Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
I Enjoy Taking Long Exposure Photographs Of Deep Space Objects, Here Are 22 Of My Latest Images
My name is David and I spend every clear night out under the stars with my telescope taking long exposure photographs of deep space objects.
These are my latest images that I've captured. I think it is amazing what we can see from our own backyards even in highly polluted areas! Whenever the conditions are right, I take my gear outside to create new stills and then share them with others on my Instagram profile. You can also find more of my photographs in my previous post on Bored Panda.
More info: astrodavido.com | Instagram
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
M16 - The Eagle Nebula
Final score:
39points
Jungshik Shin (신정식) 2 years ago
Wow, this is terrific !! Pillars of creation in the middle is almost like Hubble image. Can you share information about integration time per filter (SHO) and your telescope? Thanks.
David Joyce (Submission author) 2 years ago (edited)
Thank you! Not as much total time as I’d really wanted but here are all the image details: - H: 54 x 120” (1h 48m) - O: 86 x 120” (2h 52m) - S: 62 x 120” (2h 4m) - 6h 44m total exposure time - Celestron 8” SCT - Celestron CGEM II - ZWO asi1600mm Pro - Svbony 60mm guide scope - ZWO asi224mc (guide camera) - ZWO AsiAir Plus - Celestron 0.63x Reducer/Field Flattener - Antlia 3nm narrowband filters
Load More Replies...
Tähtikarhu (he/him) 🇫🇮 2 years ago
Beautiful. And you can see the Pillara of Creation in the middle
David Joyce (Submission author) 2 years ago
Yes, it’s a reference to the designation of this object in the Messier astronomical catalog. The catalog was compiled by Charles Messier in the 1700s.
Load More Replies...
Cosmologist interntobe (he/him 2 years ago
Wow. Did u use any filters, because that looks too much like If it was filtered? Beautiful tho.
David Joyce (Submission author) 2 years ago
Yes, I used 3 filters to pick up specific wavelengths - Hydrogen Alpha, Oxygen III & Sulphur II gases. Without filters, the color in this particular nebula is reddish/pink.
Load More Replies... RELATED:
#2
Ngc2359 - Thor's Helmet Nebula
Final score:
31points
#3
Ngc4565 - The Needle Galaxy
Final score:
30points
ForThePeople 2 years ago
Think for a moment. Galaxies have billions of stars. Those stars have Goldilocks zones, and some have planets in said zone. Those planets may host intelligent life. Anyone who thinks Earth is unique in the fact that it has life is selfish. We have proof that small bacteria used to live on Mars even!
#4
Ngc 7380 - The Wizard Nebula
Final score:
25points
#5
M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy
Final score:
25points
Bell-icose 2 years ago
I love how many times you see this beauty tagged as the Milky Way. Far out camera man.
#6
M45 - The Pleiades
Final score:
23points
Happy crow dragon (they/any) 2 years ago
I love the Pleiades! Outer space and Ancient Greece are my two biggest special interests and I love how much Greek mythology ties into astronomy
Cosmologist interntobe (he/him 2 years ago
Yes! This is my favorite star cluster! It is in the constellation Taurus, and is the closest group of stars to us.
#7
Sh2-132 - The Lion Nebula
Final score:
22points
#8
Ngc281 - The Pac-Man Nebula
Final score:
22points
David Joyce (Submission author) 2 years ago
The vacuum cleaner galaxy is my favorite name I think! There’s one called the blow dryer galaxy too, I’ve just never imaged it before.
Load More Replies... #9
M101 - The Pinwheel Galaxy
Final score:
21points
Happy crow dragon (they/any) 2 years ago
I’m correcting my previous comment, this just looks like A Galaxy
#10
M109 - The Vacuum Cleaner Galaxy
Final score:
21points
#11
Ic 405 - The Flaming Star Nebula
Final score:
20points
#12
M1 - The Crab Nebula
Final score:
20points
#13
M27 - The Dumbbell Nebula
Final score:
19points
#14
M13 - The Hercules Cluster
Final score:
18points
#15
Ngc2903
Final score:
18points
#16
Ic410 And Ic417 - The Tadpoles Nebula And The Spider Nebula
Final score:
15points
#17
Ngc4725 And Ngc4712
Final score:
15points
#18
Jones-Emberson 1 (Pk 164+31.1) - The Headphone Nebula
Final score:
14points
Happy crow dragon (they/any) 2 years ago
Looks like a fancy hourglass to me but there’s already an hourglass nebula
#19
Albireo - A Double Star
Final score:
13points
John Vessey 2 years ago
Actually, their parallax indicates they may not be. Still beautiful to look at though!
#20
Ic5146 - The Cocoon Nebula
Final score:
12points
#21
Ngc6888 - The Crescent Nebula
Final score:
11points
David Joyce (Submission author) 2 years ago
I’ve never noticed that before!
Load More Replies...
#22
Ngc6946 - The Fireworks Galaxy
Final score:
11points
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Will Cable 2 years ago (edited)
I used to enjoy the night sky until our local government introduced ultra bright white LED lights and installed MORE light units to replace the old sodium ones, the night sky has almost vanished in to a sea of light pollution......I hope that their own lights in their homes forever blow bulbs. David you work is amazing and is brilliant to see.
David Joyce (Post author) 2 years ago
Ugh, I’m so sorry - unfortunately, light pollution isn’t a priority it seems. I’m in Bortle 6/7 skies so I understand. Have you checked into EAA before, its essentially live stacking images with the scope - nice alternative to visual astronomy while still getting out under the stars. Thanks for the kind words!
