AstroMikeAZ
@kmikemcd.bsky.social
Astro photography and gemstone cutting.
Today’s image has two objects, IC 417 (left of center) and NGC 1931. Both stellar nurseries similar to the Orion Nebula (M42) but much farther away in the Perseus arm of the Milky Way. NGC 1931 even has a trapezium of stars similar to M42 if you zoom in on the lower light patch. #astrophotography
December 22, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Today’s image has two objects, IC 417 (left of center) and NGC 1931. Both stellar nurseries similar to the Orion Nebula (M42) but much farther away in the Perseus arm of the Milky Way. NGC 1931 even has a trapezium of stars similar to M42 if you zoom in on the lower light patch. #astrophotography
Today we have SH2-132 in Cepheus, otherwise known as the Lion Nebula. 155 five-minute sub-frames for a total integration time of about 16 hours. #astrophotography
December 20, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Today we have SH2-132 in Cepheus, otherwise known as the Lion Nebula. 155 five-minute sub-frames for a total integration time of about 16 hours. #astrophotography
3I/ATLAS from yesterday morning. I integrated three pairs of 1-minute exposures about 48 minutes apart to illustrate the movement of the comet in the sky. It is in Leo currently so there are a few galaxies around as well. #astrophotography
December 18, 2025 at 9:42 PM
3I/ATLAS from yesterday morning. I integrated three pairs of 1-minute exposures about 48 minutes apart to illustrate the movement of the comet in the sky. It is in Leo currently so there are a few galaxies around as well. #astrophotography
A barely visible crescent moon just before sunrise this morning. Taken with my new iPhone 17 and 8X optical zoom. I think I am going to like this new phone. #astrophotography
December 18, 2025 at 6:21 PM
A barely visible crescent moon just before sunrise this morning. Taken with my new iPhone 17 and 8X optical zoom. I think I am going to like this new phone. #astrophotography
3I/ATLAS is flying by right now. Its closest approach to earth is in a couple of days. I have been collecting data every clear morning. Here are some results from this morning. 3 images. One is 5 one minute exposures stacked. Another is 3 exposures over about an hour. It is moving fast! #astrophoto
December 17, 2025 at 12:26 AM
3I/ATLAS is flying by right now. Its closest approach to earth is in a couple of days. I have been collecting data every clear morning. Here are some results from this morning. 3 images. One is 5 one minute exposures stacked. Another is 3 exposures over about an hour. It is moving fast! #astrophoto
Today’s image is IC 410, the Tadpole Nebula. The tadpoles are the squiggly columns of gas with bright knots on the ends where stars are forming a little left of the center of the nebula. About nine hours of exposure time in this image. #astrophotography
December 10, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Today’s image is IC 410, the Tadpole Nebula. The tadpoles are the squiggly columns of gas with bright knots on the ends where stars are forming a little left of the center of the nebula. About nine hours of exposure time in this image. #astrophotography
Today we have NGC 1499, the California Nebula. This is a 4 panel mosaic with 70 sub-frames in each panel for a total integration time of over 23 hours. #astrophotography
December 7, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Today we have NGC 1499, the California Nebula. This is a 4 panel mosaic with 70 sub-frames in each panel for a total integration time of over 23 hours. #astrophotography
Today we have two “groups” of galaxies, NGC7331 and Stephan’s Quintet to the lower right. The larger galaxies in each group are about 40 million light years away while the smaller galaxies are 300 to 350 million light years away. Those are pretty old photons! #astrophotography
November 30, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Today we have two “groups” of galaxies, NGC7331 and Stephan’s Quintet to the lower right. The larger galaxies in each group are about 40 million light years away while the smaller galaxies are 300 to 350 million light years away. Those are pretty old photons! #astrophotography
Today we have a new image of our interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS. This is an integration of just three 5 minute sub-frames. The comet is moving quickly and the head shows movement in a single frame. I will try some shorter exposures to see if I can get better results. It’s a process. #astrophotography
November 29, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Today we have a new image of our interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS. This is an integration of just three 5 minute sub-frames. The comet is moving quickly and the head shows movement in a single frame. I will try some shorter exposures to see if I can get better results. It’s a process. #astrophotography
Today’s image is NGC1491, the Fossil Footprint Nebula in Perseus. It is an emission nebula about 9800 light years away. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1790. #astrophotography
November 26, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Today’s image is NGC1491, the Fossil Footprint Nebula in Perseus. It is an emission nebula about 9800 light years away. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1790. #astrophotography
This is what I have to deal with, clouds. Sure, it’s a beautiful sunrise but they get in the way of my data collection!?! Good morning everyone!
November 13, 2025 at 3:39 PM
This is what I have to deal with, clouds. Sure, it’s a beautiful sunrise but they get in the way of my data collection!?! Good morning everyone!
