The Heart Nebula Central Region IC1805

IC1805, (The Heart Nebula) The Heart Nebula (also known as the Running dog nebula, IC 1805, Sharpless 2-190, is an emission nebula 7500 light years away from Earth and located in the Perseus Arm of the Galaxy in the constellation Cassiopeia. The nebula’s intense red output and its morphology are driven by the radiation emanating from a small group of stars near the nebula’s center. The Heart Nebula is also made up of ionized oxygen and sulfur gasses, responsible for the rich blue and orange colors seen in narrowband images.

M78 Reflection Nebula

M78 is a reflection nebula in the constellation Orion. M78 is the brightest diffuse reflection nebula of a group of nebulae that includes NGC 2064, NGC 2067 and NGC 207. It has an apparent magnitude of 8.3 and is located 1,350 ly from earth.

Blue Dolphin Nebula WR134

SH2-308 is commonly known as the Dolphin-Head Nebula. It is an H II region located near the center of the constellation Canis Major, composed of ionized hydrogen. The nebula is bubble-like and surrounds a Wolf–Rayet star named EZ Canis Majoris. This star is in the brief, pre-Supernova phase of its stellar evolution. The nebula is about 4,530 light-years away from Earth but some sources indicate that both the star and the nebula are up to  5,870 light years away.

M45 Pleiades

Pleiades (M45) is located 444 light years from earth at a magnitude of 1.6.  This is a very bright open cluster in Tarus.  This cluster can be seen by the naked eye even in light polluted areas. These stars are very hot B-type stars.  The cluster is dominated by very hot blue and luminous stars that formed about 100million years ago.  It is believed that a dust cloud (reflection nebula) is currently in the path of these stars and is being illuminated through ionization.

M42 Orion Nebula

The Orion Nebula is located about 1,344 light years from earth.  It is a diffuse nebula situated in our Milky Way Galaxy just South of Orion’s belt.  Orion is one of the brightest nebula in the night sky and can be seen visually even in night skies that have some light pollution. The nebula is so large it expands 24 light years across. The center of Orion,  The Trapezium), is where new stars can be seen that are being born.

M27 Dumbbell Nebula

M27 is a planetary nebula in the constellation Vulpecula, at a distance of about 1227 light-years from earth.  It has an apparent magnitude of 7.5.  Its central region is marked by a pattern of dark and bright cusped knots and their associated dark tails.  

M20 Trifid Nebula

Its name means ‘divided into three lobes’. The object is a combination of an open cluster of stars, an emission nebula (the lower, red portion), a reflection nebula (the upper, blue portion) and a dark nebula (the apparent ‘gaps’ within the emission nebula that cause the trifurcated appearance. Located about 100 light years from earth, the Trifid Nebula has a magnitude of 6.3.

M16 Eagle Nebula NB

The Eagle Nebula – M16,  also known as the ‘Star Queen Nebula and Spire’, is located 5,700 light years from earth at a magnitude of 6.0.  This narrowband HOS version shows that it has a highly concentration of HA as seen in the dark reds in the image. The Pillars of Creation are dead center in the image and produce many new star formations.   

M8 Lagoon Nebula

The Lagoon Nebula (M8), is located 4,100 light years from earth in Sagittarius.  It’s apparent magnitude is 6.0. This nebula is enormous measuring 110 light years by 50 light years. The Lagoon is a giant stellar cloud and classified as an emission nebula with massive amounts of Hydrogen-Alpha.  It can be seen by the naked eye at a dark sky location. The above image was imaged in Ha LRGB color.

Cosmic Bat Nebula LDN-43

LDN-43, (also known as The Cosmic Bat Nebula) astonishing resembles a cosmic bat flying amongst the stars on a dark Halloween night. Located about 1400 light years away in the constellation Ophiuchus, this molecular cloud is dense enough to block light not only from background stars, but from wisps of gas lit up. This 12-light year-long filament of gas and dust is actually a stellar nursery. Glowing with eerie light, the bat is lit up from inside by dense gaseous knots that have just formed new young stars.

Pelican Nebula IC5070 Narrowband

The Pelican Nebula (IC5070), is located 1,800 light years from earth in Cygnus.  It’s apparent magnitude is 8.0. The Pelican is much studied because it has a particularly active mix of star formation and evolving gas clouds. Light from young energetic stars is slowly transforming cold gas to hot and causing an ionization front gradually to advance outward. The foreground is a molecular cloud filled with dark dust.

Fish Head Nebula IC1795

IC1795, (also known as the Fish Head Nebula, is found in the the constellation Cassiopeia. It is an extension of the heart nebula. IC1795 is a huge star forming system of gas and dust located along the Perseus spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy.  UV radiation excites the surrounding gas and causes it shine much the same way as a neon light emits its colorful hues. The nebula is located in the constellation Cassiopeia approximately 6000 light-years from the Earth and has a magnitude of 7.0,  a fairly bright object.

Elephant Trunk Nebula IC1396

The Elephant’s Trunk Nebula is a concentration of interstellar gas and dust within the much larger ionized gas region IC 1396 located in the constellation Cepheus about 2,400 light years away from Earth. The bright rim is the surface of the dense cloud that is being illuminated and ionized by a very bright, massive star.

Flaming Star Nebula IC405 in Narrowband

The Flaming Star Nebula is an emission and reflection nebula in the constellation Auriga, surrounding the bluish star AE Aurigae.  It surrounds the irregular variable star AE Aurigae and is located near the emission nebula IC 410, the open clusters M38 and M36. The nebula measures approximately 37.0′ x 19.0′ and lies about 1,500 light-years away from Earth. It is believed that the proper motion of the central star can be traced back to the Orion’s Belt area. 

Horsehead Nebula IC434

IC 434 is a bright emission nebula in the constellation Orion. It was discovered on February 1, 1786 by William Herschel. The Horsehead Nebula is a dark nebula silhouetted against it.  It is located 1,500 light years from earth with a magnitude of 7.3.  The nebula is located just to the south of Alnitak, the easternmost star of Orion’s Belt, and is part of the much larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. It appears within the southern region of the dense dust cloud known as Lynds 1630, along the edge of the much larger, active star-forming H II region called IC 434. Color images reveal a deep-red color that originates from ionized hydrogen gas (Hα).

Ghost of Cassiopeia IC63 & IC59

The Ghost of Cassiopeia is located about 550 light-years away in the constellation of Cassiopeia. There lies IC 63, a stunning and slightly eerie nebula. Also known as the ghost of Cassiopeia, IC 63 and IC59 are being shaped by radiation from a nearby unpredictably variable star, Gamma Cassiopeia, which is slowly eroding away the ghostly cloud of dust and gas.  

The Flame Nebula NGC2024

The Flame Nebula is located just to the left of Alnitak which is the 1st star of the left in Orion’s belt. The Flame Nebula is an emission nebula. The star Alnitak is shinning its ultraviolet light into the clouds of hydrogen gas.  This illuminates the clouds through ionization. Additional dark gas and dark dust lanes lie in front of the nebula giving it the dark network of glowing gas throughout the nebula.

Emission Nebula CED214 NB

CED214, Ced214 is around 2740 light years away in the constellation Cepheus.  Embedded in this narrowband SHO image is the open cluster Berkeley 59, which is causing the nebula to glow.  The nebula is an active star forming region, forming stars of relatively small mass. Also called Sharpless 171, Cederblad 214 is a young emission nebula with a diameter of about 40 light-years. Its visibility is fueled by the glow of hot young stars. It probably represents a second  generation of young stars whose formation was created by this vast cloud of expanding gas. CED214 is about 6000 light years from earth.  

Reflection Nebula NGC1333

NGC1333 is a reflection nebula located in the northern constellation Perseus, positioned next to the southern constellation border with Taurus and Aries. The nebula is visible as a hazy patch in a small telescope, while a larger aperture will show a pair of dark nebulae designated Barnard 1 and Barnard 2. It is associated with a dark cloud L1450 (Barnard 205). Estimates of the distance to this nebula range from 980–1,140 ly. It contains a fairly typical hierarchy of star clusters that are still embedded in the molecular cloud in which they formed.

The Jellyfish Nebula IC443

IC443, (also known as The Jelly Fish Nebula) is a galactic supernova remnant in the constellation Gemini. Its distance is roughly 5,000 light years from Earth at a magnitude of 12.0.  IC 443 is one of the  best-studied cases of supernova remnants interacting with surrounding molecular clouds. In the northeast, where the brightest optical filaments are located, the SNR is interacting with a very different environment. The forward shock has encountered a wall of neutral hydrogen (HI).

Thor’s Helmet NGC2359 HOO narrowband

NGC2359 (also known as Thor’s Helmet) is an emission nebula in the constellation Canis Major. The central star is the Wolf-Rayet star WR7, an extremely hot star thought to be in a brief pre-supernova stage of evolution. The nebula has an overall bubble shape, but with complex filamentary structures. The nebula contains several hundred solar masses of ionized material, plus several thousand more of unionized gas. It is largely interstellar material swept up by winds from the central star, although some material does appear to be  enriched with the products of fusion and is likely to come directly from the star. Thor’s Helmet is located about 15,000 light years from earth at a magnitude of 11.45.

Bubble Nebula NGC7635 NB SHO

NGC7635 also known as the Bubble Nebula, is an H II region emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia. It has an apparent magnitude of 10.0 and is located 11,000 Ly from earth. The “bubble” is created by the stellar wind from a massive hot, 8.7 magnitude young central star. The nebula is near a giant molecular cloud which contains the expansion of the bubble nebula while itself being excited by the hot central star, causing it to glow.

The Crescent Nebula NGC6888 Narrowband

NGC6888 is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, about 5000 light-years away from Earth. It has an apparent magnitude of 7.4  It is formed by the fast stellar wind from the Wolf-Rayet star WR 136 colliding with and energizing the slower moving wind ejected by the star when it became a red giant star. The result of the collision is a shell and two shock waves, one moving outward and one moving inward. 

Helix Nebula NGC7293 (Eye of God)

NGC7293 (Helix Nebula or Eye of God) is an example of a planetary nebula, formed by an intermediate to low-mass star which sheds its outer layers near the end of its evolution.  This object is one of the closest to the Earth of all the bright planetary nebulae only being 655 Ly from earth. Its apparent magnitude is 7.6.  This image was shot in HaLRGB.

The Rosette Nebula NB SHO

The Rosette Nebula is a large spherical H II region in a giant molecular cloud located in Monoceros. The open cluster of stars NGC2244 can be seen in the middle of the nebula. These stars were formed from the nebulas matter!  The nebula is very dense in hydrogen alpha which is is displayed in the deep reds of color.  Located 5,200 light years from earth, this nebula measure 130 light years in diameter!  It has an apparent magnitude of 9.0.

Pacman Nebula NGC281

NGC 281, is a bright emission nebula and part of an H II region in the northern constellation of Cassiopeia and is more than 9,500 light years from earth. It is part of the Milky Way’s Perseus Spiral Arm. This 20×30 arcmin sized nebulosity is also associated with open cluster IC 1590, several Bok globules and the multiple star, B 1.  NGC 281 is also known as the Pacman Nebula for its resemblance to the video game character.

The Running Man SH2-279

Sh2-279 (alternatively designated S279 or Sharpless 279) is an HII region and bright nebulae that includes a reflection nebula located in the constellation Orion. It is the northernmost part of the asterism known as Orion’s Sword, lying 0.6° north of the Orion Nebula. The reflection nebula embedded in Sh2-279 is popularly known as the Running Man Nebula. Sh2-279 comprises three NGC nebulae, NGC 1973, NGC 1975, and NGC 1977[4] that are divided by darker nebulous regions. It also includes the open cluster NGC 1981.

