@rick-wayne.bsky.social
Astrophotographer, Ski Patrol instructor, paddler. Husband, Dad. Rabid progressive. Member of Madison Astronomical Society. See (and buy!) my work: redwolfastro.com.
I will have a ton of #NoKings pics from Madison, but for now here's just one, which may be my favorite. Funny, gentle, peaceful, but perfectly captures the contempt we have for people who would make peasants of American citizens.
October 19, 2025 at 4:21 AM
I will have a ton of #NoKings pics from Madison, but for now here's just one, which may be my favorite. Funny, gentle, peaceful, but perfectly captures the contempt we have for people who would make peasants of American citizens.
1st go at last night's data. Think I can do better. Best 40% of 18,000 frames, AutoStakkert2!, sharpened (maybe too much!) in WaveSharp. Acquired with SharpCap with a 12" Richey-Chrétien, 2.5X PowerMate, and Uranus-C camera.
Will follow up if I manage better!
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Will follow up if I manage better!
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
October 9, 2025 at 6:04 PM
1st go at last night's data. Think I can do better. Best 40% of 18,000 frames, AutoStakkert2!, sharpened (maybe too much!) in WaveSharp. Acquired with SharpCap with a 12" Richey-Chrétien, 2.5X PowerMate, and Uranus-C camera.
Will follow up if I manage better!
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Will follow up if I manage better!
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Some more data on this field -- it's really shaping up! I like this orientation better. Also, I just noticed the "hobbit door" toroid in the lower left. What's up with that? Star Rucba, reflection neb VDB 134, and "bubble" planetary PK86+5.1.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
October 8, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Some more data on this field -- it's really shaping up! I like this orientation better. Also, I just noticed the "hobbit door" toroid in the lower left. What's up with that? Star Rucba, reflection neb VDB 134, and "bubble" planetary PK86+5.1.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
My pal Bonnie just got a Photoline APO, my scope's little brother. Found an Astrobin pic of this field and suggested a two-scope collab. This is a quick 'n dirty of my first 2 nights' data, I think it's gonna be spectacular! Stars RGB, H-alpha is red. Note spherical planetary nebula PK86+5.1.
September 19, 2025 at 5:08 PM
My pal Bonnie just got a Photoline APO, my scope's little brother. Found an Astrobin pic of this field and suggested a two-scope collab. This is a quick 'n dirty of my first 2 nights' data, I think it's gonna be spectacular! Stars RGB, H-alpha is red. Note spherical planetary nebula PK86+5.1.
And ANOTHER one! One night's worth of Ha data with that gorgeous, reliable 130 APO. What a rock star! This is the hydrogen data (Crescent Nebula) with the stars removed, and cropped off-center to give the impression of motion. Very much in-progress. More soon.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
September 3, 2025 at 12:07 AM
And ANOTHER one! One night's worth of Ha data with that gorgeous, reliable 130 APO. What a rock star! This is the hydrogen data (Crescent Nebula) with the stars removed, and cropped off-center to give the impression of motion. Very much in-progress. More soon.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Finished this one just today: The Cygnus Wall portion of the North America Nebula. Liked the starless version so well I decided to keep it too. 4.5 hours NB, 1.5 RGB. PixInsight, then combined channels with Astro Pixel Processor's HSORGB preset.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
September 2, 2025 at 3:07 AM
Finished this one just today: The Cygnus Wall portion of the North America Nebula. Liked the starless version so well I decided to keep it too. 4.5 hours NB, 1.5 RGB. PixInsight, then combined channels with Astro Pixel Processor's HSORGB preset.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
The Dark Shark is another dim one that the 130 just casually brought to life. "No big".
I kept stretching until I was amused by the result. 2 hours of LRGB. Love the eyeliner.
Someone beat me to APOD with their Dark Shark, or else I would have submitted this.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
I kept stretching until I was amused by the result. 2 hours of LRGB. Love the eyeliner.
Someone beat me to APOD with their Dark Shark, or else I would have submitted this.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
September 2, 2025 at 2:59 AM
The Dark Shark is another dim one that the 130 just casually brought to life. "No big".
I kept stretching until I was amused by the result. 2 hours of LRGB. Love the eyeliner.
Someone beat me to APOD with their Dark Shark, or else I would have submitted this.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
I kept stretching until I was amused by the result. 2 hours of LRGB. Love the eyeliner.
