Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #opteam
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I spent 20 hours shooting the leftmost star of Orion's belt. This is everything my camera revealed in that time. Space is a vibrant place, filled with colors and structures your eyes aren't sensitive enough to resolve. #astrophotography #space #opteam 
Even after 20 hours of exposures, the area is incredibly dark. This is how the unedited image looked, but there is a LOT of data hidden within it. This is a 32bit stacked file, and every detail you see is hidden in here. some deep space objects are VERY faint.
In case you were curious about the framing of this image. That's where all this stuff is, within that square. While much fainter than the prominent orion nebula, the horsehead and flame can be faintly see in in this image.
This morning I captured a detailed picture of our moon, but what's that at the bottom? #astrophotography #space #opteam
The ISS, as it sailed past the moon at over 17,000mph. It was only in the frame of my camera for 1/25th of a second.
"Lunar Approach" is my latest limited print release. Available in limited quantities for each style. Get the print here on my website, where you can also learn more about this image: cosmicbackground.io
The longest eclipse of the Century. This composite image was created by combining 7 HDR shots of the moon during various stages of the recent partial lunar eclipse. Earth is so amazing, even our shadow is beautiful. #astrophotography #space #opteam
Thank you for your recent support on my last print- it sold out much faster than expected! I'm releasing this one in a few more sizes and styles (but still limited quanities). Will look awesome on metal. You can find it here: cosmicbackground.io
The full size image is over 350 megapixels- but only patrons have access to it. You should join if you haven't already- super cheap plus you get all my work in super high quality right to your inbox. My patrons are what enable me to do this full time! patreon.com/posts/58946620
I spent 20 hours taking pictures of messier 78 to try and capture the faint dust surrounding the nebula. Here’s the result: #astrophotography #space #opteam
This is the scope I used (obviously not in the daytime).
This is the unedited image. This is not a joke. The raw data usually only shows as a handful of stars. All the data in the image is hidden in this 32bit file. If you ever want to take a crack at processing this, these files are available to patrons patreon.com/ajamesmccarthy
I captured the International @Space_Station transiting the sun today, passing right over a churning active region on the solar chromosphere. There's something different about the station today. Can you see it? #astrophotography #space #opteam
That shot was a close crop of a 140 megapixel image. When I do these, I try to capture all the activity occuring on the sun to preserve the moment. Notice the "clouds" floating on the NorthEastern limb. This is downsized, full size is on my patreon : patreon.com/posts/52972601
So regarding what's different, @astro_kimbrough and @Thom_astro installed a new solar array yesterday, to compliment the first one installed last week. You can see how they bridge the gap between the larger arrays. Amazing that we can see their hard work from Earth!
Yesterday I took a massive 140 megapixel image of the sun. But there is something uniquely special about this image, that made it one of my most difficult shots ever. So, what is it? #astrophotography #space #opteam
A closer look to the active region/sunspost here reveals something unnatural, what is that ||+|| shape doing in my sun photo?
That's right! The ISS was transiting the sun yesterday from my vantage near the budweiser factory in Farifield. These shots require a lot of planning to pull off. For more details check my post on the behind the scenes of this image here on my patreon: patreon.com/posts/50407977
At 2:44am this morning, I positioned myself so the ISS would pass between the moon and I to get this picture. What I didn't expect- was for the ISS to look so much different than usual. #astrophotography #space #opteam
Half the solar arrays appear to be missing at first glance. That's because despite being in a configuration requiring them to be face on towards Earth (also the direction of the sun) half of the arrays are seen edge-on. So why Is this happening?
As it turns out, this was done in prep for an EVA. So nothing to worry about! And I got a cool, rare picture. Over my favorite crater (Copernicus) no less. Get the signed & numbered print for 24 hours here: 8x10.co/cosmic_backgro…
Right now there is a 250,000 mile wide arc of plasma that is drifting away from the solar chromosphere. This is a shot I took this afternoon from my backyard. #astrophotography #space #opteam
Here is one of my shots of Jupiter for scale. This is called a prominence (not a flare) and is the result of plasma getting caught in the sun's active magnetic field. I'll have this shot (w/o Jupiter) available as a print for 24 hours here: 8x10.co/cosmic_backgro…
There's a lot of interesting things on the chromosphere right now. A good sign that we're moving out of the solar minimum and there will be more activity soon. If you want to check out the full rez of this shot, everything is on my patreon in HQ: patreon.com/ajamesmccarthy
One of the most recognizable constellations in the night sky is Orion. and It is absolutely stunning. But after I spent some time shooting it from dark skies, I learned there is more to it than meets the eye. A short thread. #opteam #astrophotography #space
Our eyes do not perform well in low light, and do not pick up much in the "near infrared" portion of the visible spectrum. My camera, however, can. Look at everything that is revealed after just 18 minutes of shooting.
I annotated this image since it was too much to cover in one tweet. Everything from star forming regions, to supernova shockwaves, and even interstallar dust illuminated by nothing but starlight is visible in this pic. Along with millions of stars.
I spent a few hours the other night with my telescope locked onto the heart of the Orion Nebula. This is the image that came from that session. A vibrant scene of forming stars- so bright you can see it with your naked eye. #astrophotography #space #opteam
Here's the full image, since I cropped and rotated to take advantage of twitter's 16x9 previews. This is also available as a print here: 8x10.co/cosmic_backgro…
If you are ever interested in learning how the raw data turns into these images, I do make my data available to aspiring astrophotographers via my patreon. This is a challenging hobby but quite rewarding. patreon.com/ajamesmccarthy
For the last couple years, I have fully delved into backyard astrophotography from the city. My most common question- what kind of gear is needed if someone wants to learn to take these photos? Here is a full thread on the topic. #astrophotography #space #opteam
I do have a short youtube video walking through the basics of what I use and why, but sometimes its easier just to read a quick summary and check out product/prices, which is why I am doing this. Here's the video if you haven't seen it yet:
When I just want to observe, and not take photos, I use a dobsonian. They offer the largest aperture for your dollar and can show you everything from planets to galaxies. Great place to start. Just don't expect to be able to take pictures. bit.ly/2N3ukMk
Yesterday morning I captured an incredibly brief and rare event, the ISS transiting the 4% illuminated moon during the daytime. #astrophotography #space #opteam
Here's the full shot, which was assembled as an HDR mosaic (the ISS was captured with a narrow FOV). Prints available here for 24 hours: 8x10.co/cosmic_backgro…
Here's a video of the pass. I will be doing a full write up on my patreon on how this shot was achieved later today. patreon.com/ajamesmccarthy
I took an 85 megapixel shot of the moon last night by blending together 24,000 individual image frames. #astrophotography #opteam #space
Check out these deets. To see the full image or get a print check out the link in my bio.
If you guys want this as a wallpaper, I did super high quality cuts of this for patrons that preserve the details. Twitter really butchers the quality. patreon.com/ajamesmccarthy
