LDN 183 (also known as L183 or MBM 37) is a cold, dense dark nebula and molecular cloud located in the constellation Serpens Cauda. It is one of the closest molecular clouds to Earth, with distance estimates ranging from approximately 325 to 360 light-years.
In deep-sky photography, LDN 183 appears as a dark silhouette or “hole” against the background stars of the Milky Way. It is often imaged alongside faint Integrated Flux Nebulae (IFN), which are illuminated by the combined light of the galaxy. The bright binary star Mu Serpentis is frequently found in the same field of view. It is classified as a pre-stellar core, meaning it is a dense accumulation of gas and dust in the early stages of collapsing to form stars.
I photographed this nebula from my driveway in the hills of western North Carolina the nights of 3/20 and 4/10. Very few clear skies this spring. 82 subframes at 360s each taken with an ASI2600MC camera and Skywatcher Esprit 120ED scope. Imaged with APT and processed with PixInsight.
Messier 97 (M97), commonly known as the Owl Nebula, is a planetary nebula located approximately 2,030 light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It is one of the most famous planetary nebulae in the night sky, named for its two dark circular patches that resemble the eyes of an owl when viewed through a telescope. It consists of three concentric shells. The “eyes” are actually regions of lower density in the inner shell, which is shaped like a barrel tilted at a 45° angle to our line of sight.
This photograph consists of 156 4 minute exposures taken in March and April of 2026 from my driveway here in the hills of western North Carolina. The telescope used is the GSO RC8. The camera is the ASI071MC Pro. The mount is the Skywatcher EQ6r Pro. Software used includes APT for image acquisitions, PHD2 for guiding and PixInsight for subframe calibration, alignment, integration, and processing.
Sh2-241 (also known as LBN 824) is a small emission nebula located in the constellation Auriga. The nebula has a bright central core. It also has a less luminous surrounding region. This region is often described as having a “comet-like” tail. Primarily an emission nebula, though it also contains reflection components. Estimated to be approximately 15,000 to 17,000 light-years away from Earth. The gas in the nebula is ionized by the massive O-type star LS V +30 31.
The region is an active site of star formation, evidenced by high-velocity jets of gas escaping the cloud. It is categorized as a “blister” on the side of a larger molecular cloud.
vdB 65: A blue reflection nebula located just 17 arcminutes away at the top of the image. They appear close. However, they are only a line-of-sight association. vdB 65 is much closer to Earth at about 3,600 light-years.
LDN 1557: Both Sh2-241 and vdB 65 are embedded within the field of this large dark molecular cloud.
I imaged this from my driveway in western North Carolina using APT for session control and automation. I used a Skywatcher Esprit 120ED telescope. I also used a ZWO ASI2600MC camera cooled to 14f with an Antlia Quadband light pollution filter. The mount used is a Skywatcher Eq6r Pro. The 134 5 minute Subframes were calibrated, debayered, aligned, and integrated using PixInsight 1.9.3.
Sh2-282 (Sharpless 282) is a very faint Hii emission nebula in the constellation Monoceros. It is approximately 4,075 to 5,000 light-years away from Earth. It belongs to the second Sharpless catalog. It is situated in the north-central part of its constellation. The nebula is roughly 3° south of the famous Rosette Nebula.
The nebula is characterized by red hydrogen gas energized by radiation from nearby bright blue stars. It spans approximately 40 light-years in diameter. In apparent view, that’s 35 arc-minutes. The nebula contains eight cometary globules. These are dense, eroded pillars of gas and dust that are sculpted by stellar winds.
Sh2-223 is a faint emission nebula (H II region) located in a dense starfield in the constellation Auriga. It is a huge H II region, a large cloud of partially ionized gas where star formation can occur. It appears as a large, faint red arc or “wing” in deep-sky images. Its red glow comes from ionized hydrogen-alpha (Hα) emissions. The nebula is believed to be ionized by the star BD +41 1144 (an O7.5 V star) or possibly LS V +40 46.
In addition to the predominant Hii, there is also a significant amount of Oiii in the area. This leads to a bluish tinge or a slight purplish hue in parts of the image.
