We did an interesting activity today with my students - imagining and writing out our ideal day. The first thing I thought about was getting to the desert, and basking in dark skies. Sometimes I daydream about moving to rural Nevada, building a cabin and observatory, and living my life on sidereal time. But as the saying goes, "wherever you go, there you are." So I don't really think it'd solve all my problems.

Still, I'm grateful for those moments I do get to be under truly dark skies. They are really special and magical and make me feel like life is worth living. 🙂

What does your ideal day look like? What do you find meaningful in life?

~dragonfly

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Photo is from March 21st near Jenner, CA.
~50 minutes of exposure at f/2, 16mm lens on Nikon Z6 ii mounted to iOptron tracker. Processed in Sequator and GIMP.
Happy to provide more technical details if desired :)

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#CDARC #astronomy #astrophotography #astrodon #milkyway #science #nature #california #spring #art #landscape #GIMP #sequator

The Sun Wasn’t Born Here: New Evidence for Galactic Migration - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w63eHw4Npx8

#astronomy #Cosmology #MilkyWay

The Sun Wasn’t Born Here: New Evidence for Galactic Migration

YouTube
A frosty path to a rising moon and a miky way
🇬🇧 My plan to photograph the rising comet C/2025 R3 in the early morning was thwarted by heavy fog in the east. Instead, I looked south and found the rising moon between the trees.

🇩🇪 Eigentlich wollte ich ja den aufgehenden Kometen C/2025 R3 fotografieren, aber dichter Nebel zog im Osten auf, sodass ich nicht einmal mehr die Sterne gesehen habe. Im Süden ging derweil der Mond auf, sodass ich meine Pläne über Bord warf und ihn zwischen den Bäumen in Verbindung mit der Milchstraße fotografierte.


#NikonZ6III | 24mm | f/4 | 25x 10 Sek. | ISO 3200 | 04/2026
#MilkyWayMonday #Milchstraße #Mondaufgang #Mond #MilkyWay #Nightscape #Nightsky #Moonrise #Moon #frosty #reflection #trees #astro #astrophotography #Astrofotografie #Sequator #alttext

No wonder the natives of these parts thought this was the river of souls, the portal to that which lies beyond...

Taken one August night on California's coast: "Big Sky over Big Sur".

#art #photography #sky #nightsky #astrophotography #galaxy #MilkyWay

Milky Way over Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California, United States
© Kevin Key/Slworking)/Getty Images
#California #UnitedStates #photography #MilkyWay

I have experienced the same sense of awe: once as a child camping on northern #vancouverisland in the 1960's looking at the #milkyway and as a 20 something at #longbeach #bc staring at the night sky. #lightpollution is a bitch.

#nasa #artemis #artemis2

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/11/us/artemis-landing-splashdown-moon.html?unlocked_article_code=1.aFA.br1x.r7cH9_uTioxE&smid=url-share

Another Giant Leap Reminds Us How Small We Are

A mission that took four astronauts farther than any human has ever traveled in the history of mankind has made people feel a little trippy.

The New York Times