Parag
@parag.bsky.social
Photon collector - Science will win!
Pinned
Parag
@parag.bsky.social
· Apr 26
The Whirlpool galaxy (M51) is a classic grand-design face-on spiral galaxy. Located at about 30 million light years in the direction of constellation Canes Venatici, it Interacts with the smaller companion galaxy triggering new star formation.
🔭 UC108; 📷 ASI2600MC-Duo; total exposure: 3.5 hours
🔭 UC108; 📷 ASI2600MC-Duo; total exposure: 3.5 hours
Stratrails with Aurora from 2 years ago taken in Iceland at 60+ N latitude. I want to go back there ASAP. 🔭🧪
September 17, 2026 at 12:55 AM
Stratrails with Aurora from 2 years ago taken in Iceland at 60+ N latitude. I want to go back there ASAP. 🔭🧪
A shop seen in Arusha, Tanzania.
September 15, 2026 at 2:39 PM
A shop seen in Arusha, Tanzania.
I am glad that I don't know even a single song by that spineless coward ed Sheeran.
September 15, 2026 at 2:37 PM
I am glad that I don't know even a single song by that spineless coward ed Sheeran.
I only use Google AI, Gemini, as it is offered at work. Seems like it is not as good as chatgpt or claude. Gemini hasn't tried to kill me even once so far.
September 15, 2026 at 12:54 PM
I only use Google AI, Gemini, as it is offered at work. Seems like it is not as good as chatgpt or claude. Gemini hasn't tried to kill me even once so far.
While I was away for 2 weeks, there were 30+ spam calls (voicemails) on my phone. Most of them were selling insurance for "end of life expenses". WTF!
September 15, 2026 at 12:52 PM
While I was away for 2 weeks, there were 30+ spam calls (voicemails) on my phone. Most of them were selling insurance for "end of life expenses". WTF!
Milky Way from the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro (Bortle 1) in Tanzania, Africa. Taken last week with iPhone (10 sec exp). It was amazing to experience the night sky with no Polaris but southern cross being prominent in the sky; also Scorpius and Orion getting close to zenith. 🔭🧪
September 14, 2026 at 4:22 PM
Milky Way from the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro (Bortle 1) in Tanzania, Africa. Taken last week with iPhone (10 sec exp). It was amazing to experience the night sky with no Polaris but southern cross being prominent in the sky; also Scorpius and Orion getting close to zenith. 🔭🧪
Visiting Africa for the first time. Also first time for crossing the equator and going into the southern hemisphere. Can’t wait to see how different the sky looks here.
September 1, 2026 at 4:41 AM
Visiting Africa for the first time. Also first time for crossing the equator and going into the southern hemisphere. Can’t wait to see how different the sky looks here.
Shuffalo, 4m 40s
🟡🟡🟡🟡
🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡
🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡
🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡
🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡
www.newyorker.com/puzzles-and-games-dept/shuffalo/2026/08/28?#intcid=recommendations_the-new-yorker-mobile-app-homepage_dd0c1c67-e031-4044-8f9e-48267b6ed703_cygnus-tny-app_fallback_popular4-2_bkta
🟡🟡🟡🟡
🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡
🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡
🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡
🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡
www.newyorker.com/puzzles-and-games-dept/shuffalo/2026/08/28?#intcid=recommendations_the-new-yorker-mobile-app-homepage_dd0c1c67-e031-4044-8f9e-48267b6ed703_cygnus-tny-app_fallback_popular4-2_bkta
Play Shuffalo: Friday, August 28, 2026
Can you make a longer word with each new letter?
www.newyorker.com
August 29, 2026 at 11:57 AM
Reposted by Parag
New from @vantortech.bsky.social. Absolutely astonishing images of the China-Nepal Gyirong Port/Rasuwagadhi border post.
Literally nothing is left.
(Before 19 April, After 27 Aug)
Literally nothing is left.
