David Ridge
@dridge.bsky.social
Husband, father, grandfather (my most important roles), retired minister (not considering myself a Christian, given what that has come to mean), left of center, follower of science and advocate for human rights. Politically outspoken but on hiatus now.
Well done, Boulder! I got tired of taking pics and I got there as many people were leaving... 5,000? 6,000? A LOT of people🥰
June 14, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Well done, Boulder! I got tired of taking pics and I got there as many people were leaving... 5,000? 6,000? A LOT of people🥰
🔭 A cache of photons collected on my prior telescope has finally been processed... NGC7822, the largest galaxy of the Deer Lick group. It's about 127,000 light years across.
June 1, 2025 at 6:22 AM
🔭 A cache of photons collected on my prior telescope has finally been processed... NGC7822, the largest galaxy of the Deer Lick group. It's about 127,000 light years across.
🔭 A bit negligent in my recent image posting
May 18, 2025 at 5:03 PM
🔭 A bit negligent in my recent image posting
The Sunflower Galaxy hangs out about 30,000,000 light years and it's overhead at about 10pm at the end of May.
May 11, 2025 at 5:19 AM
The Sunflower Galaxy hangs out about 30,000,000 light years and it's overhead at about 10pm at the end of May.
Near the end of the handle of the Big Dipper, M51 hangs out in our cosmic backyard (if the back fence was 31mly away 😉). At 75% the size of the Milky Way, one might wonder how many civilizations call it home. 🔭
April 16, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Near the end of the handle of the Big Dipper, M51 hangs out in our cosmic backyard (if the back fence was 31mly away 😉). At 75% the size of the Milky Way, one might wonder how many civilizations call it home. 🔭
The Tiger's Eye galaxy, NGC2841, hangs out about 46m ly away around 9pm overhead these nights. This is processed in pixinsight with the Foraxx palette. About 15 hours collecting photons with a 1000mm focal length.
April 9, 2025 at 4:10 PM
The Tiger's Eye galaxy, NGC2841, hangs out about 46m ly away around 9pm overhead these nights. This is processed in pixinsight with the Foraxx palette. About 15 hours collecting photons with a 1000mm focal length.
Revisiting an early image with more processing experience. The Cocoon Nebula...
March 29, 2025 at 5:05 AM
Revisiting an early image with more processing experience. The Cocoon Nebula...
The latest astroproject was the Leo Triplet, located overhead at about midnight these nights. 35,000,000 light years away, these three galaxies occupy a region about 500,000 light years in diameter. The light left there about half way back to the age of dinosaurs and just dropped into my 5" scope. 🔭
March 28, 2025 at 10:33 PM
The latest astroproject was the Leo Triplet, located overhead at about midnight these nights. 35,000,000 light years away, these three galaxies occupy a region about 500,000 light years in diameter. The light left there about half way back to the age of dinosaurs and just dropped into my 5" scope. 🔭
The data hasn't changed but the "processor" is more experienced 😉
March 10, 2025 at 2:41 PM
The data hasn't changed but the "processor" is more experienced 😉
Nice image! What did you use for processing it? My recent image was a 12 hour, 2 pane mosaic shot thru a 5" and 990mm focal length, processed with pixinsight.
March 10, 2025 at 2:44 AM
Nice image! What did you use for processing it? My recent image was a 12 hour, 2 pane mosaic shot thru a 5" and 990mm focal length, processed with pixinsight.
Hmmmm. Maybe this is a more compelling image....??
March 7, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Hmmmm. Maybe this is a more compelling image....??
Among the several cosmic targets I've collected this far, the Crab has been on a "slow simmer". Having collected enough photons, I've now cooked it sufficiently for your consumption... Zoom in for a tasty meal. Metaphoric enough? 😁🔭
March 7, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Among the several cosmic targets I've collected this far, the Crab has been on a "slow simmer". Having collected enough photons, I've now cooked it sufficiently for your consumption... Zoom in for a tasty meal. Metaphoric enough? 😁🔭
Havin' fun with the nighttime skies again🔭. The Rosette mezmerizes me.... Zoom in and be mezmerizes as well...
