Astronomik L-2 UV-IR Block 2" Filter on Sergey's Astrophotography

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.

LDN 1217 and PK 111+11.1: Wolf's Cave Region

Sun, 01 Dec 2024 12:25:00 +0000

This deep exposure captures the fascinating region around the dark nebula LDN 1217 in the constellation Cepheus. The long, dusty filament obscures background stars and terminates in a striking blue reflection nebula, vdB 152 (also known as Wolf’s Cave), where the dust is illuminated by a hot nearby star.

Adding brilliant contrast to the scene is the planetary nebula PK 111+11.1, glowing brightly in teal and red in the upper right. Faint sweeps of red hydrogen emission, captured using the dual-band L-eXtreme filter, streak across the rich starry background, highlighting the complex and dynamic interstellar medium of this area.

LDN 1235: The Shark Nebula

Sat, 02 Nov 2024 17:28:00 +0000

This deep exposure captures LDN 1235, famously known as the Shark Nebula, located in the constellation Cepheus. This large, dark molecular cloud complex is part of a vast region of galactic cirrus—faint, dusty material illuminated by the integrated starlight of the Milky Way. Its dense, light-absorbing dust creates the distinct shape of a shark’s head and body seemingly cruising through the cosmic ocean.

Accompanying the “shark” are two beautiful blue reflection nebulae, vdB 149 and vdB 150, which are illuminated by nearby hot stars and perfectly highlight the edges of the dark dust. Adding further depth to the background, a distant spiral galaxy (PGC 67671) is visible to the right of the main nebula.

LDN 1355, 1357 & 1358: The Helping Hand Nebula

Sun, 29 Sep 2024 21:19:00 +0000

This deep exposure captures the intriguing dark nebula complex of LDN 1355, LDN 1357, and LDN 1358, affectionately known as the “Helping Hand Nebula.” Located in the constellation Cassiopeia, this dense cloud of interstellar dust obscures the light from the background stars, creating the distinct silhouette of a hand reaching out across the cosmos.

The surrounding field is heavily populated with faint, sweeping, brownish cosmic dust (often referred to as galactic cirrus) and delicate patches of blue reflection nebulae. This highlights the incredibly dynamic and dusty environment of this fascinating region.

vdB 142: The Elephant Trunk Nebula

Sat, 07 Sep 2024 11:02:00 +0000

This deep image features vdB 142, popularly known as the Elephant Trunk Nebula, located in the constellation Cepheus. It is a concentration of dense interstellar gas and dust embedded within the much larger ionized emission region IC 1396. The dark, meandering column is an active star-forming region, shielding newly born stars inside from the harsh surrounding environment.

The edges of the “trunk” are brightly illuminated and ionized by the intense ultraviolet radiation from a massive nearby star, creating the glowing bright rim that outlines the structure against the rich, red hydrogen background.

IC 5146: The Cocoon Nebula

Sun, 11 Aug 2024 15:10:00 +0000

IC 5146, widely known as the Cocoon Nebula, is a striking star-forming region located roughly 2,500 to 3,000 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. This image beautifully captures the glowing red emission of ionized hydrogen, illuminated by a newly formed central cluster of young, hot stars.

The bright core is intricately laced with dark, obscuring dust lanes that surround the nebula and stretch outward. Off to the side, a delicate blue reflection nebula is visible, created by starlight scattering off the surrounding interstellar dust particles.

M16: The Eagle Nebula and The Pillars of Creation

Sun, 11 Aug 2024 13:37:00 +0000

This image showcases M16, the Eagle Nebula, a vast emission nebula and H II region located in the constellation Serpens. At the heart of the nebula lie the famous “Pillars of Creation,” towering columns of interstellar dust and gas that serve as active star-forming nurseries. The intense ultraviolet radiation from the open cluster of young, massive stars illuminates the surrounding hydrogen gas, carving out the cavity and creating the vibrant red glow.

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.

NGC 6781: The Snowglobe Nebula

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 11:05:00 +0000

This image captures NGC 6781, widely known as the Snowglobe Nebula, a beautiful planetary nebula located in the constellation Aquila. The bubble-like structure is formed by the outer layers of a dying sun-like star being cast off into space. The intense ultraviolet radiation from the exposed white dwarf core illuminates the expanding gas, creating the distinct color separation seen here: a hot, glowing blue center dominated by ionized oxygen (OIII) and a cooler, delicate red outer shell composed primarily of hydrogen (H-alpha).

M5: Globular Cluster in Serpens

Sun, 26 May 2024 18:19:00 +0000

This image presents M5, a spectacular globular cluster in the constellation Serpens, located roughly 24,500 light-years away. Spanning about 160 light-years, it is one of the larger globular clusters known, and with an estimated age of more than 10 billion years, it is also one of the oldest objects in our galaxy. It was discovered by Gottfried Kirch in 1702.

The image shows the cluster’s intensely concentrated, brilliant core surrounded by a wide halo of resolved stars. The natural star colors are well preserved, with numerous orange red giants standing out against the bluish-white glow of the dense stellar population, offering a vivid glimpse into one of the Milky Way’s most ancient stellar systems.