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Tiffany

@tiff_needs_space

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✨Backyard astrophotographer
Astronomical League
Central Missouri Astronomical Association
📍 Missouri, USA

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I'm thrilled to share that I've been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Williamina Fleming Imaging Award for first place in the Rich Field category by the Astronomical League.

This award recognizes exceptional achievement in astrophotography by a female member of the Astronomical League, and I'm incredibly honored to be chosen.

The winning image is my LRGB capture of the NGC 2264 and the surrounding area; my very first project with my mono setup!

Now I gotta figure out where to mount this puppy. And probably buy a new telescope as a reward. 😅

The Nitty Gritty:
Location: Central MO, USA. Bortle 4 backyard
Moon: ~50% avg over 3 nights
Integration: Lum - 170x120" (5hr40min) RGB 30x120" each (3hr combined) = 8.5hr total
Camera: @zwoasi ASI2600MM Pro
Scope: @williamoptics Redcat 51 Gen 3 WIFD
Mount: @skywatcherusa EQ6-R Pro
Filter: Antlia LRGB
Guiding: @zwoasi ASI120MM mini + @svbony SV165 mini guide scope.

#astrophotography #space #photography #astronomy by @tiff_needs_space

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3 months ago

Do you all ever finish up a processing session and stare at the result in disbelief? Maybe I've had a breakthrough, but I've been doing it a lot lately. Particularly on this one.

I wasn't even going to set up last night when I saw the wildfire smoke was forecast to be especially thick... But I decided to anyway. What would I lose if it was a flop? And there is so much more to gain if it didn't.

I'm so glad I set up!

I present to you, the ✨Crescent Nebula✨ NGC6888

"The Crescent Nebula, also known as NGC 6888 and Caldwell 27, is a striking emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus. It's roughly 5,000 light-years from Earth and 25 light-years wide. The nebula's distinctive crescent shape is due to a central Wolf-Rayet star, WR 136, which pushes hydrogen and oxygen atoms outward. The fast-moving hot gas collides with cooler gas ejected by the star in its younger days, exciting the hydrogen and oxygen to radiate light. "

I've been spending a lot of time in Cygnus lately 🤣

PS: don't be like me and crop out the soap bubble because you thought it was a dust mote that didn't calibrate out.

The nitty gritty:

Moon: 50% 🌓
Location: Bortle 4 backyard
Integration: 57x 300" (4.75hr)
Camera: @zwoasi ASI533MC Pro
Scope: @sharpstaroptics Askar 71F
Mount: @skywatcherusa EQ6-R Pro
Filter: @optolongfilter L-Ultimate
Guiding: @zwoasi ASI120MM mini + @svbony SV165 mini guide scope.

#space #astro #astrophotography #photography #astronomy taken in Loose Creek, Missouri by @tiff_needs_space

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a year ago

Always fun to reprocess. This time with M51 (The Whirlpool) I feel like these colors are nicer and I got a little more of the core to not be blown out (not that Instagram really can show you that with the upload quality 😡)

Still loving the Askar 71F and I think it's really going to shine this summer during ✨Milky Way Season✨

Moon: 75-80% 🌖🌕
Integration: 11.5hr

Camera: @zwoasi ASI533MC Pro
Scope: @sharpstaroptics Askar 71F
Mount: @skywatcherusa EQ6-R Pro
Filter: @optolongfilter UV IR cut
Guiding: @zwoasi ASI120MM mini + @svbony SV165 mini guide scope.

#astrophotography #amateurastronomy #backyardastronomy #space #galaxies #zwo by @tiff_needs_space

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a year ago

Deerlick Group + Stephan's Quintet

Got a string of clear nights, and spent some time in Pegasus.

NGC 7331 is a large spiral galaxy about 45 million light-years away, seen at a relatively high inclination. Its prominent dust lanes and blue outer regions are visible in the image, along with a ridiculous number of much more distant background galaxies.

Just to the west is Stephan’s Quintet, a compact group of interacting galaxies roughly 290 million light-years away. The gravitational interactions between its members have produced extensive tidal debris and distorted structures, making it one of the more interesting galaxy groups to photograph.

