Mike Christie
LightNews LightNews
banner
mikechristie.bsky.social
Mike Christie
@mikechristie.bsky.social
1.3K followers 630 following 730 posts
Interested in maths, physics, astronomy, astrophotography. Member of Astronomical Society of Edinburgh. Emeritus Professor at Heriot-Watt University.
Posts Replies Media Videos
mikechristie.bsky.social
Combined two sessions on M31 from Jan this year with last nights group observing session with @e-astronomer.bsky.social , @astroroyalscot.bsky.social and @andynightsky.bsky.social and processed in PixInsight. About 2 hours of data, 15s exposures, gain 60. #Dwarf3 smart 🔭, #astrophotography
M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, is our closest galactic neighbour. The galaxy has a bright nucleus, spiral arms showing dust lanes, and two satellite galaxies.
November 9, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Reposted by Mike Christie
astronomyedinburgh.bsky.social
A time-lapse of a typical night observing with our remote telescope in Spain: ASERO. On an average night we observe 6 variable stars, a couple of comets and a chosen deep sky object - all selected by our members. 🔭☄️
Sometimes we do live observing, always fun!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n5F...
ASERO Timelapse
YouTube video by Astronomical Society of Edinburgh
www.youtube.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Reposted by Mike Christie
astroroyalscot.bsky.social
Your guide to the November night skies courtesy of @astronomyedinburgh.bsky.social. Wishing you all clear skies and lots of lovely #Leonid 'shooting stars' (meteor shower peaks on the 17th)! 🤞🧪🔭🤩
An Infographic from the Astronomical Society of Edinburgh showing the November 2025 Highlights as a list. You can find the text-only format here: https://www.astronomyedinburgh.org/2025/10/24/sky-diary-november-2025/
November 2, 2025 at 12:24 PM
mikechristie.bsky.social
Two more images from last night's session: Gassendi and Mare Humorum to the left, and Plato to Sinus Iridum to the right. Both best 10% frames from 2500 frame video taken with #CFF 135 🔭, #TeleVue 2.5x powermate, #Touptek 585MM camera. #astrophotography
Gassendi and Mare Humorum. Gassendi is upper left of the picture with Mare Humorum just below. Mare Nubian is to the right of the picture Plato to Sinus Iridum. Plato is the large lava filled crater to the upper right, and Sinus Iridium (the bay of rainbows) is a large lava filled crater with missing south east wall to the middle centre of the picture
November 2, 2025 at 10:37 AM
mikechristie.bsky.social
The heavily cratered southern uplands of the Moon, showing Tycho, Clavius, and Schiller. Best 10% frames from 2500 frame video. #CFF135 🔭, #Touptek 585MM, #Televue 2.5x Powermate. Processed in Astrosurface and PixInsight. #astrophotography
The heavily cratered southern uplands of the Moon. Prominent craters visible are Tycho (upper right), Clavius (large, lower middle), and Schiller (elongated, upper left).
November 1, 2025 at 9:07 PM
mikechristie.bsky.social
My daughter's #cat Biscuits getting into the #Halloween spirit.
A 3-legged tabby cat sits amongst leaves and pumpkins in an indoor photo shoot.
October 31, 2025 at 4:13 PM
mikechristie.bsky.social
Sh2-173, or the Phantom of the Opera Nebula, imaged with @astronomyedinburgh.bsky.social remote 12" Murrell Newtonian 🔭 at #Trevinca in Spain. RGB stars with Ha for the nebula. #astrophotography
Sharpless2-173, or the Phantom of the Opera nebula. A red nebula that looks like a face is looking downwards towards the left of the picture, with a bacjmground of coloured stars.
October 30, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Reposted by Mike Christie
astroroyalscot.bsky.social
🔊Announcing a new Physics/Astro PhD scholarship scheme in Edinburgh, for students from a Black heritage, inc mixed Black background. Please help me spread the word. The scholarship covers all tuition fees, living costs & research travel. #blackinSTEM 🔭👩‍🔬⚛️

ℹ️: www.ph.ed.ac.uk/studying/pos...
October 20, 2025 at 3:52 PM
mikechristie.bsky.social
#Aurora from South Edinburgh just now. Looking west, barely visible to the naked eye because of the LED streetlights here. 10s hand held photo with phone. #astronomy
Red glow of the Aurora over rooftops in Southern Edinburgh.