Clouds got in the way last night. But here is a 4 panel mosaic of M31. 60 sub-frames in each panel for a total exposure time of 20 hours. I’m still working on the processing because of the huge dynamic range of the source. I may share another take down the road. #astrophotography
November 12, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Clouds got in the way last night. But here is a 4 panel mosaic of M31. 60 sub-frames in each panel for a total exposure time of 20 hours. I’m still working on the processing because of the huge dynamic range of the source. I may share another take down the road. #astrophotography
Here is the annotated version with three NGC galaxies to the right of the comet. #astrophotography #interstellarcomet
November 11, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Here is the annotated version with three NGC galaxies to the right of the comet. #astrophotography #interstellarcomet
Today’s image of 3I/ATLAS our interstellar comet. This is an integration of 5 five-minute exposures. A little better than yesterday’s image. This is cropped from the original to eliminate some satellite trails. #astrophotography #interstellarcomet
November 11, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Today’s image of 3I/ATLAS our interstellar comet. This is an integration of 5 five-minute exposures. A little better than yesterday’s image. This is cropped from the original to eliminate some satellite trails. #astrophotography #interstellarcomet
Not one of my prettier images but it is my first ever image of an interstellar comet. 3I/ATALAS from the early morning hours today. A single 5 minute exposure. It should be better in the coming days. #astrophotography #interstellarcomet
November 10, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Not one of my prettier images but it is my first ever image of an interstellar comet. 3I/ATALAS from the early morning hours today. A single 5 minute exposure. It should be better in the coming days. #astrophotography #interstellarcomet
Here is the center of IC1396 and its most famous element, the Elephant Trunk Nebula just right of center in this image. #astrophotography
November 8, 2025 at 3:33 AM
Here is the center of IC1396 and its most famous element, the Elephant Trunk Nebula just right of center in this image. #astrophotography
Today’s image is VdB126 in Volpecula, a region of dense star fields and gas and dust clouds in the Milky Way. Specifically the named object is a pair of reflection nebulae in the center of the clouds. I have processed the 15 hours of data in two different ways. Let me know. #astrophotography
November 1, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Today’s image is VdB126 in Volpecula, a region of dense star fields and gas and dust clouds in the Milky Way. Specifically the named object is a pair of reflection nebulae in the center of the clouds. I have processed the 15 hours of data in two different ways. Let me know. #astrophotography
Here is SH2-114, the Flying Dragon Nebula in the constellation Cygnus. This image is composed from 180 five-minute sub-frames for a total exposure time of 15 hours. As I have noted before in reference to names of objects, some people have better imaginations than me. #astrophotography
October 31, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Here is SH2-114, the Flying Dragon Nebula in the constellation Cygnus. This image is composed from 180 five-minute sub-frames for a total exposure time of 15 hours. As I have noted before in reference to names of objects, some people have better imaginations than me. #astrophotography
An image of Comet Lemmon from last evening. It looks like the dust tail is curving away from the gas/ion tail.
October 26, 2025 at 6:30 PM
An image of Comet Lemmon from last evening. It looks like the dust tail is curving away from the gas/ion tail.
We have a couple of comets gracing our skies right now. Here they are, C-2025 R6 Comet Lemmon, and C-2025 R2 Comet Swan which looks like a green snowball. #astrophotography
October 25, 2025 at 5:45 PM
We have a couple of comets gracing our skies right now. Here they are, C-2025 R6 Comet Lemmon, and C-2025 R2 Comet Swan which looks like a green snowball. #astrophotography
Here is an annotated version of M33 identifying 18 NGC/IC objects that are parts of the galaxy. In addition there are 24 galaxies in the background from the PGC. It’s always fun to see what else is lurking in the image! #astrophotography
October 24, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Here is an annotated version of M33 identifying 18 NGC/IC objects that are parts of the galaxy. In addition there are 24 galaxies in the background from the PGC. It’s always fun to see what else is lurking in the image! #astrophotography
Hi Folks - Here is one of my favorite targets, M33. It is part of our local group of galaxies about 4 million light years from the Milky Way. This is the longest integration time for me on the object, a little over 14 hours in total. #astrophotography
October 24, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Hi Folks - Here is one of my favorite targets, M33. It is part of our local group of galaxies about 4 million light years from the Milky Way. This is the longest integration time for me on the object, a little over 14 hours in total. #astrophotography
Hi Folks - Sorry for the long absence. The monsoon season is behind us and while the moon is a bit pesky I wanted to share my first image of the fall season. NGC 7789, better known as Caroline’s Rose. Discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1783. A little over 3 hours of exposure time. #astrophotography
October 2, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Hi Folks - Sorry for the long absence. The monsoon season is behind us and while the moon is a bit pesky I wanted to share my first image of the fall season. NGC 7789, better known as Caroline’s Rose. Discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1783. A little over 3 hours of exposure time. #astrophotography
Monsoon clouds continue to intrude on my operations but here is another image from the little break I had a couple weeks ago. IC5146, better known as the Cocoon Nebula in the constellation Cygnus the swan. #astrophotography
August 15, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Monsoon clouds continue to intrude on my operations but here is another image from the little break I had a couple weeks ago. IC5146, better known as the Cocoon Nebula in the constellation Cygnus the swan. #astrophotography
This is the annotated version of the Draco Triplet. It provides labels for two additional NGC galaxies and more than 40 PGC galaxies. So the triplets are not alone. #astrophotography
August 3, 2025 at 9:14 PM
This is the annotated version of the Draco Triplet. It provides labels for two additional NGC galaxies and more than 40 PGC galaxies. So the triplets are not alone. #astrophotography