The image presents two fascinating main objects, NGC 225 and van den Bergh 4 (vdB 4), both located in the northern constellation Cassiopeia.
NGC 225, also known under the catalogue designation Collinder 7 and sometimes referred to as the Sailboat Cluster, Read more
LBN 777, also known as the Baby Eagle Nebula or Vulture Head Nebula, is a delicate reflection nebula located within the Taurus Molecular Cloud complex, recognised as one of the closest stellar nurseries to our Solar System. Its distinctive shape, sculpted from interstellar dust and faintly illuminated by surrounding field stars, resembles the head of a bird…Read more
The Helix Nebula, designated NGC 7293 and also catalogued as Caldwell 63 (*), is a remarkable planetary nebula in the constellation Aquarius. It was discovered by Karl Ludwig Harding, probably before 1824…Read more
Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) was discovered on 3 January 2025 by D. Carson Fuls during the Mount Lemmon Survey in Arizona. At the time, it appeared extremely faint (magnitude ~21.5) and was initially mistaken for an asteroid, until subsequent observations revealed a condensed coma and a short tail…Read more
New image: A wide-field view capturing both the vast Methuselah Nebula (MWP1) and the smaller, round Alv1…Read more
Within the same field recorded by my STL camera lies a second, smaller and more compact planetary nebula, known as Alv1 (PN G079.8–10.2). It was discovered in 2009 by the Portuguese amateur astrophotographer Filipe Alves, during a deep imaging session of MWP1…Read more
A new exoplanet transit (TOI-12046b) has been added to the Exoplanet transits page.
More information about exoplanets and all the transits recorded here.
MWP1, also catalogued as PK 080–10.1 and PN G080.3–10.4, is a remarkably large and ancient planetary nebula located in the constellation Cygnus. It is commonly referred to as the Methuselah Nebula, a fitting name given its exceptional age…Read more
The Soap Bubble Nebula, formally designated PN G075.5+01.7, is a planetary nebula situated in the constellation Cygnus. It lies remarkably close (approximately 0.7° east) to the well-known Crescent Nebula (NGC 6888), which was the subject of my most recent published image…Read more
While recently reviewing my portfolio, I realised that I had never captured the Crescent Nebula in color, only a monochrome image taken back in 2009 (which is still available on my website). That prompted me to return to this fascinating object and finally produce a colour version…Read more
I first imaged this area in 2023. However, I was not fully satisfied with the result after processing, and this season I decided to revisit the field in an effort to improve the image.…Read more
Messier 82 (M82), also known as the Cigar Galaxy, is a starburst galaxy situated about 12 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major. It was discovered by Johann Elert Bode in 1774 and later catalogued by Charles Messier in 1781. Other designations for this galaxy are NGC 3034, UGC 5322, and Arp 337…Read more
Messier 104 (M104), also known as NGC 4594 or the Sombrero Galaxy, was first discovered in 1781 by Pierre Méchain. This striking spiral galaxy is located in the constellation Virgo, approximately 30 million light-years from Earth, with a diameter of about 50,000 light-years. Its distinctive shape, resembling a wide-brimmed sombrero hat, is the reason behind its popular name…Read more
The Dolphin Nebula, also known as Sh2-308, is a fascinating celestial structure located approximately 4,500 light-years away.
Widefield version: hybrid RGB image, with Ha added to the red channel and OIII added to the green and blue channels…Read more
The Dolphin Nebula, also known as Sh2-308, is a fascinating celestial structure located approximately 4,500 light-years away. This nebula is shaped by the powerful stellar winds from its central star, a Wolf-Rayet star (EZ Canis Majoris, WR 6) …Read more
Two new exoplanet transits (TOI-1811b and Qatar-6b) has been added to the Exoplanet transits page.
More information about exoplanets and all the transits recorded here.
XO-2Nb is a gas giant exoplanet orbiting XO-2N, an G9/K0V type star with an apparent magnitude of 11.14 and a size close to that of our Sun (Mass = 0.96 Msun, Radius = 0.998 Rsun).
Located in the constellation Lynx, it is 486 light-years away from us and takes only 2.6 days to complete one orbit around its star. Its discovery was announced in 2007.
Its mass is 0.62 times that of Jupiter, and the distance to its star is 0.0368 AU.
Transit taken remotely on 11/01/2025 (with Moon at 95%) with TOA-150 telescope and STL-11000M camera (100 120-second exposures)
Link to transit in ExoClock. (page takes a few seconds to load)
The Horsehead Nebula (also known as Barnard 33) and NGC 2023 are located in the constellation Orion, one of the most recognizable region of the night sky. This area is rich in fascinating celestial objects and is part of the larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, about 1500 light-years from Earth.
The Horsehead Nebula, discovered by the Scottish astronomer Williamina Fleming …Read more
XO-7b is a gas giant exoplanet orbiting XO-7, an G0V- type star with an apparent magnitude of 10.5 and a size close to that of our Sun (Mass = 1.40 Msun, Radius = 1.48 Rsun).
Located in the constellation Ursa Minor, it is 764 light-years away from us and takes only 2.9 days to complete one orbit around its star. Its discovery
was announced in 2019.
Its mass is 0.726 times that of Jupiter, and the distance to its star is 0.0432 AU.
Transit taken remotely on 16/12/2024 (with Moon at 98%) with TOA-150 telescope and STL-11000M camera (115 90-second exposures)
Link to transit in ExoClock. (page takes a few seconds to load)
