The Milky Way seen rising above Ellen's Tower, South Stack, Anglesey.

This image was captured in September 2022 when the Milky Way Arc is more vertically orientated with the bright yellow galactic core close to the horizon. By the end of the month the core will disappear beneath the horizon for another six months before returning in March. The three bright stars in the middle of the image form an asterism called the 'Summer Triangle', and they are named (from top) Deneb, Vega and Altair. They also belong to the star constellations of Cygnus, Lyra and Aquila.

 If you look carefully in the top left of the image you will be able to see the Andromeda galaxy too as a little elliptical white smudge!

The Orion Constellation. Orion was a celebrated hunter in Greek mythology where Zeus (King of the Gods) recognised his heroic deeds by raising him to the heavens to form this great and well recognised constellation in our night skies. He is 25 light years in size and about 1300 light years away.

There are many nebulae contained within this image. You can see the red C-shape of Barnard's loop which partly encircles Orion's belt and sword where nebula such as the Horse head, Flame, M78, Running man and the Orion (M42) nebula exist (these are also shown separately in far greater below).

Off to the upper left of the image is the Rosetta Nebula. The yellow star which forms part of Orion's left arm is Betelgeuse and this star is expected to go supernova in our lifetime!! The faint 'wispy' nebula in the lower right of the image is a faint reflection nebula called the 'witch head' and this is illuminated up by the star Rigel which depicts Orion's right foot.

This image was placed 2nd best of the 'nifty-fifty' astrophotography competition of SGL in 2024.

My new lens, the Samyang 135mm, helped to capture these deep space objects in the Orion constellation. They are (from top), M78, Flame and Horse head nebula, running man and M42 Orion nebula and the Witch head nebula in the lower right. Lots of other dust you can see in this region too!

The Wizard Nebula (Sh2-142) is an emission nebula in the constellation Cepheus, who was a king of Ethiopia. Over the years it has earned its sorcerous nickname because of its similarity in appearance to a magician in a pointed hat!! The nebulosity is made mostly of glowing hydrogen atoms, but other elements like sulphur and oxygen also contribute which give it a colour cast best brought out by special filters. Just right of centre is the star cluster NGC 7380. The cluster and nebula are a little more than 7,000 light years away, relatively close in cosmic terms. 

The Cone Nebula is an H II region in the constellation of Monoceros. It was discovered by William Herschel on December 26, 1785. The nebula is located about 2,700 light-years away from Earth and as it's namesake suggests is a conical shaped pillar of gas and dust. This spans approx. 7 light years in length. 

The Fox Fur Nebula and the Christmas Tree Cluster (NGC 2264) are also shown arising from the the cone. The bright star at the base of the tree is the O-type supergiant, S Monocerotis which dominates the northern half of the cluster and is probably the ionizing source of the Cone Nebula. It is about 8000 times more luminous than our sun.

Sharpless 129 is an H-alpha emission nebula commonly called the Flying Bat Nebula located in Cepheus very close to the famous IC 1396 (the nebula that contains the Elephant's Trunk). The large blue/green nebula inside it, which is over a degree long, is formally known as Ou4 but is colloquially called the Squid (or Giant Squid) Nebula. This image took over 9hrs to get just enough data for the blue stuff to come through!

Bode's Galaxy (M81, top right) is a grand design spiral galaxy that spans around 90,000 light years across. 

The Cigar Galaxy (M82, bottom left) is a Starburst galaxy and makes stars 10x faster than our own galaxy. The bright core is exploding with Hydrogen gas which show up as  red areas in the centre.

They are approx. 12 Million light years away and located together in the northern constellation of Ursa Major.

A magnified HaRGB version of the Cigar Galaxy (image taken with an Hydrogen Alpha Filter and combined with RGB data) to better show the 'red stuff' emanating from its core which helped to bring about its name.

The Whirlpool Galaxy ( M51a) is an interacting grand-design spiral galaxy with a Seyfert 2 active galactic nucleus. It lies in the constellation Canes Venatici, and was the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral galaxy. Its distance is estimated to be 23 million light-years away from Earth.

