Xanadu Observatory Deep Space Photos

M31, The Great Andromeda Galaxy (NGC 224).

M31 is visible to the naked eye in a dark sky. This image also includes two satellite galaxies to M31 - to the upper left is M32 (NGC 221) and near the bottom corner is M110 (NGC 205). At about 2 million light years away, this galaxy is a stunning view and has been one of my favorite telescopic views since I was a young boy.

M20, The Trifid Nebula (NGC 6514), and Open Cluster M21 (NGC 6531).

This fascinating nebula reminds me of a pulsating brain. Located only about 5,000 light years away, it consists of an emission nebula (the reddish-orange part), along with a reflection nebula (the greenish glow alongside). The Cluster M21 is a young group that is part of the Sagittarius OB1 association of stars. Narrowband filters were used to make this false-color image, using the CFHT pallette.

M24, the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud.

At the center of this image is open cluster NGC 6603, and towards the bottom is the dark nebula B92. M24 is a thick concentration of stars towards the center of our galaxy, and is roughly 11,700 light years away. The object is actually much larger than the image shows. Taken 8/28/06, this is a stack of 9 x 5min clear filter images in the 4" refractor..

M8, The Lagoon Nebula.

Looking toward the galactic center, M8 can actually be visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. This emission nebula has some nice structure including the dark lane that gives it's name. This LRGB image was taken 7/21/06 under partly cloudy skies using a 4" refractor.

The Veil Nebula, West (NGC 6960).

The Veil, also known as the Cygnus Loop, is a huge supernova remnant. This image used narrowband filters and colors were mapped as H-alpha=Red, Oxygen III=Green, and Sulfer II=Blue. Taken 7/8/06 under a 95% full moon with a 4" refractor.

The Veil Nebula, East (NGC 6992).

Here is the Eastern portion of the Veil supernova remnant. I had a lot of trouble getting this image and plan to re-shoot it sometime. Imaged 7/12/06 with the same narrowband map as the Veil West.

The Pelican Nebula (IC 5067) in H-Alpha.

This is a mosaic of 4 separate fields taken on different nights in June, 2006. A special narrowband filter which allows only a specific wavelength of light to pass (H-Alpha) was placed in front of the ccd camera. At the top of the image is a small portion of the North American Nebula. There are some equipment reflection artifacts near the bottom left, but this image shows some nice detail of a dense area of our Milky Way.

NGC253, The Silver Coin Galaxy.

This amazing spiral galaxy does not get very high from my location, so this image was taken when it was less than 30 degrees up. Clouds also caused some loss of detail. However there are still some bright HII regions visible. Taken 9/30/06 with the 4" refractor.

The Bubble Nebula, NGC 7635, and Open Cluster M52.

This picture shows M52, the Bubble Nebula, plus another open cluster named Czernik 43. It was taken during a partly cloudy night on 8/19/06 from my backyard.

The Snake Nebula (Barnard 72)

This is a dark nebula towards the galactic center. It is caused by a thick cloud of gas and dust blocking starlight behind it. There are several other Barnard objects visible in this image, which was taken 6/18/06 with a 4" refractor.

The Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula, inside the Open Cluster M16.

This picture shows a region of star-formation in our Milky Way. Dense pillars of Hydrogen gas and dust are condensing to form baby stars inside. The longest pillar is about 4 light years in length. The nebula is approximately 7000 light years away.

M27, The Dumbbell Nebula, AKA NGC 6853.

This Planetary Nebula is thought to be about 1200 light years away and is one of my favorites, because the source star can easily be seen in the center.

The PacMan Nebula, NGC 281.

This was a quick image in narrowband filters taken 7/12/06. Will be an interesting target for a better shot in the future.

M45, The Pleiades.

Also called "The Seven Sisters", the Pleiades is one of the most well-known asterisms in the sky. It looks like a tiny dipper and is a good test for eyesight - someone with good vision will be able to see the 6 brightest members. M45 is a cluster of newly formed bright stars. Many astronomers believe the bluish nebulosity surrounding these stars is dust left over from the stars' formation.

M57, The Ring Nebula, AKA NGC 6720.

The Ring is probably my favorite deep-sky object, for sentimental reasons - it was the first object I ever imaged, long ago, on a glass plate using a telescope at Kansas University. I also observed it visually when I was a kid using a 60mm refractor. This is a planetary nebula and is about 2300 light years away.

Star Clouds of the Milky Way

Taken in the wee morning hours during the final day of the Texas Star Party, this is a wide-field shot of the region around the center of our galaxy. If you look closely, many features such as nebulae and star clusters are visible.

M17 The Swan Nebula

This beautiful nebula is in the Milky Way. It has an unusual shape resembling a swan and can easily be seen in a small telescope. Images taken at TSP on 4/29/06, it became too windy to get adequate color data, so this image contains only clear and red filter information.

The Leo Triplet: Spiral Galaxies M65, M66, and NGC3628.

These galaxies really are gravitationally bound to each other and are located about 35 million light-years away. NGC is the rectangular shaped galaxy on the left, and has some very interesting dust lane structure. M66 is at top right, and m65 at bottom right. This image was taken with a 4" refractor on June 18, 2006.

M66 Spiral Galaxy.

This is a beautiful galaxy in the eyepiece of a telescope. This image uses an average of red and blue to create a "fake" green, so it's not very accurate, but the structure is evident.

M3 Globular Cluster, AKA NGC 5272.

The third object on Charles Messier's famous list is in the constellation Canes Venatici and is believed to contain about half a million stars! It's about 35,000 light years away and consists primarily of old, red stars. Many of its members are variable and there are also a large number of "Blue Stragglers".

NGC2419, The Intergalactic Wanderer. Also known as Caldwell 25 and Levy 195.

This globular cluster is quite distant and for many years was thought to be gravitationally unbound to the Milky Way.

NGC2392, The Eskimo Nebula. Also known as Clownface Nebula, Levy 18, and Caldwell 39.

This planetary nebula is about 4,000 light years away. It's a shell of gas and dusty material surrounding an exploded star. It shines at magnitude 9.2 in the constellation Gemini.

M42 The Great Orion Nebula.

This was my first CCD image through the 14" RCX400. Exposure times were very short (3 to 5 seconds for each color). I'll reshoot this nebula next winter.

Saturn Visits the Beehive Cluster.

In the spring of 2006, the planet Saturn spent a fair amount of time near Messier object M44, the Beehive Cluster. This picture was taken with a digital camera piggybacked on a telescope during the Messier Marathon.

Supernova 2005cs in Spiral Galaxy M51.

In June 2005 a supernova was discovered in M51, The Whirlpool Galaxy. This single 30-second exposure captured the supernova just 8 days after it was discovered. The purpose of this picture was simply to observe the supernova, not to try to get a pretty picture.