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I recently took on a fun backyard challenge: photographing the Fox Face Nebula (NGC 1788) using the William Optics UltraCat 76. It’s not a target you hear about very often, and that’s exactly what drew me to it. While Orion is packed with famous, high-contrast objects, this one tends to fly under the radar, especially... […]

Last updated: November 26, 2025. If you find this helpful and buy through my links, I may receive a small commission. The ZWO ASI585MC Air is a compact, self-contained smart astrophotography camera that replaces the usual laptop, controller, and cable mess with a single, lightweight unit you control from your phone or tablet. This is... […]

Last updated: November 21, 2025. If you find this helpful and buy through my links, I may receive a small commission. Over the past few months, I have been testing the DWARF mini smart telescope from the backyard and at a dark-sky site. This smart telescope is currently the world’s smallest, weighing just 840 grams. ... […]

NASA’s Johnson Space Center was front and center Jan. 4, 2026, as the Houston Texans faced the Indianapolis Colts during Space City Day at NRG Stadium. Fans watched the Texans win while getting a close look at NASA’s Artemis II mission, the first crewed flight of the Artemis campaign.  The Artemis II mission will send four astronauts—NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with CSA (Canadian […]

NASA and its partners have supported humans continuously living and working in space since November 2000. A truly global endeavor, the International Space Station has been visited by more than 290 people from 26 countries and a variety of international and commercial spacecraft. The unique microgravity laboratory has hosted more than 4,000 experiments from over […]

NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers captured this image of lightning while orbiting aboard the International Space Station more than 250 miles above Milan, Italy on July 1, 2025. Storm observations from space station help scientists study Earth’s upper atmosphere, which can improve weather models and protect communication systems and aircraft. Space station crew take photographs of […]

Jupiter's having a special moment! Don't miss the giant planet at its best when it reaches opposition this week. The post Big and Bright, Jupiter Beckons in January appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Astronomers have measured the mass of a free-floating planet for the first time. Comparable to Saturn, it’s surprisingly massive for such rogue worlds. The post Rogue Saturn Discovered Floating Through the Milky Way appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Many less massive galaxies appear to lack something astronomers thought was ubiquitous: a central, supermassive black hole. The post Not Every Galaxy Has a Central Black Hole appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

 Anybody still coming here?

My own Hubble View! These galaxies lie between 10 to 50 million light years away. How many galaxies do you see? A pretty tricky part of the sky to image, really. You're utilizing almost your entire field of view with an 80mm scope, so dealing with all that comes with wide-field. This is the best […]

A nice clear night last night until around 12:30 when clouds rolled in. Managed to get this image of the lovely M51 Whirlpool galaxy. It lies around 23 million light years away and it is interacting with a smaller galaxy (yellow~ish bulge to the left). Three supernova (star explosions) have been detected in this galaxy […]