Loran Hughes

@westwoodastro.net

438 Followers 43 Following

Son of Oregon, gadget junkie, Mac addict, retired USAF NCO (linguist/analyst), and former CTO in the real estate industry (retired^2). Practicing the dark art of astrophotography. http://astrobin.com/users/lthughes/

The globular cluster Messier 3! 34,000 light years from the center of my driveway in Canes Venatici, this object contains more than 500,000 stars. Imaged with an 11-inch SCT and mono camera with LRGB filters.
I've been sitting on this one since last October - the last time I had my gear out! This is a Bubble nebula (NGC 7635) wide field. This was imaged with my F/2 8-inch RASA for 14 hours over two nights.
Last night's skycam perspective of the lunar eclipse.
I haven't had a telescope out since October, as I'm in rehab (for a back problem!). I went into my archival data this weekend and produced a very dusty image of Messier 45. Imaged from the driveway in 2019 and 2023.
I tried my hand at vibe coding this week with Google's Antigravity. Within minutes, I had a working Python script that takes Pixinsight image annotation data, does Simbad queries, and generates a spreadsheet of info - and I can barely spell Python.
Andromeda's maelstrom! Imaged over three nights in September from the driveway.
The Pacman nebula (NGC 281), some 9500 LY from the center of my driveway. This was imaged with an 8" Celestron RASA and ZWO ASI2600MC camera with a dual narrowband filter.
William Optics GT-81 telescope on the ZWO AM5 mount, outside waiting for dark.
A Daystar Quark solar filter attached to a Lunt 40mm etalon with 3D printed adapters.
Dwarf spiral galaxy NGC 6503 in the constellation Draco lies 18 million light years away on the edge of the Local Void.
Spiral galaxy NGC 6015 in the constellation Draco, approximately 60 million light years from Earth.
Draco Triplet galactic group.
The galaxy group Hickson 44, about 80 million light years from our solar system.
Telescope at dawn.
Keenan's system, a.k.a. Arp 104, in Ursa Major. Imaged from Southern Oregon.
Messier 63, the Sunflower galaxy. 19 hours, 6 minutes total integration time.
The Eyes Galaxies in Markarian's Chain, about 52 million light years from Earth.
Messier 51, the Whirlpool galaxy. Imaged from SW Oregon in April 2025.
Markarian's chain of galaxies.
NGC 4565, the Needle galaxy is approximately 40 million light years from Earth.
A ChatGPT concept of my action figure.
Messier 1, the Crab nebula. Imaged in 2022 from my driveway.
The galaxy Messier 96, 31 million light years distant in the constellation Leo.
The galaxy Messier 82 with its extremely dim hydrogen-alpha "cap".
Planetary nebula Yerkes-McDonald 16 in Serpens Cauda.
The Serpens Molecular Cloud
Messier 82, the Cigar galaxy.
Sh2-274, the Medusa nebula in the constellation Gemini.
The spiral galaxy NGC 2841 in Ursa Major.
January 8, 2025 moon image.
Globular clusters NGC 5053 and Messier 53. Imaged from my driveway in southern Oregon.
Messier 45, imaged with my 8-inch RASA in January 2023.
NGC 7331 galaxy group.
NGC 6960, the Western Veil nebula.
Emission nebula Sh 2-86, reflection nebula NGC 6820, and open cluster NGC 6823 as seen from my telescope in July 2024.
Messier 57, the Ring Nebula. Imaged over four nights from So Oregon.
Messier 94, the Cat's Eye galaxy.
Wide-field image of the Flame, Horsehead, and Orion nebulas in the constellation Orion.
Jones-Emberson 1, also know as the Headphone nebula, is a planetary nebula 1600 light years from Earth in the constellation Lynx.
Solar prominences on February 24, 2024. Imaged from my driveway in southern Oregon.
IC 5146, the Cocoon nebula.
NGC 6888, the Crescent nebula.
Messier 1, the Crab nebula.