Christmas Tree cluster and Cone nebula
The Christmas Tree star cluster (NGC2264) was named for its triangular shape made of young stars, that look like a tree. A bit below that cluster…
M45 Pleiades (Seven Sisters)
About 450 light-years away in the constellation of Taurus there is a famous Pleiades cluster, that landed in the Messier catalog under the M45 symbol…
M44 Beehive Cluster
There were several clear nights at the end of February this year. I was not able to take a trip to dark locations, unfortunately, so I have just set…
Sh2-188 Dolphin nebula
Planetary nebulae do not always look like rings or blobs, and Sh2-188 is an example of that. It was photographed for the first time in 1965 and was…
Dark nebulae in Vulpecula
The southern part of the Cygnus constellation is not as well known and not as often imaged as its northern area. But this is a place, where famous…
IC1848 Soul nebula fragment
I have already imaged the IC1848 nebula in the past using a 130mm aperture apochromatic refractor and an Atik383 camera. I was quite happy with that…
Perseus molecular cloud
Perseus molecular cloud is something that may look not attractive at the first glance. It does not contain any well-known targets, at least not the…
Messier 56 in Lyra
I always liked star clusters set against the stars of the Milky Way, and Messier 56 globular cluster is a perfect example of it. M56 is neither large…
Coma Cluster of galaxies
Eight years passed since the night I imaged the Coma Cluster for the first time. It was 6 inches then, and 10 inches now. It was 200 minutes then,…
Orion Belt with or without stars
Southern hemisphere people are definitely more privileged when you consider large and bright nebulae. All the Milky Way between Gemini to the south…
Mars and Pleiades in the one field of view
Last year we had a Mars opposition event. Many amazing images of Mars were captured over the last year, by both amateurs and also professionals…
NGC7380 Wizard nebula
I was taught that hydrogen merged with oxygen is a highly explosive mixture, and after the explosion, the water is the outcome. But nothing like this…