Misty Bentz
LightNews LightNews
banner
astronomisty.bsky.social
Misty Bentz
@astronomisty.bsky.social
6K followers 470 following 2K posts
Astronomer and Professor at Georgia State University. She/Her. Big fan of black holes, cats, and cross-stitch. Seestar smart telescope enthusiast. Novice gardener with a penchant for native plants.
Posts Replies Media Videos
astronomisty.bsky.social
Sh 2-140 is about 3000 light years away in the direction of Cepheus. An emission nebula, it is heated by young stars. The sharp edge along the bottom of the nebula marks a dark molecular cloud where new stars are forming.

8.2hrs, #Seestar S50 🔭 🧪
Siril, GraXpert, Starnet, GIMP
A pink glowing nebula is centered on a black background dotted with stars. The nebula is sail shaped and has a bright sharp edge along the bottom. Several bright blue stars are embedded in the glowing gas.
November 18, 2025 at 12:21 AM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Most of my garden is going to sleep for the winter, but this sunny little coneflower isn’t quite ready yet! 🌱🌺#bloomscrolling
A perfect orange coneflower with petals that deepen to red at the center where they meet the green cone. Another coneflower blossom is nearby with a larger cone and paler orange petals.
November 16, 2025 at 11:46 PM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Here's a cleaned up image of C/2025 K1 ATLAS 🔭🧪
I was only able to get ~25min before sunrise, but it's a good thing I woke up at 5:30 so I could be sure to see this comet before it heads back to the outer solar system.
#Seestar S50
Software: Siril, GraXpert, Starnet, GIMP
A small golden colored comet is visible against a black background dotted with stars.
November 15, 2025 at 11:25 PM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Not sure why I’m awake, but might as well look at this comet!
C/2025 K1 ATLAS
Apparently this “the other ATLAS”, a new comet from the Oort Cloud making its first (and perhaps only) trip through the inner solar system. 🔭 🧪 #Seestar S50
A small comet with a faint tail appears on a dark background dotted with stars
November 15, 2025 at 11:38 AM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Decided to drive to a darker location with my friend and this was the best we saw tonight. 11:30pm at Allatoona Lake, GA #aurora #northernlights
A blue night sky with a slight wash of pink near the horizon.
November 13, 2025 at 5:56 AM
astronomisty.bsky.social
It’s past my bedtime, so this is the best I’m going to see tonight
12:00am Sandy Springs, GA
#aurora #NorthernLights
Red auroral glow to the north behind several trees, with a blue night sky dotted with stars above
November 12, 2025 at 5:28 AM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Sandy Springs, GA at midnight
Red auroral glow to the north behind several trees, with a blue night sky dotted with stars above
November 12, 2025 at 5:24 AM
astronomisty.bsky.social
It’s definitely there in this photo!
11:45pm in Sandy Springs, GA #aurora #NorthernLights
A blue night sky with a reddish glow in the bottome left corner. Trees surround the edges of the frame and the sky is dotted with stars
November 12, 2025 at 4:59 AM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Super faint aurora or wishful thinking? 🤷‍♀️
North is at the bottom of the picture
Sandy Springs, GA at 10:30pm
Image of a mostly blue-gray sky with a pinkish-purple tinge near the bottom. The sky is dotted with stars and the frame is ringed with tree tops and a corner of our roof
November 12, 2025 at 3:44 AM
astronomisty.bsky.social
I was feeling stabby last night (gee, I wonder why?), so I started a new project 🧶 #crossstitch
White aida fabric in an embroidery hoop. A design in cross stitch and embroidery is appearing along the diagonal and currently ranges from light pink to dark pink.
November 10, 2025 at 11:13 PM
astronomisty.bsky.social
It’s snowing! ❄️
November 10, 2025 at 9:29 PM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Prepping for the first freeze of the season. I had pretty good luck last year, but we will see how many of these cuttings survive until spring! (Have a bunch more in a different window too)
I also planted 4 packs of crocus bulbs today and am looking forward to their cheerful faces heralding spring 🌱
Kitchen window with two test tube racks sitting on the sill. One rack has cuttings of coleus and impatiens, the other has begonias. The view through the window is wooded and showing off the colors of the fall foliage.
November 8, 2025 at 8:25 PM
astronomisty.bsky.social
NGC 6946, the Fireworks Galaxy, and open cluster NGC 6939. The latter is a loose collection of stars only ~4000 light years away, while the former is a gravitationally bound “island universe” about 25 million light years away.

