Images
Galactic objects and solar system elements in the form of final images.
Use the filter section on the right to select the objects of interest
M48
Messier 48 is an open star cluster in the constellation Hydra, the Water Snake. The cluster is situated approximately 1,500 light-years from Earth, making it one of the clusters closest to our solar system. M48 contains roughly 80 stars, most of which are young, hot, blue-white main-sequence stars.
M37
M37 is the brightest open cluster in the constellation of Auriga. Many of its 500 stars are fairly young bright blue stars, but the big star in the center (HD39183) is a yellow giant. M37 is photographed here during two consecutive full moon periods in December 2024 and January 2025 respectively.
M110
M110 is at first glance a somewhat boring galaxy, always in the shadow of its close and popular neighbour M31, the Andromeda Galaxy. The main reason of imaging was to complete the Messier catalogue. But some very small scale structure appeared to be present, which in the end made this a fun object to photograph.
M57
M57, or the Ring Nebula, is a small planetary nebula in the constellation Lyra. Usually, only the core is captured in images, but this photo also shows the outer hydrogen (Ha) and oxygen (OIII) gas clouds. The difference is significant, so two different HDR methods were needed to achieve this result.
M77 | Arp37
M77 is a nice small galaxy in the constellation Cetus. It has a wide area of gaseous rings around it, most of which could be pulled out in this image, due to 20h of exposure. M77 is also listed in the Arp Catalogue, as Arp37.
M16 | Sh2-49
M16 is also known as the Eagle Nebula, but the central part of this nebula is made even more popular by the Hubble Telescope, and is nick-named the pillars of creation. Here in a narrowband version with a total of almost 40h of exposure.
M27 - Dumbbell Nebula
M27 is a very bright planetary nebula, of which often only the core is shown. In this case, the outer and much fainter areas are made visible as well in this HOO image, using a new HDR script.
M4
M4 is a globular cluster in the constellation Scorpius. It is located at a distance of 50,000 light years from Earth. During processing some interesting green stars stood out which appear to be RR Lyrae variable stars, often found in clusters. The intense green colour is an artefact of the way broadband images like these are taken.
M64 - Black Eye Galaxy
M64 is also known as the Black Eye Galaxy, because of its characteristic detailed center in an otherwise a smooth and amorphous looking galaxy. Other nicknames are ‘evil eye’ and ‘sleeping beauty’ galaxy. This was an old set of data that had still not be processed.