Author | Lightnews

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦

@bensastrostuff.com

480 followers 140 following 230 posts

New space photos whenever the sky is dark, clear, the equipment is working, and I have time and energy. :P #astrophotography #astronomy #space #stars #nightsky #milkyway #universe #astro #astrophoto #cosmos #telescope #nebula #deepsky #stargazing

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Reposted by Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦

Astropotamus 🔭🦛 @astropotamus.com · 3d

Life Hack: Tracking the phases of the Moon or following planetary transits encourages discipline and focus on long-term goals. It also drives home how little time we have in this life so make the most of it!

3 2

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦 @bensastrostuff.com · 4d

Skywatcher Quattro newtonian. 200mm F/4

www.skywatcherusa.com/products/sky...

Quattro 200P Imaging Newtonian 8"

The Quattro imaging Newtonian is an affordable, large aperture astrograph, ideal for users searching for a fast imaging system that will work for both astrophotography and visual astronomy. Boasting a...

www.skywatcherusa.com

1 1

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦 @bensastrostuff.com · 4d

That's 30 seconds within ASI294MM and a luminance filter. Basically, just a test shot.

1 1

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦 @bensastrostuff.com · 5d

And the image is nice and flat now. :)

1 1

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦 @bensastrostuff.com · 5d

I forgot to replace the descant tab in the camera. It probably won't be an issue until spring, but I should do it before I get another case of frost on the sensor.

Also, I'm getting some exaggerated, uneven, diffraction spikes. I think I have a reflection off the spider I'll need to fix.

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦 @bensastrostuff.com · 5d

Wow! I was able to work on my 🔭 tonight, and get it all back together. My OnStep board is working great! On top of that, after a quick collimation, I now have ROUND STARS in the corners of my images. No more bats! 🤣

I have a couple more things to do before I can image again, but this is great! 1/3

This is the star Mirfak, and the surrounding star-field.

2 3 33

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦 @bensastrostuff.com · 7d

Cloudy sky at night with my observatory in the foreground

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦 @bensastrostuff.com · 7d

Unfortunately I got skunked. There isn't a clear spot in the sky from horizon to horizon. Maybe next time.

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦 @bensastrostuff.com · 7d

All the equipment seems nominal. Just waiting for the clouds to clear. Just a couple stars poking though now and then. Hopefully it actually clears up around 11pm (1h 40m from now).

An image from my astro camera. Mostly clouds but a couple of stars poking though.

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦 @bensastrostuff.com · 7d

filter wheel with it. That's such a pain. I can also keep guiding without any issues while focusing, since the guide scope focus won't change.

We'll see how it goes. Hopefully the quality of the subs doesn't get worse. I'm only running 800mm of focal length.

The sky is supposed to clear at 11pm. 🤞

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦 @bensastrostuff.com · 7d

and I couldn't get rid of all the flex. There was also some kind of strange reflections I was getting on both the guide and main camera that I think were related. Getting rid of the OAG also means I have enough backfocus to install a manual rotator. Now I can rotate the camera without rotating the

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦 @bensastrostuff.com · 7d

I replaced the electronics in my observatory mount with a board running OnStep a few months ago, and haven't been able to test it beyond a bench test since. I also decided to attempt switching away from using an off axis guider and back to a guide scope. The OAG made for a complicated optical train

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦 @bensastrostuff.com · 7d

I'm trying to get some astro stuff 🔭 done tonight. I haven't been able to do anything for over a month now. As the days get shorter, I need this hobby to keep my sanity and keep the seasonal depression at bay. 🧵

3 14

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦 @bensastrostuff.com · Sep 30

I haven't been able to do very much astro stuff because of work. However I was able to attend a couple of days at the Black Forest Star Party at Cherry Springs State Park earlier this month. I did some #astrophotography but haven't had time to process. Here are some pictures from my phone. 🙂

A long exposure of people and telescope equipment at night dimly illuminated by red light

Milky Way shot. The Andromeda galaxy is visible on the right side vertical center.

Milky Way shot. I took this picture pointed straight up.

