Russ McKinney

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Russ McKinney

Russ McKinney

@russmac

Christian,Husband,Father of five, Army Veteran, Civil Servant, Drone flying, star gazing guy working on a doctorate in Instructional design and technology.

Pike Road, Alabama Katılım Haziran 2008
366 Takip Edilen583 Takipçiler
Russ McKinney
Russ McKinney@russmac·
The Pleiades (M45) shine in the constellation Taurus. They’re 440 light years away and those bright blue stars are moving through clouds of cosmic dust, lighting the dust up -just like a car’s headlights illuminate fog. @spann @JoshWeather @amanduh_curran
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Russ McKinney@russmac·
Captured this morning: Comet C/2025 R3 (PANSTARRS).That long tail is an ion tail,stretching millions of miles across space.The comet is visible with binoculars before sunrise. In a few weeks, it'll shift to the evening sky, becoming visible just after sunset. @spann
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Russ McKinney
Russ McKinney@russmac·
Winter nebula season is over; galaxy season has begun! This is the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51), located about 23 million light-years away. The small companion galaxy is interacting with M51,causing star formation and stretching material between the two galaxies. @spann @JoshWeather
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Russ McKinney
Russ McKinney@russmac·
This is a little late, but this is a timelapse of the lunar eclipse on March 3rd. This was taken with a small telescope that tracks the Moon automatically. As the Earth's shadow moves across the Moon, I boosted the camera's exposure to keep it visible. @spann @JoshWeather
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Russ McKinney
Russ McKinney@russmac·
Total Lunar Eclipse March 2026. 11 images combined to show the full progression of Earth’s shadow crossing the Moon with totality at the center. That red color? It’s every sunrise and sunset on Earth bending through our atmosphere and lighting the Moon. @spann @JoshWeather
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Russ McKinney@russmac·
Tonight's Moon, as seen from Pike Road. It's in it's waxing gibbous phase. Get outside early Tuesday morning (around 4am-5:30am) and look to the west. You'll be able to catch a full lunar eclipse! Set your alarm to see the blood Moon! @spann @JoshWeather @amanduh_curran
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Russ McKinney
Russ McKinney@russmac·
Orion isn’t just three belt stars. From left to right, you see: 🔥 Flame Nebula 🐎 Horsehead 🏃 Running Man 💥 The Orion Nebula (M42) This is a stellar nursery 1,300+ lightyears away, where new suns are forming right now. Zoom in and look! @spann @JoshWeather @amanduh_curran
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Russ McKinney
Russ McKinney@russmac·
The Sun has been active in the past day. I shot these photos of the sun today. The large sunspot group is AR4366 and the entire Earth could easily fit inside those spots. Multiple solar flares have popped off from AR4366 in the past 12 hours. @spann @JoshWeather
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Russ McKinney@russmac·
Tonight's Moon is beautiful! Look carefully at this Moon this evening. The brightest object next to the Moon isn't a star. It's the planet Jupiter! If you've got some binoculars, look at Jupiter. You should be able to see Jupiter's Moons. @spann @JoshWeather @amanduh_curran
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Russ McKinney@russmac·
Last night was brutally cold,but also crystal clear. These conditions allow for some really great lunar photography sessions. This is last night’s Moon in a waxing gibbous phase. We’ll have a full Moon in just a few days, on February 1st. @spann @JoshWeather @amanduh_curran
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Russ McKinney
Russ McKinney@russmac·
Astronomers are brilliant scientists, but sometimes they also give space objects some pretty funny names! This is NGC 2174, AKA the Monkey Head Nebula. Our brains are wired to see familiar shapes in the stars, so once you see the monkey, you can’t unsee it. @spann @JoshWeather
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Russ McKinney
Russ McKinney@russmac·
As this year comes to a close, our celestial neighbor shines on, quiet and unchanged. Long before we were here and long after we’re gone, the Moon will keep rising and reflecting the light of the Sun back to Earth. Here’s to another year of looking up. @spann @JoshWeather
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Russ McKinney
Russ McKinney@russmac·
Tonight, as families gather in warm living rooms and around candlelit tables, the crescent Moon rises over us all. No matter where you celebrate Christmas, we all share the same Moon, the same sky, and the same sense of connection. @spann @JoshWeather @amanduh_curran
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Russ McKinney@russmac·
This is the Elephant Trunk Nebula, an area of dense gas and dust inside the constellation Cepheus. Radiation from nearby massive stars sculpts these dust-filled areas, compressing material that may eventually form new stars. @spann @JoshWeather @amanduh_curran
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Russ McKinney
Russ McKinney@russmac·
Orion is a favorite constellation for many stargazers. Visible on winter evenings, it rises in the southeast and is easy to spot by the 3 bright stars of Orion’s Belt. This area is home to some of the nearest stellar nurseries in our galaxy.Zoom in and look! @spann @JoshWeather
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