Tony Hoffman
@tonyjhoffman.bsky.social
PCMag hardware analyst; writer; amateur astronomer and astrophotographer; travel & humanitarian photographer; radio amateur (AA2TH); New York Mets fan; left-leaning moderate; union strong. All photos I post are mine unless otherwise attributed.
My image from last night of NGC 4565, aka the Needle Galaxy or Berenice's Hair Clip, taken with my Unistellar Odyssey. A large spiral galaxy seen edge-on, it lies about 40 million miles from Earth in the constellation Coma Berenices (Berenice's Hair). #astrophotography
April 21, 2025 at 4:37 PM
My image from last night of NGC 4565, aka the Needle Galaxy or Berenice's Hair Clip, taken with my Unistellar Odyssey. A large spiral galaxy seen edge-on, it lies about 40 million miles from Earth in the constellation Coma Berenices (Berenice's Hair). #astrophotography
From last night, NGC 3344, a 10th-magnitude barred spiral galaxy in Leo Minor, ~22 million light-years away. Half an hour with my Unistellar Odyssey from Bortle 8.5 NYC. #astrophotography #Unistellar #astronomy
April 19, 2025 at 2:56 AM
From last night, NGC 3344, a 10th-magnitude barred spiral galaxy in Leo Minor, ~22 million light-years away. Half an hour with my Unistellar Odyssey from Bortle 8.5 NYC. #astrophotography #Unistellar #astronomy
Image I took Sunday night with #Unistellar Odyssey, 18 min. of 4-second exposures of NGC 3521, a mag. ~10 spiral galaxy in southern Leo. It's called a flocculent spiral because its arms are less well defined than a grand design spiral such as M81 or our own Milky Way. #astrophotography
April 15, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Image I took Sunday night with #Unistellar Odyssey, 18 min. of 4-second exposures of NGC 3521, a mag. ~10 spiral galaxy in southern Leo. It's called a flocculent spiral because its arms are less well defined than a grand design spiral such as M81 or our own Milky Way. #astrophotography
When in Mexico last year for the eclipse, I used my Seestar S50 to image Omega Centauri, the most splendid globular star cluster visible from Earth. In NYC it clears our southern horizon by a few degrees, but I have never seen it from here. #astrophotography #seestar #zwo
April 11, 2025 at 5:37 PM
When in Mexico last year for the eclipse, I used my Seestar S50 to image Omega Centauri, the most splendid globular star cluster visible from Earth. In NYC it clears our southern horizon by a few degrees, but I have never seen it from here. #astrophotography #seestar #zwo
NGC 4216, a large,edge-on spiral galaxy, lies ~55 million light-years away in Virgo. It's flanked by smaller galaxies NGC 4206 and NGC 4222. 15 minutes of stacked 4-second exposures taken with my Unistellar Odyssey from Queens, NY; tweaked in Photoshop. #astrophotography #unistellar
April 6, 2025 at 8:22 PM
NGC 4216, a large,edge-on spiral galaxy, lies ~55 million light-years away in Virgo. It's flanked by smaller galaxies NGC 4206 and NGC 4222. 15 minutes of stacked 4-second exposures taken with my Unistellar Odyssey from Queens, NY; tweaked in Photoshop. #astrophotography #unistellar
February 14, 2025 at 4:09 AM
Here is a shot of the Running Man Nebula in Orion that I took with the Unistellar Odyssey, 15 minutes of stacked 4-second exposures. It is located just north of the famed Orion Nebula.
February 9, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Here is a shot of the Running Man Nebula in Orion that I took with the Unistellar Odyssey, 15 minutes of stacked 4-second exposures. It is located just north of the famed Orion Nebula.
For Rose. I don't know her well, but she provided me with some words of empathy when I needed them the most.
February 9, 2025 at 5:53 AM
For Rose. I don't know her well, but she provided me with some words of empathy when I needed them the most.
A favorite non-Messier galaxy, NGC 2903, a mag 9 barred spiral in Leo. 52 minutes of 10-second frames with my Seestar S50 from Bortle 8.5 NYC, processed in Siril and Photoshop. The galaxy, around 31 million light-years away, is similar in size and structure to the Milky Way.
