Ian Lauer Astro

05/21/2026

This 100 hour photo reveals the nearly invisible dust that lies between us and Bode’s Galaxy.

It’s called an integrated flux nebula (IFN), and up until the digital age, it was nearly impossible to detect.

The only reason we can see it is because it’s reflecting the light from every star in the Milky Way galaxy, and even then, it’s barely noticeable until you start to photograph it for many hours.

It sits a few hundred light years above and below the galactic plane of the Milky Way, much closer to us when compared to the 12 million light year distance of Bode’s Galaxy.

This 100 hour result is from my recent YouTube video where I tell the story of how IFN was discovered. Check it out on my channel!

100 hour total exposure using Chroma RGB filters, a Borg 107mm telescope, and ZWO ASI2600mm pro camera. Taken from

05/13/2026

Had a great time speaking at Green-Wood’s Moonfest in Brooklyn NY. There were 1,500 people that attended, and it sure felt like it!

It was amazing running into my friend professor Charlotte Olsen, who was also a speaker. We both studied astrophysics at Cal Poly Humboldt together. Now she’s one of the only experts in her field, researching the evolution of galaxies. So cool!

There were so many people wanting to come that next year it’ll be a full weekend instead of one night. Looking forward to speaking at that one, too!

Next up, traveling to New Mexico with Cathrin Machin to speak about deep space and YouTube at the incredible Nightscaper Conference!

04/30/2026

Hey friends! I’m heading to New York City where I’ll be speaking at MoonFest on May 1st!
Held at the historic Greenwood landmark, it’s the burial place of the first astrophotographer, John Draper, who took the first images of the Moon in 1940.
I’ll be giving two talks: one with Dr. O’Driscoll where we’ll dive into astro history, and another where I’ll be giving an introduction to astrophotography.
Looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones!

12/22/2025

1 year ago, I was at 16k subscribers on YouTube.

Today, I woke up to over 80,000!

What a journey it's been. Thank you letting me share the universe with you. Next stop, 100k!

12/12/2025

11/14/2025

10/09/2025

I’ve launched my 2026 Calendar called Magic of the Cosmos, featuring 12 of our favorite astrophotos Cat & I ever taken!

Buuuuuuut it's not just a calendar!!

Since it's perforated, each photo can be seperated from the calendar, leaving you with 12 pieces you can frame and use.

Think of it more like a book of astrophoto prints with an astronomy guide, which also happens to be a calendar!

Want to see what photos we put in the calendar? I’ll link it below 🙂

Here's a little sneak peek:

08/28/2025

AURORA STORE IS LIVE 🥳✨🥳✨ it closes in 10 days so if you would love to grab something, definitely go check it out while you can 🙂

Here’s the link - https://catmachin.com/pages/ea_aurora Yey!

08/28/2025

Ive been using the new Nikon Z5II camera for astrophotography and I gotta say…I’m absolutely LOVING it!