California Dreamin’ by Mustafa Aydın

"We are made of star stuff." - Dr. Carl Sagan

Star stuff. The image that comes to mind may be a sidewalk full of Hollywood stars. Or maybe it means we are all covered with sparkly glitter. But, when Carl Sagan said that he wasn’t just being metaphoric.

In a very poetic way, he was saying that the materials in our bodies were forged in distant, long-extinguished stars. He was meaning we are all the same. And, we are also the same as the cosmos itself. Let that sink in for a minute.

Our bodies are mostly made of water. For those that don’t remember much about high school chemistry, that means, in other words, H2O. Two atoms of hydrogen - the most abundant atom in the universe and in our bodies; and one atom of oxygen - that we require to breathe.

Speaking of science, California Nebula is an emission nebula as it emits light by the ionization of hydrogen atoms. Its fluorescence look is due to the excitation of the hydrogen atoms in the nebula by the nearby extremely energetic star, Xi Persei (also known as Menkib). So, just as we humans get together and form our social bonds, California Nebula is also made of hydrogen atoms mostly that got together by gravitational pull.

As science suggests, we are all made of stardust. We are equal and identically composed. We humans have found a way to survive together on this planet from day one to this day.

Just like the stars. By sticking together.

CURATOR NOTE

I was curious how astrophotography would fit into a curated theme of “Together”. Then I saw the photograph and a lightbulb went off. A single star appears as a pinprick of light. While clusters of stars, gasses, atoms, and light, together, take on a unique shape. In this case, a nebula that is shaped like California.

THE ARTIST

Mustafa Aydın is an astrophotographer with 8+ years of astrophotography and almost lifelong experience in general photography. He was born and raised in a photographer family that has the 3rd generation of photographers, at the moment, perhaps more to come.

His childhood was centered in the triangle of photography, space, and aviation. As such, he studied Physics Engineering for the love of science, cosmos, and technology.

He is concentrated mainly on Deep Space Astrophotography and Widefield Astrophotography, aka Milkyway Astrophotography. Shooting astrophotography takes patience, multi-disciplinary knowledge, and long hours of work. Lots of images of the same object are taken then these shots are stacked and post-processed, in special software.

Mustafa primarily uses his own equipment, a Meade Instruments 70mm Refractory Telescope, Orion Atlas Pro Mount (Tracker), Nikon D5300 Camera, and lots of cables, software, and accessories. He also has access to the Telescope Live remote telescopes located in Chile, Spain, and Australia.

He is co-founder and member of Ankara Astronomy Group, and co-founder and co-owner of Stellar Xperiences. He is a brand ambassador for Meade Instruments. He is a judge for monthly astrophotography competitions organized by Telescope Live.

He has had numerous photos published in national science magazines. Several of his photos have been selected as astrophotography of the day, week, or month from international platforms. One photo was shortlisted in the most prestigious astrophotography contest called "Astronomy Photographer of the Year - Royal Museums Greenwich" in 2020 in the aurora category.

Several of his photos are being exhibited in Gokmen Space and Aviation Training Center in Bursa, Turkey. And, in 2020 Mustafa was able to photograph the Comet Neowise, with rare bicolor (red and blue) ion tails.