Bode's Galaxy M81 (lower) and the Cigar Galaxy M82(upper) are gravitationally locked into each other. Both of them are about 11.8 million Light Years away.
Photos-Astro-Wx by Randall
Randall's Photography, Astronomy and Weather
Wx
Sunday, January 28, 2024
Tadpole Nebula & Bode's & Cigar Galaxy
Sunday, January 14, 2024
Winter Wonderspace
Some of you may have heard of the Horsehead Nebula. Unlike some nicknames of astro objects this one is completely obvious as to the why part... And as always here you go with the distance - the light from this beauty takes 1,375 years to reach us. The light from the red nebula comes from the bright stars behind it ionizing the hydrogen gas. The star Malach is so bright it is casting quite a halo!
Thursday, December 7, 2023
Some of my favorite Life Shots
Arches NP Utah - This photo stands as one of my favorites as the crowd at Arches National Park was completely bewildered as to why I turned my back on the Arch in front of them. The tree was completely outside the arch but somehow found a way to grow such that the arch framed it perfectly. As I took this photo the crowd completely missed the amazing beauty that nature had offered up to them. If only we would sometimes look beyond the obvious. Dyslexia is described as a disability. I have found it be a pain when playing cards and dice games and simply trying to read or type at a normal speed... However, I have learned to relook at things several times to make sure I got it accurate. This constant reevaluation of what I see gave me the skills necessary to see what the crowd completely missed on that day At Arches. Disability sometimes yes, sometimes no...
Tuesday, December 5, 2023
Refracted Moon
When the Moon is high enough and the clouds are high enough and thin enough! The refraction of Moon light was absolutely gorgeous... Yes I had to blow out the Moon to get the color in the clouds.
Palisade on the Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail meets the Columbia River in the Columbia River Gorge and is briefly accessible before a modern freeway and highway plowed right over it. In complete Oregon fashion it was raining when I took my Palisade on this short section so I can say I drove on the Oregon Trail...
On a Whim the North Rim
Coming back from a long road trip I decide to avoid some mountain snow and ended up heading for the Grand Canyon North Rim. That is the way most of my solo road trips go - explore if it looks good! The deciduous trees were gorgeous yellow as a bonus.
Annular Solar Eclipse
So I was in Beaverton, Oregon for the October 14, 2023 Annular Solar Eclipse and per Oregon weather law it was cloudy. However, the clouds were thick enough to protect our eyes and cameras and thin enough to actual see and photograph it.
Sunday, December 3, 2023
Sunday, October 29, 2023
Thursday, September 7, 2023
The One Everybody Wants to See SATURN!
Andromeda Galaxy M21 & Sister Galaxy NGC 224
Andromeda has a diameter of about 152,000 light-years and is approximately 2.5 million light-years from Earth. I kind of blew out the center and work harder to get a better image
Tuesday, September 5, 2023
NGC6992 - Eastern Veil Nebula
The Eastern Veil Nebula is at a distance of 2400 light years, and is is a cloud of heated and ionized gas and dust powered by a super nova. The delicate beauty of this nebula masks the explosive power of the super nova that created this beautiful wonder.
Sunday, August 20, 2023
Arizona Century Mark - Not
While the some of the nation is basking in Arizona style temperatures here is a summary of our days of summer heat:
We definitely are not used to double digit humidity
Monday, August 7, 2023
M20 Trifid Nebula & M21 Webb's Cross Cluster
Thursday, June 29, 2023
Massive Sunspot 3354
Wednesday, June 28, 2023
M17 NGC 6618 The Swan Nebula
Wednesday, June 21, 2023
NGC6611 M16 The Eagle Nebula
The Eagle Nebula is part of a diffuse emission nebula, about 5700 light-years distant and is actually 55 by 70 light years across. In the middle is the so called pillars of creation, as new stars are forming there.
5340 total exposure time in seconds, Camera cooled to 0°C, 30 seconds average exposure time, 178 of 247 frames processed/stacked.