February 9, 2025 at 5:00 AM
A favorite non-Messier galaxy, NGC 2903, a mag 9 barred spiral in Leo. 52 minutes of 10-second frames with my Seestar S50 from Bortle 8.5 NYC, processed in Siril and Photoshop. The galaxy, around 31 million light-years away, is similar in size and structure to the Milky Way.
It started snowing heavily around 8 p.m. in NYC, and there are ~3 inches on the ground. It's turned into sleet. What’s on the ground is perfect snowball consistency—I threw a couple of them myself, practicing my pitching skills. Some kids nearby seemed to be having a battle royale.
February 9, 2025 at 4:24 AM
It started snowing heavily around 8 p.m. in NYC, and there are ~3 inches on the ground. It's turned into sleet. What’s on the ground is perfect snowball consistency—I threw a couple of them myself, practicing my pitching skills. Some kids nearby seemed to be having a battle royale.
The planet Venus is currently visible in full daylight, above and a little to the left of the thin crescent Moon, in our late afternoon sky. #astronomy #astrophotography #Venus #Moon #iPhone
February 1, 2025 at 8:20 PM
The planet Venus is currently visible in full daylight, above and a little to the left of the thin crescent Moon, in our late afternoon sky. #astronomy #astrophotography #Venus #Moon #iPhone
Some recent pictures of Mars that I took with the Unistellar Odyssey, while the Red Planet is near its closest point to Earth, reveal some dusky markings on its small disk. Smart telescopes are not ideal for imaging planets, but the Odyssey does a decent job nonetheless.
January 20, 2025 at 5:20 AM
Some recent pictures of Mars that I took with the Unistellar Odyssey, while the Red Planet is near its closest point to Earth, reveal some dusky markings on its small disk. Smart telescopes are not ideal for imaging planets, but the Odyssey does a decent job nonetheless.
The Moon, with Mars to its lower left, about 13 minutes before tonight's occultation. #astronomy #astrophotography #occultation #fullmoon #mars #seestar #zwo
January 14, 2025 at 4:14 AM
The Moon, with Mars to its lower left, about 13 minutes before tonight's occultation. #astronomy #astrophotography #occultation #fullmoon #mars #seestar #zwo
The Full Moon rising from NYC tonight, with Mars to its lower left. In a few hours, the Moon will occult (pass in front of) Mars, for observers in the continental United States, southern and eastern Canada, northern Mexico, and northwest Africa. #iPhone photo. #occultation
January 14, 2025 at 12:02 AM
The Full Moon rising from NYC tonight, with Mars to its lower left. In a few hours, the Moon will occult (pass in front of) Mars, for observers in the continental United States, southern and eastern Canada, northern Mexico, and northwest Africa. #iPhone photo. #occultation
Merry Perihelion! Today, the Earth is at its closest point to the Sun in its yearly orbit, which is ironic for us in the midst of northern-hemisphere winter. (The temperature is a little above freezing here in NYC, but a biting wind makes it feel much colder.) #perihelion
January 4, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Merry Perihelion! Today, the Earth is at its closest point to the Sun in its yearly orbit, which is ironic for us in the midst of northern-hemisphere winter. (The temperature is a little above freezing here in NYC, but a biting wind makes it feel much colder.) #perihelion
From the silver linings playbook....
December 29, 2024 at 6:23 PM
From the silver linings playbook....
It can take wonderful deep images of galaxies and faint comets, and does surprisingly well with some planets. Jupiter images seem to be stacked frames from video shot at 4x zoom. It does well in rendering star colors in shots of clusters, though it sometimes oversaturates them. 2/
December 19, 2024 at 5:21 AM
It can take wonderful deep images of galaxies and faint comets, and does surprisingly well with some planets. Jupiter images seem to be stacked frames from video shot at 4x zoom. It does well in rendering star colors in shots of clusters, though it sometimes oversaturates them. 2/
The Moon, a little over a day short of Full, Friday night taken with a Unistellar Odyssey Pro. The Moon barely fits into the scope's field of view; in processing, I expanded the black background and tweaked brightness and contrast in Photoshop. #astrophotography #unistellar
December 16, 2024 at 5:23 AM
The Moon, a little over a day short of Full, Friday night taken with a Unistellar Odyssey Pro. The Moon barely fits into the scope's field of view; in processing, I expanded the black background and tweaked brightness and contrast in Photoshop. #astrophotography #unistellar
