Digital Astrophotography
2020 and later
Emission and Reflection Nebulae
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 |
Planetary 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 |
Supernova Remnant
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
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 |
Virgo Cluster of Galaxies
 Markarian's Chain  Markarian's Chain annotated  Virgo Cluster  Virgo Cluster annotated |
 M88  M90  M91 |
Star Clusters
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 |
Meteors
 Tau Herculis Meteor 31 May 2022  Tau Herculis Meteor 31 May 2022 |
Film-based Astrophotography
1980s - 1990s
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 |
Locations of the deep sky objects shown above
