Lots and lots of news this week. I propose we ignore all of it for a little while and enjoy Spring.
Honestly, sometime Thursday, I realized I was preferring watching a podiatrist doing procedures on diabetic foot ulcers to looking at the news. (Don't worry, I'm not going to include any. This week.)
But this one has a lot of sole soul anyway.
30+ hours on the Soul Nebula
— ZWO (@zwoastro) April 30, 2026
Total integration: 30h 55m (Ha, OIII, SII combined)
And it’s not finished yet… final panel coming Winter 2026.
Setup:
Orion Optics Ideal 10” f/4.8 (1200mm)
ZWO ASI2600MM Pro (cooled)
Credit: Thomas Prescott#ZWO #Astrophotography #atronomy pic.twitter.com/BNrskuyPz3
This one's a little Messier.
Messier 106 — 47 hours from a backyard
— ZWO (@zwoastro) April 28, 2026
Setup:
Two 10" f/4 Newtonian telescopes
Dual ZWO ASI 2600MM Pro cameras
Credit: Tommy Lease#ZWO #Astrophotography #GalaxySeason #M106 #DeepSky #NightSky #Stargazing pic.twitter.com/eUBnqTSGGO
We've seen the red Horsehead Nebula in Orion pretty often. Here's the blue Horsehead Nebula, in Scorpius. This is a reflection nebula — a cloud of dust reflecting light from a nearby star.
The Blue Horsehead Nebula 🔭
— 🔭AstroBackyard (@AstroBackyard) April 26, 2026
This glorious reflection nebula lies in the constellation Scorpius, close to the Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex. It's a great early nebula project for this time of year.
A reflection nebula is made up of very fine dust that normally appears dark in… pic.twitter.com/FOzFQM9Hre
What's a Cahaba lily?
The Blooming of the Cahaba Lilies Under Milky Way in Alabama.🌌
— The Astronomy Guy (@astrooalert) April 30, 2026
📸: Jason Rice Astro pic.twitter.com/lfrVxFh45B
I haven't seen Project Hail Mary yet, because right now it would imply leaving the apartment. But I've heard great things about it. Among them, its science is really strong.
aurora from the iss vs in project hail mary pic.twitter.com/RS4hzAv8x4
— Jasmine 🌌🔭 (@astro_jaz) April 30, 2026
This is called the Wizard Nebula.
Astro Anarquía: La Nebulosa del Mago reprocesada https://t.co/IUB3sovkBR pic.twitter.com/q2nJ14sPK9
— Julio Maiz (@maiz_julio) April 26, 2026
This is almost more a weather photograph instead of an astrophotograph, but it's real nice. So there.
On this one, I set up to catch the milkyway but the clouds got in my way. I actually like this photograph better with the clouds.
— Ken James (@openshutter21) April 24, 2026
That's one of the things I love about astrophotography, you almost never get what you thought you were going to get. pic.twitter.com/6Hc5Sunf53
Clavius is a big location in 2001.
AstroBin's Image of the Day: "CLAVIUS 16-08-2025 06_11_20 BIS" by WULFRAN DECORTEhttps://t.co/nqc0EcMJ29#astrophotography pic.twitter.com/4BT6PvDnYx
— AstroBin.com (@AstroBin_com) April 25, 2026
I suspect this title sounds better in Chinese. But I love the picture.
AstroBin's Image of the Day: "LBN438—Breath of the Divine Abyss's Ethereal Hand" by DONGJIAN JIANGhttps://t.co/F5VZQyNOQF#astrophotography pic.twitter.com/kIRIH3h8zp
— AstroBin.com (@AstroBin_com) April 27, 2026
There's still great stuff coming out of the Artemis mission.
This isn't like my past colorful moon photos
— Andrew McCarthy (@AJamesMcCarthy) April 30, 2026
It's actually a photo that is impossible to capture from Earth.
This is a little snippet from a first-of-its kind collaboration with @astro_reid that takes lunar photography to the absolute extreme
More to come 👀 pic.twitter.com/Q5UObk9A7J
These Mars photos sometimes just don't look alien enough. I've seen places like this around Four Corners.
You're staring at another world right now.That rugged, blood-red desert isn’t Arizona.
— Black Hole (@konstructivizm) April 30, 2026
It’s not a backdrop from a sci-fi movie.That’s Mars.Right now, 140 million miles away, a lonely rover is crawling across those ancient dunes, sending back images of a world that looks close… pic.twitter.com/weEAR4Zp5K
100 years ago, this photo would have ended every newspaper headline on Earth.
— Curiosity (@CuriosityonX) April 29, 2026
Today it'll get scrolled past in 2 seconds.
This is a photograph of Mars. Taken today.
140 million miles away from us. pic.twitter.com/NRXqPthdr7
And there was a spectacular launch this week.
It was a beautiful day to go to space pic.twitter.com/wenqzMtojY
— Andrew McCarthy (@AJamesMcCarthy) April 29, 2026
"I'm ready for my close-up."
Ever since I saw a photo like this in 2018 I wanted to do this.
— Andrew McCarthy (@AJamesMcCarthy) April 29, 2026
It took me 8 years, but I finally got it. pic.twitter.com/6ZRCq3Ngzb
It's okay to be mad. But don't be inefficiently mad.
— Utterly Purple (@DefiantlyFree) April 28, 2026
You've probably already caught on that I love this stuff and really enjoy sharing it. Drop me some comments, and come back next week for more Sky Candy.