(Before 19 April, After 27 Aug)
August 27, 2026 at 5:25 PM
New from @vantortech.bsky.social. Absolutely astonishing images of the China-Nepal Gyirong Port/Rasuwagadhi border post.
Literally nothing is left.
(Before 19 April, After 27 Aug)
Literally nothing is left.
(Before 19 April, After 27 Aug)
Reposted by Parag
August 25, 2026 at 8:10 AM
Reposted by Parag
I started my PhD program with an eight week old at home, sole income being my doctoral stipend, in a history program, in Knoxville, TN. And every month we got a new book to read to my son, free, mailed to us, so my kid, my kids, grew up in rooms full of books even when I had no money.
That's Dolly.
That's Dolly.
August 25, 2026 at 6:36 PM
I started my PhD program with an eight week old at home, sole income being my doctoral stipend, in a history program, in Knoxville, TN. And every month we got a new book to read to my son, free, mailed to us, so my kid, my kids, grew up in rooms full of books even when I had no money.
That's Dolly.
That's Dolly.
Reposted by Parag
This is the letter kids got at the end of Dolly’s Imagination Library. I defy you to read this and not cry.
August 25, 2026 at 6:28 PM
This is the letter kids got at the end of Dolly’s Imagination Library. I defy you to read this and not cry.
Oh, NOOOO!!!
🔗: bit.ly/4qC1fWV
Legendary singer-songwriter and country music icon Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80.
Her nephew revealed the news in a Aug. 25 Instagram video.
📷: Getty
Legendary singer-songwriter and country music icon Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80.
Her nephew revealed the news in a Aug. 25 Instagram video.
📷: Getty
August 25, 2026 at 6:35 PM
Oh, NOOOO!!!
Reposted by Parag
Reposted by Parag
The historic first Earthrise photo from the Moon was received 60 years ago today. It was shot on film, developed onboard the Lunar Orbiter 1 spacecraft, scanned, transmitted home...and then meticulously restored decades later. 🧪🔭
www.lpi.usra.edu/features/lun...
www.lpi.usra.edu/features/lun...
August 25, 2026 at 3:51 AM
The historic first Earthrise photo from the Moon was received 60 years ago today. It was shot on film, developed onboard the Lunar Orbiter 1 spacecraft, scanned, transmitted home...and then meticulously restored decades later. 🧪🔭
www.lpi.usra.edu/features/lun...
www.lpi.usra.edu/features/lun...
Reposted by Parag
25 Millionen(!) Lichtjahre entfernt, also erweiterte Nachbarschaft.
Der 🐋 und der 🏑
In Wirklichkeit zwei verbogene und sich gravitativ beeinflussende Spiralgalaxien mit jeweils Millionen von Sternen.
Das Weltall ist spannend und immer wieder voll mit neuen Überraschungen.
Der 🐋 und der 🏑
In Wirklichkeit zwei verbogene und sich gravitativ beeinflussende Spiralgalaxien mit jeweils Millionen von Sternen.
Das Weltall ist spannend und immer wieder voll mit neuen Überraschungen.
In the constellation Canes Venatici, there are two distorted spiral galaxies with an edge-on view, called Whale galaxy (NGC 4631) and Hockey stick galaxy (NGC 4656). At 25 million light years away, these interacting galaxies are part of the Virgo supercluster. 🔭🧪
app.astrobin.com/i/lwcf88
app.astrobin.com/i/lwcf88
Whale and Hockeystick galaxies - AstroBin
Whale Galaxy, NGC 4627, NGC 4631 imaged with William Optics Ultra-Cat 108, ZWO ASI2600MC DUO, 2h of total integration, by Parag on AstroBin.
app.astrobin.com
August 24, 2026 at 3:22 PM
25 Millionen(!) Lichtjahre entfernt, also erweiterte Nachbarschaft.
Der 🐋 und der 🏑
In Wirklichkeit zwei verbogene und sich gravitativ beeinflussende Spiralgalaxien mit jeweils Millionen von Sternen.
Das Weltall ist spannend und immer wieder voll mit neuen Überraschungen.
