Daniel Heartsong @danielheartsong

A Great Blue Heron standing in profile - facing to right of frame. In a marshy area with pickleweed and grasses, and bushes and dry grasses behind. Warm colours in early evening sun. The bird is large with long legs, neck and bill - grey-blue on its back, blue-black cap, white band behind the eye and under the long bill. Plumes hanging from lower neck.

A Great Blue Heron trying to blend into the background - evening golden hour. #Birds 🪶 #Photography

16.08.2025 21:11 — 👍 112 🔁 11 💬 2 📌 0

$A pair of interacting spiral galaxies that somewhat resembles a heron. To the upper right is a smaller, distorted spiral, forming the heron's neck, head, and beak. In its center is a bright yellow nucleus surrounded by a ring of stars that transitions into two spiral arms that form an S shape. The lower spiral arm forks in two. They are all made of a haze of pink stars. The lower left part of the ring and spiral arms have a concentrated area of dust. Extending from the inner spiral arms are two much larger, thin spiral arms, dotted with blue star clusters, which lengthen the S-shape. The lower arm appears to touch the edge of the disk of its companion galaxy. On the left is a large spiral galaxy, forming the heron's body. It's disk is tilted, so that it appears as a oval rather than a circle. It has a bright pink center that transitions into spiral arms. The arms are defined by dark brown dust lanes. The area in between is filled with a haze of blue-white stars. On the black background of space are foreground stars, some with diffraction spikes, and tiny background galaxies.$

A pair of interacting spiral galaxies that somewhat resembles a heron. To the upper right is a smaller, distorted spiral, forming the heron's neck, head, and beak. In its center is a bright yellow nucleus surrounded by a ring of stars that transitions into two spiral arms that form an S shape. The lower spiral arm forks in two. They are all made of a haze of pink stars. The lower left part of the ring and spiral arms have a concentrated area of dust. Extending from the inner spiral arms are two much larger, thin spiral arms, dotted with blue star clusters, which lengthen the S-shape. The lower arm appears to touch the edge of the disk of its companion galaxy. On the left is a large spiral galaxy, forming the heron's body. It's disk is tilted, so that it appears as a oval rather than a circle. It has a bright pink center that transitions into spiral arms. The arms are defined by dark brown dust lanes. The area in between is filled with a haze of blue-white stars. On the black background of space are foreground stars, some with diffraction spikes, and tiny background galaxies.

Gran Telescopio Canarias image of Arp 84, also known as NGC 5394 and NGC 5395.

This interacting pair is nicknamed the "Heron Galaxy". The larger spiral, NGC 5395 forms the body of the heron and the smaller, two-armed NGC 5394 forms its neck, head, and beak.

Credit: GTC, IAC
Source

16.08.2025 00:31 — 👍 590 🔁 103 💬 9 📌 3

A pretty Gulf Fritillary butterfly sitting on top of a Lantana Flower in the afternoon sunlight.

A big happy Friday, Bluesky friends! 🦋🧡

I hope your weekend treats you well!

#photography #Nature #RastCoastKin #Scape #FlowersonFriday #Flowers #FlowerReport #BloomScrolling 🌱

08.08.2025 17:55 — 👍 303 🔁 41 💬 13 📌 2