It is considered a difficult target for astrophotographers because of its extreme faintness. It often requires long total integration times, such as 25+ hours, to resolve clearly. Separating the IFN from the Hii nebula requires data. This photograph is only 11.4 hours. More to come in the future if the opportunity presents itself.
NGC 1999 is a bright reflection nebula in the Orion constellation, located about 1,500 light-years away near the Orion Nebula. Illuminated by the variable star V380 Orionis, it features a distinctive, T-shaped dark void in its center. Once thought to be a dust cloud, this “cosmic keyhole” is actually a hole in the nebula. Energetic stellar winds likely caused this hole. It is also called the “Rubber Stamp” nebula. This name is for those familiar with the use of stamps for marking items.
The nebula is part of the remnants of star formation, surrounded by a network of dusty filaments. It is often observed alongside Herbig-Haro objects, which are small, glowing patches of gas associated with newly formed stars.
The “Keyhole” Void: The most distinctive feature is a dark, T-shaped patch at its center. The region was long thought to be a dense Bok globule. A Bok globule is a cold cloud of dust and gas that blocks light. However, 2010 observations from the Herschel Space Observatory revealed it is actually an empty region of space. It is a literal hole in the nebula.
It is part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex and is located just south of the famous Orion Nebula (M42). The region is rich in Herbig-Haro (HH) objects, which are luminous shock waves created by jets from newborn stars. The entire field of view is but a tiny portion of the massive Orion molecular cloud (the Orion A Cloud). A surprise for me is the amount of Oiii in the region. The blue hues highlight its presence.
Session management and automation with APT. I Captured 262 subframes with 180s exposure each. This amounts to about 13 hours of exposure from my driveway. I used an RC8 telescope and an ASI071MC Pro camera cooled to 14f.
vdB 30 is a very faint reflection nebula located in the northern constellation Camelopardalis. This nebula is part of the van den Bergh (vdB) catalog of reflection nebulae. Astronomer Sidney van den Bergh originally published the catalog in 1966.
It is primarily a reflection nebula, meaning it consists of interstellar dust that reflects the light of nearby stars. The nebula surrounds the bright star Alpha Camelopardalis. Because this star is quite brilliant (magnitude ~4.3), the faint nebulosity can be difficult to capture and is often overwhelmed by the star’s glare. While categorized as a reflection nebula, it is rich in ionized hydrogen (HII) and some sulfur.
Modern narrowband imaging often reveals a bow shock in the gas. These are visible as curved structures in hydrogen-alpha (Ha) light. This phenomenon is caused by the star moving through the interstellar medium. It is estimated to be approximately 5,000 light-years away from Earth.
vdB 30 is considered a very faint and challenging target for amateur astronomers. It requires long exposure times (often 5 to 10+ hours) to detect the subtle dust and gas structures. Its coordinates place it at a high northern declination (+66 degrees), making it a circumpolar object for many observers in the Northern Hemisphere.
VdB 30 is a reflection nebula in the constellation Camelopardalis. It is a very extensive gas cloud. Observing it is difficult due to the low amount of light reflected and its relatively low temperature. It appears to surround the star α Camelopardalis. This star is located in the centre of the image. It is a blue supergiant from apparent magnitude 4.26 and spectral class O9Ia. The cloud extends for about 29 parsecs. It is composed of cold dust. The dust emits infrared radiation due to the weak heating received from the supergiant. The emissions from the supergiant are especially ultraviolet because of its surface temperature equal to 30,000 Kelvin.
The nebula has a ring shape. It is impressed by the strong stellar wind of the supergiant. This wind is responsible for creating a bubble in the interstellar medium surrounding it. As a result, it disperses the cloud itself.
