Starship Asterisk*

M57_cropped_small.jpg The Ring Nebula (M57) in the Constellation Lyra M57, the ring nebula, is found in the constellation Lyra. M57 is a planetary nebula, which is an expanding shell of gas ejected from a star in the later stages of its evolution. The image captured the outer halo structure of M57 ...

M57finalsmall.jpg The Ring Nebula in the Constellation Lyra M57, the ring nebula, is found in the constellation Lyra. M57 is a planetary nebula, which is an expanding shell of gas ejected from a star in the later stages of its evolution. The image captured the outer halo structure of M57 as well as...

NGC 7789, AN OPEN CLUSTER IN CASSIOPEIA NGC 7789 is an open cluster found in the constellation Cassiopeia. The cluster was discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1783, and is estimated to be 6,000 light-years away. The exposure was a total of 4 hours exposure taken with a Takahashi CCA-250 f/5 astrograp...

Bicolor image of the Jellyfish Nebula in Ha and SII The Jellyfish Nebula found in the constellation Gemini, also designated IC 443, is a large supernova remnant. The emission of the nebula is due to the excitation of hydrogen atoms as the rapidly expanding shell collides with the surrounding molecul...

THOR'S HELMET IN CANIS MAJOR The emission nebula NGC 2359, often called Thor's Helmet, is found in the constellation Canis Major. The emission is powered by a Wolf-Rayet star. The nebula is approximately 12,000 light-years away. Image was taken with a SBIG STF8300m CCD camera (SBIG filters) and a 12...

AN EMISSION NEBULA IN ORION Sh2-261 Sh2-261 (aka Lower's Nebula or Sharpless 261) is found in the constellation Orion near the border of Gemini. Sh2-261 is a large faint region of predominantly ionized hydrogen. The distance of this nebula is not known with certainty, but estimated to be about 3000 ...

The Owl Cluster NGC 457 NGC 457, sometimes called the Owl Cluster or ET Cluster after the famous movie, is an open cluster in the constellation Cassiopeia. The cluster was discovered by William Hershel in 1787. The distance is not known with certainty, but is probably is between 2000 and 10,400 ligh...

The Perseus Cluster of Galaxies This image of the Perseus cluster of galaxies, also known as Abell 426, is centered on NGC 1275. NGC 1275 is a giant elliptical galaxy, which is a radio source and x-ray emitter. Abell 426 is part of the Pisces-Perseus supercluster, which contains over a thousand gala...

Open Cluster in Cassiopeia The open cluster NGC 663 is found in the constellation Cassiopeia. NGC 663 contains a significant number of Be stars (spectral class B stars showing emission lines in their spectra). The distance from us is on the order of 2,100 parsecs (6850 light years). The image is a t...

Narrowband Image of a Large Emission Nebula in Cassiopeia NGC 281 is a H II emission nebula in Cassiopeia containing the open cluster IC 1590, which powers the ionization of the hydrogen gas. Large dust filaments as well as Bok globules, which may be the site of future star formation, can be seen. T...

A Large Emission Nebula in Cassiopeia NGC 281 is a H II emission nebula in Cassiopeia containing the open cluster IC 1590, which powers the ionization of the hydrogen gas. Large dust filaments as well as Bok globules, which may be the site of future star formation, can be seen. The image is a total ...

An Edge-On Spiral Galaxy in Coma Berenices NGC 4565, sometimes referred to as the Needle Galaxy, is an edge-on galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices. One can see the galaxy's yellowish central core, which is divided by obscuring dust lanes running the length of the equatorial plane. Total expos...

The Whale Galaxy in Canes Venatici NGC 4631 is found in the constellation Canes Venatici. The wedge-shape of this galaxy gives rise to its nickname, the Whale Galaxy. The starburst regions of this galaxy can be seen in the photo, which are due to intensive star formation. Tidal interactions of NGC 4...

Turbulent nature of the Jellyfish Nebula Found in the constellation Gemini, the Jellyfish Nebula, also designated IC 443, is a large supernova remnant. The emission of the nebula is due to the excitation of hydrogen atoms as the rapidly expanding shell collides with the surrounding molecular gas. Th...

An Open Cluster and Nebula in the constellation Auriga NGC 1931 is a relatively young open cluster surrounded by emission and reflection nebulosity (Sharpless 2-237) in the constellation Auriga. Faint red hydrogen emission can be see in the region surrounding the compact cluster/nebulosity. Sharples...

The edge-on galaxy NGC 891 in Andromeda The edge-on galaxy NGC 891 is found in the constellation Andromeda. NGC 891 is approximately 30 million light-years away and is similar in size to our own Milky Way galaxy. A prominent dust lane is seen in the plane of the galaxy with tendrils of dust seen abo...

The Planetary Nebula Messier 27 with O[III] Envelope The planetary nebula Messier 27 is found in the constellation Vulpecula, which was discovered in 1764 by Charles Messier. The nebula is approximately 815 light-years away. The outer Oxygen envelope was captured using an O[III] filter. The image is...

A section of the Eastern Veil Nebula in Cygnus Pictured is a portion of the Eastern Veil Nebula, NGC 6992, in Cygnus, which was discovered by William Herschel in 1784. The Veil Nebula is the result of a supernova explosion about 15,000 years ago and is approximately 2,500 light-years away. This bico...

A portion of the Eastern Veil Nebula in Cygnus Pictured is a portion of the Eastern Veil Nebula, NGC 6992, in Cygnus. The Veil Nebula is the result of a supernova explosion about 15,000 years ago. This bicolor narrowband image was taken through a Hydrogen-alpha filter and an Oxygen[III] filter, with...

AN OPEN CLUSTER IN THE DUST CLOUDS OF PERSEUS The open cluster NGC 1342 is found in the constellation Perseus. The cluster is estimated to be 400 million years old and about 1,700 light years away. As seen in the image, dust clouds are prevalent in the area. To the upper left in the image is the blu...

http://asterisk.apod.com/download/file.php?mode=view&id=31989 A Starburst Galaxy and the Integrated Flux Nebula (IFN) This HaLRGB image portrays the turbulent starburst galaxy Messier 82 in Ursa Major with its filamentary outflows of ionized hydrogen. Seen faintly in the image is the IFN, which ...

The Soap Bubble sRGB.jpg The Soap Bubble in the Nebulosity of Cygnus The Soap Bubble Nebula, or PN G755.5+1.7, is found in the constellation Cygnus. The Soap Bubble is likely a symmetric planetary nebula, which is the expanding shell of ionized gas ejected from a star late in its lifetime. The fain...

A Young Open Cluster in a Nebulous Complex The open cluster NGC 6910 is found in the nebulous emission complex IC 1318, which is located in the constellation Cygnus. As NGC 6910 is near the galactic plane, there is a significant amount of interstellar dust in the area. Indeed, the blue spectroscopic...

The Crab Nebula in Oxygen[III] and Hydrogen-alpha Emission Messier 1, the Crab Nebula, is a supernova remnant found in the constellation Taurus. M1 was discovered by John Bevis in 1731 (independently discovered by Charles Messier in 1758). Admiral Smyth describes M1 as a “large nebula, pearly white”...

NGC2903inLeoPixInsightfinal.jpg NGC 2903 is a intermediate weak-barred spiral galaxy (SABbc) found in the constellation Leo. Discovered by W. Herschel in 1784, NGC 2903 is approximately 20 to 30 million light years away. Image was taken with a 12.5” f/9 RCOS telescope and a SBIG STF8300c camera wit...