Flaming Star Nebula in HaLRGB natural color

IC 405 (also known as the Flaming Star Nebula, SH 2-229, or Caldwell 31) is an emission and reflection nebula in the constellation Auriga north of the celestial equator, surrounding the bluish, irregular variable star AE Aurigae. It shines at magnitude +6.0 and is located 1,500 light years from earth.

Fossil Foot Print NGC1491 SHO

NGC 1491 (also designated Sharpless SH2-206) is a bright emission nebula and HII region, located on the edge of a vast cloud region of neutral gas, about 10,700 light-years away in the Perseus arm of our Milky Way galaxy. The stellar wind from the O5V 11.2 magnitude star (BD +50 886) at its center is forming a blister in the gas clouds immediately surrounding it while also eroding the gas clouds. HII regions are well known for being places where new stars are born, and are created when ultraviolet radiation from hot stars ionizes the surrounding gas, causing it to glow in visible and infrared light. This is a very faint nebula and required over 14 hours of imaging in narrowband to reveal the detail across the entire nebula.

IC1805 Heart Nebula Wide Field FOV

IC1805,  (The Heart Nebula)  The Heart Nebula (also known as the Running dog  nebula, IC1805, Sharpless 2-190, is an emission nebula 7500 light years  away from Earth and located in the Perseus Arm of the Galaxy in the  constellation Cassiopeia. The nebula’s intense red output and its  morphology are driven by the radiation emanating from a small group of  stars near the nebula’s center. The Heart Nebula is also made up of  ionized oxygen and sulfur gasses, responsible for the rich blue and  orange colors seen in narrowband images.

M42 with Running Man Wide Field FOV

The Orion Nebula is located about 1,344 light  years from earth.  It is a diffuse nebula situated in our Milky Way  Galaxy just South of Orion’s belt.  Orion is one of the brightest nebula  in the night sky and can be seen visually even in night skies that have  some light pollution. The nebula is so large it expands 24 light years  across. The center of Orion,  The Trapezium), is where new stars can be  seen that are being born. Off to the left is the Running Man Nebula (NGC1977).

IC410 Tadpoles Nebula

The Tadpole Nebula (IC 410), is an HII region located approximately 12,400 light-years from earth. It measures more than 100 light-years across and is located in the northern constellation Auriga.  It is associated with the young open cluster NGC 1893. The cluster has  an apparent magnitude of 7.5 and an apparent size of 11 arc minutes. The dusty emission nebula  IC 410 is ionized by five hot, blue, O-type stars. These massive stars are believed to be the main sources of  ionization in the region. They emit high-energy ultraviolet protons that  excite the nebula and make it glow.

Dolphin Head Nebula SH2-308 – Narrow Band

Imaged here in HOO, SH2-308 is commonly known as the Dolphin-Head Nebula. It is an H II region located near the center of the constellation Canis Major, composed of ionized hydrogen. The nebula is bubble-like and surrounds a Wolf–Rayet star named EZ Canis Majoris. This star is in the brief, pre-Supernova phase of its stellar evolution. The nebula is about 4,530 light-years away from Earth but some sources indicate that both the star and the nebula are up to  5,870 light years away.

The Owl Nebula in HOO NGC3587-Narrow Band

The Owl Nebula (also known as M97 or NGC 3587) is a planetary nebula approximately 2,030 light years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It is estimated to be about 8,000 years old and is approximately circular in cross-section with a faint internal structure. It was formed from the outflow of material from the stellar wind of the central star as it evolved. The nebula is arranged in three concentric shells, with the outermost shell being about 20–30% larger than the inner shell. The owl-like appearance of the nebula is the result of an inner shell that is not circularly symmetric. 

