Send Your Name with the Roman Space Telescope by 12th July 2026!
~ Fly with Nancy Grace Roman Telescope ~
 
Submit your name and email for a boarding pass for the Roman mission.
https://my.nasa.gov/specialevents/s/send-your-name-with-nancy-roman
 
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Telescope website at:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/roman-space-telescope/
 
Explore the universe with us! The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is NASA’s next space observatory, launching to a point in space ONE MILLION MILES away.

Submitted names will be uploaded to an SD card attached to the observatory. Stay tuned for the latest mission updates, including information about launch, at nasa.gov/roman

What is the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope?

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is NASA’s next flagship astrophysics observatory. The mission will pair a large field of view with crisp infrared vision to scan vast, deep swaths of sky. Roman’s panoramic images, each at least 100 times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope’s, will help astronomers answer major questions in the areas of dark energy, dark matter, exoplanets, and much more.

Roman will reveal the cosmic big picture using two instruments: the Wide Field Instrument and the Coronagraph Instrument technology demonstration. Roman is set to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Who is Dr. Roman?
Roman is named after Dr. Nancy Grace Roman (1925-2018), NASA’s first chief astronomer, who paved the way for space telescopes focused on the broader universe. Considered the “mother” of the Hubble Space Telescope, Dr. Roman tirelessly advocated for space-based platforms that would allow scientists to study the broader universe from above Earth’s hazy atmosphere. Despite facing adversity, she persisted in finding new ways to explore the universe, including advocating for the development of a space-based telescope. Dr. Roman’s zealous leadership made Hubble, and all of the other space telescopes that followed, a reality.

~ Waning Moon in morning sky as Artemis 11 re-enters Earths atmosphere on 11th April 2026 ~

I was unable to capture a picture of the Moon during the night because of cloud, but the next morning just after 9.30am (11th April 2026) and just before re-entry of the Orion Capsule, I was able to capture this image of the Moon in a clear blue sky…. In SE QLD in Australia, the Orion Capsule was predicted to re-enter for splashdown at approximately 10am (AEST).
 
Congratulations to the four astronauts, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen who have completed a most amazing mission back to our Moon…Woohoo!!!
 
The lunar image was taken with the Seestar S50 telescope in a beautiful clear blue sky. This would have been the phase that the astronauts would have seen when looking back toward the Moon as they said goodbye after such a successful mission that will light our passion on rediscovery our closest celestial body in the solar system.

Since 2020, NASA has invited you, the public, to be virtual guests at launches and milestone events. As a virtual guest, you have access to curated resources, schedule changes, and mission specific information delivered straight to your inbox. Following each activity, guests are sent a stamp for their virtual guest passport! All resources, participation, and registration are FREE. Select your opportunities. Join us!

https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-virtual-guest-program/

I was very lucky to get this image of the full Moon late last night as it was raining earlier on in the evening. It’s a very special full Moon as it’s the closest full Moon after the equinox that dictates when Easter is celebrated by many religions from around the world.
 
Another reason this full Moon is special is because Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen are right now on their way to orbit our Moon in the Orion spacecraft with the Artemis 11 mission. Tonight they will be looking out there windows at us here on planet Earth then going forward onto our amazing Moon…how incredible is that! After so many years humans are going back to the Moon…WooHoo!

NASA Artemis 11 mission to the Moon
https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/artemis/
 
My image was taken with a ZWO Seestar S50 telescope capturing a RAW video and stacking within in the unit, and then processed in PS.

~ Total Lunar Eclipse in Leo (The Lion) ~

We are cruising up the Queensland coastline on board the Crown Princess and even though it started out cloudy for the lunar eclipse the clouds parted just before totality and Wow!  

​The fully eclipsed Moon looked just awesome on the top deck of the ship.  The ship was moving quite a lot so I had to take many images and Yay!

​I managed to get a few that were in focus, I’ve also included an image of what most of my pictures  looked like.

​But it’s not easy taking astronomy images on board a moving ship….but where  there’s  a will, there is always a way :-)
 
We have just been cruising up and down the Queensland coast near the Great Barrier Reef for the last couple of days trying to dodge a cyclone which has now just crossed the coast near Cairns; the Captain has done a fantastic job of keeping us all safe on board the ship.
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My lunar images were taken with a Canon 70D camera and Tamron 28-400mm lens attached to a tripod; the wide field was taken with a Canon G7x camera on the top deck of Crown Princess.

~ Total Lunar Eclipse in Leo (The Lion) on Crown Princess Cruise Ship on 3rd March 2026 ~

The Helix nebula is like our own star the Sun, it has exhausted its fuel and is now expelling its outer layers, all that’s left of the original star is a dense white core that is exciting all the expelled dust and gas from the stellar remnant.
 
The Helix is approximately 650 light-years from Earth and is one of the closest planetary nebulae to Earth; it is sometimes refereed to the Eye of God due to its resemblance to a giant eye in the sky.
 
This image was taken with just the little Seestar S50mm telescope; I was at my Stardust Observatory at Leyburn in a very dark sky. The capture time was one and a half hours. Image was processed in Photoshop.
 
To find out more about this amazing object please go to Science at NASA at:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-caldwell-catalog/caldwell-63/
 
To find where the Helix Nebula is in Aquarius please go to FREE star chart:
https://freestarcharts.com/ngc-7293
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~ Magnificent Andromeda Galaxy (M31) & it’s two satellite Galaxies M110 & M32 ~
 
This beautiful image of the magnificent Andromeda Galaxy was taken with just the little Seestar S50 telescope on the wide field setting; it’s an incredible 2.5 million light-years away from Earth!
 
If you go into the Seestar App settings you can orientate the object using the mosaic mode to fit in what you want to capture and its orientation.
 
