This is yet another attempt at improving my image of M101, the Pinwheel Galaxy in Ursa Major. This version does have more detail than the last, although there is not much gain in the brightness of the image. The Pinwheel Galaxy (also known as NGC 5457) is a face-on spiral galaxy distanced 21 million Read More …

    These are Messier(s) 65 and 66 in Leo, more popularly known as two of the three galaxies in the Leo Triplet, or the “Trio in Leo”. The third is out of the frame of this image, and is cataloged as NGC 3628. Messier 65 (NGC 3623) is an intermediate spiral galaxy about 35 million Read More …

  This is Messier 94, a spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici. Messier 94 (M94), also known as Cat’s Eye Galaxy or Croc’s Eye Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Canes Venatici. The Cat’s Eye Galaxy has an apparent magnitude of 8.99 and lies at a distance of 16 million light years from Earth. Read More …

  This is Messier 46 and Messier 47 in Puppis. In this image, M46 is the lower cluster, and within it is contained the planetary nebula NGC 2438. Actually the planetary is not associated with the cluster and is most likely a foreground object. M46 is about 5,500 light-years away. There are an estimated 500 Read More …

The Omega Nebula is between 5,000 and 6,000 light-years from Earth and it spans some 15 light-years in diameter. The cloud of interstellar matter of which this nebula is a part is roughly 40 light-years in diameter. It is considered one of the brightest and most massive star-forming regions of our galaxy. Its local geometry is Read More …