Other Deep Sky Objects

So you have observed the Messier and Caldwell objects and want to know what other wonders are out there, the Herschel 400 would be a good start, but if you are after inspiration why not look at what others are observing by having a browse below.

NGC 6992 & NGC 891 by Jim Burchell

Two excellent deep sky images taken by Jim Burchell on the 14th Sept 2024 of NGC 6992 and NGC 891 using his Seestar S50 smartcope.

The Veil Nebula is a cloud of heated, ionized gas and dust in the constellation Cygnus. It constitutes the visible portions of the Cygnus Loop a supernova remnant. Sections of the Veil Nebula have their own individual names and catalogue identifiers and NGC6992 is a bright area in the Eastern Veil (also known as Caldwell 33) of the Veil Nebula.

The image is made up of 138 x 10 second stacked images. Then processed in Snapseed.

”NGC 891 (also known as Caldwell 23, the Silver Sliver Galaxy, and the Outer Limits Galaxy) is an edge-on unbarred spiral galaxy about 30 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda. It was discovered by William Herschel on October 6, 1784.” Ref:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_891

This image is made up of 48 x 10 sec stacked images. Then processed in Snapseed. Ref:

The Fireworks Galaxy by Terry Miles

A superb image of the Fireworks Galaxy also known as NGC6946 taken by member Terry Miles on the 10th Sept 2024 using his Seestar S50 smartscope despite some very annoying high thin clouds that would not just go away.

”The Fireworks Galaxy, is a face-on intermediate spiral galaxy with a small bright nucleus, whose location in the sky straddles the boundary between the northern constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus. Its distance from Earth is about 25.2 million light-years.” Ref:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_6946

The Veil Nebula by Kevin Langford

An absolutely stunning mosaic image of the Veil Nebula taken by member Kevin Langford from Bexley on the nights of the 11th & 12th August 2024.

The Veil Nebula is a cloud of heated, ionized gas and dust in the constellation Cygnus. It constitutes the visible portions of the Cygnus Loop a supernova remnant.

This is a 4 panel mosaic; with just 40 mins of data per panel. Kevin says it needs a lot more data to be added but we think it is fantastic already.

Equipment used: ES102 with focus reducer, L-eNhance filter.
Software used Nina, Sirilic, Ice, Siril, and Affinity photo.

M31 by Kevin Langford – 19th August 2024

Messier 31 The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) taken by member Kevin Langford on the 19th August 2024 from Bexley. Kevin said ”This is just a 30mins of exposure as I was packing up for the night. I know it is very grainy, it needs a lot more time spent on it.” Well we think it is rather superb as it is Kevin!

Kevin acquired his image using an ES102 with focus reducer and L-eNhance filter. Processed using Nina, Siril, and Affinity photo.

Latest images by member Terry Miles

Two super images by member Terry Miles taken using his Seestar S50 smart telescope on the 11th August 2024. The images are short exposures for deep-sky objects but you can clearly see the ring nebula in the 1st image and some nebulosity of the Eastern Veil Nebula in the 2nd image.

M57 The Ring Nebula. Also catalogued as NGC 6720 is a planetary nebula in the northern constellation of Lyra.

NGC 6992 The Eastern Veil Nebula. The Veil Nebula is a cloud of heated and ionized gas and dust in the constellation Cygnus.

Messier 31 & NGC 6888 by Jim Burchell

Two deep sky images by member Jim Burchell taken on the 4th May 2024 using a Seestar S50 smart scope.

NGC 6888 (Total of 28mins of exposure)

NGC 6888 (also known as the Crescent Nebula, Caldwell 27 and Sharpless 105) is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1792 and is about 5000 light-years from Earth.

Messier M31 (Total of 11mins of exposure)

Messier 31 also known as M31 and NGC 224 is the Andromeda Galaxy. M31 is a barred spiral galaxy and is the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way.

IC434, Horsehead Nebula and NGC2024 Flame Nebula by Kevin Langford

A fantastic image of IC434, the Horsehead Nebula & Flame Nebula (NGC2024) in the constellation Orion by member Kevin Langford. The image was taken on the 19th January 2024 from Bexley, Kent.

Kevin acquired his image using a ES 102ED APO, 0.7x focal reducer corrector, EQ5 Pro, ZWO ASI071, Orion MMAG and a L-enhance filter. A total of 2.45 hours of exposures.

IC434 is a bright emission nebula in Orion. It was discovered on February 1, 1786 by William Herschel.

The Horsehead Nebula is a small dark nebula silhouetted against IC 434 and is located near to the star Alnitak (ζ ) which is a triple star system at the eastern end of Orion’s belt. The Horsehead Nebula is approximately 1,375 light-years from Earth. It is one of the most identifiable nebulae because of its resemblance to a horse’s head.

The Flame Nebula (NGC2024) is also an emission nebula, it has a radius of 6 light-years and located about 1350 light-years away from Earth.

The Milky Way by Honor Wheeler – Oct 2023

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!

Crescent Nebula by Kevin Langford

A stunning image of the Crescent Nebula taken by member Kevin Langford on the 5th Sept 2023.

”The Crescent Nebula (also known as NGC 6888, Caldwell 27, Sharpless 105) is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, about 5000 light-years away from Earth. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1792. It is formed by the fast stellar wind from the Wolf-Rayet star WR 136 (HD 192163) colliding with and energizing the slower moving wind ejected by the star when it became a red giant around 250,000 to 400,000 years ago. The result of the collision is a shell and two shock waves, one moving outward and one moving inward. The inward moving shock wave heats the stellar wind to X-ray-emitting temperatures.” Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crescent_Nebula

Details of how Kevin acquired the image are below.

ES 102ED APO, EQ5 Pro
ZWO ASI071, Orion MMAG, L-Enhanced filter
4hrs of exposures
Capture software N.I.N.A and processed using Siril and Affinity Photo
Taken in Bexley, Kent.

Collinder 26 by Simon Dawes – 14th February 2023

Super image of Collinder 26 – the heart of the Heart Nebula (IC1805) in the constellation Cassiopeia; aptly taken by member and trustee Simon Dawes on the 14th February 2023.

The Heart Nebula’s intense red output and its form are driven by the radiation emanating from a small group of stars near the nebula’s center. This open cluster of stars, known as Collinder 26 or Melotte 15, contains some stars that are 50 times the mass of our Sun.

The Collinder catalogue is a catalogue of 471 open clusters compiled by Swedish astronomer Per Collinder.

Details of how Simon obtained the image are on the photo.