Misty Bentz
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astronomisty.bsky.social
Misty Bentz
@astronomisty.bsky.social
6K followers 470 following 2K posts
Astronomer and Professor at Georgia State University. She/Her. Big fan of black holes, cats, and cross-stitch. Seestar smart telescope enthusiast. Novice gardener with a penchant for native plants.
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astronomisty.bsky.social
Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · Aug 21
Sitting outside at night with my little telescope and marveling at our universe. We are so lucky to be alive and witnessing these wonders, and we are also so small and alone, together, in a vast and empty space. It’s a good reminder that we MUST take care of each other; we are all we have.
Spiral galaxy M101, the Pinwheel Galaxy NGC 7023, the Iris Nebula NGC 7635, the Bubble Nebula NGC 6960, the Western Veil Nebula
astronomisty.bsky.social
Happy Thanksgiving from us to you!
A zygocactus with numerous pink buds and a few full salmon-colored blooms
November 27, 2025 at 2:32 PM
astronomisty.bsky.social
I might not wait until tomorrow to cut into this plum frangipane tart!
It’s just for the two of us and my husband is not a dessert fan anyway, so…
Plum frangipane tart before baking Plum frangipane tart after baking
November 26, 2025 at 9:27 PM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Some progress 🧶 #crossstitch
Cross stitch and embroidery on white sparkly aida cloth. The pattern is on the diagonal, with two bands of cross stitch interspersed with two bands of embroidery. The color starts with light pink and shifts through dark pink to dark orange and then medium orange. The cross stitch motifs are botanical related and the embroidery is lace-like.
November 26, 2025 at 6:11 PM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Some beautiful lava fountains right now! 🌋
screenshot of a lava fountains from the Kilauea web cam
November 26, 2025 at 3:51 AM
Reposted by Misty Bentz
theplanetaryguy.bsky.social
This is an incredible image of comet 3I/ATLAS, taken by Satoru Murata ICQ Comet Observations group on 16 November 2025 from western New Mexico.

Structure within the major dust tail from the comet is clearly visible, together with two smaller jets trailing the nucleus and maybe even an anti-tail.
A bright, greeny–white splotch in the centre of the image is the nucleus and coma of comet 3I/ATLAS. To the upper right streams the major dust tail. The background comprises distant stars against a black background, with the NGC 4691 galaxy at upper left.
November 24, 2025 at 11:50 PM
astronomisty.bsky.social
All kitties are the cutest kitties 🥰
Coco, a dark gray kitty with golden eyes and a black nose, is peeking out of a tan-colored covered cat bed Scotch, a white and tan kitty with a pink nose, is cuddled up in a light green blanket with soft lighting behind him
November 24, 2025 at 10:39 PM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Good evening Luna
View of a thin crescent moon at dusk through tree branches that are nearly bare for the winter
November 23, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Reposted by Misty Bentz
mayorwu.boston.gov
An honor and dream come true to perform alongside Yo-Yo Ma, presented by Celebrity Series at Boston Symphony Hall. 💜

🎼Ave Maria (Bach/Gounod)
November 22, 2025 at 6:29 PM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Little friend helped me with a small project in the garden today. 🌱 #bugsky
A green katydid on a black railing
November 22, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Reposted by Misty Bentz
mcnees.bsky.social
Guion Stewart Bluford Jr was born #OTD in 1942.

Engineer, computational fluid dynamicist, decorated Air Force pilot, veteran of four shuttle missions, and the first Black American in space. 🧪 🔭 ⚛️

Image: NASA
Official NASA portrait of Guion Stewart Bluford Jr. This color photo shows Bluford in his orange NASA flight suit, covered in patches from various missions. His helmet is off, held under his right arm, and he is smiling at the camera. He stands in front of a gray-blue background, and there is an American flag behind him to his right.
November 22, 2024 at 3:15 PM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Jason Mendoza approves
November 21, 2025 at 10:42 PM
Reposted by Misty Bentz
nnedi.bsky.social
Earlier today, I was notified that someone was at my door.

This is who it was:
A male Anna’s hummingbird at the door. So nosy! 🤣
November 21, 2025 at 12:59 AM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Sh 2-188, sometimes called the Shrimp Nebula, is an ancient planetary nebula in Cassiopeia. It appears lopsided because the central star is moving very fast in the direction of the bright arc, compressing & further heating the gas on that side.