The Whirlpool’s companion, called M51b, is a dwarf galaxy. Because it is being torn apart by the ongoing interaction, it cannot be easily classified. Its current appearance makes it look like an irregular galaxy.

A bridge of gas and dust ties the two galaxies together as they merge.

The Crab Nebula (M1, NGC 1952) is a supernova remnant in the constellation of Taurus. The now-current name is due to William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, who observed the object in 1840 using a 36-inch telescope and produced a drawing that looked somewhat like a crab. The nebula is 6500 light years distant from Earth.

For comparison, my image was produced using a 3.15 inch diameter telescope.

The Owl Nebula (M97 - right of image) is a planetary nebula located approximately 2,030 light years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It was discovered by French astronomer Pierre Méchain on February 16, 1781. You can clearly see the two 'eyes' of the Owl nebula.

The Surfboard Galaxy (M108 - upper left)  is a barred spiral galaxy that resides close to the owl nebula. Also discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781 or 1782. From the perspective of the Earth, this galaxy is seen almost edge-on.

 The Veil Supernova Remnant in the constellation of Cygnus (1500 light years away). The leftover energy shell of a massive star that exploded about 8000 years ago. It is more than 110 light years across which is about the same area as six full Moons in our night sky! Copious amounts of Ha and OIII here that even a colour camera like mine can pick up without the  use of specialised filters. 

It glows as it collides with dust and gas in interstellar space. Blue light is emitted from the hot leading edge of the nebula, where the most energetic collisions occur; the red glow is from hydrogen in the cooler gas.

The California Nebula (NGC 1499) is an emission nebula located in the constellation Perseus. It is so named because it appears to resemble the outline of the US State of California.

Discovered by Edward Barnard in 1885, the California nebula is a large and relatively close nebula in the Orion Arm of our Milky Way Galaxy about 1000 light years away.  The size of this nebula is 100 light years across.

Markarian's Chain is formed from a group of galaxies in the constellation of Virgo. They are part of the Virgo Cluster which contains up to 2,000 galaxies and is gravitationally interacting with our own Local Group of galaxies. Its centre is about 70 million lightyears from Earth. How many galaxies can you see?

The Sunflower Galaxy (M63) is a spiral galaxy in the northern constellation of Canes Venatici. It was first discovered by the French astronomer Pierre Méchain, then later verified by his colleague Charles Messier on June 14, 1779. It lies 37 million light years from earth and is similar in size to our own Milky Way galaxy.

The Needle Galaxy (NGC 4565) is an edge-on spiral galaxy about 30 to 50 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. It lies close to the North Galactic Pole and is one of the finest and brightest examples of it's type. It is known as the Needle Galaxy for its narrow profile. 

NGC 2903 is an isolated barred spiral galaxy in the Leo constellation. Discovered by William Herschel in 1784 and is about 31 million light years from Earth. Its central region has an extremely high rate of new star creation. It was missed by Charles Messier during his cataloguing of the night sky, hence no 'M' classification number. It is similar in many respects to our own Milky Way galaxy.

The Crescent Nebula (NGC 6888) is a 25 light year wide emission nebula in the Cygnus constellation. The shell of the nebula which resembles a 'cosmic brain' was formed and powered by a central Wolf-Rayet star - WR 136 - as it rapidly transformed into a red giant. The end stage is likely to result in a supernova. The OIII emission spectrum of the crescent nebula is depicted in a blue colour.

The Cocoon Nebula (IC 5146)  is located in a star rich area within the constellation of Cygnus 4000 light years away. The bright star at its centre powers this intense nebular glow. This emission / reflection nebula is also considered to be a stellar nursey where new stars are being born.

NGC 2403 (also known as Caldwell 7) is an intermediate spiral galaxy located in the constellation Camelopardalis 8 million light years away. It is approx. 50,000 light years in diameter and contains many star forming regions. Two supernovae have been observed to occur within this galaxy with the last (17 years ago) still being the brightest known in the 21st century.

The Jellyfish Nebula (IC 443) is the remnant of a massive star that exploded as a supernova leaving behind a shell of glowing gases. This resides in the constellation Gemini about 5000 light years from us and is roughly 70 lights years in size. The bright star that lies at the foot of the nebula is called Eta Geminorum. 