Someone beat me to APOD with their Dark Shark, or else I would have submitted this.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
The 130 APO continues to just keep cranking gorgeous data. Here's the Phantom of The Opera Mask, very dim but the 5" pulls it out. My own synthetic color for hydrogen, stars are catalog-calibrated. 4.5 hours of H-alpha, 1.5 of RGB for stars.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
September 2, 2025 at 2:54 AM
The 130 APO continues to just keep cranking gorgeous data. Here's the Phantom of The Opera Mask, very dim but the 5" pulls it out. My own synthetic color for hydrogen, stars are catalog-calibrated. 4.5 hours of H-alpha, 1.5 of RGB for stars.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Up next: Titan, with its shadow transiting Saturn. There are a handful of these transits, visible for a few weeks only every 15 years.
12" Richey-Chrétien with 2X Televue compressor, color planetary camera, couple hundred frames from several minutes of video.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
12" Richey-Chrétien with 2X Televue compressor, color planetary camera, couple hundred frames from several minutes of video.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
September 2, 2025 at 2:45 AM
Up next: Titan, with its shadow transiting Saturn. There are a handful of these transits, visible for a few weeks only every 15 years.
12" Richey-Chrétien with 2X Televue compressor, color planetary camera, couple hundred frames from several minutes of video.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
12" Richey-Chrétien with 2X Televue compressor, color planetary camera, couple hundred frames from several minutes of video.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Boy, I've gotten behind in my posting! This pair of interacting galaxies is one of the closest such to us, at 85M LY. The Cocoon Galaxy and its companion have passed by each other with stellar stream trailing between them. Uncooled color planetary cam and the 8" RC.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
September 2, 2025 at 2:39 AM
Boy, I've gotten behind in my posting! This pair of interacting galaxies is one of the closest such to us, at 85M LY. The Cocoon Galaxy and its companion have passed by each other with stellar stream trailing between them. Uncooled color planetary cam and the 8" RC.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Here's the latest one-night wonder. From 40M LY away, NGC 7331 featuring supernova 2025rbs, here for a limited time! This imaging session was going great even with encroaching clouds till it started RAINING ON MY TELESCOPE. That was a charlie-foxtrot of car-stuffing.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
July 29, 2025 at 7:12 AM
Here's the latest one-night wonder. From 40M LY away, NGC 7331 featuring supernova 2025rbs, here for a limited time! This imaging session was going great even with encroaching clouds till it started RAINING ON MY TELESCOPE. That was a charlie-foxtrot of car-stuffing.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
New scope won't quite frame both Trifid and Lagoon. So here's M20 (Trifid) & M21 star cluster. Couldn't stop looking at the starless image so finish-processed that too. Neighbor's comment ruined it forever, though: "South end of a northbound baboon?" Dammit Sue!
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
July 26, 2025 at 6:46 PM
New scope won't quite frame both Trifid and Lagoon. So here's M20 (Trifid) & M21 star cluster. Couldn't stop looking at the starless image so finish-processed that too. Neighbor's comment ruined it forever, though: "South end of a northbound baboon?" Dammit Sue!
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Took the new 130mm APO refractor out for a good trot over several nights. The Eagle Nebula, H𝛼=R, SII=G, OIII=B. About 5 hours total. Really quite taken with how sharp this scope is.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
July 10, 2025 at 3:18 AM
Took the new 130mm APO refractor out for a good trot over several nights. The Eagle Nebula, H𝛼=R, SII=G, OIII=B. About 5 hours total. Really quite taken with how sharp this scope is.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
And another -- this is a SINGLE 30-second frame on the Eagle Nebula, M16, with the red filter. What's really shocking is the 100% zoom showing the Pillars of Creation (remember that Hubble image?).
Yeah, gonna like this scope and camera *just fine*!
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Yeah, gonna like this scope and camera *just fine*!
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
June 26, 2025 at 5:29 PM
And another -- this is a SINGLE 30-second frame on the Eagle Nebula, M16, with the red filter. What's really shocking is the 100% zoom showing the Pillars of Creation (remember that Hubble image?).
Yeah, gonna like this scope and camera *just fine*!
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Yeah, gonna like this scope and camera *just fine*!
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
First light for the new refractor. Sorry Mark is no longer with us, but I hope he'd be happy his scope is getting the love it deserves. Photoline 130 APO, just an hour worth of testing from a Bortle 4 site, LRGB on my also-new-to-me 2600MM.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
June 26, 2025 at 5:23 PM
First light for the new refractor. Sorry Mark is no longer with us, but I hope he'd be happy his scope is getting the love it deserves. Photoline 130 APO, just an hour worth of testing from a Bortle 4 site, LRGB on my also-new-to-me 2600MM.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Better take on the Iris. Two nights' data this time -- one with 30" subframes due to wind gusts, the other 60". From Merritt Reservoir in Nebraska.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
June 15, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Better take on the Iris. Two nights' data this time -- one with 30" subframes due to wind gusts, the other 60". From Merritt Reservoir in Nebraska.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Next up on the Mad Astro Nebraska feed: One (windy) night's take on the Iris Nebula through the 8" RC with a Player One Uranus-C camera. ~4 hours integration time, had to drop to 30" for a better "keeper" ratio.