I photographed this difficult target from my driveway in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Burke County, NC. I use APT for image acquisition and session automation to capture 159 5 minute exposures across 4 nights. Subframes calibrated, debayered, aligned, integrated, and processed in PixInsight 1.9.3
Sh2-238, also widely known as Hind’s Variable Nebula or NGC 1555, is a reflection nebula located in the constellation Taurus. It is renowned for its fluctuating brightness. These changes occur based on the activity of its illuminating star, the young variable star T Tauri. It is primarily a reflection nebula. It is also classified as a Herbig-Haro object (HH 155). These are bright patches of nebulosity associated with newly born stars.
The nebula’s appearance and luminosity change over time. This is not only due to the variable light output of T Tauri. It is also because moving dust clouds between the star and the nebula cast shifting shadows. Sh2-238 is a challenging target for amateur astronomers and astrophotographers. It remains popular due to the intricate dust structures. The yellow-orange hues of the surrounding interstellar material add to its appeal.
I photographed this nebula from my driveway in the hills of Burke County, NC. Using APT for image acquisition and session automation I collected 185 5 minute exposures over the course of three nights. Telescope – GSO RC8 at 1625mm focal length, ZWO ASI071MC Pro camera cooled to 14f, Mount – Skywatcher EQ6r Pro. The 185 subframes were calibrated, debayered, aligned, integrated, and processed using PixInsight 1.9.3
Perhaps among the most beautiful targets to image in our night sky. There are no less than five reflection nebulae in the photograph. They are contrasted by large areas of ionized hydrogen showing as red in the image.
IC 2169, popularly known as Dreyer’s Nebula, is a large blue reflection nebula located in the constellation Monoceros (the Unicorn). It is a primary feature of the Monoceros R1 complex. This is a region of active star formation situated approximately 2,500 to 2,700 light-years away from Earth. It’s in a massive starfield!
The nebula has a distinctive blue hue. This color occurs as interstellar dust particles scatter blue light from nearby hot, young stars. It is primarily illuminated by the massive B-type stars of the young open cluster Collinder 95. Some sources also associate its glow with the variable star T Orionis or the star HD 45677.
The Nebula is often referred to as Dreyer’s Nebula. This name honors John Dreyer, who compiled the NGC and IC catalogs. However, it was actually discovered by Barnard. The nebula is also designated as IC 447. This duplication exists because it was recorded twice in the Index Catalogue (IC) due to separate observations by Edward Barnard. It is located about 2 degrees west of the more famous Cone Nebula and the Christmas Tree Cluster (NGC 2264). It is often imaged alongside smaller reflection nebulae such as IC 446, NGC 2245, and NGC 2247.
I took this photograph from my driveway in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina. Here, I enjoy a bortle 4/5 sky. Continued development pushes it ever closer to a 5. Imaged with a Skywatcher Esprit 120ED telescope at 840mm focal length and a ZWO ASI2600MC camera cooled to 14f. These are mounted on a Skywatcher Eq6r Pro equatorial mount. It runs EQMOD and guides via PHD2. This is done through a ZWO OAG and an ASI290mm mini guide camera.
Component control is done by APT. Session automation and image acquisition are also managed by APT. These are the magic dust in getting the 143 5 minute subframes. The subframes were manually calibrated, debayered, aligned, integrated, and processed to the targets natural colors using PixInsight.
Messier 35 (M35) is the only Messier object in the constellation Gemini. It is also called NGC 2168 or the Shoe Buckle Cluster. M35 is a relatively young open cluster of stars about 150 million years old.
Open clusters are groupings of stars that are loosely gravitationally bound. They tend to form from the same cloud of gas and dust. Their stars share characteristics like age and chemical composition. This can be helpful for studying how stars form and evolve. Over time, tidal forces within a host galaxy may be very strong. They may overwhelm an open clusters’ gravitational pull. As a result, its stars may disperse into the galaxy.
M35 is large. On very dark nights, it can be seen as a fuzzy object with the unaided eye. In binoculars, it appears as a haze with some resolvable stars. Through a telescope, it reveals a grouping of bright stars.
Located near Castor’s right foot in Gemini, it is best seen in the winter months in the Northern Hemisphere. A smaller and more compact neighboring open cluster, NGC 2158, may also be visible. It is within nearly the same field of view. It is located at the bottom center of my photograph.
