Category: Wide Field

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The Owl Nebula (also known as Messier 97, M97 or NGC 3587) is a planetary nebula approximately 2,030 light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. Estimated to be about 8,000 years old, it is approximately circular in cross-section with a faint internal structure. Ref:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owl_Nebula

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The Milky Way - 22nd April 2026

Taken at St Thomas Becket Church, Romney Marsh last night around 3am. It's a tracked panorama with 9 panels each of 2 mins and 9 separate (non-tracked) panels for the foreground. Mashed together in Photoshop and Lightroom.
Camera is a Nikon Z6iii full frame with a 17-28mm Nikon f2.8 lens taken at 17mm.

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Messier 13, or M13 (also designated NGC 6205 and sometimes called the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules, the Hercules Globular Cluster, or the Great Hercules Cluster), is a globular cluster of several hundred thousand stars in the constellation of Hercules.

5 hours of data using a FRA400 and PlayerOne585MC.

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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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Here are the latest fantastic deep sky images from members taken from the 11th to the 15th March 2026.

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M81 (and M82) by Jim Burchell

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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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A fantastic star trail image by member Simon Dawes taken whilst at Kelling Heath Autumn Star Party on the 20th September 2025.

Simon acquired the image by using a Sony A7SII mirrorless SLR camera on a Manfrotto static tripod & Viltrox 20mm f2.8 lens.  240x 30s exposures (4 hours) were done and stacked using Astro Pixel Processor.

Two stunning photos taken on 22nd June 2025, 11:30pm local time, at the Grand Canyon Star Party, Arizona, USA by member Richard Bohner.

First photo: The area of the Teapot and Scorpius. Taken with Canon 6D with 35mm f2.8 lens at ISO 10K, exposure time 8 seconds, single frame. Intentionally under exposed image to show constellation stars without Milky Way stars covering them.

Second photo: same area and equipment but with a 20 second exposure showing the Milky Way, Tea Pot & Scorpius. 

CMHASD member George Buckberry caught this plane transit across the sky below Orion on Thursday 27th February from Dartford. George used a Canon EOS 760D and Samyang 14mm wide Angle lens at F4. The camera was set to ISO 3200 and Bulb with Intervalometer set at 10 Sec exposure.

Four superb single shot images of the Milky Way captured by member Honor Wheeler whilst on holiday in Kelling Heath, Norfolk.  In one of the photo's there is a meteor!

Two super deep sky astroimages by CMHASD member and astrophotographer Neil Webster.

First is a stunning image of the Heart Nebula (IC1805) taken by Neil on the 22nd November 2022.  Neil acquired the image using a WO GT71 APO, 0.8x Reducer, EQ6 R, ZWO ASI194MC Pro, Astro Essentials 50mm Guide Scope, ZWO ASI290MM, Optolong L Enhance filter. 57 x 240s Subs, 15 x Darks, 35 x Flats/Bias. 

The Heart Nebula (also known as the Running dog nebula, IC 1805, Sharpless 2-190) is an emission nebula, 7500 light years away from Earth and located in the constellation Cassiopeia. It was discovered by William Herschel on 3 November 1787. The nebula got its name as it looks like a human heart and it spans almost 2 degrees in the sky, covering an area four times that of the diameter of the full moon. At the top right is the companion Fishhead Nebula.

Next, see below; is a fantastic widefield image of the Jellyfish Nebula taken by Neil on the 21st January 2023.

The Jellyfish Nebula; also known as IC443 and Sharpless 248 (Sh2-248) is a galactic supernova remnant (SNR) in the constellation Gemini. On the plane of the sky, it is located near the star Eta Geminorum. Its distance is roughly 5,000 light years from Earth.

The glowing cosmic tendrils and bulbous 'head' are what give this deep-sky object its name, as it resembles a jellyfish. The Jellyfish Nebula is all that remains of a massive star that ran out of fuel and exploded as a supernova, leaving behind a shell of glowing gas. IC 443 has an angular diameter of 50 arcmin, the full moon by comparison, is 30 arcmin across.

Check out Neil's flickr page at https://www.flickr.com/photos/137388222@N05/

Members Jim Burchell, Diane Clarke and Richard Bohner were up very early on the 29th May 2022 to do a bit of planet spotting. 

Jim captured the Mars & Jupiter conjunction from Dartford at 3.30am and a little bit later Saturn with Mars & Jupiter.

Mars & Jupiter

Mars, Jupiter & Saturn

Meanwhile Diane Clarke captured Jupiter & Mars and then Venus from Belvedere at 4am.

Jupiter & Mars

Venus above a cloud bank

Then 8 hours later in Arizona member Richard Bohner captured Mars & Jupiter (with Moons) too in the early morning sky. Richard said 'It was very windy this morning and was having camera shake in some of my photos. These are 3 second images at ISO 2500.'

Mars & Jupiter from Arizona.