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).

Virgo Aug 23 - Sep 22. The elliptical Sombrero Galaxy is an amazing 31 million light years from us in the constellation Virgo. The galaxy has an unusually large central bulge and very prominent dust ring, giving it the appearance of a sombrero. The central bulge contains a supermassive black hole. The mass of the black hole is estimated to be 1 billion times the mass of our sun. A photograph of the Sombrero galaxy is found in the end credits of the TV series The Outer Limits.