Messier 45 (The Pleiades Cluster)

The Pleiades is one of my favorite objects to stare at. It’s bright and can be observed from anywhere, all you need are your eyes. Binoculars and a telescope help, but is not necessary. I imaged this a few years ago and wasn’t too happy with it, and I’ve always wanted to revisit this.

This is my second attempt at the Pleiades. I took this the same night as The Horsehead Nebula as I was waiting for Orion to rise.

Click here for more details

Barnard 33 (The Horsehead Nebula)

For Diwali, I present the Flame and the Horsehead Nebula. This is Barnard 33, a dark nebula in the constellation of Orion. The dark nebula which forms the horse’s head is illuminated from behind by the bright emission nebula IC 434

Right next to the Horsehead Nebula is the Flame Nebula and a small blue reflection nebula NGC 2023. 

The Horsehead and the Flame are right by Alnitak, the first star in Orion’s Belt.

Click here for more details. 

IC 1805 (The Heart and Fish Head Nebula)

This is IC1805, also known as the Heart Nebula. This is a large nebula about 7500 light-years away from us.

The nebula shines bright red due to all the hydrogen gas excited by the nearby stars. The center of the nebula has a cluster of stars that contribute to this as well.

The other significant part of this nebula is NGC896, also known as the Fish Head Nebula. I captured this a few days ago in incredible light-polluted skies in my apartment complex.

Click here for more details. 

NGC 7635 (The Bubble Nebula)

NGC 7635 also known as the Bubble Nebula is an emission nebula in Cassiopeia. This Bubble is a result of very fast stellar winds from a massive star in the middle.

I took this picture a few days ago. It was almost a full moon at 97% and I used an Optolong L-eNhance 2″ filter to counter light pollution and the moon.

Click here for more details.

NGC 6960 (Veil Nebula or The Witch’s Broom)

NGC 6960 or commonly known as the Veil Nebula or The Witch’s Broom is a very large supernova remnant in the Cygnus constellation. The wispy filaments are from the explosion of a star that is 20 times the size of our Sun.

I took this picture on June 06, 2020. It was almost a full moon and I used an Optolong l-eNhance 2″ filter to cut through the light.

Click here for more details.