Images

Messier 86, also known as NGC 4406, is a lenticular or elliptical galaxy located in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered by Charles Messier on March 18, 1781. M86 lies at a distance that has been the subject of some debate, with estimates ranging from around 52 to 60 million light-years. It is one of the largest and most luminous galaxies in the cluster, spanning roughly 135,000 light-years in diameter, and reaches an apparent magnitude of around 8.9, making it marginally brighter in appearance than its near neighbour M84, with which it is imaged together here. Like M88 and M90, M86 is one of the relatively rare galaxies that exhibits a blueshift rather than a redshift, indicating it is moving toward the Milky Way.

Messier 84, also known as NGC 4374, is a lenticular or elliptical galaxy located in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered by Charles Messier on March 18, 1781. M84 lies at a distance of approximately 60 million light-years from Earth and is one of the most prominent members of the Virgo Cluster, sitting near the heart of Markarian's Chain — an alignment of galaxies that includes M84, M86, and several NGC objects. M84 itself spans roughly 80,000 light-years in diameter and reaches an apparent magnitude of around 9.1.

Messier 91, also known as NGC 4548, is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Coma Berenices. Due to an error in the recorded position made by Messier, this obejct has been referenced as a "missing Messier objects" for a long time. In 1969, amateur astronomer William C. Williams determined the systematic offset in Messier's recordings and allocated M91 unambiguously to NGC 4548. M91 lies at a distance of approximately 63 million light-years from Earth and is a member of the Virgo Cluster.

Messier 70, also known as NGC 6681, is a globular cluster located in the constellation Sagittarius. It was discovered by Charles Messier on August 31, 1780. M70 lies at a distance of approximately 29,400 light-years from Earth and spans a true diameter of roughly 68 light-years, making it one of the smaller and more compact globular clusters in the Messier catalogue.

Messier 54, also known as NGC 6715, is a globular cluster located in the constellation Sagittarius. It was discovered by Charles Messier on July 24, 1778. M54 lies at a distance of approximately 87,000 light-years from Earth, making it considerably more distant than most other globular clusters in the Messier catalogue. It spans a true diameter of roughly 150 light-years and reaches an apparent magnitude of around 7.6, making it a moderately bright but compact target that requires reasonable aperture to begin resolving into individual stars. What makes M54 especially notable is that it does not actually belong to the Milky Way. In 1994, astronomers determined that the cluster is in fact a satellite of the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy.

Messier 90 is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered by Charles Messier on March 18, 1781. M90 lies at a distance of approximately 59 million light-years from Earth and is one of the larger and brighter spiral galaxies in the Virgo Cluster. It spans roughly 130,000 light-years in diameter, making it somewhat larger than our Milky Way. Like M88, it is one of a small number of Virgo Cluster galaxies moving toward the Milky Way rather than away from it, but M90 stands out further for having an exceptionally high blueshift velocity, among the largest of any galaxy in the cluster.

Messier 83, also known as NGC 5236, is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Hydra, near the border with Centaurus. It was discovered by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille on February 23, 1752, during an observing expedition to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, making it one of the few Messier objects first observed from the southern hemisphere. It was later catalogued by Charles Messier in 1781. The galaxy is commonly known as the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy. M83 lies at a distance of approximately 15 million light-years from Earth, and spans roughly 40,000 light-years in diameter. With an apparent magnitude of around 7.5, it is one of the brightest galaxies in the Messier catalogue. M83 is one of the most prolific supernova host galaxies known, with six confirmed supernovae recorded since 1923, among the highest count for any single galaxy observed.

Messier 22, also known as NGC 6656, is a globular cluster located in the constellation Sagittarius. It is one of the earliest globular clusters to be discovered, first noted by Johann Abraham Ihle in 1665. M22 lies at a distance of approximately 10,600 light-years from Earth. It spans a true diameter of roughly 100 light-years and has an apparent diameter of around 32 arcminutes, making it one of the largest globular clusters in apparent size as seen from Earth. It contains an estimated 70,000 to 100,000 stars and reaches an apparent magnitude of around 5.1, making it one of the brightest globular clusters in the sky.

Messier 93, also known as NGC 2447, is an open star cluster located in the constellation Puppis, in the same rich stretch of the winter Milky Way that contains several other Messier open clusters including M46 and M47. It was discovered by Charles Messier on March 20, 1781. M93 lies at a distance of approximately 3,600 light-years from Earth and spans a true diameter of roughly 25 light-years. It is estimated to be around 100 million years old, making it somewhat older than M21 or M47 but still a relatively young open cluster.