Der 🐋 und der 🏑
In Wirklichkeit zwei verbogene und sich gravitativ beeinflussende Spiralgalaxien mit jeweils Millionen von Sternen.
Das Weltall ist spannend und immer wieder voll mit neuen Überraschungen.
In the constellation Canes Venatici, there are two distorted spiral galaxies with an edge-on view, called Whale galaxy (NGC 4631) and Hockey stick galaxy (NGC 4656). At 25 million light years away, these interacting galaxies are part of the Virgo supercluster. 🔭🧪
app.astrobin.com/i/lwcf88
app.astrobin.com/i/lwcf88
Whale and Hockeystick galaxies - AstroBin
Whale Galaxy, NGC 4627, NGC 4631 imaged with William Optics Ultra-Cat 108, ZWO ASI2600MC DUO, 2h of total integration, by Parag on AstroBin.
app.astrobin.com
August 24, 2026 at 2:59 PM
In the constellation Canes Venatici, there are two distorted spiral galaxies with an edge-on view, called Whale galaxy (NGC 4631) and Hockey stick galaxy (NGC 4656). At 25 million light years away, these interacting galaxies are part of the Virgo supercluster. 🔭🧪
app.astrobin.com/i/lwcf88
app.astrobin.com/i/lwcf88
Reposted by Parag
The Voyagers are amongst the very few things bring me to literal tears of joy. The scientific curiosity that drove their creation, the practical engineering genius that built and sustains them still, the optimism of the Golden Record … to me, these all exemplify the best of humanity.
Inside NASA’s ‘Big Bang’: A Daring Plan to Keep the Distant Voyagers Alive www.nytimes.com/2026/08/18/s...
How NASA Engineers Are Keeping the Voyagers Alive
A reworking of the spacecraft’s power systems could extend the nearly 50-year-old Voyagers’ exploration of interstellar space into the early 2030s.
www.nytimes.com
August 19, 2026 at 11:35 AM
The Voyagers are amongst the very few things bring me to literal tears of joy. The scientific curiosity that drove their creation, the practical engineering genius that built and sustains them still, the optimism of the Golden Record … to me, these all exemplify the best of humanity.
Reposted by Parag
I‘m far from an AI doomer, but it is amazing how many serious voices — on LinkedIn, no less! — are sharing stories about how AI slop is quickly becoming one of the top problems they see in academic writing and research
“AI will 10x our research!” doesn’t seem to be surviving encounters with reality
“AI will 10x our research!” doesn’t seem to be surviving encounters with reality
August 18, 2026 at 3:11 AM
I‘m far from an AI doomer, but it is amazing how many serious voices — on LinkedIn, no less! — are sharing stories about how AI slop is quickly becoming one of the top problems they see in academic writing and research
“AI will 10x our research!” doesn’t seem to be surviving encounters with reality
“AI will 10x our research!” doesn’t seem to be surviving encounters with reality
With all the rain we are getting this Summer, there are so many different kinds of mushrooms in my backyard. Everything from small orange slime balls to large black caps that are almost as big as dinner plates. I don’t know enough about mushrooms to forage safely but, someday I’ll get trained.
August 18, 2026 at 12:41 PM
With all the rain we are getting this Summer, there are so many different kinds of mushrooms in my backyard. Everything from small orange slime balls to large black caps that are almost as big as dinner plates. I don’t know enough about mushrooms to forage safely but, someday I’ll get trained.
Over the last 2+ weeks, there was only one clear night when I was traveling and away from home. The forecast for this upcoming week is looking bleak for astronomy. At this rate, I’m afraid that I am going to forget how to use my astronomy equipment.
August 17, 2026 at 2:47 PM
Over the last 2+ weeks, there was only one clear night when I was traveling and away from home. The forecast for this upcoming week is looking bleak for astronomy. At this rate, I’m afraid that I am going to forget how to use my astronomy equipment.
Reposted by Parag
August 17, 2026 at 3:30 AM