Images
Deep Sky Objects and members of the Solar System
captured, processed and displayed below
Featured Images
Solar imaging has been in the works for a long time now. But I’m now far enough with my setup that I can actually make decent solar images. See here the first result with both a full disk image and a close-up of a prominence. Both images are also processed as timelapse video. A lot of room for improvement, but off to a good start.
Messier 53 is a globular cluster located in the constellation Coma Berenices. It is one of the most distant globular clusters associated with the Milky Way, lying approximately 58,000 light-years from Earth. M53 is often observed alongside its neighbouring globular cluster, NGC 5053, which lies nearby in the sky.
Messier 67 is an open star cluster located in the constellation Cancer. It is one of the oldest known open clusters, with an estimated age of around 4 billion years, making it significantly older than most other open clusters in the Milky Way. M67 is situated approximately 2,700 light-years from Earth and contains over 500 stars, many of which are similar in age and composition to the Sun.
Sh2-230 is an H II region in the constellation Auriga, approximately 6,800-9,800 light-years from Earth. The nebula spans 16–26 light-years in diameter. The large region known as Sh2-230, but within this region, there are many more, often better known objects, such as M36, M38, Sh2-229, Sh2-234 and Sh2-236 ad Sh2-237.
Messier 109 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Ursa Major, approximately 83.5 million light-years from Earth. It is one of the brightest galaxies in the Ursa Major Cluster. M109 is notable for its prominent central bar structure. The galaxy has a magnitude of about 9.8. It spans roughly 180,000 light-years in diameter, making it slightly larger than the Milky Way.
Arp 41 is a grand design spiral galaxy located in the constellation Eridanus, approximately 60 to 65 million light-years away from Earth. It is part of Halton Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies, a catalog of unusual and distinctive galaxies. It includes a smaller, irregular companion galaxy, NGC 1232A, which appears to be interacting gravitationally with the main galaxy.
Caldwell 2, also known as NGC 40 or the Bow-Tie Nebula, is a planetary nebula located in the constellation Cepheus. The nebula is approximately 3,500 light-years away from Earth. It is a very small object, with an apparent diameter of only 0.9 arcmin.
Caldwell 48, also known as NGC2775, is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Cancer. It is a so-called flocculent spiral galaxy, meaning the arms are patchy and discontinuous, giving them a fluffy or woolly appearance.
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.
On 29 March 2025, a partial solar eclipse was visible from the West of Europe and the East of North America. From Groningen, a maximum coverage of about 25% was reached around mid-day. While clouds prevented a continuous experience, some nice images and even a full timelapse of the event was created.