Doug Braun
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dougbraun.bsky.social
Doug Braun
@dougbraun.bsky.social
100 followers 130 following 16 posts
Dad, entrepreneur, IT architect, problem solver -- always learning. Love new technology, cycling, strong coffee, and outer space.
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dougbraun.bsky.social
I voted today, election day.

I usually vote in the evenings, but today I tried voting in the afternoon. There were unexpected differences!

medium.com/@BraunDoug/v...

#Voting #Differences
Voting in Afternoon versus Evening: Differences
I voted today, election day. Many differences when voting in the afternoon!
medium.com
February 28, 2025 at 1:38 AM
Reposted by Doug Braun
redditspaceviewes.bsky.social
Clearest image of Pluto
February 21, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Reposted by Doug Braun
jwstfeed.bsky.social
Tomorrow's NASA Astronomy Picture Of the Day (APOD): baby solar system HH 30.

ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, Tazaki et al.
A close-in image of a protoplanetary disc around a newly formed star. Many different wavelengths of light are combined and represented by separate and various colours. A dark line across the centre is the disc, corresponding to the densest parts of the disc, made of opaque dust: the star is hidden in here and creates a strong glow in the centre. A band going straight up is a jet, while other outflows above and below the disc, and a tail coming off to one side
February 18, 2025 at 8:52 PM
dougbraun.bsky.social
This Guy Was Not Dressed for the Extreme Cold
medium.com/@BraunDoug/t...

#HowNotToDressInWinter #WinterCold
This Guy Was Not Dressed for the Extreme Cold
Today was a crazy cold windy wintery day where I live in Canada with minus 30 degrees and extremely cold wind gusts that make your skin…
medium.com
February 19, 2025 at 5:22 AM
Reposted by Doug Braun
jwstfeed.bsky.social
This is the closest photo of Saturn ever taken.
🔭 🧪
This is the closest image of Saturn ever captured by the Cassini spacecraft. It shows the planet in a majestic and serene light, with its rings in the foreground. The planet's golden hues are highlighted by the sunlight filtering through its upper atmosphere. A notable feature is the intriguing hexagonal storm at the north pole, a unique weather phenomenon in our solar system. The image provides an unparalleled, close-up perspective, inviting viewers to appreciate the intricate details of Saturn's cloud bands and the sheer vastness of its ring system. It is a stunning portrayal of the beauty and complexity of this gas giant, captured from a vantage point closer than any human-made probe has ventured before.
February 17, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by Doug Braun
jwstfeed.bsky.social
This is the clearest photo ever taken of Venus.
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This is a cropped, close-up image of the planet Venus, taken by the Parker Solar Probe’s WISPR instrument. The image shows a crescent Venus against the black backdrop of space, with the edge of the planetary limb clearly defined. The crescent is illuminated by sunlight, transitioning from a bright, almost white glow at the top right edge to a subtle, golden yellow that dominates the majority of the illuminated area, before fading into the darkness of the planet's night side at the bottom left. The distinct variations in brightness and texture across the crescent suggest cloud formations or atmospheric layers. A bright, flaring light source is visible at the top right corner, likely the Sun, which contributes to the illumination of the crescent. The overall composition emphasizes the stark contrast between the luminous crescent and the surrounding darkness, highlighting the curvature and celestial context of Venus.
February 16, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Reposted by Doug Braun
jwstfeed.bsky.social
Tomorrow's NASA's Astronomy Picture Of the Day (APOD): colliding spiral galaxies by JWSTand Hubble.
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Two spiral galaxies take up almost the entire view and appear to be overlapping. The galaxy at left, IC 2163, is smaller and more compact than the galaxy at right, NGC 2207. The black background of space is dotted with foreground stars and extremely distant galaxies.
January 5, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Reposted by Doug Braun
jwstfeed.bsky.social
High resolution image of a heavy star.
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The luminous, hot star Wolf-Rayet 124 (WR 124) is prominent at the centre of the James Webb Space Telescope’s composite image combining near-infrared and mid-infrared wavelengths of light. The star displays the characteristic diffraction spikes of Webb’s Near-infrared Camera (NIRCam), caused by the physical structure of the telescope itself. NIRCam effectively balances the brightness of the star with the fainter gas and dust surrounding it, while Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) reveals the nebula’s structure. Background stars and galaxies populate the field of view and peek through the nebula of gas and dust that has been ejected from the ageing massive star. A history of the star’s past episodes of mass loss can be read in the nebula’s structure. Rather than smooth shells, the nebula is formed from random, asymmetric ejections. Bright clumps of gas and dust appear like tadpoles swimming toward the star, their tails streaming out behind them, blown back by the stellar wind.
January 10, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Reposted by Doug Braun
jwstfeed.bsky.social
RS Puppis.
At a distance of 6,000 light-years, the Cepheid variable star was observed by Hubble and is one of the biggest and brightest known Cepheids in the Milky Way galaxy.
Processed by @thocarp.bsky.social
www.flickr.com/photos/19746...
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A stunning image from the Hubble Space Telescope showcasing RS Puppis, a luminous blue variable star surrounded by a vast, intricate nebula. The nebula displays a complex interplay of colors and textures, with wisps of gas and dust illuminated by the star's intense radiation.
January 17, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Reposted by Doug Braun
jwstfeed.bsky.social
NGC 2070, a field of newborn stars.
Processed by @thocarp.bsky.social
www.flickr.com/photos/19746...
🔭 🧪
The Tarantula Nebula, also known as NGC 2070, is a star-forming region located in the Large Magellanic Cloud. This image, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), showcases the nebula's intricate structure and vibrant colors. Red hues indicate the presence of hot, ionized hydrogen gas, while blue areas reveal cooler dust and gas.
January 20, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Reposted by Doug Braun
jwstfeed.bsky.social
Lagoon Nebula by Hubble.
Processed by @thocarp.bsky.social
www.flickr.com/photos/19746...
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A breathtaking view of the Lagoon Nebula captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. The nebula is a swirling mass of cosmic dust and gas, illuminated by young, hot stars. Shades of blue, red, and orange create a celestial masterpiece.
January 24, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Reposted by Doug Braun
jwstfeed.bsky.social
V838.
Each color shows the passage of time. As the bright flash of light left the star, it illuminated the dust surrounding it, but because space is so big, we actually see the light travelling and illuminating the dust as it goes along.
By Judy Schmidt.
www.flickr.com/photos/geckz...
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A breathtaking image of V838 Monocerotis, a red giant star that mysteriously brightened dramatically in 2002. The nebula surrounding the star is a result of this outburst, showcasing a complex interplay of colors and textures as the star's light interacts with the surrounding gas and dust.
January 25, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Reposted by Doug Braun
jwstfeed.bsky.social
NGC 2024 (Flame Nebula) by NIRCam.
Processed by @thocarp.bsky.social
www.flickr.com/photos/19746...
🔭 🧪
The Flame Nebula, captured by the NIRCam instrument, reveals a celestial tapestry of interstellar gas and dust. A prominent plume of gas, tinged with a deep blue, dominates the image, while surrounding clouds shimmer in shades of pink and purple.
January 26, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Reposted by Doug Braun
jwstfeed.bsky.social
Early universe black holes are 1,000 times larger than they should be, Webb finds.
www.space.com/james-webb-s...
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An illustration shows seven "little red dot" galaxies embedded in the cosmic web, one of which is dominated by a supermassive black hole (Image credit: Robert Lea (created with Canva))
January 29, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Reposted by Doug Braun
jwstfeed.bsky.social
Io - Volcanic Plume from Ra Patera - Nasa's Galileo 1996.
Processing: @andrealuck.bsky.social.
www.flickr.com/photos/19227...
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This image, captured by NASA's Galileo spacecraft in 1996, showcases Io as a crescent shape against the backdrop of space. A prominent blue plume erupts from the dark side of the moon, originating from the Ra Patera volcano. This volcanic activity is a defining characteristic of Io, a moon known for its intense geological activity and dynamic surface.
January 30, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Reposted by Doug Braun
jwstfeed.bsky.social
High quality image of one of the heaviest and most luminous stars in the known universe (Hubble).
Processing: Judy Schimdt.
www.flickr.com/photos/geckz...
🔭 🧪
This Hubble Space Telescope image showcases WR 124, a Wolf-Rayet star, enveloped by a luminous nebula. The brilliant central star illuminates the surrounding material, creating a vibrant orange glow punctuated by dark, wispy patches of dust and gas. This nebula, formed by the powerful stellar winds ejected from WR 124, reveals the star's dynamic interaction with its environment. The image captures the complex structure and turbulent nature of the nebula, highlighting the distinct features of this massive, evolved star against the backdrop of a dark cosmos speckled with distant stars.
January 30, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Reposted by Doug Braun
jwstfeed.bsky.social
Hubble's View of Jupiter and Europa in August 2020.
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This latest image of Jupiter, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope on 25 August 2020, was captured when the planet was 653 million kilometres from Earth. Hubble’s sharp view is giving researchers an updated weather report on the monster planet’s turbulent atmosphere, including a remarkable new storm brewing, and a cousin of the Great Red Spot changing colour — again. The new image also features Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. Credit: NASA, ESA, A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center), and M. H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley) and the OPAL team.
January 29, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Reposted by Doug Braun
redditspaceviewes.bsky.social
One of the most reproduced images in history - The Blue Marble

