Pelican Nebula (IC 5070)
The Pelican Nebula (IC 5070), is another one of Milky Way’s stellar nurseries. It earned the name due to its shape when viewed in the visible spectrum, such as on this photo: the shape is defined by border of cold,
All Photographs
Giant Squid Nebula (Outters 4)
Outters 4 (Ou4) is a very mysterious object, not only because it does not have its own wikipedia page in English. Colloquially called a Squid (or a Giant Squid) Nebula it was discovered only in 2011 by a French amateur
Heart of the Heart Nebula (Melotte 15)
Melotte 15 is the central region of the Heart Nebula (IC 1805), some 7,500 light years away from us. Melotte 15 is a relatively small open cluster of stars some 1.5 million years old, some of them 50-times more massive
Rosette Nebula (NGC 2237)
The Rosette Nebula is a symmetrically-shaped region of ionized hydrogen (HII region) located at an edge of a huge molecular cloud in the constellation of Monoceros. More formally it is denoted as Caldwell 49, and also NGC 2237 (which also
The Great Orion Nebula (M42)
The Orion Nebula (M42 or NGC 1976), the colorful giant, got the distinctive honor to be designated the number 42 in the Messier catalog. M42, looking like a fuzzy star, can be seen by the naked eye in the middle
Pacman Nebula (NGC 281)
NGC 281 is a bright emission nebula that resembles Ms. Pac-Man, more so when viewed in the visible spectrum (this photo is in narrowband). It’s more formal designations in various catalogs are NGC 281, IC 11 or Sh2-184. Objects lying on the Milky Way
The Great Wall of North America (NGC 7000)
The North America Nebula earned that name due to its shape strikingly resembling the North American continent. Pictured here is the “southern” part of the nebula, which, apart from showing what looks like the Gulf of Mexico, features a star-forming
Lagoon Nebula (M8)
The Lagoon Nebula (M8, NGC 6523 or Sharpless 25) is an emission nebula in the constellation Sagittarius, one of the few nebulae in the northern skies faintly visible by the naked eye (the other ones being, for example, the Great
Andromeda (M31)
Andromeda is the closest galaxy to us, estimated to be some 2.57 million light years away, and moving towards us. Our two galaxies will collide and interact in about 4.5 billion years from now, forming one bigger galaxy. Andromeda (M31)
Whirlpool Galaxy (M51)
The Whirlpool Galaxy, a spiral galaxy in the constellation of Canes Venatici, is some 23 million light years away from us and some 76,000 light years across. It’s not visible by a naked eye but can be easily observed by