The Great Hercules Cluster (M13) is a globular cluster of several hundred thousand stars in the constellation of Hercules. It is one of the finest clusters of this type that can be found in the Northern Hemisphere. It is estimated to be 25000 light years from Earth and is billions of years old - almost as old as the Universe itself.

The Spindle Galaxy (M102) is a relatively bright lenticular galaxy in the constellation Draco. Likely discovered in 1781 by Charles Messier and independently found by William Herschel in 1788. This galaxy lies 50 million light years from Earth and is approx. 60,000 light years in diameter and is seen edge-on.

The Fireworks Galaxy (NGC 6946) is a face-on intermediate spiral galaxy located on the boundary between the northern constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus. It is approx. 23 millions light years away and 40000 light years in diameter. It acquired its name due to the fact that 10 observed stellar explosions (supernovae) have occurred there within the last 100 years alone (our own Milky Way galaxy averages only one supernova per 100 years).

The Ghost of Cassiopeia (IC 63) is an eerie nebula formed from flowing veils of gas and dust which is being blasted by a torrent of radiation from a nearby, blue-giant star called Gamma Cassiopeiae, which can be easily seen with the unaided eye at the centre of the distinctive "W" asterism that forms the constellation of Cassiopeia. It is located 550 light-years away. 

Black Eye Galaxy (M64)  is a famous spiral galaxy located in the constellation Coma Berenices approx. 17 million light years away. This galaxy is often referred to as the “Black Eye” or “Evil Eye” galaxy because of the dark band of dust that sweeps across one side of its bright nucleus. NGC 4826 is known by astronomers for its strange internal motion. The gas in the outer regions of this galaxy and the gas in its inner regions are rotating in opposite directions, which might be related to a recent merger. New stars are forming in the region where the counter-rotating gases collide. 

This galaxy was first discovered in 1779 by the English astronomer Edward Pigott. 

The Sombrero Galaxy (M104) is a lenticular galaxy in the constellation Virgo. It is one of the most massive objects in the Virgo galaxy cluster.  The dark dust lane and the bright nucleus bulge give this galaxy the appearance of a sombrero hat. The Sombrero Galaxy has a diameter of about 49,000 light-years and lies approximately 31.1 million light-years from Earth. 

The Dumbbell Nebula (also known as Messier 27, and NGC 6853) is a planetary nebula (nebulosity surrounding a white dwarf) in the constellation Vulpecula, at a distance of about 1360 light-years. It was the first such nebula to be discovered by Charles Messier in 1764. 

The Leo Triplet (also known as the M66 Group) is a small group of galaxies about 35 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. This galaxy group consists of the spiral galaxies M65 (bottom left), M66 (top left), and NGC 3628 (Hamburger Galaxy). Messier 66, the largest and brightest member of the Leo Triplet, is roughly 95 light years across. The galaxies in this group have all been affected by gravitational interactions with each other.

The Iris Nebula (NGC 7023) is located 1,400 light years away in the Cepheus constellation. The striking blue colour of the Iris Nebula is created by light from the bright star SAO 19158 reflecting off of a dense patch of normally dark dust. Not only is the star itself mostly blue, but blue light from the star is preferentially reflected by the dust -- the same effect that makes Earth's sky blue. 

The Comet 12P / Pons-Brooks above the Quarry Park Lake, Holyhead Mountain on Anglesey. You can also see our closest galactic neighbours (M31 & M33) also present in our night sky. The comet is not quite naked eye visible but early indications suggest it very soon will be! The above image was shot with a Canon6D and 50mm lens with exposure length of 8secs. This allows the faint light of the comet and galaxies to be 'seen' by the camera which can then be seen by us.

This image was runner up in the SGL competition 2024.

Comet NEOWISE is a long period comet with a near-parabolic orbit discovered on March 27, 2020, by astronomers during the NEOWISE mission of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer space telescope. 

This image was taken in July 2020 as it sped past the Earth on it's exit from our solar system.

Meteors and comets are very much a challenge to image due to our poor weather conditions blighting their best period of illumination.