5hrs, #Seestar S50 🔭 🧪
Siril, GraXpert, Starnet, GIMP
A small reddish nebula that is curved in nearly a semicircle and somewhat resembles a cooked shrimp is centered on a black background dotted with stars.
November 21, 2025 at 12:53 AM
astronomisty.bsky.social
OMG, this Christmas movie has a small town guy who, when asked by big city lady why he doesn’t use an aurora tracker app, said, “My uncle taught me how to read the night sky, how to sense the air, use intuition. The northern lights speak to you, you just gotta listen”
Wut?! 😂
November 20, 2025 at 1:20 AM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Sh 2-140 is about 3000 light years away in the direction of Cepheus. An emission nebula, it is heated by young stars. The sharp edge along the bottom of the nebula marks a dark molecular cloud where new stars are forming.

8.2hrs, #Seestar S50 🔭 🧪
Siril, GraXpert, Starnet, GIMP
A pink glowing nebula is centered on a black background dotted with stars. The nebula is sail shaped and has a bright sharp edge along the bottom. Several bright blue stars are embedded in the glowing gas.
November 18, 2025 at 12:21 AM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Most of my garden is going to sleep for the winter, but this sunny little coneflower isn’t quite ready yet! 🌱🌺#bloomscrolling
A perfect orange coneflower with petals that deepen to red at the center where they meet the green cone. Another coneflower blossom is nearby with a larger cone and paler orange petals.
November 16, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Reposted by Misty Bentz
jackiantonovich.bsky.social
I hope he receives forgiveness for that whole Ice Town debacle
sconesaregood.bsky.social Finn @sconesaregood.bsky.social · 12d
Adam Scott meeting the pope, for anyone interested in that sort of thing
November 15, 2025 at 11:34 PM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Here's a cleaned up image of C/2025 K1 ATLAS 🔭🧪
I was only able to get ~25min before sunrise, but it's a good thing I woke up at 5:30 so I could be sure to see this comet before it heads back to the outer solar system.
#Seestar S50
Software: Siril, GraXpert, Starnet, GIMP
A small golden colored comet is visible against a black background dotted with stars.
November 15, 2025 at 11:25 PM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Not sure why I’m awake, but might as well look at this comet!
C/2025 K1 ATLAS
Apparently this “the other ATLAS”, a new comet from the Oort Cloud making its first (and perhaps only) trip through the inner solar system. 🔭 🧪 #Seestar S50
A small comet with a faint tail appears on a dark background dotted with stars
November 15, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Reposted by Misty Bentz
mcsweeneys.net
"Of course, it doesn’t feel right to want IT to HAPPEN. And it’s obviously not okay to try to make IT HAPPEN. That’s not what this is ABOUT, just to make things CLEAR LEGALLY as far as VARIOUS AGENCIES are concerned."
www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/whe...
When It Happens
It’s been so long, you sometimes forget that eventually, IT will HAPPEN. It’s impossible to say when IT will HAPPEN. But it can’t be too long until...
www.mcsweeneys.net
November 13, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Reposted by Misty Bentz
swilua.bsky.social
how stupid is it the “glass ceiling” probably just turned out to be “donors want dudes they can blackmail, not competent people who are good at their jobs”
November 13, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Reposted by Misty Bentz
saavikford.bsky.social
Like many women scientists of a certain age, it is difficult to express how much I fucking LOATHE Larry Summers. 👩🏻‍🔬🧪

Oh he’s in the Epstein files? I’m shocked, shocked…
thefarce.org 🗽LOLGOP🗽 @thefarce.org · 14d
Bless Elizabeth Warren for making sure Larry Summers never achieved his dream of being Fed Chair. Small victories.
November 13, 2025 at 12:18 PM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Decided to drive to a darker location with my friend and this was the best we saw tonight. 11:30pm at Allatoona Lake, GA #aurora #northernlights
A blue night sky with a slight wash of pink near the horizon.
November 13, 2025 at 5:56 AM
astronomisty.bsky.social
Super faint aurora or wishful thinking? 🤷‍♀️
North is at the bottom of the picture
Sandy Springs, GA at 10:30pm
Image of a mostly blue-gray sky with a pinkish-purple tinge near the bottom. The sky is dotted with stars and the frame is ringed with tree tops and a corner of our roof
November 12, 2025 at 3:44 AM
Reposted by Misty Bentz
secondnaturemb.bsky.social
So this happened an hour ago. I don’t think I’ve seen red this deep in a long time. You could see it quite clearly with the naked eye. #aurora
A bright red curtain of light surrounded by green glow rains down from the sky behind the silhouettes of spruce trees A bright red curtain of light surrounded by green glow rains down from the sky behind the silhouettes of spruce trees A bright red curtain of light surrounded by green glow rains down from the sky behind the silhouettes of spruce trees. The light is reflected in the thin layer of ice covering the pond in the foreground.
November 12, 2025 at 2:07 AM