Load More Replies...
David Joyce (Post author) 2 years ago
Thanks! For most of these, I used a Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope on a CGEM II mount with a ZWO ASI1600MM Pro camera. For narrowband data, I use Antlia 3nm filters. For a few of these images, I used my little Astro-Tech AT72EDII refractor on an AVX mount.
Load More Replies...
Jackie Lulu 2 years ago
David, how do you do the enhanced coloring? Your photos are just gorgeous. My husband has been doing this out in our front yard all summer.
David Joyce (Post author) 2 years ago
Thank you! I use software called Pixinsight to do all of my post-processing. I use a mono camera so I start with 3 different images, one each for hydrogen, oxygen and sulfur on narrowband targets. I remove the stars from each and colorize each channel typically mapping the colors in a SHO palette which is sulfur to red, hydrogen to green and oxygen to blue. From there it’s minor curves adjustments and color masks and light stretching and then add the stars back in. I need to do a YT video on my process!
Load More Replies... Tähtikarhu (he/him) 🇫🇮 2 years ago
Fun fact: in finnish, nebula is tähtisumu- literally "starfog"
AndersM 2 years ago
Amazing images. Even tough I actually don't believe it's out there. I mean, living in a big city and being surrounded by light pollution, I can't remember when I have seen more than max 100 boring white stars in the sky. Would LOVE to see these in real life
David Joyce (Post author) 2 years ago
Thank you so much! I understand, my skies aren’t great so visual astronomy is almost impossible here, long exposure photography with narrowband filters is my alternative to combat light pollution.
Load More Replies...
Maria 2 years ago
Such amazing pictures... Thanks for sharing! Sometimes it is intimidating how small the earth and us humans really are in the universe...
David Joyce (Post author) 2 years ago
Thank you very much! I feel the same way about our place in the cosmos. Carl Sagan once said astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience and I couldn’t agree more!
Load More Replies... Cosmologist interntobe (he/him 2 years ago
Best post on bp, hope you post more images here. Amateur astronomy is underrated, and, as one myself, is the best hobby that could ever exist!
David Joyce (Post author) 2 years ago
Thanks so much! I’m working on a close up portion of the Heart Nebula now (the fish head)
Load More Replies...
Will Cable 2 years ago (edited)
I used to enjoy the night sky until our local government introduced ultra bright white LED lights and installed MORE light units to replace the old sodium ones, the night sky has almost vanished in to a sea of light pollution......I hope that their own lights in their homes forever blow bulbs. David you work is amazing and is brilliant to see.
David Joyce (Post author) 2 years ago
Ugh, I’m so sorry - unfortunately, light pollution isn’t a priority it seems. I’m in Bortle 6/7 skies so I understand. Have you checked into EAA before, its essentially live stacking images with the scope - nice alternative to visual astronomy while still getting out under the stars. Thanks for the kind words!
Load More Replies... David Joyce (Post author) 2 years ago
Thanks! For most of these, I used a Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope on a CGEM II mount with a ZWO ASI1600MM Pro camera. For narrowband data, I use Antlia 3nm filters. For a few of these images, I used my little Astro-Tech AT72EDII refractor on an AVX mount.
Load More Replies... Jackie Lulu 2 years ago
David, how do you do the enhanced coloring? Your photos are just gorgeous. My husband has been doing this out in our front yard all summer.
David Joyce (Post author) 2 years ago
Thank you! I use software called Pixinsight to do all of my post-processing. I use a mono camera so I start with 3 different images, one each for hydrogen, oxygen and sulfur on narrowband targets. I remove the stars from each and colorize each channel typically mapping the colors in a SHO palette which is sulfur to red, hydrogen to green and oxygen to blue. From there it’s minor curves adjustments and color masks and light stretching and then add the stars back in. I need to do a YT video on my process!
Load More Replies... Tähtikarhu (he/him) 🇫🇮 2 years ago
Fun fact: in finnish, nebula is tähtisumu- literally "starfog"
AndersM 2 years ago
Amazing images. Even tough I actually don't believe it's out there. I mean, living in a big city and being surrounded by light pollution, I can't remember when I have seen more than max 100 boring white stars in the sky. Would LOVE to see these in real life
David Joyce (Post author) 2 years ago
Thank you so much! I understand, my skies aren’t great so visual astronomy is almost impossible here, long exposure photography with narrowband filters is my alternative to combat light pollution.
Load More Replies... Maria 2 years ago
Such amazing pictures... Thanks for sharing! Sometimes it is intimidating how small the earth and us humans really are in the universe...
David Joyce (Post author) 2 years ago
Thank you very much! I feel the same way about our place in the cosmos. Carl Sagan once said astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience and I couldn’t agree more!
Load More Replies... Cosmologist interntobe (he/him 2 years ago
Best post on bp, hope you post more images here. Amateur astronomy is underrated, and, as one myself, is the best hobby that could ever exist!
David Joyce (Post author) 2 years ago
Thanks so much! I’m working on a close up portion of the Heart Nebula now (the fish head)
Load More Replies... You May Like Most Famous Female Photographers Of The World 64 Of The Most Famous Photographers In History 50 Amazing Pics Of Our World You Probably Haven’t Seen Before
Justina Čiapaitė
Viltė Domkutė
Shelly Fourer
Related on Bored Panda
