds) of exposure on a faint part of the nebula called Pickering's Triangle. It was discovered in 1904 by Willamina Fleming, a founding member of an all-woman group of human computers at the Harvard College Observatory who painstakingly analyzed thousands of photographic plates to discover and classify deep sky objects. Despite Fleming's discovery, this object was named after her boss, Edward Pickering, the director of the Harvard College Observatory. Fleming also discovered many other nebula, including the Horsehead Nebula, analyzed the spectral emissions of tens of thousands of stars, and created the classification system that our current system is based on. #StillLearning
Just messing around with photoshop until I can get a decent camera. Oh, Nikon, how I long to have you in my grasp!
There are at least 4 galaxies in this image. I labeled the 4 I could see. Bode's and the Cigar are about 12 million light years from Earth. Capturing them is a stretch for my skills and the equipment I used. This is with a 100mm lens and each galaxy is just a few dim pixels in the resulting image. #StillLearning
The #CrescentNebula aka #NGC6888 is an emission nebula in the #Cygnus constellation about 5000 light years from Earth. It is caused by the fast-moving stellar winds from the star WR136 colliding with and energizing the slower moving wind ejected by the star 250,000 years ago when it became a red giant. This image is 50 minutes (10x300 seconds) of exposure captured with my 250mm lens and ASI533mc pro camera. #StillLearning
This wall outside my neighbor's house always reminds me of Dorothy's Kansas, for some reason, after she returns home to realize all she'd ever wanted was no farther than her own backyard.
...this is why 1) I need an off-camera flash, and 2) I need to learn how to use it.
Not a terrible shot, but I really think it could've been better with some light. I just refuse to use the on-camera flash on principle.
#M81 and #M82 (Bode's and Cigar) are interacting galaxies in #UrsaMajor. They are about 12 million light years from Earth but are big enough and bright enough to be seen with a good pair of binoculars under dark skies. This image is an hour's worth of exposures captured on the night of April 15, the last time I was able to capture any. Looks like we might have some clear skies tonight! #StillLearning
The #Orion Nebula is about 1350 light years away and is among the most studied objects in the night sky. It is visible to the naked eye as the middle "star" in Orion's sword and astronomers have directly observed protoplanetary disks and brown dwarves within it. There are over 700 stars in various stages of formation within the nebula, including the four young stars of the Trapezium Cluster near the center. Evidence suggests there is a black hold 100 times the mass of our Sun at the center of the Trapezium. Because it is so bright, the nebula is thought to be a beginner astrophotography target but is challenging to photograph well. The center is extremely bright and the edges are relatively faint so combining images with different exposures is necessary to capture details in all areas. I'm working on that project but this image is 100 thirty-second exposures. #StillLearning