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Misty Bentz

@astronomisty.bsky.social

5.9K followers 450 following 1.9K posts

Astronomer and Professor at Georgia State University. She/Her. Big fan of black holes, cats, and cross-stitch. Seestar smart telescope enthusiast. Novice gardener with a penchant for native plants.

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Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · Aug 21

Sitting outside at night with my little telescope and marveling at our universe. We are so lucky to be alive and witnessing these wonders, and we are also so small and alone, together, in a vast and empty space. It’s a good reminder that we MUST take care of each other; we are all we have.

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Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · 15h

Our sister galaxy, Andromeda (M 31). She is looking on from a distance, and slightly furrowed with concern.

8 hrs, #Seestar S50 🔭 from N. Atlanta suburbs
Siril, GraXpert, Starnet, GIMP 🧪

A large spiral galaxy with a prominent disk and small central spheroid is centered on a black background dotted with stars. There are brown dust spirals in the disk, and some slight warping of the disk is apparent. Two bright dwarf galaxies are visible nearby.

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Reposted by Misty Bentz

Holly Anderson 🍇 @hollyanderson.bsky.social · 1d

you fucked around and now the Episcopalians are doing memes. are you happy now. are you

Screenshot of a Facebook post featuring three of the Portland protesters wearing inflatable frog costumes with the following text:

Episcopalians on Facebook
Elizabeth Rose Elrod • 22h •
Exodus 8:2-6
"But if you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs...
The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your officials."

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Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · 2d

I'm still working on this one, but it's looking good so far:
IC 1318, the Butterfly Nebula. The very bright star near the right edge is Sadr (Gamma Cygni), the star that marks the center of the cross in Cygnus the Swan.

9 hrs, #Seestar S50 🔭 from N. Atlanta suburbs
Siril, GraXpert, Starnet, GIMP 🧪🦋

A red glowing nebula seems to mimic the shape of two butterfly wings separated by a dark body in between. There is a very bright star near the right edge, and the nebula is highlighted against a black background dotted with stars.

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Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · 4d

All finished! 🧶 🪶 #crossstitch

Pattern: Au Fil des Nichoirs by Jardin Privé (designed by Nathalie Cichon)
Stitched in DMC threads on 16ct natural aida

A scene with 12 bird houses representing the months of the year. The bird houses are mounted on a white picket fence. Plants and flowers grow at the base of the fence showing the changing seasons. Various birds are perched around the scene. There are butterflies and bees flying around, clouds and a bright sun above, and other little details throughout. It is a busy, cheerful scene.

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Reposted by Misty Bentz

Lauren MacIvor Thompson @lmacthompson1.bsky.social · 6d

I am writing this because it has swiftly become crystal clear to me that many people have no idea what is happening or how this works. Here is a thread for non-academics to put into context what just happened to Dr. Mark Bray, a fellow historian.

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Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · 5d

Cute little aster that volunteered to live in our yard and is now flowering 🌺🌱 #nativeplants

Small daisy-like flowers with white petals and yellow centers on a green stem against a background of brown fallen leaves

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Reposted by Misty Bentz

Alyssa Harad @alyssaharad.bsky.social · 5d

And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:

Adam Selzer @adamchicago.bsky.social · 5d

The frogs have landed in Chicago!

Protestor in a frog suit and an anti-Ice sign with what I believe to be a Pokémon character on a street corner in Rogers Park.

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Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · 6d

Winter is on its way, because the eastern bluebirds are back. 🪶

An eastern bluebird takes flight from a feeder with its wings spread wide and the sun backlighting them. The feeder perch and bird seed is visible in the foreground, with trees and blue sky behind

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Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · 7d

I used your beautiful photo as inspiration for a watercolor scene

Thank you for posting it!

A beginner’s attempt to use watercolors to paint a night sky illuminated by the northern lights. Green aurora blend into red and purple, with a few clouds and some stars peeking through

Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · 8d

Running away to the wilderness and being unreachable #AchievableGoals

Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · 8d

#Goals

“The Nobel Committee has been unable to contact one of this year's Nobel Prize winners in Medicine, Fred Ramsdell, who is reportedly ‘living his best life’on an off-the-grid hiking trip, said a spokesperson from his San Francisco-based lab, Sonoma Biotherapeutics.”

Screenshot of a post with the quoted texta above, and below is a Nobel Prize-style caricatured portrait of new laureate Fred Ramsdell superimposed on a black and white image of a hiker in the wilderness, with the headline “Nobel committee unable to reach medicine laureate ‘living his best life’ on hiking trip”

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Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · 8d

I also experienced this last year when I watched DS9 for the first time… 😢

Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · 9d

Comet Lemmon

A mostly successful attempt to process and stack 10min of #Seestar S50 images 🔭 🧪 using Siril, Starnet, GraXpert, and GIMP

A greenish blue comet is superimposed on a black background dotted woth stars

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Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · 9d

Hello! 🪶

An eastern phoebe, a small bird with a dark brown cap and tail and a pale yellowish underbelly, is perched on top of an iron shepherd’s hook and looking at the camera. A green “lawn” (of any green thing that will grow there) with a light layer of fallen leaves and a red brick retaining wall are in the background.

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Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · 10d

Should I read this as meaning that teens and tweens are moody and are drawn to art that reflects that?

Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · 13d

That would be amazing 🤩

Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · 13d

Little pollinator friend helped me set up the telescope this evening so I could add to my stack of images on the Butterfly Nebula 🦋 🔭 🧪

A large maple spanworm moth is perched on top of my closed Seestar telescope. It is light brown and has squared-off edges to its wings and long white antennae.

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Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · 13d

Thanks!!

Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · 14d

Everything is still terrible, but I got up before dawn to share this cute comet with you!

C/2025 A6, Comet Lemmon
3min with my #Seestar S50 🔭 🧪
Lightly retouched and cropped jpg from the live stack

A small fuzzy green-blue blob with a long faint tail that stretches to the upper left, superimposed on a black background dotted with stars

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Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · 14d

Everything is terrible, but look at this cute little nebula!

Caldwell 2, the Bow Tie Nebula
9min with my #Seestar S50 🔭 🧪
No processing, just a close crop of the live stack jpg

A small red nebula has a bright star at the center and a bright arc of red gas on either side, with fainter fuzzy gas filling in between. It somewhat resembles a bow tie. It is centered on a dark background that is dotted with stars

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Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · 14d

😢

Vox @vox.com · 14d

Jane Goodall, one of the most influential environmental figures in human history, has died at 91 while touring the country to deliver an urgent message about nature and human existence.

“We’re destroying the planet,” she said last week during the Forbes Sustainability Leaders Summit in NYC.

Listen to Jane Goodall’s final — and urgent — message

Her final interviews are essential listening for everyone.

www.vox.com

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Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · 14d

I keep reading this as “Stinker” instead of “Snitker” …

Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · 15d

Please enjoy your break away from this particular nonsense, but I hope you come back when you are ready

Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · 15d

Watching the news (my husband’s choice) and I read a caption as “R.I.P. Currents” instead of “rip currents”

And, yeah, I guess that’s not wrong?

Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · 15d

I am learning to paint with watercolors and I tried to recreate something akin to your beautiful photo. Thank you for sharing it!

A beginner’s attempt at a watercolor painting of a colorful sunset sky above dark blue waters