SH2-126 & LBN437 Gecko Nebula
Target Fun Facts LBN437 & SH2-126: SH2-126 is a large emission nebula in the Lacerta (The Lizard) constellation. It appears in this image as the red nebula. The source of its ionization is the intense ultraviolet radiation from the star 10 Lacertae, a blue main sequence star. The yellow-brownish nebula, which forms a “stellar funnel” […]
SH2-142/NGC7380 Wizard Nebula & Star Cluster
SH2-142/NGC 7380 Wizard Nebula; Captured from Mills Canyon Rim in Kiowa National Grasslands, NM with Big Bertha; 21 September 2025 Target Fun Facts The Wizard Nebula is often referred to as NGC 7380 but this classification really applies to the young star cluster (3.8 million years old!) associated with this nebulous region. The nebula itself […]
IC1396 Elephant Trunk Nebula
Target Fun Facts The Elephant’s Trunk Nebula 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. The dense globule piece of the nebula is IC 1396A; it is commonly called the Elephant’s Trunk nebula because […]
Southern Hemisphere – Atacama Desert March 2025
All of the images I captured during my “second annual” trip to San Pedro de Atacama, 27 March – 2 April 2025, are documented in their own gallery pages. But, as I started doing last year, I wanted to create a single gallery entry containing all of the images from this year’s trip in one […]
IC4812 Anteater Nebula
Fun facts The rather bizarre looking complex of dust and gas combines the steely blue reflection nebulae of IC 4812 and NGC 6726/27 which form the bulging eye with the densest part of Bernes 157 forming the body of the Anteater. From the body faint legs are spread out either side. The Anteater appears to […]
NGC3372 Carina Nebula
Fun facts The Carina Nebula or Eta Carinae Nebula (catalogued as NGC 3372; also known as the Great Carina Nebula) is a large, complex area of bright and dark nebulosity in the constellation Carina, located in the Carina–Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way galaxy. The nebula is approximately 8,500 light-years (2,600 pc) from Earth The […]
IC4604 Rho Ophiuchi Nebula
Fun facts The Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex is a complex of interstellar clouds with different nebulae, particularly a dark nebula which is centered 1° south of the star ρ Ophiuchi, which it among others extends to, of the constellation Ophiuchus. At an estimated distance of about 140 parsecs, or 460 light years, it is one […]
SH2-308 Dolphin Head Nebula
Fun facts Sh 2-308, also designated as Sharpless 308, RCW 11, or LBN 1052, and commonly known as the Dolphin Head Nebula, is an HII region located near the center of the constellation Canis Major, composed of ionized hydrogen. It is about 8 degrees south of Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. The […]
Chamaeleon II – Haast Eagle & Possum Nebulae Chamaeleon III – Talon and Thumbprint Nebulae
Fun facts Chamaeleon constellation: Chamaeleon is a small constellation in the deep southern sky. It is named after the Chamaeleon, a kind of lizard. It was first defined in the 16th century. STARS: There are four bright stars in Chamaeleon that form a compact diamond-shape approximately 10 degrees from the south celestial pole and about […]
IC4628 Prawn Nebula
Fun facts Prawn Nebula, also known as IC 4628, is located in the Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way, around 6,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Scorpius. It forms part of the tail of the “False Comet” anchored by the bright open cluster NGC 6231. {From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prawn_Nebula} The Prawn Nebula, is a massive stellar […]