Credit: NASA 1972
January 30, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Reposted by Doug Braun
briantylercohen.bsky.social
My view of downtown LA right now. Never seen anything like this. Can’t even begin to process the scale of the devastation here.
January 8, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Reposted by Doug Braun
redditspaceviewes.bsky.social
One of the most reproduced images in history - The Blue Marble

CREDIT:NASA 1972
January 8, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Reposted by Doug Braun
redditspaceviewes.bsky.social
The first anniversary image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope - Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex
December 28, 2024 at 4:25 PM
Reposted by Doug Braun
thevowel.bsky.social
DAMMIT NPR.

I spent nine months upgrading over TEN THOUSAND desktops at a F500 client. The grand total was over SEVENTY THOUSAND applications upgraded.

Y2K "didn't live up to the hype" because the industry busted ass to duct tape everything first.
npr.org NPR @npr.org · Dec 28
People feared the computer glitch would mean "the end of the world as we know it." Thankfully, Y2K didn't live up to the hype after years and billions of dollars were spent on painstaking preparation.
Y2K seems like a joke now, but in 1999 people were really freaking out
People feared the computer glitch would mean "the end of the world as we know it." Thankfully, Y2K didn't live up to the hype after years and billions of dollars were spent on painstaking preparation.
www.npr.org
December 29, 2024 at 3:12 AM
Reposted by Doug Braun
redditspaceviewes.bsky.social
The Flame Nebula | NASA
December 30, 2024 at 5:54 AM
Reposted by Doug Braun
jwstfeed.bsky.social
An ocean of stars.
🔭 🧪
A spherical collection of stars which fills the whole view. The cluster is dominated by a concentrated group of bright white stars at the centre, with several large yellow stars scattered throughout the image. Many of the stars have visible diffraction spikes. The background is black.
December 30, 2024 at 6:54 PM