The Christmas Tree Cluster

Merry Christmas! In keeping with the holiday, here is a fresh look at one of my favorite objects, the Christmas Tree Cluster, NGC 2264.

Three More Spiral Galaxies

Here are three attractive galaxies that I was able to observe in the past week or so. You will notice that even though they are all spiral galaxies, they exhibit strikingly different appearance.

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.

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.