The Loop

Even NASA recognizes Jimmy Walker's talent

January 13, 2014

You know that Jimmy Walker is a rising star, already the winner of two PGA Tour events in the 2014 season, including a victory in the Sony Open in Hawaii on Sunday.

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Here's something you may not know about him: He is an astrophotographer and an accomplished one.

NASA has used two of his photos on its Astronomy Picture of the Day, most recently on Dec. 27, when it posted this photo of a newborn star cluster, Melotte 15.

Walker, 34, has his equipment -- telescope, camera and computer -- set up with New Mexico Skies Remote Telescope Hosting in Mayfield, N.M, elevation 7,300 feet, allowing him to remotely operate the telescope and take photographs via a computer or even a smart phone.

He has posted his work at his website, darkskywalker.com.

And, no, in the photo here, that's not the camera he uses for his astrophotography. That's the Sony video camera he received in addition to $1,008,000 for winning the Sony Open in Hawaii.

(Getty Images photo)