Capturing the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula in RGB: 12 Hours from Mars Hill
12 hours of broadband OSC integration on the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula (IC 1396) captured from Mars Hill, NC using the Askar FMA180 Pro and PixInsight.
The Cocoon Nebula in Narrowband: 20 Hours Across 4 Clear Nights
36 hours of total exposure across 4 clear nights in Mars Hill, NC reveal the intricate narrowband gas structures of IC 5146.
Capturing "Mirach’s Ghost": NGC 404 and Beta Andromedae
Capturing "Mirach’s Ghost" (NGC 404) from Mars Hill, NC—a delicate dwarf galaxy hiding directly in the brilliant glare of the red giant star Mirach.
Super Nova in NGC 7331 The Deer Lick Group
A new transient visitor has appeared in the iconic Deer Lick Group! Discovered on September 1, 2026 by the ATLAS survey system, SN 2026aaiv is a dramatic Type Ia supernova exploding inside the spiral arms of NGC 7331, roughly 40 million light-years away.
NGC 7538 in Narrowband: 10 Hours of First Light on the Northern Lagoon
Over three clear nights in Mars Hill, NC, I set my sights on NGC 7538 for the very first time. After overcoming a meridian flip hiccup on night one, I captured 10 hours of narrowband integration—revealing the dramatic, glowing structures of this active stellar nursery.
Lunar Eclipse of 2028
Captured at 12:15 AM on August 28, 2026, this 1-second exposure at f/5.6 and ISO 800 uses an iOptron star tracker set to lunar rate and precise manual focus to reveal deep coppery-red umbral detail and delicate high clouds on the Nikon Z6 II.
The Cocoon Nebula (IC 5146) in Widefield
A three-night journey across two skies capturing the Cocoon Nebula (IC 5146) and the expansive dark dust lane of Barnard 168.
The North America Nebula (NGC 7000) in SHO
A single-night capture of the North America Nebula mapped in the Hubble palette (SHO). The blue region highlights concentrated $\text{OIII}$ emissions along the "Cygnus Wall," contrasting sharply with the warm amber and gold tones of surrounding HA and SII gas cloud structures.
