Messier – Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society Dartford

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A fantastic image of the Trifid Nebula taken by Richard Bohner in July 2025 from Cottonwood in Arizona, USA.

Richard used a Seestar s50 smart scope to take the image.

The Trifid Nebula (catalogued as Messier 20 or M20 and as NGC 6514) is an H II region in the north-west of Sagittarius about 4100 light-years from Earth.

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More deep sky images taken using a Dwarf3 smart scope

30th January 2026

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| 7:48 pm

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A super selection of deep sky images taken by member George Buckberry using a Dwarf3 smart scope on the 3rd & 5th January 2026.

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The Crab Nebula (catalogue designations M1, NGC 1952, Taurus A) is a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula in the constellation of Taurus. Ref:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_Nebula

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A close up of the Crab Nebula.

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The Triangulum Galaxy is a spiral galaxy 2.878 million light-years (ly) from Earth in the constellation Triangulum. It is catalogued as Messier 33 or NGC 598. The Triangulum Galaxy is the third-largest member of the Local Group of galaxies, behind the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way. Ref:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangulum_Galaxy

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Bode's Galaxy (also known as NGC 3031 or Messier 81) is a grand design spiral galaxy about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. Ref:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_81

The galaxy above it (centre top of image) is the Cigar Galaxy also known as Messier 82.

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The Rosette Nebula (also known as Caldwell 49) is an H II region located near one end of a giant molecular cloud in the Monoceros region of the Milky Way Galaxy. Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosette_Nebula

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The Elephant's Trunk Nebula (IC 1396A) is a concentration of interstellar gas and dust within the much larger ionized gas region IC 1396 located in the constellation Cepheus about 2,400 light-years away from Earth. Ref:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant%27s_Trunk_Nebula

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The Orion Nebula

3rd January 2026

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| 11:49 am

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The Orion Nebula taken by George Buckberry on the 1st Jan 2026 using a Dwarf3 smart scope. This is a brilliant image as it was acquired just after a total of 15 mins of exposure. Just shows what smart scopes can do!

''The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated south of Orion's belt in the constellation of Orion. It is one of the brightest nebulae and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky with an apparent magnitude of 4.0. It is 1,344 ± 20 light-years (412.1 ± 6.1 pc) away and is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. M42 is estimated to be 25 light-years across (so its apparent size from Earth is approximately 1 degree). It has a mass of about 2,000 times that of the Sun. Older texts frequently refer to the Orion Nebula as the Great Nebula in Orion or the Great Orion Nebula.'' Ref:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_Nebula

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Deep Sky images by George Buckberry

2nd January 2026

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| 6:46 pm

A super selection of deep sky images taken by George Buckerry on the 4th and 31st Dec 2025 using a Dwarf3 smart scope.

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Jim Burchell’s images – 18th Nov to the 26th Nov 2025

23rd December 2025

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| 7:35 pm

A super collection of images taken by member Jim Burchell from the 18th to the 26th Nov 2025.

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John Archer’s images – 21st Nov to the 28th Nov 2025

23rd December 2025

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| 5:42 pm

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A superb collection of images taken by member John Archer from the 21st to the 28th Nov 2025 using a Dwarf3 smartscope.

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The Moon on the 28th Nov 2025

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Latest images 11th to 20th December 2025

21st December 2025

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| 2:49 pm

A fabulous selection of images taken by members Kevin Smith, Dan Stevens and George Buckberry from the 11th to the 20th December 2025.

Kevin Smith using a Dwarf 3 smartscope

The Horsehead Nebula. A total of 4 hours 15mins exposure time.

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Dan Stevens using a Seestar smart scope

George Buckberry using a Dwarf3 smartscope

The Sun with a single sunspot........

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17th/18th November 2025 images by George Buckberry

20th November 2025

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| 1:21 pm

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The latest images from member George Buckberry. Taken using a Dwarf3 smart scope.

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