Ralph Scheriff Jr. Photography

06/20/2026

So, approximately one year ago today…The Pillars of Creation
The Pillars of Creation
Cropped photo of my pic of the Eagle Nebula highlighting The Pillars of Creation.
These resources explore the interplay between stars, gas, and dust within a star-forming nebula. While dense pockets within the giant dust cloud collapse to create new stars, those stars also reshape the nebula in striking ways.
The Pillars of Creation are clouds of gas and dust stretching several light-years within the Eagle Nebula. Their shapes are created by strong stellar winds and high-energy radiation from hot, ne formed stars in star cluster NGC 6611, which lies at the center of the nebula. These high-energy emissions heat the dust molecules on the surface of the pillars and produce eye-catching ionizil flows that outline the clouds.
Within the pillars, astronomers identified various stages of star formation, including embedded protostars (still-forming stars), stellar jets, and even the newborn stars themselves. These relationships and interactions between stars and dust occur in star-forming regions throughout our Milky Way galaxy.
My pic 06-21-2025 ~ info from universe of learning and NASA...
5 hours & 8 minutes of capture time
1853 stacked pics...just a JPEG
15 minutes Lightroom post processing

The Pillars of Creation

Cropped photo of my pic of the Eagle Nebula highlighting The Pillars of Creation.
These resources explore the interplay between stars, gas, and dust within a star-forming nebula. While dense pockets within the giant dust cloud collapse to create new stars, those stars also reshape the nebula in striking ways.
The Pillars of Creation are clouds of gas and dust stretching several light-years within the Eagle Nebula. Their shapes are created by strong stellar winds and high-energy radiation from hot, newly formed stars in star cluster NGC 6611, which lies at the center of the nebula. These high-energy emissions heat the dust molecules on the surface of the pillars and produce eye-catching ionizing flows that outline the clouds.
Within the pillars, astronomers identified various stages of star formation, including embedded protostars (still-forming stars), stellar jets, and even the newborn stars themselves. These relationships and interactions between stars and dust occur in star-forming regions throughout our Milky Way galaxy.

My pic 06-21-2025 ~info from universe of learning and NASA…

5 hours & 8 minutes of capture time
1853 stacked pics…just a JPEG
15 minutes Lightroom post processing

02/07/2026

Last 2 photos of Hummingbirds from last September…

02/02/2026

Hummer from last September 2025

02/02/2026

I found a few Hummingbird pics on my memory card from September…

02/02/2026

Male Northern Red Cardinal…from ice storm last week…

02/02/2026

Another pic from yesterday morning…

02/01/2026

Finch, Cardinal, Bluebird…01-31-2026

01/31/2026

A few pics from earlier…

01/20/2026

The Triangulum Galaxy (also known as M33) is about 3 million light-years away from Earth. It is the third largest member of the Local Group, or the galaxies that are near our own Milky Way. Triangulum also has a small satellite galaxy of its own, called the Pisces Dwarf Galaxy.
You can distinctly make out the spiral arms which contain the galaxy's most distinctive features are ionized hydrogen clouds, also called H-II regions, which are massive regions of starbirth.

My pic from 01-19-26 ~
1 hour and 25 minutes capture time
512 stacked pics

First time on the Vespera

01/20/2026

The Whirlpool Galaxy
It’s been a while since it’s been clear skies and I can actually enjoy some night skies…
A few things about this photo that I took…these 2 galaxies were actually one of my first observations of a galaxy ever, 35 or so years ago…when I first observed it then, in an 8 inch large telescope, it appeared as just 2 gray smudges…that was it. Like 2 monochrome clouds…very little detail and u can barely see that they were connecting…NOW, the detail is incredible….

My pic of these 2 interacting galaxies 31 MILLION light-years away…The graceful, winding arms of the majestic spiral galaxy M51 appear like a grand spiral staircase sweeping through space. They are actually long lanes of stars and gas laced with dust.

The Whirlpool Galaxy (actually 2 galaxies both M51 & NGC 5195) In the constellation Canes Vernatici, and was the first galaxy classified as a spiral…

The graceful, winding arms of the majestic spiral galaxy M51 appear like a grand spiral staircase sweeping through space. They are actually long lanes of stars and gas laced with dust. Such striking arms are a hallmark of so-called grand-design spiral galaxies. The Whirlpool galaxy’s spiral arms serve an important purpose: they are star-formation factories, compressing hydrogen gas and creating clusters of new stars.
Some astronomers think that the Whirlpool’s arms are particularly prominent because of the effects of a close encounter with NGC 5195, the small, yellowish galaxy at the outermost tip of one of the arms. The compact galaxy appears to be tugging on the arm, the tidal forces from which trigger new star formation. Hubble’s clear view shows that NGC 5195 is passing behind M51. The small galaxy has been gliding past the Whirlpool for hundreds of millions of years.

My pic 01-19-2026 ~
53 minutes Capture time on the Odyssey