Mosaic Western Veil Nebula HOO Narrow Band

To view this entire Mosaic image, go to the SHOP tab page 4. The Western Veil Nebula (The Witches Broom) is a cloud of heated and ionized gas and dust in the constellation Cygnus. The source supernova was a star 20 times more massive than our Sun which exploded between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago. At the time of the explosion, the supernova would have appeared brighter than Venus in the sky, and visible in the daytime. The remnants have since expanded to cover an area of the sky roughly 3 degrees in diameter (about 6 times the diameter, and 36 times the area, of the full Moon) 

Mosaic Eastern Veil Nebula HOO Narrow Band

 The Eastern Veil nebula (also known as Caldwell 33) is a cloud of heated  and ionized gas and dust in the constellation of Cygnus and is located  at around 1470 light-years from Earth. It is part of the Cygnus Loop  which is a faint supernova remnant that exploded approximately 7000 years  ago. The red hues in this image are from ionized  hydrogen content of gas clouds that emit light in the H-alpha  wavelength, while the cyan hues are from oxygen ions. 

NGC7129 HaLRGB Reflection Nebula

 NGC 7129 is a reflection nebula located about 3,100 light-years away from Earth. Unlike emission nebulae that emit their own light due to ionization of gas, reflection nebulae do not emit light themselves. Instead, they shine by reflecting the light of nearby stars, typically young and hot stars, that are embedded within or close to the nebula. The light from these stars gets scattered and diffused by dust and gas particles in the nebula, creating a beautiful glow and giving the nebula its characteristic blue color. NGC 7129 is associated with a young open star cluster, containing young, hot, and massive stars that formed relatively recently from the same molecular cloud of gas and dust.

Elephant Trunk Nebula IC1396 LRGB

The Elephant’s Trunk Nebula is a concentration of interstellar gas and dust within the much larger ionized gas region IC 1396 located in the constellation Cepheus about 2,400 light years away from Earth. The bright rim is the surface of the dense cloud that is being illuminated and ionized by a very bright, massive star

NGC7380 Wizard Nebula Narrowband SHO

NGC 7380, The Wizard Nebula, is a young open cluster of stars in the northern circumpolar constellation of Cepheus, discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1787. The surrounding emission nebulosity is known colloquially as the Wizard Nebula, which spans an angle of 25′. It is extremely difficult to observe visually, usually requiring very dark skies and an O-III filter. The NGC 7380 complex is located at a distance of approximately 8,000 light-years from the Sun in the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way.

CTB1 Super Nova Remnant

CTB1 is a supernova remnant (SNR) in the constellation Cassiopeia and a source of optical, radio, and X-ray emissions. A recent study reports that a pulsar was born from the supernova that produced CTB1 and ejected into the galaxy, traveling at a velocity exceeding 1000 km/s. It has an expanding gas cloud as a result of an event that occurred about 10000 years ago.  CTB1 is a designation from the Caltech Observatory list B catalogue of 110 radio sources discovered in a 1960 sky radio survey. This is just under 30 hours of imaging to produce this image in narrowband HOO.  CTB1 is extremely difficult to image due to it being so dim and very rarely imaged. Most times that it has been imaged, Astrophotographers typically shoot 30 to 40 hours.

Gecko Nebula LBN 437 Reflection Nebula

The Gecko Nebula is a reflection nebula located in the faint northern constellation of Lacerta (the Lizard). It is listed as LBN 437 in the Lynds’ Catalogue of Bright Nebulae. The cosmic Gecko is part of a larger molecular cloud that includes several other diffuse nebulae. The nebula was nicknamed the Gecko because its clouds outline a shape similar to that of a small lizard. The tip of the nebula points in the direction of the star 10 Lacertae. The hot blue main sequence star ionizes the neighboring Great Lacerta Nebula (Sharpless 126, Sh2-126), a large emission nebula about 3 degrees across. The star appears 1.8 southeast of the Gecko Nebula. The Gecko Nebula consists of luminous ionized gas clouds, several unilluminated clouds and several small reflection nebulae illuminated by the young stars embedded within them. It is a large cometary globule, an interstellar cloud shaped like 