3 22

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦 @bensastrostuff.com · Aug 13

Thanks Des! I had to delete and recreate the post because there was an error in it. That's what I get for staying up till 4am processing and posting. 😅

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦 @bensastrostuff.com · Aug 13

I've finally processed & published my image of #M16 the #Eagle #Nebula! This was my summer project, plagued by rain, clouds, bugs, & malfunctions. I had to toss much of the data, but what was left made this. Not too shabby! 🔭

More info and high quality on my AstroBin Page:
app.astrobin.com/i/bf9nmg

M16 - Eagle Nebula [In SHO]
by BensAstroStuff

Published: Aug 13, 2025

Total integration: 8h 18m

Integration per filter:
- Hα: 2h 32m (76 × 120")
- SII: 2h 44m (82 × 120")
- OIII: 3h 2m (91 × 120")

Equipment:
- Telescope: Sky-Watcher Quattro 200P
- Camera: ZWO ASI294MM Pro
- Mount: Orion Atlas EQ-G
- Filters: Optolong H-Alpha 7nm 2", Optolong OIII 6.5nm 2", Optolong SII 6.5nm 2"
- Accessories: Sky-Watcher Quattro Coma Corrector, ZWO EAF, ZWO EFW 7 x 2″, ZWO OAG (Off-Axis Guider)
- Software: GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP), INDI Library Ekos, KDEdu KStars, Nikita Misiura StarNet, Open PHD Guiding Project PHD2, SetiAstro CosmicClarity, Siril Team Siril, Steffen Hirtle GraXpert

For more information, visit AstroBin:
https://app.astrobin.com/i/bf9nmg

1 5 30

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦 @bensastrostuff.com · Jul 17

a bald man wearing a plaid shirt and a blue vest is looking at the camera with his hands on his hips

ALT: a bald man wearing a plaid shirt and a blue vest is looking at the camera with his hands on his hips

media.tenor.com

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦 @bensastrostuff.com · Jul 15

@siril.org released 1.4-beta3 a few days ago!
siril.org/download/202...

I helped by reporting on and testing the fix for bug \#1562, which caused a crash when trying to compose an image from RGB channels. :)
It's a great tool for #astrophotography 🔭

Siril 1.4.0 Beta 3

Introduction Bugs fixed in beta 3 Stability and robustness Python scripts and programming interface Alignment User interface and display Other fixes ...

siril.org

1 10

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦 @bensastrostuff.com · Jul 12

a cartoon character is pointing at a potato with the words `` come on do something '' written above it .

Alt: a cartoon character is poking at a potato looking star with a stick and saying "come on do something"

media.tenor.com

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦 @bensastrostuff.com · Jun 25

This past weekend I was at the Cherry Springs Start Party. There was a single night that was good for astrophotography, and I acquired enough data to create this image of the Crescent Nebula. 🔭

Full resolution and acquisition details on my Astrobin page:
app.astrobin.com/i/kejtxh

An Astrophoto of the Crescent Nebula, taken by Ben's Astro Stuff.

2 7 60

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦 @bensastrostuff.com · May 28

Absolutely fascinating. I've explained to people the size and scale of things in the images that I take, but Seven Machina does the math.

Space is mind-bogglingly huge.

seven rasmussen @sevenrasmussen.com · May 26

how big are those famous space images anyway?

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦 @bensastrostuff.com · May 26

This is the beginning of my next major project. I expect it's going to take a few months. 🔭

The Eagle Nebula. This is only 90 minutes of luminance.

My previous image of this target was three years ago, and can be found here: app.astrobin.com/i/ob5rlv

An astrophoto of the eagle nebula. Monochrome.

1 10

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦 @bensastrostuff.com · May 15

Some people are worried, but I think the kids are gonna be alright.

🤣

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦 @bensastrostuff.com · May 12

Yeah... I'm not going to live that down any time soon. I was so tired.

At least I got it right on AstroBin.

Ben's Astro Stuff 🇺🇦 @bensastrostuff.com · May 11

Oh jeez... I even got it wrong in the alt text. 🤦