Daily Archive: August 23, 2012

The Stephan's Quintet

The Stephan’s Quintet – Peg

  The famous Stephan’s Quintet was the first compact group of galaxies ever discovered and was spotted by Édouard Jean-Marie Stephan in 1877. It is probably the most studied group of its kind and...

NGC 7331

NGC 7331 – Peg

Located at about 40 millions of light years, NGC 7331 is a beautiful, almost edge-on spiral galaxy, in Pegasus. It is the largest member of the so-called Deer Lick Group. It was discovered in...

M 66

M 66 – Leo

  The wonderful galaxy M66, in Leo, discovered by C. Messier on March 1, 1780 and located at about 35 millions of light years. It is part of the so-called “Leo’s Triplet” (with NGC...

M 81

M 81 – UMa

This is the wonderful spiral galaxy M81, in Ursa Major. It was discovered on 31 Dec. 1774 by J.E. Bode. Its distance in estimated in 12 millions of light years. Here, it was imaged...

NGC 4565

NGC 4565 – Com

Perhaps one of the most famous galaxies in the sky, NGC 4565 is a superb, edge-on spiral galaxy, in Coma Berenices. It was discovered in 1785 by W. Herschel. Its distance in estimated in...

M 51

M 51 and NGC 5195 – CVn

M51, a stunning face-on spiral galaxy, was discovered in 1774 by C. Messier , while its companion, NGC 5195, was discovered by P. Méchain in 1785. Its distance in estimated in about 30 millions...

NGC 4631

NGC 4631 – CVn

NGC 4631, also known as “The Whale”, was discovered in 1787 by W. Herschel. Its distance in estimated in 30 millions of light years. Here, it was imaged with the Planewave 17 unit, part...

NGC 3628

NGC 3628 – Leo

NGC 3628, part of the so-called “Leo’s Triplet” (with M66 and M65) is a magnificent edge-on spiral galaxy, in Leo. It was discovered in 1784 by W. Herschel. Its distance in estimated in 35...

M 31

M31 – And

  M31, the famous Andromeda Galaxy, is the first big galaxy we find outside our Milky Way. It is the most distant object visible with the naked eye, being at about 2.5 millions of...

NGC 6946

NGC 6946 – Cep

Among the most studied galaxies is NGC 6946, also know as “Fireworks galaxy”. Its intriguing nickname comes from the large number of supernovae found across its arms. Its distance is estimated in 10 millions...

M 33

M 33 – Tri

M33 is a relatively close (with a distance of 3 millions of light years) spiral galaxy, nicknamed “Pinwheel Galaxy”. Under perfetc sky condititgions, it can be seen with the naked eye. Likely, it was...

NGC 206

NGC 206 – And

NGC 206 is a star cloud part of the Andromeda galaxy (M31). It is one of the largest star forming regions known in our local group of galaxies. It was discovered in 1786 by...

M 65

M 65 – Leo

M 65 (NGC 3623) is a spiral galaxy in Leo, located at about 35 millions of light years, part of the so-called “Leo’s Triplet” (with M66 and NGC 3628 ). It was discovered by...

NGC 7479

NGC 7479 – Peg

The elegant galaxy NGC 7479, in Pegasus, was discovered by W. Herschel on 1784 and it’s located at about 100 millions of light years. Its shape is quite unique, resembling a saxophone lost in...