The Shrimp Nebula

Sh2-188 is a planetary nebula in Cassiopeia. It does not have an official name but is often called the “Shrimp Nebula“. Sharpless-188 is small but really pretty object. It is dim and a difficult target for Astrophotographer’s. The best way to photograph it is by using narrowband filters (Hydrogen Alpha, Sulfur II and Oxygen III) and do long exposures. It was first believed to be a supernova remnant mostly because of the “Crescent-like” shape. Planetary nebulae are formed when a star dies of “old age” and expels ionized shells of gas. The object itself is pretty young compared to most similar DSO’s and located about 22,500 light years form earth and has an apparent magnitude of 17.44.

M33 Triangulum Galaxy

M33, The Triangulum Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy 2.73 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Triangulum.  The Triangulum Galaxy is the third-largest member of the Local Group of galaxies, behind the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy. It is sometimes informally referred to as the “Pinwheel Galaxy”. M33 has a magnitude of 5.72 and has ~ 40 billion stars.  Under exceptionally good viewing conditions with no light pollution, the Triangulum Galaxy can be seen with the 20/20 vision naked eye,

M104 Sombrero

M104, known as the Sombrero Galaxy, is a lenticular galaxy in the constellation Virgo (31.1 million light-years ) from Earth. The galaxy has a diameter of approximately (49,000 light-years), 30% the size of the Milky Way. It has a bright nucleus, an unusually large central bulge, and a prominent dust lane in its inclined disk. The dark dust lane and the bulge give this galaxy the appearance of a sombrero hat. The galaxy has an apparent magnitude of  +8.0, making it easily visible with amateur telescopes.  Its large bulge, its central supermassive black hole, and its dust lane all attract the attention of professional astronomers.  

M101 Pinwheel Galaxy

M101, known as the Pinwheel galaxy, is a face-on spiral galaxy distanced 21 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major. M101 is a large galaxy, with a diameter of 170,000 light-years. By comparison, the Milky Way has a diameter of 258,000 light years. It has around a trillion stars, twice the number in our Milky Way. It has a disk mass on the order of 100 billion solar masses, along with a small central bulge of about 3 billion solar masses. M101 has a high population of H II regions, many of which are very large and bright. H II regions usually accompany the enormous clouds of high density molecular hydrogen gas contracting under their own gravitational force where stars form.  

M81 Bode’s Galaxy

M81 a galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. It is are also known as Bode’s galaxy.  It is located approximately 10 deg. northwest of the “Big Dipper” pointer star Dubhe  (Alpha Ursae Majoris). It is one of the largest members of the M81 Group, a physical association of of 34 galaxies. The galaxy lies at an approximate distance of 11.8 million light years from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 6.94.

M63 Sunflower Galaxy

M63, known as the Sunflower Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy in the northern constellation of Canes Venatici. This galaxy has a morphological classification of SAbc, indicating a spiral shape with no central bar feature and moderate to loosely wound arms. M63 is an active galaxy with a LINER nucleus. This displays as an unresolved nuclear source wrapped in a diffuse emission. The distance to M63, based upon the luminosity-distance  measurement is 29.3 million light-years. Its apparent magnitude is 9.3.  In 1971, a supernova with a magnitude of 11.8 appeared in one of the arms of M63. The existence of a super massive black hole at the nucleus is uncertain.

M51 Whirlpool Galaxy

M51, known as the Whirlpool, is an interacting grand-design spiral galaxy with a Seyfert 2 active galactic nucleus. Found in the constellation Canes Venatici, and was the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral galaxy. Its distance is estimated to be 23 million light-years away from Earth. The galaxy and its companion, NGC 5195, are easily observed by amateur astronomers, and the two galaxies may be seen with binoculars. Long exposures  reveal a large nebula extending beyond the visible circular appearance. The spiral structure of the Whirlpool is believed to be the result of the close interaction between it and its companion galaxy NGC 5195, which may have passed through the main disk of M51 about 500 to 600 million years ago.

