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 |
![]() Witch Head Nebula ![]() Lagoon & Trifid Nebulae ![]() Omega & Eagle Nebulae |
![]() North American & Pelican Nebulae ![]() North American & Elephant Trunk Nebulae ![]() Veil Nebula |
![]() North American, Elephant Trunk, & Veil Nebulae ![]() Monkey's Head & Jellyfish Nebulae ![]() Antares Nebulae M4 globular cluster |
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 |
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 ![]() Triangulum Galaxy |
![]() Pinwheel & NGC 5474 Galaxies ![]() Whirlpool & NGC 5195 Galaxies ![]() Bode's, Cigar & NGC 2976 Galaxies |
![]() M106+ Galaxies ![]() M106+ Galaxies |
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.
![]() Pleiades Star Open Cluster ![]() H & Chi Persei Double Open Cluster |
![]() Christmas Tree Open Cluster ![]() M38 Open Cluster ![]() M23 Open Cluster |
![]() M37 Open Cluster ![]() M36 Open Cluster ![]() M35 Open Cluster ![]() M52 Open 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 |