Bode’s Galaxies (M81 & M82)

A wider shot of the Eagle Nebula, with the famous “pillars of creation” in its center.

Well, it was certainly born of fire. This is planetary nebula Abell 39, one of the largest spheres in the galaxy… it’s 2.6 light-years across! It really is that color blue. You’re seeing ionized Oxygen gas blown off by the dying star in its center. Look closely for the distant galaxies in the background, including…

Another revisit of an old target, with better gear and better conditions. This is the Pelican Nebula in the constellation Cygnus. Shot in narrowband over one night, and presented in the “Hubble palette”. Two takes – one wider field, and one close-up with the stars removed. In both cases the image is rotated and mirrored…

Imaged in narrowband filters from my suburban driveway. This object lives up to its name with the right color mappings!

This is actually only a portion of a string of galaxies that make up the Virgo supercluster of galaxies, around 50-60 million light-years away.

Like the Bubble Nebula, and Thor’s Helmet, this is formed by the fast stellar wind of the extremely hot star at its heart – which interacts in complex ways from the wind left over from when this star was a red giant. This is roughly 5,000 light-years away. These images were taken over the span…