A bright but fuzzy local spiral galaxy, which at +8 magniude is well within the reach of small amateur telescopes … More
Tag: Skywatcher ed120
Crescent Moon
This Moon crescent kept us company for much of the evening during our last field night. It set at 10 pm, giving … More
Cat’s Paw Nebula
A bright emission nebula, located 820 light-years away in the Scorpius region of the Milky Way. The red colour comes from … More
NGC 7090 Galaxy
Imagine yourself leaving Earth on a spaceship travelling at the speed of light. Yes, yes, I know it’s not possible … More
Butterfly Cluster, M6
This beautiful cluster was riding high in the clear night sky, almost at the zenith. It was the first image … More
Lagoon Nebula, M8
Burnham’s Celestial Handbook (forty years old and still available) describes M8 as “One of the finest of the diffuse nebulae….seen … More
The Eagle Nebula
Messier 16, generally known as the Eagle Nebula, in Serpens is simply one of the best nebulae in the sky. … More
Messier 13
The Great Hercules Cluster. I’ve heard it said that when you’ve seen one globular cluster, then you’ve seen them all. … More
Planetary Nebula NGC 5189
Planetary nebulae are such beautiful and varied objects – and that’s what makes them so intriguing – plus the interesting … More
Spiral Galaxy NGC 6744
I’ve been a little more fortunate with the weather this lunar cycle, having managed two field nights with MAS and … More
NGC 4565 – The Object Which Messier Missed
Back in the day, before the inter-web thingy came along, I would buy astronomy magazines every month and gaze with … More
Moon
First Quarter Moon imaged in video format with my ZWOASI071 and stacked in Autostakkert. This was taken on the same … More
The Jewel Box
Located at 60° South, the Jewel Box (in Crux) is one of those southern gems which I keep returning to but … More
Eta Carinae Nebula
The Great Nebula in Carina (NGC 3372) is a naked eye object in the Southern Hemisphere and is very popular … More
IC 2602 – Southern Pleiades
Having imaged the Pleiades star cluster recently, I found myself imaging IC 2602 (Theta Carinae Cluster) a couple of weeks … More
Lambda Centauri Cluster
The Lambda star cluster (IC 2944) and the Running Chicken emission nebula (IC 2948). I think I considerably under-exposed this … More
NGC 2122 and NGC 2136/7
Three distant objects, located in a nearby galaxy – the Large Magellanic cloud – 160,000 light years away in the constellations of … More
Crescent Moon
It’s morning on the Moon! Sunrise will take about fourteen Earth days to cross the Lunar disc from New Moon … More
The Pleiades
The Pleiades is a cluster of stars in the constellation of Taurus, relatively close to Earth – and is a … More
Rosette Nebula
Well, after a long time trying, I finally took an image of the the Rosette Nebula which I can be … More
Planetary Nebula in M46
Messier 46 is a rich cluster of young stars with a beautiful ring shaped planetary nebula with three stars within … More
Sky Watcher
This was a thirty second snap taken during the period while I was imaging Comet 46P/Wirtanen through my SkyWatcher ED120 … More
The Orion Nebula
This is not my first image of the beautiful Orion Nebula and probably will not be my last. It was … More
Near Full Moon
The two large craters with ejection rays are: Copernicus (just right of centre), 93 km diameter & 3.8 km deep; … More
Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae
47 Tucanae is a spectacular globular cluster, one of the best in the sky – and easily seen with the … More
Centaurus A
NGC 5128 is a galaxy bisected by a prominent dust lane. It is a radio emission galaxy with an active … More
Clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud
This image shows detail in a very small part of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a small satellite galaxy visible … More
Gem Cluster
A Southern Hemisphere object. Object Details: NGC 3293 Constellation: Carina. Visual magnitude: +4.7 Apparent diameter: 6.0 arc-min. (about one fifth … More
Orion Nebula in Colour
A naked eye object, easily visible here in the Southern Hemisphere as a summer object in the Northern sky. This … More
Orion Nebula in Black & White
A naked eye object, easily visible here in the Southern Hemisphere as a summer object in the Northern sky. This … More
Moon
Object Details: Moon Visual magnitude: -11.8 Apparent diameter: 32.7 arc min Actual diameter: 3475 km Distance: 365,487 km New Moon: +17 … More
Fornax A
The Fornax A galaxy – a huge bright lenticular galaxy (intermediate between a spiral and an elliptical) and also a … More
Telescopic Star Trails
The motion of the stars in Carina, as viewed through my telescope. Note the different star colours and the ghostly … More
M23
An open star cluster in Sagittarius. Object Details: Messier 23, NGC 6494 Visual magnitude: +5.5 Apparent diameter: 29 arc-min. Actual … More
Cosmic Focus 