Markarian’s Chain

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An absolutely fantastic image of the Markarian's Chain taken by George Buckberry using a Dwarf 3 smart scope last night.  It was George's 1st attempt at imaging the chain.

Markarian's Chain is stunning curved string of at least eight galaxies, located near the core of the Virgo Galaxy Cluster. It features prominent galaxies like M84, M86, and the interacting pair "The Eyes" (NGC 4435/4438).

The chain starts with the large elliptical galaxies M84 and M86, and includes NGC 4435, NGC 4438, NGC 4461, NGC 4458, NGC 4473, and NGC 4477.

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Left is a labelled Markarian's chain by Joe Renzetti from Sky & Telescope to help you identify the galaxies.

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Sun & Moon by George Buckberry

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The Moon & Sun by member George Buckberry; both taken using a Dwarf 3 smart scope.

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The Heart Nebula (IC1805) by Honor Wheeler

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A stunning image of the Heart Nebula (IC 1805) taken by Honor Wheeler on the 25th February 2026 using a Dwarf3 smartscope.

The Heart Nebula is a vast emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia located approximately 7,500 light-years away in the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way. It glows with a characteristic red light from ionized hydrogen gas, spans roughly 300 light-years and resembles a human heart in appearance.

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Star Trails by Honor Wheeler

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A fantastic image of Star Trails by Honor Wheeler taken on the 24th February 2026 using a Dwarf3 smartscope.

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February’s deep sky images

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A superb selection of deep sky images taken by members during February 2026.

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sticky_enabled="0"][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.27.5" _module_preset="default" column_structure="1_2,1_2" theme_builder_area="post_content"][et_pb_column _builder_version="4.27.5" _module_preset="default" type="1_2" theme_builder_area="post_content"][et_pb_image src="https://crayfordmanorastro.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/WhatsApp-Image-2026-02-24-at-23.44.13.jpeg" _builder_version="4.27.5" _module_preset="default" theme_builder_area="post_content" title_text="WhatsApp Image 2026-02-24 at 23.44.13" hover_enabled="0" sticky_enabled="0"][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column _builder_version="4.27.5" _module_preset="default" type="1_2" theme_builder_area="post_content"][et_pb_image src="https://crayfordmanorastro.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/WhatsApp-Image-2026-02-24-at-23.44.14-1.jpeg" _builder_version="4.27.5" _module_preset="default" theme_builder_area="post_content" title_text="WhatsApp Image 2026-02-24 at 23.44.14 (1)" 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22.24.35" hover_enabled="0" sticky_enabled="0"][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.27.5" _module_preset="default" column_structure="1_2,1_2" theme_builder_area="post_content"][et_pb_column _builder_version="4.27.5" _module_preset="default" type="1_2" theme_builder_area="post_content"][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.27.5" _module_preset="default" theme_builder_area="post_content" hover_enabled="0" sticky_enabled="0"]

Part of the Pleiades (M45) taken by Diane Clarke using a Seestar s50 smartscope on the 25th February 2026.

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The Orion Nebula (M42) taken by Diane Clarke using a Seestar s50 smartscope on the 25th February 2026.

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The Sun

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Two images of the Sun taken using smartscopes on the 4th February 2026.

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Taken by Jim Burchell using a Seestar s50.

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February’s Moon images

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A great selection of Moon images taken by members during the month of February.

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Crescent Moon taken on the 22nd February 2026 by John Archer using a Dwarf3 smart scope.

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Waxing Gibbous Moon by Neil Webster taken on the 28/02/2026.

The Moon was 11.38 days old and 92.1% illuminated.  Neil used a AA 115mm APO, EQ6 R, ZWO ASI290MM and R/IR Filter to acquire the image.

6 frames. Each 90s x 32fps. Stitched in Microsoft ICE Firecapture, AutoStakkert and Photo Shop.

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IC443 The Jellyfish Nebula by George Buckberry

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A stunning image of IC443 - The Jellyfish Nebula taken by George Buckberry.

The Jellyfish Nebula (IC 443) is a supernova remnant located in the constellation Gemini. This nebula is approximately 5000 light-years from Earth and is estimated to be roughly 70 light-years in size. 

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Huge Sunspot AR4366

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Hot off the press - 2 images of the Sun showing the enormous Sunspot AR4366; taken on the 4th February 2026. The image on the left was taken by Jim Burchell using a Seestar s50 smart scope and the image on the right was taken by George Buckberry using a Dwarf3 smart scope. Both taken from the Dartford area.

AR4366 has unleashed dozens of solar flares including a powerful X8-class flare on the 1st February 2026. Most sunspots never produce even one X-flare but this week, giant sunspot 4366 has fired off six; the latest being an X4.2-class explosion on the 4th February.

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Below is a diagram of the sun with the sunspots labelled and an image of just AR4366. Both these images were taken from the website spaceweather.com.

''The image of the Sunspot AR4366 was taken by amateur astronomer James Kevin Ty on Feb 3rd from his backyard observatory in Manila. "This sunspot started as an inconspicuous pore just a few days ago. Since then it has grown hugely in size!" he says.

SUNSPOT ARCHIPELAGO: Sunspots are magnetic islands on the sun. Sunspot AR4366 is a complete archipelago. Scroll down to scan more than 200,000 miles of island chain.

The island metaphor is apt. Sunspots are buoyant concentrations of magnetism that float on a sea of solar plasma. Archipelago 4366 consists of one big island twice as wide as Earth plus dozens of lesser isles ranging in size from US states to small planets.

AR4366 is currently facing Earth.'' Ref:Spaceweather.com

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The Moon

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Two great images of the Moon taken by George Buckberry using a Dwarf3 smart scope.

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A Waxing Crescent Moon on the 23rd January 2026. 22.8% illuminated. Ref:https://theskylive.com/moon/2026-01-23

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A Waxing Gibbous Moon on the 27th January 2026. 65% illuminated. Ref:https://theskylive.com/moon/2026-01-27

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