I'm um... Rusty. And I had to cull like 6 hr of subs. So 🤷

(Is this enough galaxies for you, @astrowithdb?)

The Nitty Gritty:

Location: Central MO, USA. Bortle 4 backyard
Integration: ~12hr LRGB (120" subs) over 3 nights. Lost track of how much per filter because I culled over 6hr due to focus issues.
Camera: @zwoasi ASI2600MM Pro
Scope: @celestron EdgeHD8 + .7 reducer
Mount: @skywatcherusa EQ6-R Pro
Filter: Antlia LRGB
Guiding: @zwoasi ASI174MM Mini + @celestron OAG

#astronomy #astrophotography by @tiff_needs_space

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11 days ago

Just some quick in-camera shots of the lunar eclipse. Gonna try an HDR image this weekend with my photos... But wanted to share these while it was fresh.

Was sitting on the ground admiring the milkyway when an armadillo just passed within inches of me unbothered.

Now to sleep.

#lunareclipse2026 #moon #space by @tiff_needs_space

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2 months ago

The Cygnus Loop is the expanding remnant of a massive star that exploded as a supernova roughly 10,000 years ago.

This enormous shell of shocked gas spans about 3° across the sky and is still expanding today. As the blast wave plows into the surrounding interstellar gas, it heats and ionizes it, creating the intricate filaments we see glowing in hydrogen and oxygen.

This frame captures several of the Loop’s most recognizable structures: the Eastern Veil (NGC 6992/6995), Western Veil (NGC 6960), and Fleming’s Triangle (NGC 6974/6979), along with the incredibly faint filaments threading through the center. I've imaged these each individually in the past.

The plan was triple this integration, but weather once again decided 6hr was enough.

I'm sure I'll visit this area of the sky again.

The Nitty Gritty:
Location: Central MO, USA. Bortle 4 backyard
Integration: 6hr20 minutes of 5min Oiii, and Ha subs - processed in HOO
Camera: @zwoasi ASI2600MM Pro
Scope: @williamoptics Redcat 51 Gen 3 WIFD
Mount: @skywatcherusa EQ6-R Pro
Filter: Antlia H O
Guiding: @zwoasi ASI120MM mini + @svbony SV165 mini guide scope. by @tiff_needs_space

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2 months ago

LDN 1235 wide-field (Dark Shark)

I had imaged this in the past with a smaller sensor and more focal length, but this is one I really wanted a wider shot of. Kicking myself for not framing it just slightly more to the right but 🤷🤷

This is the result of a string of THREE clear nights and nearly 15 hours in LRGB. Also seeing some hits of Ha so maybe I need to target that with a narrowband filter in the future...

What a show stopper, this area of the sky!

The Nitty Gritty:
Location: Central MO, USA. Bortle 4 backyard
Moon: ~10% avg over 3 nights
Integration: Lum - 233x120" (7hr46min) ~70x120" each (7hr) = 14hr48min total
Camera: @zwoasi ASI2600MM Pro
Scope: @williamoptics Redcat 51 Gen 3 WIFD
Mount: @skywatcherusa EQ6-R Pro
Filter: Antlia LRGB
Guiding: @zwoasi ASI120MM mini + @svbony SV165 mini guide scope. by @tiff_needs_space

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3 months ago

IC 1396 Part Deux - more sulfur, more oxygen data, slightly better colors.

The Nitty Gritty:

Location: Central MO, USA. Bortle 4 backyard
Moon: 100%
Integration: H: 29x300", S: 67x300", O: 47x300" (total ~11hr55min SHO)
Camera: @zwoasi ASI2600MM Pro
Scope: @williamoptics Redcat 51
Mount: @skywatcherusa EQ6-R Pro
Filter: Antlia SHO
Guiding: @zwoasi

#astrophotography #space by @tiff_needs_space

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3 months ago

IC 1396

Located about 2,400 light-years away in the constellation Cepheus, IC 1396 is a vast emission nebula spanning over 100 light-years. The famous Elephant's Trunk Nebula is the dense pillar of gas and dust extending upward near the lower center of the image, where new stars are actively forming.

