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 ![]() Flame & Horsehead Nebulae (Orion Belt) ![]() Orion Belt and Sword | ||
![]() Barnard's Loop ![]() 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 & M18 Open Cluster ![]() Eagle Nebula |
![]() North American, Elephant Trunk, & Veil Nebulae |
These deep sky objects are tiny and not like the large emission and reflection nebulae where stars are born. A planetary nebula is a type of emission nebula consisting of an expanding, glowing shell of ionized gas ejected from a star late in its life, and only exists for a few tens of thousands of years. They are also not related to planets, but were given this name when first discovered in the 1700s because they resembled the size and shape of planets.
![]() Dumbbell Planetary Nebula ![]() Helix Planetary Nebula ![]() Owl Planetary Nebula&M108 galaxy ![]() Owl Planetary Nebula&M108 galaxy |
![]() Dumbbell Planetary Nebula & NCG6820 Emission Nebula M71 Globular Cluster & NGC6823, 6825, 6830, 6873, 6882 Open Clusters |
The Crab Nebula, while quite small and really difficult to photograph without a telescope, is the remnant of the great supernova (explosion of a dying star) 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 |
Galaxies contain hundreds of billlions of stars.
![]() Andromeda & M110 Galaxies ![]() Andromeda & M110 Galaxies ![]() Triangulum Galaxy |
![]() Pinwheel & NGC 5474 Galaxies ![]() Pinwheel Galaxies annotated ![]() Whirlpool & NGC 5195 Galaxies ![]() Bode's, Cigar & NGC 2976 Galaxies |
![]() Sombrero Galaxy ![]() M106+ Galaxies ![]() M106+ Galaxies | ||
![]() M95 & M96 Galaxies ![]() M95&M96+ Galaxies ![]() M95&M96+ annotated |
![]() Leo Trio ![]() Leo Trio annotated ![]() Leo Quartet ![]() Leo Quartet annotated |
![]() Leo Trio and Quartet ![]() Leo Trio and Quartet annotated |
![]() Markarian's Chain ![]() Markarian's Chain annotated ![]() Virgo Cluster ![]() Virgo Cluster annotated |
![]() M88 ![]() M90 ![]() M91 |
Open star clusters appear to be associated as stellar groupings in the sky, but often are separated by greatly different distances from the earth. Note the blue nebulosity around the stars of the Pleiades. Globular clusters do form a spatially connected group, and often there more than a million stars in a single cluster.
![]() M52 Open Cluster ![]() M12 Globular Cluster |
![]() M3 Globular Cluster ![]() M22 Globular Cluster ![]() M71 Globular Cluster ![]() M4 Globular Cluster |
![]() Tau Herculis Meteor 31 May 2022 ![]() Tau Herculis Meteor 31 May 2022 |
The Eta Carina image has the nebula in the center, with the Southern Cross to the left, and the False Cross to the right.
![]() Ring Planetary Nebula ![]() Beehive Open Cluster ![]() Wild Duck Open Cluster |
![]() Eta Carina Nebula, Omega Centauri, Southern and False Crosses |
![]() Eta Carina Nebula, Omega Centauri, Southern and False Crosses |
![]() M5 Globular Cluster ![]() M13 Globular Cluster ![]() M15 Globular Cluster |