M31 Andromeda Galaxy 80mm Refactor

M31, known as the Andromeda Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy approximately (2.54 million light-years) from Earth, and the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way.   The galaxy’s name stems from the area of the Earth’s sky in which it appears, the constellation of Andromeda. Its magnitude is 3.44 and can be seen by the naked eye on moonless nights even from a moderate light polluted area. The Andromeda Galaxy has a diameter of about 220,000 light-years roughly 1.5 times larger than our Milky Way and has ~ 1 trillion stars. The Andromeda Galaxy was formed roughly 10 billion years ago from the collision and subsequent merger of smaller  protogalaxies. Over the past 2 billion years, star formation throughout Andromeda’s disk is thought to have decreased to the point of near-inactivity. There have been interactions with satellite galaxies like M32, M110, or others that have already been absorbed by Andromeda Galaxy.

Leo Triplet (M66 Group)

This particular image was taken by astronomers David Collings at the Blue Ridge Observatory in Sparta, NC. and good friend David Reagan from Johnson City, TN. This collaboration produced incredible details of the Leo Triplet and captured the Tidal Tail of NGC3627. The Leo Triplet (also known as the M66 Group) is a small group of galaxies about 35 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. This galaxy group consists of the spiral galaxies M65, M66, and NGC 3628. The brightest member M66, also known as NGC 3627, is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the equatorial constellation of Leo. M65 and M66 make a popular pair for observers, being separated by only 20 arc minutes. The Tidal Tail seen in the image is approximately 300,000 light Years long and very difficult to image!

NGC4631 Whale Galaxy

NGC4631,  known as the Whale Galaxy, is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. This galaxy’s slightly distorted wedge shape gives it the appearance of a herring or a whale, hence its nickname. Because this nearby galaxy is seen edge-on from Earth, professional astronomers observe this galaxy to better understand the gas and stars  located outside the plane of the galaxy. NGC 4631 contains a central starburst, which is a region of intense star formation. The strong star formation is evident in the emission from ionized hydrogen and interstellar dust heated by the stars formed in the starburst.  This galaxy is located about 30 million light years from earth at a magnitude of 9.8.

M106 Spiral Galaxy

M106 Spiral Galaxy

M106,  or NGC4258, is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici.   M106 is at a distance of about 22 to 25 million light-years away from Earth. M106 contains an active nucleus classified as a Type 2 Seyfert, and the presence of a central supermassive black hole. M106 has a water vapor Megamaser that is seen by the evidences of dense and warm molecular gas. These water vapors give M106 its characteristic purple color. It is one of the largest and brightest nearby galaxies, similar in size and luminosity to the Andromeda Galaxy. The supermassive black hole at the core has a mass of (3.9±0.1)×107 M☉.

NGC4725 Barred Spiral Galaxy

NGC 4725 is an intermediate barred spiral galaxy with a prominent ring structure, located in the northern constellation of Coma Berenices near the north galactic pole. NGC 4725 is a suspected type 2 Seyfert galaxy with a supermassive black hole at the core. The morphological classification of this galaxy is SAB(r)ab pec, indicating a peculiar, weakly-barred spiral galaxy (SAB) with a complete ring surrounding the bar (r) and somewhat tightly-wound spiral arms.

M100 Spiral Galaxy

M100, Messier 100 (also known as NGC 4321) is a grand design intermediate spiral galaxy in the southern part of the mildly northern Coma Berenices. It is one of the brightest and largest galaxies in the Virgo Cluster and is approximately 55 million light-years from our galaxy.  NGC 4323 and NGC 4328 are satellite galaxies of M100; the former is connected with it by a bridge of luminous matter. Messier 100 is considered a starburst galaxy with the strongest star formation activity concentrated in its center, within a ring – actually two tightly wound spiral  arms attached to a small nuclear bar.

