Marleah describes Duane as a perfectionist; this is evident in his rejection of any prestigious titles denoting proficiency in his craft. Duane’s fascination with astrophotography comes with its own artistic and scientific dialect, which laymen (like myself) would say Duane has mastered; Marleah describes this discourse as “Duane-splaining.”

After a night of capturing stars with his camera, he may have an excited 1:30 AM phone call with friend and fellow-stargazer Garvis. Thankfully, Garvis speaks Duane’s language.

One thing that’s easy for all of us to understand is why they have this fascination.

“Everything we see in the sky belongs to the past,” said Timothy Ferris, best-selling American science writer.

“I realized that what I was using is a time machine that allows me to see light from millions of years ago, and that ignited my curiosity,” echoed Duane.

Now, queue the dreamy Neil DeGrasse Tyson voiceover:

According to NASA, light from our closest neighboring star system, the Proxima Centauri, takes 4.24 years to reach us. Meanwhile, light from the farthest stars in our naturally-observable universe, from the Andromeda Galaxy, takes about 2.5 million years to reach us. Hence, we have the concept of astronomical distance known as a “light-year.” On any given night, a star you see might not even exist anymore.

When asked how aspiring astronomers and astrophotographers could get started, Duane said, “Don’t.”

It’s a costly hobby.

Some gear from dedicated-sellers for “amateurs,” like High Point, costs upwards of $100K. Duane’s current ensemble of equipment cost him about $8K, which also sets a precedent that Marleah and Duane agree on: when Marleah wants to get a brand-name wallet, for example, she gets one. It’s only fair!

Besides – that’s not so bad. NASA’s James Webb space telescope cost taxpayers $10 billion, according to NBC News. But that’s a small price to pay in their self-proclaimed pursuit to answer some of mankind’s biggest, longest-standing questions: How did we get here? Are we alone in the universe? How does the universe work?

NASA is regarded as the leader in astronomical advancement, but for any stargazing “dorks” who invest in the hobby, they could make their own contribution. Space is simply too vast – and even NASA doesn’t have the resources to pick-up every notable detail.

Photo source: NOIRLab

Take, for example, the Soap Bubble Nebula – nebula being a cloud of gas and dust. According to NOIRLab (“the US national center for ground-based, nighttime optical astronomy”), this unusually-spherical nebula was unexpectedly discovered by amateur astronomer Dave Jurasevich in July of 2008.

So, it’s worthwhile to explore space on your own, since you can’t even expect NASA to catch everything! For guidance on how to start, you can consult the astronomical community on the Cloudy Nights website.

Duane characterizes these senses of awe and curiosity as distinctly human, citing one of his favorite books, Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. In this fantastical book, the supercomputer Deep Thought is invented to find the answer to the ultimate question – “the meaning of life, the universe, and everything;” when asked this vast and indistinguishable question, the question that plagues us all, the computer mulled it over for 7.5 million years, and it could only answer “42.” According to The Independent, Adams shoos away any theories behind the meaning of “42” – it’s just a joke!

When Duane is grounded here on Earth, he’s passing time with his daughter Elise and his wife – newly married in February of 2022.

“I feel like I’m in the longest sleepover ever,” said Duane of his marriage to Marleah.

He described their connection as “wholesome.” Just a few of their relational cornerstones include watching YouTube videos of lottery scratch-offs, conspiring on how to surprise Marleah’s mom with a toy hippo that they volley back-and-forth to each other between New York and Florida (where mom lives), and effortlessly talking over each other in good-natured ball-busting – nothing is off-limits.

Duane and Marleah are expecting their first baby, a boy, in February.

You can follow Duane’s life and work @Lordkonti on Instagram. You can contact him and buy his artwork on https://maruanearts.wixsite.com/maruanearts.

Cheyenne Dorsagno

About Cheyenne Dorsagno

Cheyenne Dorsagno is an Italian-American born and raised in underdog Utica, NY. She studied English at SUNY Oneonta with a minor in Professional Writing and an Editor-in-Chief role at the newspaper. Currently, Cheyenne strives to make our big world a little smaller by introducing locals to their neighbors via human-interest pieces shared on her blog, Our Neighborhood. She’s pursuing creative writing in her free time and various freelance writing in her professional time, such as by copy-writing in domestic travel and health-minded foods.