5.7hrs, #Seestar S50 🔭 🧪
Siril, GraXpert, Starnet, GIMP
A black background dotted with stars features a cute spiral galaxy near the top left and an over-density of stars near the bottom right
November 7, 2025 at 1:48 AM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Face-eating contest
Like for leopards, right?
Wheel of Fortune board with puzzle partially filled in: _ A _ E-EATING _ _ NTEST
November 7, 2025 at 12:08 AM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Hello Luna, you are one super moon!
🔭🧪 #Seestar S50 #supermoon
Image of tonight’s full moon, the “super moon”.
November 6, 2025 at 5:26 AM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Coco was very photogenic earlier today
A dark gray cat on a fuzzy gray shelf with a beam of sunlight illuminating exactly one half of his face
November 5, 2025 at 2:46 AM
astronomisty.bsky.social
I like to keep a small project in my bag to work on during my commute (by train—I’m not driving). Just finished this one! 🧶
Little starry adventure in geometry, by The Steady Thread
stitched in DMC threads on white 16ct aida—I selected primary colors instead of what was recommended
5” square frame
A geometric design embroidered on white cloth and displayed in a square black frame. The design looks like a flowery fractal pattern and is stitched in rainbow colors, with red on the outside transitioning through to purple on the inside
November 1, 2025 at 10:12 PM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Domestic bliss 🥰
A man is alseep on his side with his head resting on his outstretched arm. A black/gray cat is curled up with him, asleep in the little spoon spot.
October 28, 2025 at 1:35 AM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Mr Cardinal poses in front of some fall foliage between rain showers on this gray day 🪶

And hooray for 2.75 inches! 🌧️
Our recent drought has been tough on all the creatures
A bright red cardinal perched on the edge of a bird feeder with green trees behind accented by some changing red and yellow leaves
October 27, 2025 at 11:01 PM
astronomisty.bsky.social
We did the thing today
#vote 🍑
Selfie showing a round sticker near the neckline of my dark orange shirt. The sticker has a picture of a peach with the words I’m a Georgia Voter I secured my vote!
October 26, 2025 at 7:39 PM
astronomisty.bsky.social
And here is Comet Lemmon (C/2025 A6) from the same night. It was also passing by Earth, but this comet is currently on its way toward the Sun. It was very low in the sky, just above the trees and viewed through the top of the fog.
30min #Seestar S50 🔭 🧪 ☄️
A comet with a bluish-green fuzzy coma and a long tail with significant structure is highlighted against a black background dotted with stars.
October 24, 2025 at 8:36 PM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Comet SWAN (C/2025 R2) from my trip to Moundville Archaeological Park. On Oct 21 when I captured these images, the comet was passing Earth on its way to the outer solar system. It seems to have very little tail left after its trip past the Sun
30min #Seestar S50 🔭 🧪 ☄️
with @ngc3314.bsky.social
A bluish green fuzz ball is highlighted against a black background dotted with stars
October 23, 2025 at 11:35 PM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Found myself under a dark moonless sky at Moundville Archaeological Park with fog billowing around and two comets above.
Sounds like the opening of a novel, but in reality it was much less creepy than it sounds. We had telescopes and good conversation; I’m glad I managed to get out there! 🔭🧪
Three-minute image of Comet Swan, which appears to be a green fuzzy ball against a black background dotted with stars Silhouette of a person pointing at the sky. The horizon is slightly illuminated by fog with dark skies and stars above
October 22, 2025 at 2:53 AM
astronomisty.bsky.social
I feel like I’m starting to get a little better at this. #watercolor
A beginner’s watercolor painting of a sunset with a tall palm tree silhouetted against the sky.
October 19, 2025 at 10:12 PM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Our sister galaxy, Andromeda (M 31). She is looking on from a distance, and slightly furrowed with concern.

8 hrs, #Seestar S50 🔭 from N. Atlanta suburbs
Siril, GraXpert, Starnet, GIMP 🧪
A large spiral galaxy with a prominent disk and small central spheroid is centered on a black background dotted with stars. There are brown dust spirals in the disk, and some slight warping of the disk is apparent. Two bright dwarf galaxies are visible nearby.
October 16, 2025 at 2:48 AM