Author: Dave Hearn

Here is the final result from the Total Lunar Eclipse of May 15-16, 2022. This is a high dynamic range (HDR) image, in that two integrated images were combined to form the final result. The starscape background and the moonglow were captured in a 60 second exposure. Then at mid eclipse, a 1/2 second series Read More …

The area around Messier 101 is loaded with galaxies. There are no less than 5 galaxies in this image, which represents 6.5 hours of integrated exposure time. The Pinwheel Galaxy (also known as Messier 101, M101 or NGC 5457) is a face-on spiral galaxy 21 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major. Read More …

Here are M81 & M82 in Ursa Major, known by the proper name of Bode’s Galaxies, named after their discoverer, Johann Elert Bode in 1774. These are the main members of the M81 group of galaxies. Messier 81 (also known as NGC 3031, top center) is a grand design spiral galaxy, lying about 12 million Read More …

The Winter Milky Way is home to hundreds of open star clusters. The constellation of Puppis lies just to the southeast of Canis Major and its brilliant alpha star Sirius, and the Milky Way passes right through the area. The clusters in this image are M47 at top, the richer but fainter cluster M46, with Read More …

Here is the Spider & the Fly Nebula, also known as IC 417 (Spider; at center) and NGC 1931 (Fly; at bottom). Also in the image is NGC 1907; the small, tight cluster on the left. The bright area of nebulosity on the upper right is the edge of NGC 1893, the Tadpoles Nebula. They Read More …