I built an observatory in the desert to take pictures of cool things in our sky. Here's a dying star putting on a great show for us! [OC]

Image from preview.redd.it and submitted by gibsonpics
image showing I built an observatory in the desert to take pictures of cool things in our sky. Here's a dying star putting on a great show for us! [OC]

gibsonpics on March 21st, 2021 at 00:01 UTC »

This is Thor's Helmet, a wolf-rayet star thought to be in the stages before a supernova shaping the hot gas of an emission nebula.

This was shot with a Planewave CDK17 telescope. While technically still amateur, this is a much more serious telescope than most people use for astrophotography. Luckily, people shoot this object with smaller (cheaper) telescopes all the time and it still turns out great. My observatory is basically just a bedroom with a telescope mounted in the middle and a roof that rolls off. It is wonderful for capturing objects in deep space like you see here.

To learn more about what is possible with patience, dark skies, and high-end photography gear, check out my instagram. I share what kinds of images I produce out in the dark skies of southern California.

PublicfreakoutLoveR on March 21st, 2021 at 00:48 UTC »

Are these the actual colors that come through or has it been enhanced? Either way, very cool!

NotBusinessCasualYT on March 21st, 2021 at 01:17 UTC »

How does one get into hobby astronomy? I'm interested but I have no idea where I'd start