I’m just blown away that this little telescope has captured an image like this, when I image this object usually I use my Meade 80mm refractor telescope that’s tracking on the larger Meade LX200 set up in the observatory.
 
Andromeda travels quite low in our northern sky at my observing location at 28 degrees south, I also have some high gum trees to contend with as well.
 
We have a time limit of just a couple of months as the galaxy skims low across the northern sky, November and December are the best times to capture it but by January it’s starting to descend down into the north western horizon.
 
You can still observe Andromeda in early January just after dark, but it’s now getting very low in the north western sky.
 
Images were taken with the Seestar S50mm telescope, on the new moon weekend at the end of November 2025, 2 ½ hours of images were stacked within the telescope then processed in PS. I was in a very dark sky location at my Stardust Observatory at Leyburn.
 
If you need FREE star charts of the night sky that contain so much information of the objects in those constellation then please go to freestarcharts.com at: https://freestarcharts.com/
 
Andromeda Star chart below at:
https://freestarcharts.com/andromeda
​
Messier 31
M31, also well known as the Andromeda Galaxy, is the nearest major galaxy to our own, the Milky Way.
 
Science at NASA has released incredible images of the Andromeda taken over a ten-year period with the Hubble Space telescope with links to all the new discoveries about this incredible galaxy that is much like our own. Link at:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-31/

The Andromeda galaxy holds over 1 trillion stars and has been a key to unlocking the secrets of the universe. Thanks to NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, we’re now seeing Andromeda in stunning new detail, revealing its dynamic history and unique structure. Recent Hubble surveys mapped the galaxy’s entire disk—an effort spanning a decade and over 1,000 orbits—showing everything from young stars to remnants of past galactic collisions.
 
Learn how new information about Andromeda is reshaping our understanding of galactic evolution and what it reveals about the fate of our own galaxy.
 
For more information, visit https://nasa.gov/hubble.
 
Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Paul Morris: Lead Producer Music Credit: “Vitava From Ma Vlast "My Country"” by Bedrich Smetana [PD] and Robert J Walsh [BMI], via First Digital Music [BMI] and Universal Production Music.

~ This is just so beautiful ~

​Take a journey across space and time through the best space images of 2025, captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble, Chandra, and other powerful observatories.
 
From newborn stars hidden inside dusty nebulae to the shattered remains of supernovae, and from distant galaxies to interstellar visitors passing through our solar system, each image reveals a different chapter of the universe’s story.
 
Webb’s infrared vision, Hubble’s clarity, and Chandra’s X-ray perspective come together to show how stars form, how galaxies evolve, and how unseen forces shape the cosmos.
 
MUSIC Alignment in Grace 3 Stereo Nuts Interstellar Alignment in Grace 2
 
https://youtu.be/MRfU9RR95A4?si=jcKqr92yuffdHrg9
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~ Jupiter with coloured Belts & Zones, festoons & bright white oval on 24th November 2025 ~
 
Jupiter will be at opposition with our planet on the 10th January 2026, the planet can be found at the moment in the constellation of Gemini (The Twins).
 
This image was taken on the last new Moon weekend at the end of November and it shows quite a lot of detail as our two planets come closer together in the night sky.
 
The image shows the prominent coloured belts (dark bands) and zones (lighter bands) with some lovely dark blue festoons and a bright white oval spot on the North Equatorial Belt. This image is on the opposite side of Jupiter to its GRS (Great Red Spot).
 
This is the best time now to grab your telescope to view this magnificent planet and take some images, the bigger the aperture of your telescope the clearer the view of the planet.
 
The image was taken with a Meade LX200 10 inch Schmidt-Cassegrain in my Stardust Observatory at Leyburn, using a ZWO ASI120 MC camera with a 3x Barlow attached. AVI movies were captured with 3000 frames. The frames were then stacked in RegiStax6 and processed in PS.

In between severe thunderstorms out at my observatory, I was able to capture this rare event where Saturn’s rings were so thin that they nearly disappeared completely from view!
 
This is a rare celestial event that only happens approximately every 15 years as Earth crosses through the ring plane of Saturn, that is why we see the rings so thin and are viewed edge on from our position here on planet Earth.
 
But this is only an illusion as Saturn’s beautiful rings are still there in all there glory but we just cannot see them from Earth.
 
Galileo Galilei was perplexed when in 1612 he looked at Saturn and its beautiful rings had disappeared this is what he stated in his notes!
 
"I do not know what to say in a case so surprising, so unlooked for and so novel." announced Galileo when Saturn's rings appeared to vanish in 1612.
Read more at: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap950801.html
 
More interesting information on Saturn’s ring plane crossings from NASA:
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-views-saturn-ring-plane-crossing/
 
My images were taken with a 10inch LX200 Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope and ZWO ASI120 Mc planetary camera with 3xbarlow attached. AVI files were captured with 3000 frames that were stacked in RegiStax6 and processed in PS.
 
The sky conditions were not ideal with quite a lot of water moisture in the air,
but I managed to capture some AVI files :-)

​I managed to quickly set up the little Seestar S50 telescope just outside our cabin in town and capture this stunning comet low in the western sky.

It was not ideal conditions because of all the lights from the local hotel that was across the road…but I took the chance and I caught myself a beautiful comet :-)

​ I love the pretty green colour of the coma and its long delicate flyaway tail that stretched right up the sky. Images taken with a Seestar S50 telescope four images were stacked in DSS and very lightly processed in PS, the pretty green colour in the image is natural.

There is an excellent article from the UNSW in Australia that explains why comets heads are green by chemist Professor Timothy Schmidt, the link is at: https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2021/12/comets--heads-can-be-green--but-never-their-tails--after-90-year
​