Pacman Nebula (NGC_281) Vaonis Vespera 2, 2944x10s subs, dual band filter

Fun fact: The word "checkmate" comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat" (شاه مات), meaning "the king is dead." Over time, it was adopted into Arabic as "Sheikh Mat", then into Old French as "eschec mat", and finally into English as "checkmate."

#chess #languages

We had a very cold, but very clear night, literally the first clear night in 5 weeks, and only the 2nd clear night in 2025. This is M 57, the Ring Nebula. I took this with my Vaonis Vespera 2 and processed it in PixInsight.

#astrophotography #vespera #pixinsight

I have written a book about Vishki, my grandfather's shtetl in Latvia. My grandfather's words "You can remember Vishki" led me to find my cousin Julya. It is a mix of memoir, research, biography, humor, as well as some short bits of imaginative fiction to help bring the people to life. #jewish

The more things change, the more they stay the same. The GOP is filled with cowards who choose their own privilege over their duty. When/if the US becomes an authoritarian state, the cravenness of the republicans will be responsible for enabling it.

Not too long ago, Elon was doxing government employees on X. Where was the outcry of “You’re breaking the law” then? These employees feared for their families’ safety.

The original version of this song was performed by the legendary band NRBQ and written by their keyboard player of many colorful shirts and great talent, Terry Adams.

#NRBQ #TerryAdams #Clavinet

Here's another image from the new Vespera II scope that I "captured" last night. This is Duck Nebula NGC 2359, also known as Thor's Helmet. This is about 1 hour and 15 minutes of light using a duo band filter and post-processed using PixInsight.

#astrophotography #vaonis #vespera #pixinsight

This is a really fascinating look at the science of snowflakes. The snowflake scientist basically says "No two trees are alike. No two blades of grass are alike. Why are people surprised about snowflakes?" The science of how and why they grow into these shapes is really interesting.

This is NGC 7635, the Bubble Nebula. For those who care about the technical Astrophotography details, this was made up of 5,500 10 second subs that I captured a few months ago. I reprocessed the data in PixInsight using the Hubble HOO palette.

When they make a musical comedy about Jan 6, they should make what's-his-name be Eliza Doolittle's father, singing:

I'm re-elected in the morning.
Ding dong, there's gonna be a crime!
Use fake electors. Sue the defectors.
Just get this to Mike Pence in time!

I had a couple of rare clear nights, so I got a few hours of the famous Horsehead Nebula along with the Flame Nebula with my Dwarf 3 telescope. This is 850 30 second images.