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11 Nov, 3 tweets, 2 min read
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

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More from @AJamesMcCarthy

Andrew McCarthy Profile picture
27 Jun
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!
Read 5 tweets
Andrew McCarthy Profile picture
24 Apr
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 Image
A closer look to the active region/sunspost here reveals something unnatural, what is that ||+|| shape doing in my sun photo? Image
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 Image
Read 4 tweets
Andrew McCarthy Profile picture
28 Feb
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…
Read 5 tweets
Andrew McCarthy Profile picture
26 Feb
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 Image
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… Image
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 Image
Read 4 tweets
Andrew McCarthy Profile picture
9 Feb
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.
Read 6 tweets
Andrew McCarthy Profile picture
8 Feb
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 Image
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… Image
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 Image
Read 4 tweets

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