#redwolfastro
#astrophotography
#redwolfastro
#astrophotography
June 4, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Next up on the Mad Astro Nebraska feed: One (windy) night's take on the Iris Nebula through the 8" RC with a Player One Uranus-C camera. ~4 hours integration time, had to drop to 30" for a better "keeper" ratio.
#redwolfastro
#astrophotography
#redwolfastro
#astrophotography
Madison Astro Society members did a campout at Merritt Reservoir in Nebraska (site of the famous Star Party).
I took some pictures! :-)
This one is practically unedited -- much brighter than was to the eye, of course, but colors are straight out of the camera.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
I took some pictures! :-)
This one is practically unedited -- much brighter than was to the eye, of course, but colors are straight out of the camera.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
June 4, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Madison Astro Society members did a campout at Merritt Reservoir in Nebraska (site of the famous Star Party).
I took some pictures! :-)
This one is practically unedited -- much brighter than was to the eye, of course, but colors are straight out of the camera.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
I took some pictures! :-)
This one is practically unedited -- much brighter than was to the eye, of course, but colors are straight out of the camera.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
And another first look -- this one is M104, the wonderfully-named "Sombrero Galaxy". Again the issue with the walking noise, gotta solve that. 70' of integration time from my back yard. This one will definitely improve as I add more data.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
March 25, 2025 at 8:21 PM
And another first look -- this one is M104, the wonderfully-named "Sombrero Galaxy". Again the issue with the walking noise, gotta solve that. 70' of integration time from my back yard. This one will definitely improve as I add more data.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
A much, much better Cocoon. Figured out the dumb mistake that led to the donuts. Didn't even have to retake any of the flats or light frames. However I kept getting terrible "walking noise" if I used all the integration time, so this is only 10' of integration!
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
March 25, 2025 at 8:19 PM
A much, much better Cocoon. Figured out the dumb mistake that led to the donuts. Didn't even have to retake any of the flats or light frames. However I kept getting terrible "walking noise" if I used all the integration time, so this is only 10' of integration!
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
OK, a peek under the kimono that most astrophotographers won't give you: This is what happens when I screw up bigly. This is a really cool pair of gravitationally-interacting galaxies, the big one is the Cocoon Galaxy. The irritating donuts are *supposed* to be calibrated out!
March 23, 2025 at 7:33 PM
OK, a peek under the kimono that most astrophotographers won't give you: This is what happens when I screw up bigly. This is a really cool pair of gravitationally-interacting galaxies, the big one is the Cocoon Galaxy. The irritating donuts are *supposed* to be calibrated out!
At last! The Thor's Helmet image is in the bag -- not perfect, could always use more data and tweaks, but after working on nothing else since mid-January...I think it's done! Supernova remnant in hydrogen and oxygen, RGB stars. 8" RC telescope.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
March 20, 2025 at 10:54 PM
At last! The Thor's Helmet image is in the bag -- not perfect, could always use more data and tweaks, but after working on nothing else since mid-January...I think it's done! Supernova remnant in hydrogen and oxygen, RGB stars. 8" RC telescope.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
I hope you've enjoyed the journey through my catalog, and that you'll stick around for new work as it arises. With any luck the weather will moderate and let me be a bit more productive -- this image is from Sept 2024 already!
February 28, 2025 at 3:50 PM
I hope you've enjoyed the journey through my catalog, and that you'll stick around for new work as it arises. With any luck the weather will moderate and let me be a bit more productive -- this image is from Sept 2024 already!
NGC 7635: Bubble Nebula. Pentultimate image on my journey. 6H of H-alpha, OIII, and SII plus ~1H broadband for accurate star color.
The Bubble is blown by immense stellar winds from the huge bright center star that will probably go supernova in 10-20M years. 9/2024.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
The Bubble is blown by immense stellar winds from the huge bright center star that will probably go supernova in 10-20M years. 9/2024.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
February 24, 2025 at 6:34 PM
NGC 7635: Bubble Nebula. Pentultimate image on my journey. 6H of H-alpha, OIII, and SII plus ~1H broadband for accurate star color.
The Bubble is blown by immense stellar winds from the huge bright center star that will probably go supernova in 10-20M years. 9/2024.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
The Bubble is blown by immense stellar winds from the huge bright center star that will probably go supernova in 10-20M years. 9/2024.
#redwolfastro #astrophotography
Here's what the aurora really looked like to the eye.
February 24, 2025 at 3:13 AM
Here's what the aurora really looked like to the eye.