Imaging
Astrophotography images captured from Houston and DSP Remote Observatory in Animas, New Mexico (Bortle Class 1). Each post includes the final image, acquisition details, equipment used, and processing notes — everything you need to understand how the image was made. From wide-field nebulae to high-resolution planetary, these are real results from a Mac-based imaging workflow.
LDN 1357: The Hand Is Not Open
Sixteen hours of integration on vdB 8, vdB 7, vdB 9 and the dark cloud LDN 1357 in Cassiopeia, and a short story about an astronomer who learns why the star beside the Helping Hand beats like a heart.
NGC 4258: A Ruler Made of Water
Over 41 hours of integration on M106 (NGC 4258), the maser galaxy in Canes Venatici, and a short story about an astronomer who learns that measuring a galaxy's distance can also mean reading its future.
NGC 2237: Five Numbers for One Flower
Over 17 hours of integration on the Rosette Nebula (NGC 2237) and its young cluster NGC 2244 in Monoceros, and a short story about an ecologist living on the inner wall of a nebula that is being hollowed out by the wind of its own stars.
vdB 5: The Star With a Name Written Backward
Nine hours of integration on vdB 5 and the Ghost of Cassiopeia around the star Navi, and a short story about a star named by an astronaut, and the ghost it is slowly burning away.
M63: Nobody Asked the Dwarf
Over 18 hours of integration on M63, the Sunflower Galaxy in Canes Venatici, and a short story about a retired insurance adjuster who photographs the remains of a galaxy that got eaten.
NGC 1990: The Nebula Nobody Could Confirm
Seven hours of integration on NGC 1990, the faint glow around Alnilam in Orion's Belt, and a short story about a clerk whose job is to confirm the sky is really there, and the one card he can't stamp.
July 31, 2026 Venus
Venus near dichotomy, twenty minutes after sunset, in seeing Laminar rated as poor. 10,000 frames at 347 fps through an EdgeHD 8 and a 2.5x Powermate, captured in Laminar and stacked, sharpened, and colored in Strata.
The Last Porchlight in M88
Over 15 hours of integration on a spiral in the Virgo Cluster, and a short story about a frontier rancher on the galaxy's outer limb who watches ram pressure strip his world bare, fires off a claim against the universe, and gets paid back with interest.
May 3, 2026 Sun
The first time I ran a full solar capture and processing workflow inside my own apps: 11,159 H-alpha frames through a Lunt LS60MT, captured in Laminar and stacked, sharpened, and colored in Strata.
M90: The Violet Harvest
Over 24 hours of integration on a large spiral in the Virgo Cluster — and a short story about a civilization that lives inside the bright heart of M90, harvests spores from the radio winds, and discovers too late what their elders have become.
On the Rim of NGC 3718
Over 45 hours of integration on the gravitationally warped spiral in Ursa Major — and a short story about a civilization watching its galaxy come undone, and discovering it was never alone.
NGC 4535: The Lost Galaxy Sends a Signal
Over 31 hours of integration on the pale barred spiral in Virgo that William Herschel discovered in 1785 — and a short story about what might be looking back.