Had some fun shooting with the @venuslaowa AF 10mm f/2.8 lens on my way home Tuesday. With the IBIS, I was able to get shutter speeds down to 1/3 sec to catch motion blur. Definitely a unique perspective.

Heading home

A little PNW serenity for y’all. Went for a walk with my sister at a nearby park.

I was able to get two hours last night on M78, the “Casper the Friendly Ghost Nebula” before hazy clouds started to obscure it. I want to get more exposure time on this one, but I’m stoked about what I captured so far. The second image is what I captured back in February 2023. Needless to say it’s already a huge improvement. M78 means a lot to me because I saw it before I knew about it, “discovering it” in a wide field image I took of Orion (third image). I didn’t even know it existed until I saw this cool little knot of light and shadow near Barnard’s Loop. I tried to photograph it using my Sony 200-600mm and Sony A7 IV on my little iOptron SkyGuider Pro. It was a frustrating experience with multiple failures before even getting the image I got. With it being a winter target, just setting up was a challenge trying to get polar alignment manipulating cold metal parts with frigid fingers. Then, it would inevitably go sideways. The 200-600mm loses infinity focus below about 32°F/0°C. That means it also loses the ability to focus on stars, focusing just short of them. I even tried wrapping the lens in handwarmers and a scarf to try and prevent the cold but it wasn’t enough. I finally gave up. It’s a winter target that I couldn’t shoot becaue it was winter. But, the Askar 120APO i bought this year coincidentally has the same focal length as the 200-600mm at full reach with a 1.4x teleconverter, 840mm. Better yet, it can do it at f/7, rather than the Sony lens’s f/9. When I bought it, M78 was definitely on my mind, especially with the added crop factor of the ASI2600MC APS-C camera. Patience paid off and I finally have an image. I’ll keep working on it, but I can finally scratch that itch that started almost three years ago. Oh, and fun fact: M78 is referenced in Ultraman as being the home “galaxy” of the Ultra Race. It’s a nebula, not a galaxy, but still cool that others are as enamored with it as I am.

This could definitely use some more integration time for the sulfur II data, but not bad for two nights of imaging. Target: The Tadpole(s) Nebula Location: Roy, UT Bortle 7 Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Air Mount: ZWO AM3 Scope: Askar 120APO w/ flattener Filter: Askr D1/D2 dual narrowband filters Lights: D1: 45 x 600 sec, D2: 49 x 600 sec Gain: 100, Cooling: -20°C 60x Flats, Flat-Darks, Darks Total integration time: 15 hrs 40 min Stacked in Pixinsight with DBXtract BlurXTerminator, StarXTerminator, and NoiseXTerminator Finished in Photoshop

All set up at the Festival of Talents at The Genesis Project on Riverdale Road in Ogden! It runs 9am-5pm today and tomorrow, as well as 9am-2pm Sunday. This is a fundraiser for their “Night to Shine” event, which is a prom for individuals with disabilities so they have a safe, fun event where the can truly be themselves (check out my video at https://vimeo.com/798184859)

A few quick edits from this evening’s incredible aurora. More to come but need to get some sleep. 📷Sony A7 IV, Laowa AF 10mm f/2.8

Interested in a canvas print of some of my astrophotography? CVS is doing a ridiculous 80% off sale right now on 16×20” and 24×36” prints! That means you can own a 16×20” for only $60 plus shipping, and a whopping 24×36” canvas for only $115 plus shipping. Despite what you might think, these canvases still look great. Let me know if you want one. Take a look through the available images at www.utah-astro/portfolio, and let me know. I can send you a mockup of what it would look like as a canvas.

Local peeps, I have a list of upcoming sales booth locations on my website now, www.utah-astro.com. The next one is this Saturday!