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
Caldwell 23
Caldwell 23, also known as NGC 891, is a spiral galaxy located approximately 30 light-years away in the constellation Andromeda. Its striking edge-on appearance has given it the nickname Silver Sliver galaxy. The galaxy is very similar in structure to our own Milky Way.
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.
Caldwell 56
Caldwell 56, also known as NGC246, is a planetary nebula in the constellation Cetus. The characteristic shape of the bright outer shell has given it its nickname Skull Nebula. It is photographed here as an HOO image. The central white dwarf is resolved from its companion.
IC4954 and IC4955
IC4954 and IC4955 are two very small nebulae in the constellation Vulpecula. The total field of view of this image is only 12 x 9 arcmin, so very much zoomed in on an already long focal length telescope. Each night only 0.5-1.5h of data could be collected, so this image is the result of 20 imaging sessions.
Sh2-200
Sh2-200 is a very dim planetary nebula in the constellation of Cassiopeia. By mistake it ended up in the Sharpless catalogue of HII emission regions, but recently its identity as a planetary nebula was confirmed. The nebula itself and especially the hydrogen regions around it are very dim, so require long exposure times
Caldwell 5
Caldwell 5, or IC342, is also known as the hidden galaxy, tucked away behind the dust of our own Milky Way. Individual frames did not reveal too much detail, but stacking 20h of exposure brought out the full splendour of this beautiful galaxy.
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.
Sh2-86
Sh2-86 is a rather faint nebula in the constellation Vulpecula at a distance of approximately 6000 lightyear. Especially the OIII and SII signals are very faint. But during processing they could be retrieved well. Using the Hubble Palette, the final result is rather impressive with the big pillar structures in the nebula.