amy483•7mo ago

My first real shot of the Orion Nebula from my backyard in Phoenix

I mean, I've been messing around with my little telescope and a basic camera for like six months now, just getting blurry dots. But last week, I stayed up until 2 AM when the sky was super clear, and I finally stacked about fifty 30-second exposures. Idk, maybe it's just me but seeing those pink and blue swirls come together on my laptop screen, right there from my own driveway, felt crazy. I didn't even use a fancy tracker, just a steady tripod and a lot of patience. The core of it looked so much more detailed than I thought I could get. It's not perfect, the edges are a bit fuzzy, but I'm just happy it's finally something you can recognize as a nebula and not just a smudge. Has anyone else had that moment where it finally clicks and you get a picture you're not totally embarrassed to show people?

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3 Comments

angela_grant7mo ago

not totally embarrassed" seems like a low bar...

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evan_wilson187mo ago

Totally agree, that's a pretty sad goal. I've had bosses celebrate that feeling like a win. It just sets you up to expect very little.

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nancy_smith6mo ago

Ugh, right? @evan_wilson18 nailed it. My last manager used to send these "great job!" emails if a client meeting ended without anyone yelling. Like, congrats, we did the bare minimum of our jobs and didn't cause a scene. It really does make you feel like the goal is just to not mess up, not to actually do anything good.

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