Today, we’d like to introduce you to David Joyce, a self-taught astrophotographer from Lexington, Kentucky, known as 'AstroDavido' on Instagram. He captures the universe from his own backyard, working under light-polluted suburban skies. Despite the conditions, he has photographed galaxies, nebulae, star clusters, and planets, some of them millions of light-years away.
Each image is created by stacking hours of exposures taken over many nights. The Andromeda Galaxy alone is 2.5 million light-years away, and its light left before humans existed. A few of David’s images took more than 50 hours of total exposure to capture.
The photographer shared with Bored Panda that what he loves most about astrophotography is that you don’t need to leave your yard to see the universe. Below, you can see some of David’s best images, which he hopes will “make you look up.”
More info: astrodavido.com | Instagram
#1 Caldwell 49 - The Rosette Nebula
© Photo: astro_davido
#2 M92 - Globular Cluster In Hercules
© Photo: astro_davido
#3 The Sun In Hydrogen Alpha
© Photo: astro_davido
#4 Ctb1/Abell 85 - The Garlic Nebula
© Photo: astro_davido
#5 Ngc7380 - The Wizard Nebula
© Photo: astro_davido
#6 Sh2115 W/ Abell 71
© Photo: astro_davido
#7 M31 - The Andromeda Galaxy
© Photo: astro_davido
#8 Ngc2264 - The Cone Nebula/Christmas Tree Cluster
© Photo: astro_davido
#9 Ngc6960 - The Witch's Broom Nebula
© Photo: astro_davido
#10 The Moon @ 67% With Regulus
© Photo: astro_davido
#11 Moon - 10/12/25
© Photo: astro_davido
#12 Ngc6888 - The Crescent Nebula
© Photo: astro_davido
#13 M8 - The Lagoon Nebula
© Photo: astro_davido
#14 M17 - The Swan Nebula / Omega Nebula
© Photo: astro_davido
#15 M104 - The Sombrero Galaxy
© Photo: astro_davido
#16 M95 - Barred Spiral Galaxy In Leo
© Photo: astro_davido
#17 Ngc1499 - Closeup Of The California Nebula
© Photo: astro_davido
#18 Sh2-170 - The Little Rosette Nebula
© Photo: astro_davido
#19 Saturn W/ Dione & Titan
© Photo: astro_davido
#20 Sh2-54 - The Serpent Nebula
© Photo: astro_davido
#21 Ngc6543 - The Cat's Eye Nebula
© Photo: astro_davido
#22 M101 - The Pinwheel Galaxy
© Photo: astro_davido
#23 The Sun In Hydrogen Alpha
© Photo: astro_davido
#24 M12 - The Gumball Globular Cluster
© Photo: astro_davido
#25 M82 - The Cigar Galaxy
© Photo: astro_davido
#26 Jupiter W/ Io & Europa
© Photo: astro_davido
#27 M57 - The Ring Nebula
© Photo: astro_davido
#28 Sh2-114 - The Flying Dragon Nebula
© Photo: astro_davido
#29 Jupiter W/ Io & Europa
© Photo: astro_davido