M22 Elliptical Globular Cluster

Messier 22 or M22, also known as NGC 6656, is an elliptical globular cluster of stars in the constellation Sagittarius, near the Galactic bulge region. It is one of the brightest globulars visible in the night sky with more than 83,000 stars. The brightest stars are 11th magnitude, with hundreds of stars bright enough to resolve with an 8″ telescope. It is just south of the sun’s position in mid-December, and northwest of Lambda Sagittarii (Kaus Borealis), the northernmost star of the “Teapot” asterism.

Antenna Galaxies LRGB NGC4038

The Antennae Galaxies (also known as NGC 4038/NGC 4039 are a pair of interacting galaxies in the constellation Corvus. They are currently going through a starburst phase, in which the collision of clouds of gas and dust, with entangled magnetic fields, causes rapid star formation. The nuclei of the two galaxies are joining to become one giant galaxy. Most galaxies probably undergo at least one significant collision in their lifetimes.

NGC253 Sculptor Galaxy

The Sculptor Galaxy (also known as the Silver Coin Galaxy, Silver Dollar Galaxy, NGC 253, or Caldwell 65) is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor. The Sculptor Galaxy is a starburst galaxy, which means that it is currently undergoing a period of intense star formation. The apparent magnitude is 8.0 and is located approximately 11.4 Million light years from earth. The Sculptor Galaxy is the brightest galaxy in the group and one of the brightest galaxies in the vicinity of ours, and only surpassed by the Andromeda Galaxy and the Sombrero Galaxy.

Stephen’s Quintet & NGC7331 Galaxy

Stephan’s Quintet is a visual grouping of five galaxies of which four form the first compact galaxy group ever discovered. The group is the most studied of all the compact galaxy groups. The brightest member of the visual grouping (and the only non-member of the true group) is NGC 7320, which has extensive H II regions, identified as red blobs, where active star formation is occurring. Also in the image is the large galaxy NGC7331 along with many other galaxies in this image. Over 100 galaxies are in this image and some are over 1.5 billion light years from earth. Stephen’s Quintet group averages 210 to 340 million light years form earth.

Gibbous Moon 1

The gibbous moon is one of the various phases that the Moon goes through during its monthly lunar cycle. The moon is said to be in the gibbous phase when it can be seen from Earth with more than half but not all of the apparent disk illuminated. This phase actually happens twice each month during the waxing gibbous phase and the waning gibbous phase.

Sun Lower Right Limb Ha

This image was taken using an Ha filter to capture the lower right limb. The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a massive, hot ball of plasma, inflated and heated by energy produced by nuclear fusion reactions at its core. Part of this internal energy is emitted from its surface as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radiation, providing most of the energy for life on Earth. The Sun moves around the Galactic Center of the Milky Way, at a distance of 26,660 light-years. 

Solar Eclipse (Diamond Ring)

A total solar eclipse is an amazing sight to behold, and the diamond ring of the eclipse is one of the most beautiful aspects of this natural phenomenon. The diamond ring is created when the sun’s corona is visible through the moon’s thin atmosphere during a total eclipse. This ring appears for just a few seconds before the sun is completely obscured by the moon.

Sun Full Disk Ha

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a massive, hot ball of plasma, inflated and heated by energy produced by nuclear fusion reactions at its core. Part of this internal energy is emitted from its surface as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radiation, providing most of the energy for life on Earth. The Sun moves around the Galactic Center of the Milky Way, at a distance of 26,660 light-years.  Its diameter is about 1,391,400 km (864,600 mi; 4.64 ls), 109 times that of Earth or 4 lunar distances. Its mass is about 330,000 times that of Earth, making up about 99.86% of the total mass of the Solar System. Roughly three-quarters of the Sun’s mass consists of hydrogen (~73%); the rest is mostly helium (~25%), with much smaller quantities of heavier elements, including oxygen, carbon, neon, and iron.