Diego Ortega

@diegooa

🛰️🪐Space engineer 📷🦕🐦Amateur photographer, paleoartist and naturalist Posts in 🇪🇸,🇬🇧 🌐Thionville, 🇫🇷

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Diego Ortega@diegooa· 1d

Also, I could see the start through the blinders in my bedroom. The solar disc is partially blocked

Sunlight through the blinders on a wall. The Sun disk is starting to be blocked by the Moon

Diego Ortega@diegooa· 1d

People watching the eclipse on the bridges across the Moselle river, in Thionville. The show is over now, it was really nice!😄

People gathered in bridges watching the eclipse

Diego Ortega@diegooa· 1d

😎Ready for some eclipse watching! Here it will be partial, around 90%, but very cool anyways!

Me with eclipse glasses, ready for some fun!

Diego Ortega@diegooa· 1d

📜The area where Chinyero was also the source of another historical eruption in 1706, which affected the town of Garachico (former capital of the island). It is also quite close to the Teno massiff, one of the oldest areas of the island #Tenerife #Canarias #naturephotography

Los Gigantes cliffs, part of the Teno massiff

Teno mountains and coastline in Buenavista

Diego Ortega@diegooa· 1d

🦎The most notable inhabitants of this landscape are the tizón lizards (Gallotia galloti), endemic from Tenerife and La Palma. We also saw a rabbit, which were introduced in the Canaries in the 15th century (no photos though) #Tenerife #Canarias #naturephotography

Tizón lizard (Gallotia galloti), juvenile (possibly a male)

Diego Ortega@diegooa· 1d

🌋🥾Chinyero trail The Chinyero volcano, located on the western highlands of Tenerife, had the last eruption in the island, in 1909. Today, a hiking trail circles the volcano. Crossing lava fields and pine forests, it has views of both Chinyero and the Teide #Tenerife #Canarias #naturephotography

Chinyero volcano, surrounded by canary pine forests

Teide and Pico Viejo peaks, with a pine tree forest in the foreground

Chinyero volcano and some dispersed pine trees in the lava field

Diego Ortega@diegooa· 3d

Despite being protected, this area is under heavy human pressure: construction of hotels and infrastructure, sewage, high number of boats... All of this affects the local wildlife, with the most visible impact being the collisions between boats and big animals #Tenerife #Canarias #naturephotography

Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). Its dorsal fin appears to be damaged

Diego Ortega@diegooa· 3d

🛥️The ship sailed towards the north and next to the Teno massiff, where imposing cliffs called Los Gigantes meet the sea. From the deck it was possible to observe other animals above the water surface, such as flying fish and seabirds (gulls and shearwaters). #Tenerife #Canarias #naturephotography

Cove in the Teno massiff, surrounded by the Gigantes cliffs

Shearwater (probably Calonectris diomedea) flying over the ocean

Group of 4 flying fish gliding over the waves

Diego Ortega@diegooa· 3d

🐬Whale watching in Tenerife The south-west coast of Tenerife is home to a rich marine life, protected by the Teno-Rasca marine reserve. Its most famous residents are the dolphins and pilot whales. We were able to watch several groups on a whale watching trip. #Tenerife #Canarias #naturephotography

Short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) under the water surface

Short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) emerging from the surface and blowing water

Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) blowing bubbles under the water surface

Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) with its head and body slightly above the surface

Diego Ortega@diegooa· 4d

#SundayFishSketch 🐠Part 1 is now complete! Top row: Brembodus ridens, Macromesodon gibbosus, Girodus circularis Bottom row: Piranhamesodon pinnatomus, Mesturus verrucosus/Goodichthys prettii, Turbomesodon praeclarus #paleoart

Drawings of pycnodonts, a group of prehistoric fish
Top row: Brembodus ridens, Macromesodon gibbosus, Girodus circularis
Bottom row: Piranhamesodon pinnatomus, Mesturus verrucosus/Goodichthys prettii, Turbomesodon praeclarus

