Nebula - Chaotic Nebula

IC5067 – The Pelican Nebula

Post published:September 17, 2021
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The Pelican Nebula is an emission nebula within the constellation Cygnus, the Swan. The Pelican Nebula is identified as IC5070, but the prominent feature imaged below is a small portion, which is identified as IC5067.

The Pelican Nebula is an active star forming region, which helps to ionize the gasses, allowing for easier imaging through narrowband filters.

The Pelican Nebula is 1,800 light years away. This nebula is quite large. The image below is a single panel. In order to capture the entire nebula, I would need to create a mosaic 3 panels wide by 4 panels tall (12 panels total).

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M82 – The Cigar Galaxy

Post published:August 2, 2021
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M82 - The Cigar Galaxy

In the constellation Ursa Major, you can find M82, The Cigar Galaxy. M82 is part of a group of galaxies, called the M81 group. M82 and M81 (Bode’s Galaxy) are the brightest members of the group. M82 and the associated group are fairly close, only 12 million light years away, making it a fairly easy galaxy to image due because it is so bright.

The starburst activity, shown in yellow/orange color, is due to M82 interacting with M81. The starburst activity is better seen with the use of a hygrogen-alpha filter.

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NGC 6543 – Cat’s Eye Nebula

Post published:July 16, 2021
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The Cat’s Eye nebula is a planetary nebula in the constellation Draco. A planetary nebula is the ejected shell of a red giant star at the end of a medium sized star’s life. This particular planetary nebula is around 3,300 light years away. The small fuzzy object to the right is the barred spiral galaxy NGC 6552, which lies 350 million light years away.

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M63 – Sunflower Galaxy

Post published:June 18, 2021
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M63 - Sunflower Galaxy

The M95 galaxy, the Sunflower Galaxy (also known as NGC 5055), is located in the constellation Canes Venatici. It is a spiral galaxy 29 million light years away. The galaxy is active (weakly), which means it is producing stars in the red regions. Those regions are hydrogen emissions (hydrogen-alpha).

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M95

Post published:May 22, 2021
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M95

The M95 galaxy (also known as NGC 3351), located in the constellation Leo, is a barred spiral galaxy 32 million light.

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Leo Triplet (M65, M66, and NGC 3628

Post published:April 11, 2021
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Leo Triplet (M65, M66, NGC 3628

The Leo Triplet (M65, M66 and NGC 3628) is a group of galaxies roughly 35 million light years away. The galaxy NGC 3628 is sometimes referred to as the Hamburger Galaxy.

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NGC 2359 – Thor’s Helmet

Post published:March 13, 2021
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NGC 2359 - Thor's Helmet

Thor’s Helmet (NGC 2359 or SH2-208) is an emission nebula in Canis Major located 12 thousand light years away. At the center of the round bubble is a Wolf-Rayet star, that is thought to be at the early stages of a supernova. This is similar to what is happening in the Bubble Nebula. The Wolf-Rayet type star is what is making this nebula shine.

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Barnard 33 – Horsehead Nebula

Post published:February 13, 2021
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Barnard 33 - Horsehead Nebula (HA Filter)

The Horsehead Nebula (1,375 light years away) is a located at the left-most star of Orion’s belt. Orion has a lot of interest for the astrophotographer, mostly because of M42 – The Orion Nebula (which can be seen with the naked eye).

The Horsehead Nebula is a dark nebula, in that the dust is so thick that it blocks visible light. The structure around the Horsehead Nebula is lit by the bright star located below and left of the horse’s head in the image.

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IC 1805 – The Heart of the Heart Nebula

Post published:December 26, 2020
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IC 1805 - Heart Nebula (Heart of the Heart)

I recently completed a 15-panel mosaic using only the hydrogen alpha filter to capture IC 1805 – The Heart Nebula. The next step was to focus attention on the center of the heart. The heart of the heart nebula, shot with three narrowband filters to generate a color image.

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IC 1805 – The Heart Nebula

Post published:November 26, 2020
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IC 1805 - Heart Nebula (HA Filter)

The Heart Nebula is an emission nebula located in the constellation Cassiopeia. The monochrome images shows the glowing, ionized hydrogen gas. Looking at the nebula through a hydrogen-alpha filter, it is quite easy to see how the nebula got its name.

IC 1805 is roughly 7,500 light years away, which means the light captured today, left the nebula 7,500 years ago, about the time humans first started smelting copper.

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