3 June 2016

Dustin A. Smith has had a lifelong interest in science, particularly in astronomy. Dustin received his first telescope as a child and since then has developed his skills to become an extraordinary astrophotographer. After moving to California from Georgia last year, he spent the summer fulfilling his long-time dream of building a personal observatory under dark skies. Located about halfway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Dustin’s observatory allows him to operate the telescope and photograph the night sky remotely from his home in Redondo Beach. He has developed a website featuring his gallery of astrophotography, observatory construction blog and live camera feeds from the desert. Check out Dustin's website here!

Last month, some of Dustin's photos were selected to be included in an astrophotography exhibition at the UC Riverside Orbach Science Library in Riverside, CA. The exhibition will run from May 26th - June 29th and is FREE to the public. Let's support our fellow Pankow Warrior! CLICK HERE for more information.

Top photo:
Dustin standing inside his observatory with a roll-off roof in Landers, CA

Bottom photo (taken by Dustin):
Horsehead Nebula (also known as Barnard 33) approximately 1,500 light years from Earth.
1 light year = 5.88 trillion miles
1,500 light years = about 8.8 quadrillion miles (8,820,000,000,000,000) from Earth.