Andrew McCarthy

Exploring the universe from a backyard in Arizona. Get my latest print 👇

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

This is the last day to get "Civilizations Lost" in print. As cool as it looks on the screen, it looks even more amazing in print! A BILLION light years depth of field.

A perfect conversation piece that will keep you coming back to discover more... https://t.co/NQRxroDKKI

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

@CW_writeme Probably just like this tbh

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

Thank you for all the cat photos. I had over a thousand submissions, I'm going to try and work in about 200 of them. It's quite the chore and might end up looking disastrous, but it'll be fun to try!

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

@RicoKathryn If you didn’t hear from me you’re welcome to dm me their photos! I actually wasn’t able to reply to so many submissions thanks to DMs not being open.

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

@Thom_astro Beautifully captured

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

@CW_writeme This isn't actually true- I donated just what the Gregory calendar earned over my previous calendar sales. I still depend on these sales to pay my bills, otherwise I would definitely donate all of it!

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

@MichaelEMcNeil Yes, prevents ullage!

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

Hot staging is one of the most incredible things to witness during these launches. This is the best shot I've captured of that moment- during flight 5.

Flight 14 is as soon as Monday. The first operational orbital flight of Starship. It's been quite a long road to get here.

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

@BigDubOFive Amazing work!

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

A lot of you who submitted cats to this project don't have dms open... so if I didn't dm you, feel free to DM me a photo of your cat, and let me know you consent to their appearance in the calendar.

I already have dozens of participants! Hopefully I can pull this off...

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

I’m working on ways to incorporate YOUR cat photos into Gregory’s 2027 calendar… if you want your kitty to make a cameo, share a photo in one of these threads. Look for a dm from me confirming it’s okay to use if I select it! I’ll be doing this over the next few days.

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

@TheAstroN8 Yes

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

@lynne_catmom That's not a cat, that's a portal into the abyss

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

Look at this scary monster I let into my house

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

Btw.... the 2027 Gregory calendar IS coming. I'm going to aim for a preorder launch by the end of the month- but this one is a TON of work, so no guarantees. I'll offer a perk for preorder like I did last year (extra stickers)

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

Correct, but not necessarily good logic. A lot of the clues grok used don’t actually point to authenticity. For example, the existence of diffraction spikes. They’ll only show up with certain optical systems. Accurate analysis is only about 75% in my experience, as often the AI will look to human reception as an indicator of authenticity. Just spend some time looking at space content on Facebook and you’ll see why that’s a bad idea. Most people have no clue how to discern a fake AI image.

Grok is not better than a human astrophotographer at seeing these things yet, but it’s definitely much better than it was!

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

I think this is probably the best amateur photo of Uranus ever taken. Tom’s work is top notch.

[Tom Williams @tw__astro]

Uranus, its rings, and its moons this morning, captured under excellent conditions with the 24in scope.

By far my best capture of the epsilon ring to date.

1hr of data with IR720nm longpass filter.

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

@MAGACritterLove @Muller_Lab @grok In my experience ai is terrible at checking amateur astronomy photos

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

@WSTRNFNCLZRD Never got into it. Didn’t really watch much tv. I probably should. I probably should one day!

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

"How did you learn so much about space?"

1) Reading about things that interested me
2) Getting my hands dirty doing hard things that taught me what I didn't learn from reading
3) Being wrong on the internet
4) Learning from being wrong on the internet instead of doubling down

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

@Muller_Lab I know Tom pretty well, I can vouch for him. He also shows his work- check the thread.

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

@DanielB02754426 Somehow the most difficult

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

@StapleyJared Yep!

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

After capturing over 100 hours worth of exposures, I'm pleased to share my latest "Deep Field" image, containing THOUSANDS of galaxies and a brand-new supernova that just kicked off ~2 weeks ago!

Timelapse showing the supernova, prints, and more details in the thread 👇

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

Starship flies again in as soon as one week... but this time, for the first time, it's going orbital with an operational payload. I will attempt to get onsite to cover it if my schedule allows.