SpacePhoto.de (Posts about FN250)

Messier 101 – The Pinwheel Galaxy in Ursa Major

Martin Timpe — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Messier 101 (NGC 5457), better known as the Pinwheel Galaxy, is a face-on grand-design spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. It lies at a distance of approximately 21 million light years (≈ 6.4 Mpc) and shines at an apparent magnitude of about 7.9, which puts it within easy reach of a small telescope - provided the sky is dark enough, as its light is spread over an apparent diameter of nearly 29 arc minutes, close to the full Moon's. The galaxy was discovered by Pierre Méchain on 27 March 1781 and reported to Charles Messier, who immediately included it among the very last entries of his famous catalogue (Wikipedia: Pinwheel Galaxy).

The Pinwheel Galaxy M101 (NGC 5457) in Constellation Ursa Major, Telescope Newton f=1000mm f/4, Camera Atik 460Exm with Baader LRGB and Hα filters, Total Exposure Time 22h20min

The Merope Nebula in the Pleiades

Martin Timpe — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 20:00:00 GMT

NGC 1435, commonly called the Merope Nebula, is a galactic nebula nestled within the Pleiades region in Taurus. German astronomer Wilhelm Tempel discovered this elusive object on October 19, 1859.

NGC 1435, the Merope Nebula in the Pleiades, image data: f=1000mm, f/4, 9x300s RGB, Atik460Exm

Globular Cluster Messier 3 in Constellation Canis Venatici

Martin Timpe — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 19:00:00 GMT

Messier 3 (NGC 5272) stands as one of the finest globular clusters accessible to northern hemisphere imagers, offering both visual splendor and technical challenge. This densely packed stellar sphere in Canes Venatici contains approximately 500,000 stars compressed into a volume roughly 180 light-years across.

Globular Cluster Messier 3: Newton 10" f/4, Atik 460EXM, Exposure Sum 5h10min, 9/2023-12/2025, Fuerfeld, Deutschland

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NGC 2264 – The Christmas Tree Cluster & Cone Nebula

Martin Timpe — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 23:00:00 GMT

NGC 2264 is one of the most rewarding winter targets for astrophotographers in the northern hemisphere. The designation actually covers a complex of objects: the iconic Christmas Tree Cluster, the Cone Nebula, the Fox Fur Nebula, and the Snowflake Cluster – all embedded in a rich emission nebula in the constellation Monoceros. The exposures were done in two nights on 28/29th and 30/31st December 2025. The image is a composit of exposures taken trough H-apha and RGB filters.

NGC 2264, Christmas Tree Cluster, image data: f=1000mm, f/4 Ha: 15x600s RGB: 27, 18, 27x300s Atik 460Exm

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The Galaxy Cluster Abell 2151 in Constellation Hercules

Martin Timpe — Sun, 12 May 2024 21:00:00 GMT

The galaxy cluster Abell 2151 in the constellation Hercules, therefore also known as the Hercules cluster, has an extension of approx. 1° and is located at a distance of approx. 500 light years. Unlike other clusters, it has no central galaxy, and contains several interacting galaxy systems. It was first described by Harlow Shapley in 1933.

The Galaxy Cluster Abell 2151 in Constellation Hercules, Telescope Newton f=1000mm f/4, Camera Atik 460Exm, Total Exposure Time 13h30min

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NGC 225 - Open Cluster in Constellation Cassiopeia

Martin Timpe — Thu, 14 Sep 2023 21:00:00 GMT

NGC 225 is an open cluster in the constellation Cassiopeia. It is located roughly 2,200 light-years from Earth. It is about 100 to 150 million years old. The binary fraction, or the fraction of stars that are multiple stars, is 0.52. It is also known as sailboat cluster. But what's happening at the top of the mast? The boat is obviously being boarded by an octopus - the more clearer, the longer you expose (or if you drink too much red wine)... Beside the quite nice, probably not so well known star cluster you can see interesting dust clouds and a reflection nebula, which are cataloged as LDN 1291 and LBN 604.

NGC 225, the sailboat cluster in Constellation Cassiopeia, Telescope Newton 10" f/4, Camera Atik 460EXM, Total Exposure Time 11h05min

The Iris Nebula NGC 7023

Martin Timpe — Fri, 08 Sep 2023 20:00:00 GMT

The Iris nebula is a bright reflecion nebula in the constellation Cepheus. It's appearance is caused by the very hot star HD 200775 in it's centre whose light is partly reflected and partly absorbed by surrounding dust clouds. As can be seen from the labeled image, the dust cloud itself can be found in Lynd's cataologue of dark nebulae as entry LDN 1174. The reflection nebula shines at magnitude +6.8. It lies 1,300 light-years away and is six light-years across

NGC 7023 in Constellation Cepheus, Telescope Newton 10" f/4, Camera Atik 460EXM, Total Exposure Time 12h35min

M 106 - Galaxy in Constellation Canes Venatici

Martin Timpe — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 21:00:00 GMT

The galaxy Messier 106 (M 106) in the constellation Canes Venatici is one of our closer neighbour galaxies in roughly 23 million light years distance from the Milkyway and the Earth. The galaxy hosts an active nucleus with a black hole of approximately 40 million solar masses. The galaxy core is known as a radio source since the 1950s. Further the galaxy undergoes a period of increased star-formation (starburst galaxy).

Crop of M 106 in Constellation Canes Venatici, Telescope Newton 10" f/4, Camera Atik 460EXM, Total Exposure Time 17h50min

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NGC 1977 - The Running Man Nebula

Martin Timpe — Sat, 11 Mar 2023 13:00:00 GMT

The reflection nebula NGC 1977 in the constellation Orion a slightly north of the Great Orion-Nebula.

Image Data: NGC 1977, the "Running Man Nebula", Telescope Newton 10" f/4, Camera Atik 460EXM, 8x300s per Channel, RGB

Tadpoles in the Cosmic Pond: IC 410 and NGC 1893

Martin Timpe — Sun, 19 Feb 2023 23:00:00 GMT

In the constellation Auriga on clear winter nights one can find the open cluster NGC 1893 embedded in the emission nebula IC 410. While NGC 1893 can be observed visually using a telescope with proper aperture the faint nebula IC 410 is a real hard case for the visual observer and much easier to catch by photography. Due to some smaller but prominent star formation regions the nebula IC 410 is nicknamed as the "tadpole nebula". IC 410 was discovered on September 25, 1892 by the (german) astronomer Max Wolf (June 21, 1863 - October 3, 1932) while the open cluster NGC 1893 was discovered already earlier on January 22, 1827 by the (british) astronomer John Herschel (Mar 7, 1792 - May 11, 1871).

IC 410 and NGC 1893, camera Atik 460EXmono, optics Lacerta Newton f=1000mm f/4, 2023-02-08, Bad Kreuznach, Germany

What can be seen in the image is what cannot be seen visually through a telescope. The image is presented in false colors resulting from an (amongst astro-photographers widely known) image acquisition technique using narrow band filters.