Astrophotography Gallery

The Whirlpool Galaxy is named for its sweeping spiral arms. In 1773, Charles Messier observed the galaxy and added it to his catalog of deep-sky objects as M 51. Located in the constellation Canes Venatici, it is 23 million light years from Earth. The Whirlpool Galaxy is 100 billion stars all rotating together. It’s a spiral galaxy with a central bulge of stars and arms of stars, dust and gases. The smaller galaxy to the right of the Whirlpool Galaxy is NGC 5194. It is sliding past the Whirlpool Galaxy and interacting with its spiral arms. Within those arms, new stars are constantly being formed. Those new stars give the Whirlpool Galaxy its striking blue color.

Aquarius Jan 20 - Feb 18. More commonly known as the Helix Nebula, it is the closest known planetary nebula to Earth. It’s located in the constellation Aquarius about 655 light years from us. The Eye of God Nebula was discovered in the early 19th century by German astronomer Karl Ludwig Harding.