Messier 21, also known as NGC 6531, is an open star cluster located in the constellation Sagittarius. It was discovered by Charles Messier on June 5, 1764, during the same observing session in which he also catalogued M20, the Trifid Nebula, which lies only around 40 arcminutes to the northwest. The two objects lie at different distances and are therefore an optical rather than a physical pairing. M21 lies at a distance of approximately 4,250 light-years from Earth and spans a true diameter of roughly 13 light-years. It is a young cluster, estimated at around 4 to 5 million years old.

Messier 80, also known as NGC 6093, is a globular cluster located in the constellation Scorpius. It was discovered by Charles Messier on January 4, 1781. M80 lies at a distance of approximately 32,600 light-years from Earth, placing it in the inner regions of the Milky Way and relatively close to the galactic centre.M80 holds a notable place in astronomical history as the site of a recorded nova in 1860, designated T Scorpii. At its peak it briefly became bright enough to be visible to the naked eye and was for a short time the brightest star in Scorpius, making it one of the most dramatic nova events observed within a globular cluster in the 19th century.

Messier 88, also known as NGC 4501, is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Coma Berenices and member of the Virgo Cluster. It was discovered by Charles Messier on March 18, 1781. M88 lies at a distance of approximately 47 million light-years from Earth and is roughly 120,000 light-years in diameter. M88 is notable for being one of the few Messier objects with a confirmed blueshift, meaning it is moving toward the Milky Way rather than away from it, a consequence of its motion within the gravitational environment of the Virgo Cluster overcoming the general expansion of the universe.

Messier 49 (NGC 4472) is an elliptical galaxy located in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered by Charles Messier on February 19, 1771, making it the first member of the Virgo Cluster to be catalogued. M49 lies at a distance of approximately 56 million light-years from Earth and is the brightest galaxy in the Virgo Cluster, outshining even the famous M87 in total luminosity. The galaxy spans roughly 160,000 light-years in diameter, making it significantly larger than the Milky Way, and it contains an estimated one trillion stars. The galaxy is also listed in the Arp Catalogue of peculiar galaxies as Arp 134

Messier 47, also known as NGC 2422, is an open star cluster located in the constellation Puppis. M47 lies at a distance of approximately 1,600 light-years from Earth and spans a true diameter of roughly 12 light-years. It is a relatively young cluster, estimated at around 78 million years old, and contains approximately 50 to 80 stars, several of which are bright enough to be seen with the naked eye.

Sh2-140 is an emission and reflection nebula located in the constellation Cepheus, near the border with Lacerta. The nebula lies at a distance of approximately 2,900 light-years from Earth. The illuminating source is a hot young star designated HD 211880, whose ultraviolet radiation ionises the surrounding gas and drives the characteristic emission glow. The visible nebula spans roughly 10 light-years across.

Messier 105 is an elliptical galaxy located in the constellation Leo. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain on March 24, 1781, just days before Messier finalised his famous catalogue, making it one of the last entries added. M105 lies at a distance of approximately 32 million light-years from Earth and is the brightest elliptical galaxy in the Leo I Group, a galaxy group that also includes M95 and M96. M105 spans roughly 55,000 light-years in diameter. Studies have indicated the presence of a supermassive black hole at its centre with a mass estimated at around 140 million solar masses.

Messier 19, also known as NGC 6273, is a globular cluster located in the constellation Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer. It was discovered by Charles Messier on June 5, 1764, making it one of his earlier catalogue entries. M19 lies at a distance of approximately 28,000 light-years from Earth, placing it in the inner regions of the Milky Way galaxy and relatively close to the galactic centre. Its diameter spans roughly 140 light-years. The cluster contains several hundred thousand stars.

Messier 100 (NGC 4321) is a grand design spiral galaxy located in the constellation Coma Berenices, near its border with Virgo. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain on March 15, 1781, and later observed and catalogued by Charles Messier just days after. The galaxy has no widely used common name, though it is occasionally referred to as the Mirror Galaxy. M100 sits at a distance of approximately 55 million light-years from Earth and is one of the largest and brightest members of the Virgo Cluster.

Messier 38, also known as NGC 1912, is an open cluster located in the constellation Auriga. It was first recorded by Guillaume Le Gentil in 1749. The cluster spans around 21 arcminutes on the sky, corresponding to a true diameter of roughly 25 light-years. The cluster contains around 100 confirmed member stars. The brighter stars form a loose oblique or cross-shaped pattern, which gives rise to the informal nickname "the Starfish Cluster."