Diego Ortega@diegooa· 4d

#SundayFishSketch Coming back to this series after a couple of weeks. Last week I already coloured the 1st row and did the lineart for the 2nd, featuring Piranhamesodon, Mesturus and Turbomesodon Later I learned that the fossil I based Mesturus on was redescribed as Goodichthys recently

Prehistoric fish
Top row: Brembodus, Macromesodon, Gyrodus
Bottom row: Piranhamesodon, Mesturus, Turbomesodon

Diego Ortega@diegooa· 5d

🛬Approach to Tenerife: a ferry sails next to the island's West coast, with the Gigantes cliffs in the distance and the Teide towering above the layers of dust #Tenerife #Canarias

Ferry sailing next to the island's West coast, with some clouds in the distance

Aerial view of Tenerife's West coast, with the Teide in the distance

Diego Ortega@diegooa· 6d

🇮🇨🏝️A couple of weeks ago I travelled to Tenerife, after 3 years since my last visit. It was really nice to go back to the place where I grew up. Photos coming soon!😄

Me taking a photo in the Teide national park at sunset, with the Moon in the sky

Diego Ortega@diegooa· Jul 12

#SundayFishSketch 🐠Starting a new fish series, this one focused on pycnodont fish. Today we kick off with some lineart of Triassic and Jurassic members of the group: Brembodus, Macromesodon and Gyrodus #paleoart #fish

Lineart of prehistoric fish: Brembodus, Macromesodon and Gyrodus

Diego Ortega@diegooa· Jul 11

🇯🇵🐠Tanegashima Space Center is the main spaceport of Japan. It is located on the coast of the island of the same name, in the south of the country. It is managed by JAXA, Japan's space agency

H-IIB rocket on its launch pad. Source: Wikimedia Commons/Shinntarou

Launch of rocket H-IIA. Source: Wikimedia Commons/ネコビデオビジュアルソリューションズ

Osaki Range of the Tanegashima Space Center. Source: Wikimedia Commons/ウニウニ

Diego Ortega@diegooa· Jul 11

🇬🇫🦜The Centre Spatial Guyanais, in French Guiana, is Europe's main spaceport. Its proximity to the equator allows for a big flexibility in launch orbits. It is managed by ESA, CNES and ArianeSpace. Though surrounded by jungle, it also features savannahs in its perimeter

JWST being transported across the Centre Spatial Guyanais. Source: ESA/CNES/Arianespace

Ariance 5 rocket being transported to its launch pad. In the foreground, a vulture is soaring over the trees. Source: Jody Amiet/AFP

Soyuz launch pad at Kourou. Source: Wikimedia Commons/Camille Gévaudan

Diego Ortega@diegooa· Jul 11

🇰🇿🐫Baikonur Cosmodrome, in the steppe of Kazakhstan, was the main launch site of the USSR, and now of Russia. From here took off the Sputnik mission, as well as Yuri Gagarin and Valentina Tereshkova. For most of the 2010s it was the only place capable of launching astronauts to the ISS

Soyuz rocket on the launchpad of Gagarin's Start. Below the rocket there is a big trench. Source: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Soyuz rocket launching from Baikonur. Source: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Soyuz rocket transported by train. Source: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Bactrian camels at Baikonur. Source: Wikimedia Commons/Ninara

Diego Ortega@diegooa· Jul 11

🇺🇸🐊Kennedy Space Center, in Florida (US), is the world's most known spaceport. NASA's main launch center, being the launch location for the Apollo, Space Shuttle and Artemis missions, as well as many Space X launches. The launch sites are surrounded by the coastal wetlands of Cape Canaveral

SLS rocket in the launch pad before Artemis II. In the foreground, a roseate spoonbill. Source: NASA/Bill Ross

Saturn V liftoff in the Apollo 11 mission. Source: NASA

Space Shuttle being carried to the launch pad, in an aerial view of the center. Source: NASA

SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch in a crewed mission to the ISS
Source: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