March 7, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Havin' fun with the nighttime skies again🔭. The Rosette mezmerizes me.... Zoom in and be mezmerizes as well...
For those that want to write your own Valentine's day card, here's an image for you... It's the Heart Nebula, located 7500 light years away in the Cassiopeia constellation. It's about 160 light years wide. Have fun with it. Right click on the image and save it to your device.
February 10, 2025 at 8:46 AM
For those that want to write your own Valentine's day card, here's an image for you... It's the Heart Nebula, located 7500 light years away in the Cassiopeia constellation. It's about 160 light years wide. Have fun with it. Right click on the image and save it to your device.
For those keeping track of dates, here's February's wallpaper for you. That's the Jellyfish Nebula, also called SH2 248, located about two and a half fist widths (held at arms length) north of Orion's Belt at about 9PM during the first part of February. 🔭
February 1, 2025 at 7:08 PM
For those keeping track of dates, here's February's wallpaper for you. That's the Jellyfish Nebula, also called SH2 248, located about two and a half fist widths (held at arms length) north of Orion's Belt at about 9PM during the first part of February. 🔭
To put this in a more earthly perspective, with the Jellyfish being about 20 lightyears in width, the two stars marked (if they're in the vicinity of the Jellyfish) represents the distance from our sun to the nearest star. THAT distance is 77,000 times the distance from the earth to the sun.
January 26, 2025 at 5:11 PM
To put this in a more earthly perspective, with the Jellyfish being about 20 lightyears in width, the two stars marked (if they're in the vicinity of the Jellyfish) represents the distance from our sun to the nearest star. THAT distance is 77,000 times the distance from the earth to the sun.
Lurking about 25* (five fist widths held at arms length) above Orion's Belt, the Jellyfish Nebula chases Orion across the sky. Perhaps the Hunter is actually the Hunted? 🔭
January 25, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Lurking about 25* (five fist widths held at arms length) above Orion's Belt, the Jellyfish Nebula chases Orion across the sky. Perhaps the Hunter is actually the Hunted? 🔭
Ok, astrobugs, I thought I'd run this up the flag pole. If you'd like an old school calendar on your pc desktop and an astro image, you can download (save) this image, open Settings, choose Personalization, select Background, Browse photos, navigate to your download folder to select this image.
January 15, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Ok, astrobugs, I thought I'd run this up the flag pole. If you'd like an old school calendar on your pc desktop and an astro image, you can download (save) this image, open Settings, choose Personalization, select Background, Browse photos, navigate to your download folder to select this image.
Here's a little thing I happened upon the last few nights... SH2 229 the Flaming Star Nebula, overhead at about 8pm these nights (40* N).
January 13, 2025 at 5:42 AM
Here's a little thing I happened upon the last few nights... SH2 229 the Flaming Star Nebula, overhead at about 8pm these nights (40* N).
Just another cloud of dust and gas... Captured with an RCX400 - 12 and QHY183C with a Starlight SX-AO. The Cocoon Nebula, aka IC 5146. Overhead at about 9pm during October.🔭
December 29, 2024 at 10:49 PM
Just another cloud of dust and gas... Captured with an RCX400 - 12 and QHY183C with a Starlight SX-AO. The Cocoon Nebula, aka IC 5146. Overhead at about 9pm during October.🔭
Oh boy! I get to post here 🤓. I'm a newbie but with a fairly thick skin. Here's a just completed one (at least for this season) SH2 199 Soul Nebula. 10hrs Tak 130NFB on Temma2M, Player One Poseidon OSC, PixInsight
December 24, 2024 at 6:02 AM
Oh boy! I get to post here 🤓. I'm a newbie but with a fairly thick skin. Here's a just completed one (at least for this season) SH2 199 Soul Nebula. 10hrs Tak 130NFB on Temma2M, Player One Poseidon OSC, PixInsight
Do you need proof 😂
December 24, 2024 at 4:52 AM
Do you need proof 😂