@astrorich.bsky.social
Retired project manager living in Houston, Texas. Nature photographer, amateur astronomer, birder, music lover, movie fan, animal lover, Progressive in a Red State, happily married, grandfather. All photos are my own unless otherwise stated.
Mauna Kea Milky Way
Got to visit the iconic Mauna Kea observatory in Hawaii recently and had to take some Milky Way shots from high altitude. This is a stack of 3 minutes total integration time. The MW was more clearly defined to the unaided eye. #stars #milkyway #maunakea
Kilauea eruption. We booked a room at the Volcano House in the Volcano National Park in Hawaii and lucked out when this happened. #volcanos #Hawaii #Kilauea
21.09.2025 20:56 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
Can you see it?
15.09.2025 16:03 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
Announcing the discovery of the Possum Nebula tucked in between the North America and Pelican nebula. The search is on for the Raccoon Nebula. #stars #humor #milkyway #funny #astronomy
14.09.2025 14:09 β π 176 π 19 π¬ 4 π 2Well, itβs on Fox so β¦
31.07.2025 18:30 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0Thanks. That was two full nights of imaging on just a single target.
30.07.2025 02:55 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
The Iris Nebula
A blue reflection nebula surrounded by dark nebula in the northern Milky Way. I shot 80 five minute exposures over two nights under dark skies to capture this beautiful portion of our galaxy.
#stars #space #nebula #astrophotography
The Eastern Veil Nebula.
Part of a supernova that exploded thousands of years ago in the constellation Cygnus. In this false-color image, red shows hydrogen gas and green/blue shows oxygen.
#stars #astrophotography #nebula #veilnebula #space
βThe Cygnus Wallβ
Part of the rich nebula of the Milky Way in the constellation Cygnus the Swan. This is a false-color image captured with special filters. I love the stormy looking tendrils like a scene from Star Trek.
#stars #nebula #milkyway #nightsky
Rho Ophiuchi
This region of the summer Milky Way has it all - red emission nebula, blue reflection nebula, dark nebula and a globular cluster. 2 1/2 hours of total integration time. Five minute exposures.
#stars #nebula #astrophotography #milkyway #rhoophiuchi
Storm
A few more dramatic images of storm clouds from my astrophotography trip to the Texas Hill Country a while back. Sometimes the most beautiful βnebulaβ are closer to Earth.
#photography #storms #clouds #nature #thumderstorms
Hill Country Storm
An astrophotography trip last year began with a spectacular thunderstorm. We even spotted a small tornado that formed briefly.
#photography #nature #storms #lightening
New Wings
Hereβs one of the great blue heron chicks from earlier this year testing out his new wings.
#birds #photography #greatblueheron #nature
The Needle Galaxy NGC4565
A dramatic and beautiful edge-on galaxy at roughly 40 million light years distance. Note the other galaxies nearby.
#stars #astrophotography #galaxies
Another approach is the SeeStar computerized telescope. Theyβre really amazing and easy to use.
20.04.2025 00:43 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0I donβt know of any. Sorry. The model I was using actually came from the factory modified. Thatβs why the call it the Ra (a for astrophotography). Theyβre great for wide field astro images. Be sure to stop down your lens a couple of stops too.
20.04.2025 00:36 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0Youβre fortunate to live in such a beautiful place.
This was with a Canon Ra mirrorless camera thatβs modified for astrophotography attached to a Redcat51 250mm telescope, on an IOptron GEM28 mount. Processed in PixInsight and Adobe Photoshop. The image was cropped significantly.
Well, donβt give up. I shot this back in 2021 and have since got better at post-processing. Went back and reprocessed this one.
And you got to see the eclipse. I got clouded out.
The Orion Nebula
I created this image from 103 ten second exposures (about 17 minutes total).
#stars #astrophotography #Orion #photography
Ancient Starlight
While processing my picture of the three galaxies in Leo, I spotted a couple of small, fuzzy objects that are other galaxies. To my surprise, the one labeled IC2729 is documented at a distance of 1.06 BILLION light years!
#stars #astrophotography #galaxies
Three Galaxies in Leo
M65, M66 and NGC3628. Approximately 35 million light years away.
#stars #astrophotography #galaxies
Snowy Egret Gaze
The herons and egrets put on a tremendous amount of showy feathers during mating season which makes them really fun to photograph. #birds #wildlifephotography #outdoor #egrets
Beautiful image. Those Seestars are amazing.
30.03.2025 14:59 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
Galaxy M83
15 million light years away in the constellation Hydra. A rotating mass of 40 billion stars and billions of planets essentially quarantined from us due to sheer distance. Is anyone or anything looking back?
#stars #astrophotography #astronomy
Fascists
27.03.2025 20:50 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
Flying Solo
A lone roseate spoonbill returning to its nest as a foggy twilight closes in. Taken at the Houston Audubon Smith Oaks Rookery at High Island, Texas.
#birds #photography #wildlifephotography
Lunar Eclipse March 14, 2025
#stars #astrophotography #moon #eclipse #lunareclipse
Cantankerous Spoonbills
Thereβs always a dispute among the spoonbills during nesting season. Prime locations are in short supply as are sticks and other building materials. Somehow it all works out.
#birds #wildlifephotography #nature #highislandtexas
Mating Season is Here
A pair of great white egrets show off their mating feathers. Already paired up, theyβre working on their nest where a couple of turquoise colored eggs will turn into a set of fuzzy dinosaur-like chicks,
#birds #wildlifephotography #photography #nature
