These cirrus cloud-like nebulae are the last visible remnants of a star that exploded in the Milky Way about 8,000 years ago. For people living at that time the expanding cloud was as bright as a crescent moon and visible
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Veil Nebulae in Cygnus
IC1613 – Dwarf Galaxy in Cetus
After upgrading our telescope in Namibia, we took an image of the fascinating dwarf galaxy IC1613 which was visible in the sky all night long. Located 2.3 million light-years away, it contains around 100 million stars and has an irregular
Read moreNGC6603 and the small Sagittarius Star Cloud M24
The center of our Milky Way is almost completely obscured from our view by interstellar dust and is therefore virtually invisible. But there is a small, tunnel-like window that allows us to see a particularly star-rich part of the Milky
Read moreM83 – Southern Pinwheel Galaxy
M83 is a gem in the southern night sky. Prominet spiral arms characterize this galaxy, the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy. Many reddish star-forming regions run along the edges of the thick dust lanes in its arms. They led to the further
Read moreA Cormorant in the Southern Celestial Serpent MW9
Like a cormorant on the hunt for prey is a part of this nebula shaped. In contrast to the typical gas nebulae in the plane of our Milky Way this type of nebula can be seen towards the north and
Read moreNebulae in the Small Magellanic Cloud
A small, hazy spot can be seen in the southern night sky, the Small Magellanic Cloud. The name is misleading, however, because it is a dwarf galaxy. At least that was thought until the end of 2023. New observations now
Read moreTarantula Nebula – NGC2070
Like gracile spider legs the structures of the Tarantula Nebula spread themselves in the left part of my image. It is visible to the naked eye as a bright, nebulous spot in the southern starry sky, although it is not
Read moreDragon’s Egg Nebula – NGC 6164 and NGC 6165
And the star in the middle created both oval nebulae. It is known as the dragon’s egg. Its name is derived from its proximity to the nebula NGC6188, the “fighting dragons of the ara”. Once, it were actually three stars,
Read moreGreat Sagittarius Cluster – M22
The Great Sagittarius Cluster Messier 22 is a globular cluster in a densely packed group of stars near the center of the Milky Way. With around 80,000 stars, it is the brightest globular cluster visible from Europe. However, it is
Read moreThe Ghost of Barnard – SH2-36
This very faint object, similar to a ghost, lies in the constellation of Sagittarius. Striking are the streaks of weakly reflecting clouds, the galactic cirrus. Originally described as an HII region, it is a nebula that is illuminated by our
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