This image was processed in true SHO (Hubble Palette), with sulfur, hydrogen, and oxygen emissions mapped to red, green, and blue respectively, revealing the different chemical structures within the nebula.

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I gotta be honest... June was hard for imagining. Nights were cloudy or full on raining and the only opening I had was during the 100% full moon (not ideal). So my total imaging hours in June: 2. Because the night was on the 30th and July took over. Was glad to finally get my expensive narrowband filters going though!

My first true SHO image with my mono camera. Gosh I can't believe how much data we got out of under 6.5hr. I know the colors are a little murky and it's sloppy but I literally just processed this with excitement and intuition.

The Nitty Gritty:

Location: Central MO, USA. Bortle 4 backyard
Moon: 100%
Integration: H: 29x300", S: 23x3p0", O: 25x300" (total ~6hr25min SHO)
Camera: @zwoasi ASI2600MM Pro
Scope: @williamoptics Redcat 51
Mount: @skywatcherusa EQ6-R Pro
Filter: Antlia SHO
Guiding: @zwoasi

#astrophotography #space by @tiff_needs_space

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4 months ago

NGC 4725

NGC 4725 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices, notable for having only one prominent spiral arm winding out from a central ring, unlike most galaxies with multiple arms. It features a central bar of older stars, a ring of younger star-forming regions, and is located about 40-41 million light-years away. This peculiar galaxy is also classified as a Seyfert galaxy, meaning it has an active nucleus powered by a supermassive black hole.

Captured this during two rare clear nights this week with my 8" SCT and mono setup.

The Nitty Gritty:

Location: Central MO, USA. Bortle 4 backyard
Moon: 12%
Integration: R: 58x120", G: 47x120", B: 60x120", L: 120x120" (total ~10hr LRGB)
Camera: @zwoasi ASI2600MM Pro
Scope: @celestron EdgeHD8 + .7 reducer
Mount: @skywatcherusa EQ6-R Pro
Filter: Antlia RGB
Guiding: @zwoasi ASI174MM Mini + @celestron OAG

#astrophotography #space by @tiff_needs_space

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5 months ago

Messier 100 (M100) is a grand design spiral galaxy located about 55 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. It’s part of the Virgo Cluster, one of the nearest massive galaxy clusters to our own.

What makes M100 stand out is its well-defined spiral structure. Those sweeping arms are packed with active star-forming regions, where new stars are being born in glowing clouds of gas and dust.

Just off to the side is NGC 4312, a much fainter edge-on spiral galaxy. From our perspective, we’re seeing it almost perfectly from the side, which compresses its light into a thin streak and hides most of its spiral detail—but it still contains hundreds of billions of stars of its own.

In this clip, I’m using a Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope (EdgeHD) on an equatorial mount to precisely slew to the target. The image itself was captured with a mono camera (ASI2600MM Pro) using an LRGB setup—that means I collect separate black-and-white exposures for luminance (detail) and for each color channel (red, green, and blue), then combine them to build the final image with higher detail and cleaner color than a standard one-shot color camera.

#space #astronomy #astrophotography #photography by @tiff_needs_space

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6 months ago

M100 - With a little more luminance (to try to bring out background galaxies for @astrowithdb)

It... Didn't go how I planned and had to throw away half the subs due to guiding issues and wind. I definitely kept some I normally wouldn't either.

I think it looks a bit nicer though 😊. I've been learning to keep the darks on my luminance stretches DARK and it's helping to now wash out the rest of the image. Can't wait to REALLY get the hang of mono processing.

PS: Sorry for hitting y'all with the same image twice, but this does have about 4 more hours of integration 😋

The Nitty Gritty:

Location: Central MO, USA. Bortle 4 backyard
Moon: 5%
Integration: R: 45x120", G: 43x120", B: 45x120", L: 178x120" (total ~10hr20min LRGB)
Camera: @zwoasi ASI2600MM Pro
Scope: @celestron EdgeHD8 + .7 reducer
Mount: @skywatcherusa EQ6-R Pro
Filter: Antlia RGB
Guiding: @zwoasi ASI174MM Mini + @celestron OAG

#astrophotography #astronomy #space by @tiff_needs_space

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6 months ago