2021 Deep Space and Planetary Photos

Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31) from Spruce Knob Mountain Center camp

Double Cluster from SKMC Nov 6

Andromeda Galaxy place in this Milky Way photo using Nikon D7000

Uranus and Neptune with Triton and Nereid for Neptune,

November - December, 2021

More Jupiter and Saturn (November, 2021). The Great Red Spot is easily seen. A transit of Ganymede and Callisto occurred on November 23, 2021:

Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies from Spruce Knob Mountain Center, WV on November 5, 2021

A collection of all the planets in the Solar System (sorry, Pluto not included for formal and technical reasons), shot by me in 2019-2021.

1. Sun, September 2020. Not a planet but...seems important as a staring point

2. Mercury. Usually too small to image, but easy to see during its transit across the Sun on November 11, 2019

3. Venus.  Shot from Turner Mountain on early morning of November 7, 2020

3. Earth. Spruce Knob, WV, November 2020

4. Mars at opposition November, 2020. Second picture shows the two of its moons - Phobos and Deimos

5. Jupiter, shot from Spruce Knob WV, and Maryland (with Io transiting), November 2021

6. Saturn, from Spruce Knob WV November and August, 2021

7. Uranus, from Spruce Knob WV November 2021

8. Neptune and its moon Triton, from Spruce Knob WV November 2021

Other Photos from 2021:

Jupiter with Io crossing, and Saturn on October 20, 2021

The Wizard Nebula

Saturn and Jupiter from Camp Highroad, September 25, 2021 - C6

Saturn and Jupiter at opposition August 2, 2021

Cone Nebula

The Chrismas Tree Cluster and the Cone Nebula were both discovered by William Herschel. He found the cluster on January 18, 1784 and cataloged it as H VIII.5, and the nebula on December 26, 1785, and assigned it the number H V.27. The nebula belongs to a much larger complex, which is currently an active star forming region.

The Spider and the Fly

The spider-shaped gas cloud is actually an emission nebula labelled IC 417, while the smaller fly-shaped cloud is dubbed NGC 1931 and is both an emission nebula and a reflection nebula. About 10,000 light-years distant, both nebulas harbor young, open star clusters. For scale, the more compact NGC 1931 (Fly) is about 10 light-years across.

Jellyfish Nebula - part of the IC443 supernova remnant.

While humanity is occupied with the pandemic, these deep space objects shine on, perpetual and grandiose beyond anything the human mind can fully comprehend...a liberating thought.

 Markarian's Chain shot from Turner Mountain in VA on January 10, 2021:

A couple of views of Turner Mountain the night of Jan 10: