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Sierra Trading Post

Two Galaxies

These two beautiful galaxies, NGC 5905 (left) and NGC 5908 lie about 140 million light-years distant in the northern constellation Draco.  Separated by about 500,000 light-years, the pair are actually both spiral galaxies and nicely illustrate the striking contrasts in appearance possible when viewing spirals from different perspectives. Seen face-on, NGC 5905 is clearly a [...]

Capturing the stars – more astro-photography. Look up!

All of these photos taken by my husband Dave. “To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your own path, and don’t worry about the darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest” “I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because [...]

Recent Astro Photography – Trifid Nebula

Unspeakable beauty and unimaginable bedlam can be found together in the Trifid Nebula. Also known as M20, this photogenic nebula is visible with good binoculars towards the constellation of Sagittarius. The energetic processes of star formation create not only the colors but the chaos. The red-glowing gas results from high-energy starlight striking interstellar hydrogen gas. [...]

M51, the ‘Whirlpool Galaxy’

This photo reminds me of a sea shell, I love it~! I’ve got a bunch of new astro photos and have fallen behind with posting them. Here is info on this one: M51, the ‘Whirlpool Galaxy’ in Canes Venatici is famous for its beautiful spiral structure, The M51 system is a spectacular example of interacting [...]

The Horsehead Nebula

This is the Horsehead Nebula and NGC2023 which is a reflection nebula. This photo was created with a stack of 12 fifteen-minute exposures. The Horse Head Nebula is one of the most famous of deep-sky objects. Located in the same interstellar cloud as the Great Orion Nebula, this intriguing puff of gas and dust silhouettes [...]

Skywatch Friday: 2/3 of the Leo Triplet. M65 & M66

What is up with the weather – we’ve had cloud cover almost continuously for weeks now! It has been keeping Dave from getting to do very much observing of the “sky”.  This is one of his May 2010 photos. He takes them on extremely long exposure and stacks them in order to create a single [...]

Skywatch Friday – Flame Nebula

This is a photo that my husband Dave took recently of the Flame Nebula. It was taken with five fifteen-minute exposures stacked on top of each other. The Flame Nebula is an emission nebula in the Constellation Orion.  It is 900 to 1500 light years away. The ring of light on the right side is [...]

Skywatch Friday – The Eagle Nebula

The Eagle Nebula (catalogued as Messier 16 or M16, and as NGC 6611) is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens, discovered by Jean-Philippe de Cheseaux  in 1745-46. Its name derives from its shape which is resemblant of an eagle. It is the subject of a famous photograph by the Hubble Space [...]

Skywatch Friday – Dumbbell Nebula

The Dumbbell Nebula (also known as Messier 27, M 27, or NGC 6853) is a planetary nebula (PN) in the constellation Vulpecula, at a distance of about 1,360 light years. This object was the first planetary nebula to be discovered; by Charles Messier in 1764. At its brightness of visual magnitude 7.5 and its diameter [...]

Skywatch Friday – Sunset Photos From High Desert Last Friday Evening

Skywatch Friday – M1, the Crab Nebula

Photo by Dave Chaton Discovered in 1731 by British amateur astronomer John Bevis. The Crab Nebula, Messier 1 (M1, NGC 1952), is the most famous and conspicuous known supernova remnant, the expanding cloud of gas created in the explosion of a star as supernova which was observed in the year 1054 AD. It shines as [...]

Skywatch Friday – Messier 81

This photo taken February 21, 2009 from our sky in Nevada, by my husband Dave. Messier 81 (also known as NGC 3031 or Bode’s Galaxy) is a spiral galaxy about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. M81 is one of the most striking examples of a grand design spiral galaxy, with near [...]