The Dark Shark Nebula 🦈
From Starfront Observatories near Brady, Texas – I caught a predator lurking in the depths of Cepheus. LDN 1235, better known as the Dark Shark Nebula, glides through a sea of stars approximately 650 light-years from Earth. The photons in this image left this cosmic nursery around the year 1375 – as the Renaissance was beginning to dawn in Europe and the Ming Dynasty was rising in China.
Continue reading 52 Hours on the Dark Shark: Deep Sky Astrophotography of LDN 1235From the dark skies where I keep my telescope near Brady, Texas, I captured this dramatic nebula complex in the constellation Cepheus – a cosmic battleground of dark and bright nebulae that truly lives up to its dragon moniker.
This field showcases LDN 1228 (the dark nebula) and LBN 550 (the bright reflection nebula), located approximately 1,200 light-years away. That means the photons captured in this image began their journey around the year 825 CE – when the Viking Age was in full swing and Charlemagne’s grandsons were dividing his empire.
Continue reading Exploring the Fighting Dragons of Cepheus 🐉
In case you’ve missed my celestial (and cocktail) updates, I’m back and kicking, and ramping my astrophotography into high gear. This is one of many deep-space images to come from my remote telescope rig located at @starfront_observatories in truly dark skies near Brady, Texas (see caption below).
Continue reading The Seagull Nebula: A Journey Through Cosmic ColorWhen you view my astrophotography on Facebook and Instagram, do you wonder how the heck I’m doing this? Well, more than a few of you have asked, so I thought I’d write a short bit of background on the process. If you’re interested in learning more, please reach out to me via my socials!
I dove headfirst into this hobby during the summer of 2017 when a total lunar eclipse cut across North Georgia. I picked up a used Celestron reflector telescope, one I’d lusted for as a preteen in all those gift catalogs. I finally owned one! And with that purchase, the descent began.
I’ve often said this is the hardest hobby I’ve ever had. It requires patience first and foremost, but also software, hardware, mechanical, weather, design, and more skills. But I’ve only recently found it rewarding. The tipping point was our new backyard. In our old place, there was simply no view of the sky unobstructed by trees unless I hauled my gear to Grant Park and hung out there into questionable hours of the night with my expensive gear. But our new place has a backyard garden with very clear views of much of the sky. And behind a secure gate, I can leave my gear up all night while I sleep.
