Cygnus area - widefield!

Not published here before - captured this last Summer.

Cygnus area (wide view) --- Deneb, Vega, and Altair are in the view, as is the North American Nebula (and others).

Look at all those stars...

Canon T3i DSLR, Samyang 14mm lens, iso800, 18x5min exposures --- 5min exposures (yes!) thanks to the SkyWatcher SA 2i w/EQ base.

NGC 6888 (H-alpha) from Las Cruces

Hi all,
From the "scope setup in the backyard" pic, earlier :)

Here is one of three targets I captured that night. This is only the H-alpha (Ha) channel, which is a subset of the full Luminance channel. Using an Ha filter reduces out of spectrum light (e.g., light pollution) while allowing emmisions from hydrogen through - such as those from nebulae such as NGC 6888, aka the Crescent Nebula.
I also collected Lum and RGB, but this is just a preview as the narrowband mono view I also enjoy.
TPO 12" Truss RC, f/6.2 (using Tak reducer), 1895mm focal length
QSI 690wsg camera
AP1100GTO mount
Ha filter 3nm bandwitdth.
9x10min subs
Las Cruces, NM

This is uncalibrated (for now).

Finally... big RC scope out AGAIN!

After more than one year (very tough year for me, last year), I was FINALLY able to get the "big RC scope" out into my backyard again, last night (21 May 2025).
I took a picture of the setup while it was imaging...and can see the background sky. My first time to do something like this with my setup. Here is that scene.

Now, I feel so refreshed...and comfortable to have data :) I will now be processing the data and you will see those results arrive here (note: I TAKE MY TIME to process my data --- it's just how I am) :)

A year ago... experience of a lifetime

Oh, what a day...

http://jeffjastro.com/solarsystem/TotalSolarEclipse_8Apr24.htm

"Like No Place Else on Earth"

Wednesday, 19 Mar 2025 at White Sands National Park.
From NPS site: "Like No Place Else on Earth"

We met some family friends from Texas that we had wanted to meet with for the past 2 years. Their daughter and our daughter were instant friends! 🥰 We all had an awesome time.
*Feeling blessed*

A small, rarely imaged galaxy...

This is NGC 5474 --- a "peculiar" dwarf companion galaxy to M101.
It is ~21 Million light years away.

Not very exciting, but it is rarely imaged and not easily recognized. Very small target, but I pointed the "big RC" at it and this was the result.

Home gym upgrades...

Side bar topic: Latest HOME GYM upgrades!

Super happy ... and recovery mode after so many surgeries in 2024 (2 of them were major surgery - overnight in hospital and tons of stitches - and that's all I'll say about that).