Astrophotography Gallery

Unlike most spiral galaxies, which have well-defined arms, the Sunflower Galaxy is a flocculent spiral galaxy. Discovered in 1779 by Pierre Mechain, the Sunflower Galaxy is 27 million light years from us in the constellation Canes Venatici. This galaxy is about the same size as the Milky Way Galaxy and contains 400 billion stars. The Sunflower Galaxy is part of the M 51 Galaxy Group, whose most prominent member is the grand design spiral Whirlpool Galaxy (M 51).

Sagittarius Nov 22 - Dec 21. The Trifid Nebula is named for the Latin word “trifid”, meaning split into three parts. It’s located about 5200 light years from us in the constellation Sagittarius. The Trifid Nebula is both an emission nebula (red light being given off) and a reflection nebula (blue-green light being reflected).