Diego Ortega@diegooa· Jul 11

🚀Spaceport landscapes Series of drawings showing the diversity of locations of spaceports across the world. I wanted to show rockets within the environments of their launching sites, as well as some of the local fauna 🧵Thread for additional explanation #spaceart #rocket #space

Painting of 4 spaceports and their corresponding landscapes
Top left: Kennedy Space Center (US), with SLS rocket, wetland birds and alligator
Top right: Baikonur Cosmodrome (Kazakhstan), with a Soyuz rocket, bactrian camels and saiga
Bottom left: Centre Spatial Guyanais (French Guiana), with the Ariane 5 rocket, vutures and macaws
Bottom right: Tanegashima Space Center (Japan), with the Hii-B rocket, a sea turtle, seabirds and some fish

Diego Ortega@diegooa· Jul 5

☀️It's been some time since my last walk through the banks of the Moselle, due to travel and heatwaves. This weekend the temperature was lower so I went out Among the birds I spotted there were black kites, starlings, corvids and even a gull #naturephotography #birdphotography #birds #france

Diego Ortega@diegooa· May 31

🦅🦎Late spring walk through the surroundings of Thionville. While black kites are more common here, this time I was able to spot a red kite #birdphotography #naturephotography #birds #france

Wall lizard (Lacerta muralis) under the shadow of a plant

Diego Ortega@diegooa· May 30

🇮🇨¡Feliz #DiadeCanarias! #Canarias

Diego Ortega@diegooa· May 28

🇫🇷🇱🇺🇧🇪Some places visited during the weekend in 3 countries: Schengen (Luxembourg), Arlon (Belgium) and the Parc naturel régional de Lorraine (France), which includes the Lac de Madine and an American cemetery from WW2 #photography #france #luxembourg #belgium

Place des Étoiles in Schengen, with several European flags and some monuments in the background

View of Arlon, with the Saint Martin church in the background

Soldier graves in the American cemetery of Saint Mihiel de Thiaucourt-Regniéville

Diego Ortega@diegooa· May 28

☀️Some nature photos of the Moselle and its surroundings from this weekend. These last days have been unusually hot in most of Europe, with temperatures exceeding 30ºC #naturephotography #photography #france #luxembourg

View of the village of Montenach and the surrounding landscape of forested hills

Diego Ortega@diegooa· May 20

🏛️🇩🇪Last week I visited Trier, the 2nd time I was in this German city. Here some photos of that day, showing the cathedral, religious art in the streets and the Porta Nigra, the highlight of the city: #Trier #photography

Statue of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus in a wall

Diego Ortega@diegooa· May 18

🧵⛰️Compilation of posts of my trip to the Pyrenees in April-May 2026 #Aragon #Pirineos #Pyrenees #naturephotography

Reservoir and mountains at Ligüerre de Cinca

Diego Ortega@diegooa· May 18

Actualización: en 2026 se describió Gorgonavis alcyone, un ave del grupo Enantiornithes del yacimiento de Las Hoyas. Perteneció a la familia de los longipterígidos, destacados por su cráneo alargado y alimentación frugívora. Más información en el hilo (en inglés)

Reconstrucción de Gorgonavis alcyone, un ave prehistórica de cráneo alargado

Restos conocidos de Gorgonavis
https://sjp.pensoft.net/article/182813/

Reconstrucción de Gorgonavis en el ecosistema de Las Hoyas, por Roc Olivé

Diego Ortega@diegooa· May 17

🐛As spring advances, flowers and insects also bloom. Crane flies abound at this time of the year, while groups of caterpillars feed on the vegetation #insects #naturephotography #France

Pair of crane flies mating, hanging on a grass leaf

Diego Ortega@diegooa· May 17

🦆Spring in the fields next to the Moselle river. Small birds can be seen singing from their perches, while black kites and storks congregate near a dumpster #birds #birdphotography #France

Male mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) in a flowery field

Common whitethroat (Curruca communis) perching on a power line

Pair of black kites (Milvus migrans) engage in mid-air

Horse shaking its head while eating grass

Diego Ortega@diegooa· May 13

Slightly modified version with tweaked colours