The Pelican Nebula
The Pelican Nebula (also known as IC 5070) is an emission nebula whose outlines bear a resemblance to a pelican, giving rise to its name.
Rings in the Sky - Two More Planetary Nebulae
Here are two of the prettiest nebulae in the sky: the Helix Nebula (NGC7293) and the Ring Nebula (M57).
The North American Nebula
The North American Nebula, also known as NGC 7000, is a large emission nebula in the constellation of Cygnus. The name is obvious because the shape of this nebula looks a lot like the continent it was named after.
The Planet Mars at Its Closest and Finest
The planet Mars was closer to earth on October 6 than it will be anytime in the next 15 years. The closer it is, the larger it appears and the more detail can be seen. Close also means bright – if you go out in the evening just after dark these days, you will see Mars as the really bright red object in the southeast, brighter and redder than any other star or planet,
The Planet Jupiter
Now for something completely different! Normally I spend my time observing “faint fuzzies” as amateur astronomers call dim distant objects. But today I decided to share some images of the planet Jupiter, its Great Red Spot and its equatorial belts that I made on Labor Day weekend.
The Dumbbell Nebula
The Dumbbell Nebula M27 (also known as Apple Core Nebula) is a typical planetary nebula about 1300 light-years from us. It was the first such object to be discovered – by Charles Messier in 1764.
The Trifid Nebula
The Trifid Nebula, M20, is a beautiful gaseous cloud within which new stars are being born. It is one of several spectacular telescopic sights embedded in the summertime Milky Way.
The M61 Supernova - postmortem
Last look at Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE
This is a follow-up to my July 29 post. Comet NEOWISE has faded rapidly in the last eight days as it continues to move away from the sun and the earth.
Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE
Now rapidly moving away from both the sun and the earth, Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) was only discovered on March 27 and turned out to be the brightest comet visible from the northern hemisphere since Comet Hale–Bopp in 1997. A week ago it was easily visible to the naked eye, but it has dimmed greatly since then.