The Herschel 400 Astronomical League Project is underway
It’s not too late to join. We are about 30 objects into the Herschel 400. Hope to get another session in soon. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel so you get notifications on LIVE STREAMS.
Angels in Monoceros: The Monoceros M2 Complex
The Monoceros R2 molecular complex (often shortened to Mon R2) is a massive giant molecular cloud and one of the nearest active star-forming regions to Earth. It's a dynamic stellar nursery embedded in dense gas and dust, where new stars—particularly massive ones—are actively being born.
Key Facts
Location: Southwestern part of the constellation Monoceros (the Unicorn), near the border with Orion. It's part of the larger Orion-Monoceros cloud complex.
Distance: Approximately 2,400–2,700 light-years (around 830 parsecs).
Size and Structure: The main dense core is relatively compact (a few light-years across), but the overall molecular cloud and associated nebulae span a wide area—reflection nebulae alone stretch up to about 2° in the sky. It's situated well below the galactic plane, which makes it stand out in certain observations.
Age and Activity: Star formation here began roughly 6–10 million years ago. It hosts an OB association (young, hot, massive B- and A-type stars) that illuminates surrounding dust, creating prominent reflection nebulae with bluish hues. There's also significant emission from ionized gas (red glows) and dark nebulae that appear as shadowy silhouettes blocking background light.
Notable Features:
A central hub of massive star formation with embedded clusters, molecular outflows, and HII regions.
Infrared observations (like those from VISTA or 2MASS) penetrate the dust to reveal hidden young stars and protoplanetary disks.
It's a key site for studying early stellar evolution, variability in young stellar objects (YSOs), and the interplay between massive stars and their natal clouds.
The most famous and photogenic part of Mon R2 is the region around NGC 2170 (the Angel Nebula), a striking reflection nebula with wing-like dust structures, glowing blue from scattered starlight, mixed with red emission and dark lanes. Wider views of the complex reveal a richer tapestry of colorful gas, dust filaments, and star clusters.
Credit: GROK 2/28/26
Click on image for larger view.
New Astro Camera: OM-3
Join me for a LIVE conversation about this new astro camera coming to the market. Is this the best option for you? How does it compare to other options? https://www.earthandskyphoto.com Correction: when discussing Bulb mode with Canon, I incorrectly said it had a limit of 30”. I meant to say manual exposure has a max of 30”. In bulb, you need to use a remote control or app for exposure time control. The problem is you can’t set exposure time for stills in the camera menu. I was made aware that Olympus no longer owns the OM system. It is owned by Japanese industrial Partners, a private equity firm. For content on the OM-3 for astrophotography, please see Ben Chapell’s Narrow Band channel. https://youtube.com/@TheNarrowbandChannel?si=GcWY-BM9skG9LPhY
Chantilly, VA show and "hello" again
Hello blog! My deepest apologies for neglecting you, but it has been an extremely busy time. Capturing new images, working on new images, preparing for shows, working shows...it has been non-stop. But today I am back in the office working on new images and I am very excited about what is to come. For those who haven't visited my prints in person, I wanted to post to the blog a photo of my most recent show in Virginia. I can't say it any better than Paul did on his visit to my booth...
"Jeff, it was great meeting you at the show. Your images look so much better printed than in a web browser! Best of luck this weekend and the rest of your shows".
Thanks so much Paul and it was great meeting you as well. That is one of the things I love about art shows is meeting others who have a love for our great natural world and the beauty that we are blessed with each and every day.
So I need to get back to work on some new images and I will update the blog as soon as one is ready for public presentation! Take care and stay in touch.
Shadyside Art Show
What a lovely art show in a wonderful part of Pittsburgh. The weather was perfect (well it could have been a degree or two cooler) for the Shadyside Art Festival held this past weekend. It is a pleasure to meet and discuss our great natural world with so many smart and compassionate people. I must extend a big "Thank You" to Cappy's Cafe! They were extremely gracious toward me and my fellow artists during the event with great food delivered to our booth, free ice water, restrooms, and an electrical hook-up for Saturday night. I met many new collectors of my photography and signed folks up for the newsletter and workshop. It was a very tiring weekend and I am still recovering a bit.
