All photos are © Marshall Faintich
Click on each picture for a larger image.
Nebulae are clouds of interstellar gas where stars are born as the gaseous material condenses into a tightly packed mass. Emission nebulae have one or more bright stars nearby that cause the gases to emit energy primarily in the reddish hydrogen-alpha part of the spectrum. Reflection nebulae have one or more bright stars nearby but not close enough to cause emission, and only bluish light from the stars is reflected. |
Orion & Running Man Nebulae Orion Nebula Flame & Horsehead Nebulae (Orion Belt) |
Barnard's Loop Orion Belt and Sword M78, Flame & Horsehead Nebulae Witch Head Nebula | |||
Lagoon & Trifid Nebulae Lagoon & Trifid Nebulae Lagoon Nebula Trifid Nebula & M21 Open Cluster |
Omega & Eagle Nebulae Omega Nebula EagleNebula |
Flaming Star and Sh2-236 Nebulae; M38 open cluster Flaming Star and Sh2-236 Nebulae; M35, M36, M37, & M38 open clusters Flaming Star and Sh2-236 Nebulae: M35, M36, M37, & M38 open clusters |
Dumbbell Nebula Helix Nebula Owl Nebula & Surfboard Galaxy Ring Nebula | |||
Dumbbell Nebula Helix Nebula Ring Nebula Medusa Nebula & NGC 2395 Open Cluster |
Blinking Eye Nebula NGC 6833 Nebula Little Gem Nebula |
Galaxies contain hundreds of billlions of stars.
Andromeda & M110, M32 Galaxies Andromeda & M110, M32 Galaxies Triangulum Galaxy |
Markarian's Chain Markarian's Chain annotated Virgo Cluster Virgo Cluster annotated |
M88 M90 M91 |
Supernovae are powerful explosions of stars when their internal nuclear fuel supplies burn out and the stars quickly collapse, resulting in massive shock waves causing stars to explode. |
Supernova SN 2023ixf Pinwheel Galaxy 3 July 2023 & 19 April 2022 Supernova SN 2023ixf Pinwheel & NGC 5474 Galaxies 3 July 2023 |
The Crab Nebula, while quite small and really difficult to photograph without a telescope, is the remnant of the great supernova of 1054 A.D. This supernova was so bright in 1054 that it was visible in the daylight for 23 days, and some medieval rulers added its representation to their coinage as a divine signal for their rule. |
Crab Nebula |
Open star clusters are loosely bound by mutual gravitational attraction. Note the blue nebulosity around the stars of the Pleiades. Globular clusters are spheroidal conglomerations of stars, and often contain more than a million stars in a single cluster. |
NGC 2360 Caroline's Cluster NGC 752 Open Cluster |
M11 Wild Duck Open Cluster Omega Centauri Globular Cluster Canis Major+ Canis Major+ annotated |
Eta Carina Nebula, Omega Centauri, Southern and False Crosses |
Eta Carina Nebula, Omega Centauri, Southern and False Crosses |