Author Archives: JosepM

Hi all, An image of Messier 47 has been uploaded. This is a fairly young but not so much populated open cluster. It has mostly B2-Type stars (blue) as well as a couple of red giants. You can find this image and some more info at: Messier 47. NGC 2422 Enjoy, Josep

Hi all, An image of Messier 46 has been uploaded. This is an old, far away cluster. The peculiarity is that an unrelated planetary nebula lies in its foreground (NGC 2438). You can find this image and some more info at: Messier 46. NGC 2437 Enjoy, Josep

Hi all, An image of Messier 101 has been uploaded. This spiral galaxy does not seem to harbor any supermassive black hole in its center. This is why its central bulge is so symmetrical. You can find the image and some more info at: Messier 101. NGC 5457 Enjoy, Josep

Hi all, An image of Messier 1, the Crab Nebula, has been uploaded. It is a very unusual view of the nebula, although it is a fully scientific one. The use of narrow bandpass filters, as well as a different color mapping have contributed to this special color. You can find this image (as well …

Continue reading “An image of Messier 1 has been uploaded”

Hi all, Today, another Messier galaxy has been uploaded: M63, the Sunflower Galaxy. This galaxy has a weakly active nucleus and is classified as LINER. Remarkable in this galaxy is the presence of a very conspicuous star stream around it. This stream was discovered through a collaboration between amateur and professional astronomers in 2011. You …

Continue reading “An image of Messier 63 has been uploaded”

Hi all, An image of Messier 109 has been uploaded. This is the farthest away spiral galaxy in the Messier Catalog, 83.5 Million light years and belongs to the so-called “Theta-galaxies” due to its shape. You can find the image, as well as more information at: Messier 109. NGC 3992 Enjoy!, Josep

Hi all, An image of the galaxy NGC 3898 has been uploaded. This galaxy, catalogued as LINER (galaxies with active nuclei but with low-ionization emission lines), shows slower rotating velocity than expected. This might be due to a massive dark matter halo. You can find it at: NGC 3898 and NGC 3888 Enjoy, Josep

Hi all, An image of NGC 3132, the Southern Ring Nebula, has been uploaded. This planetary nebula shows a good resemblance with M57, the Ring Nebula, but it is located in the Southern Hemisphere. The nebula itself seems to have the structure of a “diabolo”, meaning a “double-cup”, although it is seen from a perspective …

Continue reading “An image of NGC 3132, the Southern Ring Nebula, has been uploaded”

Hi all, An image of IC 405, the Flaming Star Nebula has been uploaded. In this case, the “Flaming Star”, AE Aurigae, is at least as interesting as the nebula that it ionizes (IC 405). You can find more info as well as the image at: IC 405. The Flaming Star Nebula Enjoy, Josep

Hi all, The image, that has been just uploaded, is of Dr-28, an extremely faint Planetary Nebula candidate. It belongs to the Drechsler Catalog and, despite its clear resemblance to a real PN, it has not yet been confirmed. This image is the first color image ever taken of this object. In order to grab …

Continue reading “An image of a Planetary Nebula Candidate has been uploaded.”