Astrophotography Gallery

Bode’s Nebula is not a nebula at all but is actually a beautiful spiral galaxy within the constellation Ursa Major. The galaxy was discovered in 1774 by Johann Elert Bode, a German astronomer. While it was initially described as a “nebulous patch”, it was soon found to be a galaxy. It is a close neighbor, at 12 million light years from Earth. Bode’s Nebula is estimated to have about 250 billion stars – about the same number of stars as our own Milky Way. It’s a spiral galaxy with a central bulge of stars and arms of stars, dust and gases. Bode’s Nebula is one of a group of 34 galaxies in the Messier 81 Galaxy Group. Galaxy M 82 is a nearby galaxy and is often imaged with M 81.

Libra Sep 23 - Oct 22. The Southern Pinwheel Galaxy is a grand design spiral galaxy 15 million light years from us near the constellation Libra. This brilliant galaxy with its dramatic spiral arms is difficult to view in the northern hemisphere as it doesn’t get far above the horizon. It gets its name because it is easily visible in the southern hemisphere. The Southern Pinwheel Galaxy was one of the first galaxies to be discovered. The French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille observed it in 1752 at the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa.