Welcome to my astronomy and astrophotography site. I’m Shawn Nielsen and I’m an amateur astronomer, astrophotographer and YouTuber. I’m also an advocate for better lighting at night, reducing light pollution. The astro images featured on this website were taken from various locations including dark sites in rural southern Ontario, up in northern cottage country (South Bruce Peninsula) as well as remote observatories in New Mexico, Australia and Spain. Some of the images were even taken from my home in Kitchener, a relatively light polluted city. Astrophotography is a passion of mine Continue reading…
Dr. Emily Fobert; polluting the night with light
Dr Emily Fobert delivering the Flinders University #EcologyandEvolution public lecture: ‘Polluting the night with light’ “So even today in a landscape of plastic pollution and climate change, artificial light at night is
26 hours of data on the Iris Nebula
Meet the Iris Nebula in Cepheus. Also known as NGC 7023. This image represents 26 hours of data taken over 7 clear nights in May and June 2019. The Iris
Narrowband astrophotography from the city!
One of the biggest challenges in astrophotography is dealing with light pollution. This form of environmental pollution caused by unshielded and overly bright exterior lighting, washes out the night sky
Special Astro Guest and the Eagle 3 Pro!
Welcome to a special video with a special astro guest! Watch as we talk about the new Primaluce Lab Eagle 3 Pro as well as have a look at the
Meet M97 and M108, the Owl and the Surfboard
Here’s an interesting pairing in the night sky. Meet M97 planetary nebula and M108 spiral galaxy from the Messier Catalog of deep sky objects. While they look side by side from our