Mount: iOptron iEQ30 Pro

Andromeda Galaxy

Andromeda Galaxy

Posted by | Nov 17, 2017 | , |

One of, if not the most famous deep sky objects is Messier 31 – as known as the Andromeda galaxy. At the proximity of only 2.5 million light-years to the Earth it get the well-deserved title of the closest neighbor of our galaxy – the Milky Way. Located in the constellation bearing its own name – Andromeda, the spiral galaxy like ours is actually moving on a highway towards us at the speed limit of about 110 kilometers per second. Astronomers have estimated that Andromeda will collide with the Milky Way in 4 billion years from now. However, by...

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Rosette Nebula

Rosette Nebula

Posted by | Nov 12, 2017 | , |

This cosmic flowery nebula is called Rosette after the red roses you are able to find in your backyard during spring. Inside the nebula lies an open cluster of young stars designated NGC 2244. They formed about 4 million years ago from the nebular material and their stellar winds are drilling a hole in nebula’s center, all of it insulated by cosmic dust and hot gases. The Rosette Nebula spans about 100 light-years across, at about 5000 light-years away from Earth. It is one of the few deep space objects that can be seen with even a small telescope...

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Jellyfish Nebula

Jellyfish Nebula

Posted by | Dec 12, 2015 | , |

Jellyfish Nebula (IC 443) is a Galactic supernova remnant (SNR) in the constellation Gemini. IC 443 may be the remains of a supernova that occurred 3,000 – 30,000 years ago. On the plan of the sky, it is located near the star Eta Geminorum. Its distance is roughly 5,000 light years from Earth. It is one of the best-studied cases of supernova remnants interacting with surrounding molecular clouds. At the estimated distance of 5,000 ly (1,500 parsec) from Earth, it corresponds to a physical size of roughly 70 light years (20...

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Horsehead and Flame Nebulae

Horsehead and Flame Nebulae

Posted by | Dec 11, 2015 | , |

The Horsehead Nebula (also known as Barnard 33) is a dark nebula in the constellation Orion. The nebula is located just to the south of the star Alnitak, which is farthest east on Orion’s Belt, and is part of the much larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. The Horsehead Nebula is approximately 1500 light years from Earth. It is one of the most identifiable nebulae because of the shape of its swirling cloud of dark dust and gases, which bears some resemblance to a horse’s head when viewed from Earth. Also visible in this picture to the left side is...

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Rosette Nebula

Rosette Nebula

Posted by | Sep 19, 2015 | , , |

The Rosette Nebula is a large spherical H II region (circular in appearance) located near one end of a giant molecular cloud in the Monoceros region of the Milky Way Galaxy. The open cluster NGC 2244 (Caldwell 50) is closely associated with the nebulosity, the stars of the cluster having been formed from the nebula’s matter. The cluster and nebula lie at a distance of some 5,000 light-years from Earth and measure roughly 130 light years in diameter. The radiation from the young stars excites the atoms in the nebula, causing them to emit radiation themselves producing the emission...

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