Galaxies on Sergey's Astrophotography

M81, M82 and surroundings

Sat, 25 Apr 2026 18:56:00 +0000

This wide-field capture highlights the dynamic grouping of Bode’s Galaxy (M81) and the Cigar Galaxy (M82), framed by the delicate, wispy structures of the Integrated Flux Nebula (IFN).

Dominating the center of the frame is M81, a grand-design spiral galaxy presenting a brilliantly warm core and sweeping spiral arms punctuated by pink star-forming regions. Positioned above it is the edge-on M82. The intense gravitational tidal forces from its larger neighbor have ignited massive starburst activity within M82, visible here as striking red plumes of ionized hydrogen gas erupting outward from its galactic plane perpendicular to the disk.

M31: Andromeda Galaxy

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 15:24:00 +0000

This deep exposure of M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, reveals the intricate details of our closest large galactic neighbor. The inclusion of nearly 6 hours of Hydrogen-alpha data highlights the vivid red star-forming regions scattered throughout the galaxy’s sprawling spiral arms. The image also prominently features Andromeda’s two satellite galaxies: the compact elliptical galaxy M32, situated close to the bright galactic core, and the larger dwarf elliptical galaxy M110, located further below. The dark, sweeping dust lanes are highly defined, contrasting beautifully against the stellar glow of the galactic disk.

NGC 5395 & NGC 5394: The Heron Galaxy (Arp 84)

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 14:17:00 +0000

This image captures Arp 84, an interacting galaxy pair commonly known as the Heron Galaxy. The larger, face-on spiral is NGC 5395, which exhibits a bright core and tightly wound dusty spiral arms. It is gravitationally interacting with its smaller companion, NGC 5394, which features prominent tidal tail structures extending away from the main pair. This galactic dance, located approximately 160 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici, triggers intense star formation visible as blue-tinted regions along the outer spiral arms. Several distant background galaxies are also visible scattered across the field. This image was acquired in collaboration with Federico Palaia, who contributed about 4 hours of integration using his ASI294MC Pro on a C11 telescope (which in turn was kindly lent by Davide Minotti). NGC 5395 is about 140,000 light-years across, while the barred spiral NGC 5394 measures about 90,000 light-years. William Herschel discovered both galaxies on 16 May 1787. Arp 84 is the 84th entry of Halton Arp’s Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies.

M51: The Whirlpool Galaxy

Sat, 24 May 2025 12:32:00 +0000

This deep image captures M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy, locked in an ongoing gravitational dance with its smaller companion, NGC 5195. M51’s classic grand-design spiral arms are clearly defined by dark, sweeping dust lanes and are heavily dotted with bright clusters of young blue stars and pink star-forming regions.

The intense gravitational interaction with NGC 5195 is responsible for triggering this starburst activity and warping the structure of both galaxies. Notably, the depth of this exposure reveals the faint, expansive tidal streams and halos of gas and stars that surround the entire system, providing striking evidence of their cosmic collision.

M106: Spiral Galaxy in Canes Venatici

Sat, 26 Apr 2025 12:52:00 +0000

This deep exposure captures M106 (NGC 4258), a prominent and bright intermediate spiral galaxy located roughly 23 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici. The image highlights the galaxy’s intensely bright, active core—powered by a supermassive black hole—surrounded by a warm, yellowish central bulge.

Sweeping outward from the center are distinct, tightly wound spiral arms defined by thick, dark dust lanes. The outer fringes of the galaxy are heavily studded with bright blue star clusters and pinkish regions of active star formation. Visible in the lower left of the frame is the small galaxy NGC 4248, a possible satellite of M106, adding depth to the rich background field.

NGC 3718: Peculiar Spiral Galaxy

Sat, 26 Apr 2025 12:11:00 +0000

This deep exposure features NGC 3718 (Arp 214), a highly peculiar spiral galaxy located in the constellation Ursa Major. Its most striking feature is the thick, dark dust lane that violently twists across its bright central core, a result of strong gravitational interactions. These same tidal forces have drawn out faint, sweeping gaseous tails that give the galaxy its distinct “S” shape.

To the upper left is its spiral companion, NGC 3729, the likely gravitational culprit behind this severe distortion. Adding extraordinary depth to the background, the tight, interacting galaxy cluster Hickson 56 (Arp 322) is clearly visible near the bottom edge of the frame.

NGC 6946: The Fireworks Galaxy

Fri, 02 Aug 2024 12:32:00 +0000

This deep exposure captures NGC 6946, a spectacular face-on intermediate spiral galaxy situated on the border of the constellations Cepheus and Cygnus. Popularly known as the “Fireworks Galaxy” due to the unusually high number of supernovae observed within it, the galaxy is characterized by a bright, golden central core and intricate dark dust lanes.

Sweeping outward from the center, its sprawling spiral arms are richly decorated with brilliant blue star clusters and prominent pinkish HII regions, indicating areas of intense and active star formation. These vibrant details are beautifully captured here, despite the galaxy being heavily obscured by the interstellar dust of our own Milky Way, given its position near the galactic plane.