Sharpless 157 (Sh2-157) is a large but faint emission nebula located on the border of the constellations Cassiopeia and Cepheus, approximately 8,000 to 11,000 light-years from Earth. It is also popularly known as the Lobster Claw Nebula due to its distinctive shape, which features a northern ring formed by stellar winds and a southern sector excited by the radiation of massive O-type stars.

Messier 108, also known as NGC 3556 and nicknamed the Surfboard Galaxy, is a barred spiral galaxy about 46 million light-years away from Earth in the northern constellation Ursa Major. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781 or 1782. From the Earth, this galaxy is seen almost edge-on. This galaxy is an isolated member of the Ursa Major Cloud of galaxies in the local supercluster.

Caldwell 46, also known as NGC 2261 or Hubble’s Variable Nebula is a variable nebula located in the constellation Monoceros. It got its nickname from observations that Edwin Hubble did during the middle of the previous century, in which he discovered that both shape and brightness changes over time. One explanation is that dark clouds block light from the central illuminating star from time to time, in a timespan of weeks or months.

The Orion Nebula is one of those iconic objects that wants to be in any astrophotographers portfolio. This object was the first image taken here at AstroWorldCreations, back in 2018. A lot has changed since then, and a revisit of this impressive nebula was long overdue. While M42 is the actual Orion Nebula, the neighbouring M43 is always shot in the same image, but goes by the name or Mairan’s Nebula.

Arp 135, also known as NGC 1023 or the Perseus Lenticular Galaxy, is a member of the NGC 1023 group of galaxies in the Local Supercluster. Distance measurements vary from 30 to 64 million light-years. Arp classifies this object under “Galaxies with Nearby Fragments". Arp 135 is a barred lenticular galaxy, with a barred spiral structure still visible in an otherwise elliptical structure. Both the barred structure and the accompanying (blue-ish) satellite galaxy NGC1023A are well visible in this image.

Messier 41 is an open cluster in the constellation Canis Major. The cluster spans an area comparable to the size of the full moon and contains about 100 stars, including several red giants and white dwarfs. Discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654, M41 may have been observed by Aristotle as early as 325 BC. It is sometimes called the Little Beehive Cluster due to its resemblance to the Beehive Cluster (M44).

M78 is a reflection nebula in the constellation Orion. It is the brightest diffuse reflection nebula in a group that includes NGC 2064, NGC 2067, and NGC 2071, all part of the Orion B molecular cloud complex. M78 is located approximately 1,350 light-years from Earth. M78 was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780, and included in Charles Messier's catalog of comet-like objects that same year.

Messier 50, also known as NGC 2323 or the Heart-shaped Cluster, is an open cluster of stars in the constellation Monoceros. It was recorded by G. D. Cassini before 1711 and independently discovered by Charles Messier in 1772 while observing Biela's Comet. M50 is about 2,900 light-years away from Earth and spans 17.8 light-years. The cluster has 508 confirmed and 109 probable members and their combined mass is more than 285 solar masses.

Sh2-232, also known as the Great Pumpkin Nebula, is a large, faint HII emission nebula located in the constellation Auriga, approximately 5,800 light-years from Earth. It is part of a larger complex of nebulae (including Sh2-235, Sh2-231 and Sh2-233) that are star-forming regions. Inside the nebula there is a small planetary nebula (PN G173.5+03.2). The planetary nebula also emits OIII, but Sh2-232 has no OIII signal of any significance. A total of two asteroids were discovered travelling through the Field of View

Caldwell 16, also known as NGC 7243, is an open cluster located 2,300 light years from Earth in the constellation of Lacerta. It was discovered in 1788 by William Herschel, contains an estimated 211 stars and has an angular diameter of about 21 arc minutes. The age of this cluster is estimated at about 250 million years. The cluster is fairly bright, with an apparent magnitude of 6.4 making it visible with the naked eye.

Caldwell 10, also known as NGC 663, is a young open cluster located 8,800 light years from Earth in the constellation of Cassiopeia. It has an estimated 400 stars and spans about a quarter of a degree across the sky. The star cluster is assumed to form part of the stellar association Cassiopeia OB8, that is located in the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way, along with the open clusters M103, NGC 654, NGC 659, and some supergiant stars scattered between them, all of them having similar ages and distances.