Mike Mitchell's Tumblr of Amazing Things.

The ability to go in my backyard and snap a picture like this makes me very thankful to be living in an age where such things are possible. 

I look forward to the day when I can take much better photos, but for now this will do. 

I’ve been waiting since about September to see Saturn and I’m so stoked it’s back, even if it means going outside in the cold at 5 in the morning to look at it.

The picture itself is a bit out of focus, grainy, etc. but I’m pretty happy with it. You can see the planet itself casting shadows on the ring system on the bottom left. 

This picture was taken using a Rebel through my 18” Dobsonian. 

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Stayed up late to snap this one. 

Finally a clean enough night to bust out the telescope and snap a couple pictures. 

Obviously Jupiter on the top, and on the bottom is Jupiter again, but with enough time to capture the Galilean Moons Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. 

If you bust out a pair of binoculars and go outside, look to the East (or straight up in a few hours) and look for what seems to be a bright star. Assuming your binoculars are moderately powerful, you will be able to see Jupiter and those moons. 

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Snapped a picture of Jupiter tonight.

Dat gas…….giant.

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So excited, my first decent picture of Jupiter!

I think the mirrors are slightly misaligned because the focus is off just a tad but I won’t complain. Expect something better in the future. 

You can barely make out a few of  the moons, but they are there. It’s much easier to see them through the scope. 

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So this week I drove 5 hours north to the outskirts of Yosemite to buy an 18” Dobsonian telescope. 

Decided to try and see if my current Astrophotography equipment would work on it, and holy shit. Will hopefully have some Jupiter pics so share by tomorrow. Saturn is unfortunately blocked for me at the moment.  

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I went stargazing with some friends tonight and snapped this photo of the moon rising over the hills. 

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Got myself a solar filter today, preparing for some hardcore Transit of Venus action tomorrow!