October 18, 2025 at 7:55 PM
mikechristie.bsky.social
Woken early by Felix Astronomicus and saw the sky was clear, so got a quick shot of the Moon. CFF135 🔭, #TeleVue 2.5x powermate, #Touptek 585 mono. Pleased that I got most of Hadley Rille. Best 100 frames from 1000 frame video. #astrophotography
Close up of the Moon showing the Apennine mountains, with Hadley Rille. The three major craters near the Apennines are Archimedes with lava filled floor, Autolycus and Aristillus. Following the sweep of the mountains you come to Cassini with A and B craters clearly seen. Then the Alpine Valley and Plato.
October 12, 2025 at 8:49 AM
mikechristie.bsky.social
Large prominence on NW limb of the Sun captured at 15:20 today (11 October) with Coronado SolarMax 🔭 and #TeleVue 2.5x Powermate. #Touptek 585 mono camera. Stacked in AstroSurface, then processed and coloured in PixInsight. #heliophysics #astrophotography
Large prominence on NW limb of the Sun.
October 11, 2025 at 2:38 PM
mikechristie.bsky.social
NGC7293 (Helix Nebula) imaged in HSO earlier this month with @astronomyedinburgh.bsky.social remote Murrell 12" Newtonian 🔭 at #Trevinca in Spain. 71 x 300s Ha, 96 x 300s Oiii, 171 x 300s Sii. Processed in PixInsight. #astrophotography
The Helix Nebula (NGC7293) is a planetary nebula in Aquarius. It is one of the closest planetary nebula to us and was formed by an intermediate to low mass star shedding its outer layers at the end of its life. The red colours are hydrogen-alpha, the yellowy clouds indicate some silicon2, and the blue colours are oxygen3
October 10, 2025 at 7:58 AM
mikechristie.bsky.social
My previous M33 combined colour RGB data from last year with L data from my new Touptek because I had not got good flats for the G and B channels. I fixed that this evening and processed 85 x 60s L, 20 x 60s G, B, and 19 x 60s R to get this image. CFF135 🔭, #Touptek ATR2600M. #astrophotography
M33 the Triangulum galaxy. This was taken with a mono camera using luminance, red, green and blue filters which were combined in post processing. Even without H-alpha, the red Ha regions are visible along with young blue star regions and dust lanes near the centre of the galaxy.
September 28, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Reposted by Mike Christie
astroroyalscot.bsky.social
The fantastic UK network of science and discovery centres needs your help to survive and thrive! Sign this letter urging the UKGov to stop excluding science from the financial support that is available for other museums, art galleries & theatres 🙏🧪🔭👩‍🔬🎢

👉✉️: www.sciencecentres.org.uk/openletter20...
Catherine having a laugh at the Aberdeen science centre with three girls playing with a powerful fan. Catherine chatting to an interested girl in front of an arch they've just built. Catherine and two kids looking earnestly at some marshmallows in a glass jar that is about to become a vacuum. Catherine looking through a giant lens. She has a mask on.
September 27, 2025 at 7:35 AM
mikechristie.bsky.social
Trying out my new #Touptek ATR2600M mono camera on M33. This is the first 24 luminance images. I'll probably combine with some RGB data from last year once the sequence is finished. Scope #CFF135 🔭 on #TTS160 Panther mount. #astrophotography
A mono image of M33, the Triangulum Galaxy, showing spiral arms and foreground stars from the Milky Way
September 23, 2025 at 9:23 PM
mikechristie.bsky.social
About 1 hour on M31 with a #Dwarf3 smart scope in equatorial mode. (257 exposures at 15s, gain 60.) Processed in PixInsight. #astrophotography 🔭
Andromeda galaxy (M31) with two satellite galaxies (M32 and M110). M31 shows a bright core and dark dirt lanes, with bluer regions where bright new stars are towards the edge of the galaxy.
