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12 hours of total exposure across 4 clear nights in Mars Hill, NC reveal the intricate narrowband gas structures of IC 5146.
Capturing "Mirach’s Ghost" (NGC 404) from Mars Hill, NC—a delicate dwarf galaxy hiding directly in the brilliant glare of the red giant star Mirach.
A new transient visitor has appeared in the iconic Deer Lick Group! Discovered on September 1, 2026 by the ATLAS survey system, SN 2026aaiv is a dramatic Type Ia supernova exploding inside the spiral arms of NGC 7331, roughly 40 million light-years away.
Over three clear nights in Mars Hill, NC, I set my sights on NGC 7538 for the very first time. After overcoming a meridian flip hiccup on night one, I captured 10 hours of narrowband integration—revealing the dramatic, glowing structures of this active stellar nursery.
Captured at 12:15 AM on August 28, 2026, this 1-second exposure at f/5.6 and ISO 800 uses an iOptron star tracker set to lunar rate and precise manual focus to reveal deep coppery-red umbral detail and delicate high clouds on the Nikon Z6 II.
A three-night journey across two skies capturing the Cocoon Nebula (IC 5146) and the expansive dark dust lane of Barnard 168.
A single-night capture of the North America Nebula mapped in the Hubble palette (SHO). The blue region highlights concentrated $\text{OIII}$ emissions along the "Cygnus Wall," contrasting sharply with the warm amber and gold tones of surrounding HA and SII gas cloud structures.
Capturing the beauty of the Great Globular Cluster. Check out my 6.5-hour integration of M13, captured from the Bortle 4 skies of Mars Hill, NC.
Captured over three windy but beautiful nights at the 2026 Winter Star Party in the Florida Keys, this Seagull Nebula image reflects both the magic of the southern skies and a week shared with old and new friends alike.
My first Winter Star Party delivered a week of clear, cool Florida Keys skies and 10 hours on M101. Captured in HaLRGB at f/3.8, this Pinwheel Galaxy image blends fast optics with careful PixInsight processing.
Captured during the Winter Solstice event at Big Cypress National Park, this image of M45—the Pleiades, was created from 75 two-minute exposures using a fast f/3.6 imaging setup. More than 2,450 attendees shared the night as live-stacked images revealed this iconic star cluster in real time, blending public outreach with a deep-space target that first sparked my astrophotography journey nearly 20 years ago.
The Soul Nebula sits about 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia, paired with its more famous neighbor, the Heart Nebula.
Battling clouds, failed guiding, and a rushed manual focus, I still managed to capture this stunning comet from our Harold Campbell dark site using my Askar FRA600 and ZWO 2600 Duo.
A vivid portrait of the Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex, blending reflection, emission, and dark nebulae captured in 2.5 hours from the Starry Night Ranch in Florida.
A swirling sea of gas and dust surrounds the bright star Sadr in this deep narrowband image captured from Deep Gap, NC.
Imaging M3 is more than just an exercise in precision — it’s a quiet confrontation with scale, time, and the staggering probability that life might be far more common than we once imagined.
Captured with the CarbonStar f/4 Newt and ZWO 2600MM Duo under dark Florida skies. Framing wasn’t ideal, but the detail came through beautifully.
👉 View the image and full breakdown →
Messier 63 – The Sunflower Galaxy
First Attempt | Captured Under Bortle 2–3 Skies, April 2025
I set my sights on one of the great face-on spiral galaxies in our night sky—Messier 101, also known as the Pinwheel Galaxy.
While sky conditions were not as pristine as during my Leo Triplet session, the dual-scope approach again proved invaluable, allowing for a detailed, high-contrast representation of this stunning galaxy.
Captured under the dark Bortle 3 skies of a private astronomy club in south-central Florida during our annual star party…
A hidden stellar nursery on Orion’s outskirts, NGC 1788 glows with the light of young stars. Its dusty filaments and dark shadows sculpt the eerie form of the Cosmic Bat.
Under the dark skies of the Florida Everglades, I captured the stunning reflection nebula M78 using a dual-scope setup.
The Dolphin Nebula captured in stunning detail. This first image of 2025 a star-forming region in the constellation Cetus.
IC 410 is a stunning emission nebula located about 12,000 light-years away in the constellation Auriga.
Last night, I ventured deep into the Florida Everglades with a few friends to capture an image of the Shark Nebula (LDN 1235). The trip was an adventure in itself, navigating through remote backroads under pitch-black skies.
The Sculptor Galaxy is often overshadowed by more famous spirals like Andromeda or the Triangulum Galaxy, but it’s a fascinating target in its own right.
12 hours of broadband OSC integration on the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula (IC 1396) captured from Mars Hill, NC using the Askar FMA180 Pro and PixInsight.