Gallery

M31 galaxy, also known as the Andromeda Galaxy, our closest galactic neighbour. This an spiral galaxy that was once thought to be a nebula. It is visible to the naked eye under good conditions as a small fuzzy spot close to Pegasus in the constellation Andromeda. It is often studied as an example of our own Milky Way galaxy and has the same characteristics of our home galaxy. Andromeda is approximatley 2 million light years from Earth or 19 Quintillion Kilometeres away!! That is 19 with 18 zeros after it!

This is a small portion of the Milky Way galaxy. You could say that it is a portion of one of it's 'spiral arms'. Quite an amazing picture really, even from this picture you can't begin to grasp the number of stars and systems in our very own Milky Way galaxy.

Nebula M27. Discovered by Charles Messier on July 12, 1764. This planetary nebula is also known as the 'Dumbell Nebula'. This nebula resembles an end of a dumbell and has beautiful blues and pinks in images. However, like other deep sky objects, you won't see those colors visually as it simply appears like a dim green bubble in telescopes.

Nebula M57, also known as the 'Ring Nebula'. This planetary nebula is located in the constellation Lyra and gets its name for obvious reasons. This nebula is thought to closely resemble the shape of the Dumbell Nebula, but we view them from different angles. The outer shell of material is lit by energy from the central star, which you can see in the middle of the ring.

The Ring Nebula.

Keyhole Nebula. The Keyhole Nebula is also known by the designation NGC3324 and is part of the Eta Carina Nebula. This nebula was so named by Sir John Herschel in the 19th century because of its unusual shape and is approximately 8000 light years from Earth.

The Cat's Eye. NGC 6543, or The Cat's Eye Nebula. This one of the most complex nebulae in the category of 'planetary nebula'. The central star in NGC 6543 might actually be a binary system and this nebula might be the result of two events.

M1 Nebula, also known as the 'Crab Nebula'. This nebula was the first 'Messier' object cataloged by Charles Messier. It can be found in the constellation Taurus and is a remnant of a supernova seen by Chinese astronomers in 1054 A.D. It is around 6,400 light years from Earth. The nebula is a strong X-Ray source and harbors a pulsar star as well.

M20 Nebula, also known as the 'Trifid Nebula'. The Trifid Nebula became 'M20' in Charles Messier's catalog, but it got its 'Trifid' name when it was viewed by John Herschel who noticed the appearance of 'tri' or three different segments separated by dust lanes. It is also part of the NGC catalog with a designation of NGC 6514. The estimated distances to the Trifid vary widely between 2000 and 5200 light-years away. On a night of excellent seeing and dark skies the Trifid Nebula is reputed to be visible to the naked eye, but it will surely show up in modest sized telescope.