September 21, 2025 at 10:00 PM
mikechristie.bsky.social
Set up CFF135 🔭 hoping to try new #Touptek ATR2600MM. But loads of clouds, so quick shot of Moon with #Touptek ATR585MM and #TeleVue 2x Barlow. Best 100 frames from 1000 frame video, stacked and sharpened in Astrosurface. #astrophotography
Moon 1 day past full, showing Mare Crisis and craters along the terminator
September 8, 2025 at 8:39 PM
mikechristie.bsky.social
Solar prominence on SE limb, taken today (8 Sept) in gaps between light rain. Coronado SolarMax III 🔭 with #Touptek ATR585M camera and #Televue 2.5x Powermate. Stacked and sharpened in #Astrosurface, and coloured and inverted in #PixInsight with Solar Toolbox. #astrophotography #heliophysics
Zoomed image of the Sun's SE limb, showing two prominences with a long filament leading to the larger prominence
September 8, 2025 at 12:12 PM
mikechristie.bsky.social
Helping with @astronomyedinburgh.bsky.social tours of the 6” Cooke refractor telescope at Calton Hill in Edinburgh. This is part of www.collective-edinburgh.art/programme/ga... #astronomy
A photograph of the 6” Cooke refractor telescope on Calton Hill in Edinburgh. The telescope is on a massive equatorial mount that is set on a stone pillar that is set in volcanic rock.
September 7, 2025 at 1:26 PM
mikechristie.bsky.social
Solar disk imaged 29 August at 11:54 from Edinburgh. Image taken in hydrogen-alpha using a Coronado SolarMax 🔭. There's lots of activity - sunspot groups (also visible in white light), filaments, and prominences. Best 25% frames from 2500 frame video. #astrophotography, #heliophysics
Sun's disk imaged in hydrogen-alpha light. Several sunspot groups visible, along with filamentary structures and prominences.
August 29, 2025 at 11:11 AM
mikechristie.bsky.social
Combined 45 minutes L data from a #CFF135 🔭 with about 1 hour RGB data from a #TeleVue NP101 🔭 Longer term, I hope to run both scopes simultaneously to maximise data gathering in Scotland's usually unfavourable weather. Processed in PixInsight. #astrophotography
The Dumbbell nebula M27 in Vulpecula. Red hydrogen-alpha and blue-green oxygen-iii form the apple core shape of the nebula, with a background of stars.
August 17, 2025 at 11:06 PM
mikechristie.bsky.social
Sun imaged today from Edinburgh at 14:54 in H-alpha with Coronado SolarMax 🔭. Best 10% of frames from 2500 frame video stacked in Astrosurface, and post-processed with the Solar Toolbox in PixInsight. #astrophotography #heliophysics
Sun's disk at 14:54 from Edinburgh. Imaged in hydrogen-alpha light showing prominences and filaments (on the solar disk). The solar disk is inverted so the filaments appear light rather than dark.
August 17, 2025 at 2:16 PM
mikechristie.bsky.social
I came across some M33 data from September 2024 and reprocessed it using techniques that I've learnt over the last year. 67 minutes total exposure taken with CFF135 refractor 🔭 and QHY286C camera at -10C. This is RGB only - no Ha added. #astrophotography
The Triangulum Galaxy is approximately 2.8 million light years away. A spiral galaxy with hydrogen alpha regions and numerous blue young stars.
August 5, 2025 at 2:40 PM
mikechristie.bsky.social
Solar disk from Edinburgh at 10:28 today using SolarMax #solar 🔭 and #Touptek 585M camera. Attempts at solar photography yesterday and the day before were frustrated by clouds - as soon as I had the scope set up and focused, clouds covered the disk! #astrophotography #heliophysics
Sun imaged in hydrogen-alpha from Edinburgh. Solar disk is inverted which makes the filaments light rather than dark. Large prominences visible at 9 o'clock, 10 o'clock and 1 o'clock.
July 28, 2025 at 9:48 AM
mikechristie.bsky.social
We imaged NGC 7331 in 2024 with our @astronomyedinburgh.bsky.social remote 12" Murrell Newtonian 🔭 at #Trevinca in Spain. Last night we took some further images to catch current SN Ia 2025rbx, clearly visible at 2 o'clock from the galaxy centre in the right hand image. #astrophotography
A comparison of two images of NGC7331, an unbarred spiral galaxy in Pegasus. Both images are luminance only, with 2024 being 22 x 300s in L and 2025 being 10 x 180s in L, so as not to blow out the core. The supernova is clearly visible at about 2 o'clock from the galaxy centre in the 2025 image.
July 26, 2025 at 8:04 AM