The promoters of the event paid a visit to my booth on two separate occasions. Debbie and Howard Alan of Howard Alan Events stopped by to discuss the booth presentation and setup. They were both very complimentary on the booth and offered some wonderful suggestions. One of which is to extend the booth panels higher with the extension pieces from ProPanels. That is exactly what we are doing for the Atlanta show. We are going to try and knock the socks off of Atlanta with the biggest display yet. I am very thankful to Debbie and Howard for their advice and very kind comments on the art display.
The booth has now had 3 designs for 3 shows. Perhaps that is a consistent theme? I am keeping the show design flexible so that it may be optimized for each art festival. It is very exciting to consider new show designs for each festival and something I enjoy doing a great deal. So Atlanta look for a great show from us in September.
One of the things I enjoy the most about art shows is meeting inspiring artists. I was very fortunate to have one as my neighbor in Pittsburgh. Nicholas Yust of Cincinnati is a fine metal artist and his work is amazing. I encourage you to visit his website for more information and images. Artists like Nicholas are why it is worth visiting regional art shows that showcase national artist. Terrific work and highly recommended!
Much more on all things photography in the next few days. Take care and thanks again to Pittsburgh and Howard Alan Events for a great show.
An Early Favorite...
West Fork of Oak Creek, Sedona, AZIt is impossible to carry all of my prints framed. So I display some prints in matted presentations in various sizes. One print is quickly becoming a crowd favorite, "West Fork of Oak Creek." The print is stunning in color and detail and represents a glorious day of hiking on the West Fork of Oak Creek trail from 2006. The trail is just north of Sedona, AZ and is a wonderful day hike for any visitor to the area.
The print is now receiving full gallery treatment with a wonderful new frame available from Mayne Framing. The framed print will now be a "featured" print in the Shadyside Show in Pittsburgh next weekend along with 5 other landscape prints and 5 astronomical prints.
If you are in the Pittsburgh area please come by and see the show and the new presentation of "West Fork of Oak Creek Canyon." I think you will find the print very enjoyable and perhaps one you cannot live without.
Fine Art Booth Display at Myrtle Beach
Had a wonderful time at the Craftsman Classic Show in Myrtle Beach and continued to vacation with the family afterwards. It was hot as you might guess and what a wonderful time to have an indoor show! Met many wonderful people and had some great discussions about art and photography as well as the cosmos.
One customer made the comment that I didn't expect but was overjoyed when they said that "I see God in your photographs." That really said it all and made my show.
I met many new customers, signed several folks up for the email newsletter, and had a registration for the Water workshop next May.
For those who didn't make it to the show, I have posted a video where I walk through the booth and give you a brief glimpse of what the presentation looked like.
The next show is in Pittsburgh the last weekend in August. For more information please see the "Purchase-Art Show" page in the menu above.
Myrtle Beach Show and Inception
Well I just had about 5 paragraphs deleted and so I am going to make this short. My apologies.
If you are in Myrtle Beach August 6-8 please stop by the convention center to visit my fine art photography. This will be my largest presentation to date and should look fantastic.
A word about Inception. Unfortunately I just had the computer delete a long dissertation on this movie and I don't have time to repeat. Bottom line...go see the movie. It is simply why movie theaters were built. Many focus on the story and visuals, and while they are obviously important, it is the soundtrack that elevates this movie to the upper echelon. Much like E.T., Star Wars, Lawrence of Arabia, Gone with the Wind, and many of the great movies, a soundtrack that not only stands on its own but complements the visuals so perfectly adds to the emotional impact of the movie like nothing else. The Hans Zimmer score is possibly one of the best soundtracks in years and one of the all-time greats. It perfectly compliments the movie and is a joy to listen to on its own. I place a high value on movie ticket prices and sit through a lot of bad and mediocre movies. While the visual impact can be approximated in the home theater, the sound impact simply cannot no matter what Dolby system you have. Not only that, but this movie requires your focus with minimal distractions. If you enjoy movies at all, please see Inception at your earliest convenience.
Hope to update you from the Myrtle show. Until then take care.
Jeff's Blog
Join me on photography journeys from desert landscapes to deep sky wonders.
