We are certainly spoilt in the Southern Hemisphere, with some remarkable objects in our sky, mostly unseen by our friends in the North.
Here is my pick of the very best of them, as seen through my Skywatcher Esprit 120 telescope and ZWO ASI071 camera (images 1-5) and Canon DSLR (images 6-7).
1. Eta Carina Nebula
120 arc-minutes in diameter.
Bigger and brighter than the Orion Nebula M42.
Emission Nebula in Carina
Declination: 60° S
120 minutes exposure, © R.Powell 2020-02-14
2. Omega Centauri
The biggest and brightest globular cluster in the entire sky.
Contains about ten million stars.
Globular Cluster in Centaurus
Declination: 47° S
15 minutes exposure, © R.Powell 2019-06-22
3. Centaurus A
A peculiar lenticular galaxy, twelve million light years away.
4° from Omega Centauri, possibly two galaxies colliding.
Galaxy in Centaurus
Declination: 43° S
120 minutes exposure, © R.Powell 2020-03-20
4. Tarantula Nebula
A colossal emission nebula 160,000 light years away in a nearby galaxy. If it were as close as the Orion Nebula, it would cast shadows.
Emission Nebula in LMC in Dorado
Declination: 69° S
106 minutes exposure , © R.Powell 2020-02-19
5. 47-Tucanae
The second biggest globular cluster in the whole sky.
Contains millions of stars.
Globular Cluster in Tucana
Declination: 71° S
51-minutes exposure, © R.Powell 2019-10-01
6. Large Magellanic Cloud
A local satellite galaxy, 14,000 light years across, 163,000 light years away. The fourth largest galaxy in the Local Group.
Nearby galaxy in Dorado
Declination: 70° S
DSLR: 2x60sec © R.Powell 2011-01-29
7. Small Magellanic Cloud
A local satellite galaxy (about 20° from the Large Magellanic Cloud).
7,000 light years across and located 200,000 light years away
Irregular dwarf galaxy in Tucana
Declination: 73° S
DSLR: 10x10sec, 200mm, f/2.8, ISO6400 © R.Powell 2015-08-08
Cosmic Focus 
I love all those objects as well as Sombero Galaxy – lovely pics
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Thanks, Donna. I guess I could have included Sombrero as technically Southern but at Dec -11 it’s really a Northern Hemisphere object too.
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Those are really nice images. Your equipment and skills are top rate. It would take me a long time to get oriented to the southern skies. Looking via planetarium software is challenging.
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It took me a long time to get used to Orion being upside down – but after fifty years I’m just getting used to it now.
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That would be a tough one. Do you ever see the Big Dipper?
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Technically, part of the handle rises here but in practical terms – no I don’t.
I do remember studying it with binoculars through aircraft trails when I was last in the UK .
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Are you getting views of Swan. https://spaceweathergallery.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=161962
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It seems to be in the Eastern sky, which is a very bad aspect for me; and it’s not very high either.
I doubt if I will see it but I’ll keep an eye out for an opportunity.
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We have C/2017 T2 (PANSTARRS) in our northern sky at about mag 8. Cloud are here for a few days. Then, I will try to see it.
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Thank you for your list of the greatest hits of the southern sky. It’s great to have them all in one place on your blog. I tried to see some of these when we visited Kenya, but the high clouds for the coming monsoon made extended objects fade into the thin clouds. And I was focusing on not getting a local illness. Wonderful place, wonderful people! Orion overhead made him seem so small.
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Thanks for your comment. We’re pretty proud of our skies down under.
If only we had a Pole Star!
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I recall trying to see Omega Centuri from South Jersey many years ago, in days of lesser light and atmospheric pollution. If memory serves me correctly, by the charts it would have been just barely above the horizon. Needless to say I did not succeed. Great images as usual. Did you hint you once resided in the northern hemisphere? (Orion right side up!). M 🙂
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It’s a challenge sometimes to try extremely low objects. I’ve given up trying to catch M76 (alt 4°) although some of my friends have in the past seen it in the eyepiece when light pollution was less restrictive.
Last year I managed to image some stars and a small patch of nebulosity in the North America Nebula (alt <10°), straight through Sydney’s light dome – but I wouldn’t publish it!
Yes, I am a North Londoner. I used to study the constellations when walking home from the tube station.
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These are spectacular. Thanks for showing. Been in Australia once for a week or two, but that’s about it for me and the S.H.
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Thanks very much for your comment. I hope you enjoyed your stay in Oz. 🙃
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PS, interesting also to note the exposure lengths. I infer the Omega cluster is quite bright.
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Yes, a fuzzy naked eye object.
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Very nice images. I was planning on coming down there to look at the sky, but now I don’t have to.
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Happy to oblige. 😷
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Wow! These images are amazing!
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Thank you. The objects themselves are amazing.
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Nice tour, thanks. About the only way I would see these lovely objects!
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Cheers, Mark. Glad you liked them.
Regards from Down Under.
🙃
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Wow, what a great post! I’ve never been to the southern hemisphere, but I can’t wait to get there and see these things. Fantastic photos, too. Thanks for posting this.
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Hi Scott, I hope you get an opportunity to cross the equator one day. Thanks for your comment.
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