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...
Monthly Archive: August 2012
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...
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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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...
Supernova SN 2011fe in Messier 101
Last update: 16 Mar. 2013 The image above is very interesting. M101 was imaged about 19 months after supernova SN 2011fe was discovered and the star is still visible, properly marked. We measured a brightness of...
Supernova SN 2012aw in Messier 95
On 16 March 2012, supernova SN 2012aw was discovered in Messier 95, a well-know and wonderful barred spiral galaxy in Leo, distant about 38 millions of light year. As soon as the suspicious...
Asteroid 2005 YU55 close encounter
Early in November 2011, asteroid 2005 YU55 brushed our planet, coming closer than the Moon! With a diameter of about 400 meters, it was at that time the largest object that was seen passing...
Live event: “Asteroid 2012 DA14: a record close approach”
** LIVE VIEW of asteroid 2012 DA14: click here! ** The Virtual Telescope Project is proud to invite you to a very spectacular online event, almost a once in a lifetime chance. On 15...
Online Messier Marathon 2012 – 4th edition!
On April 2012 the Virtual Telescope offered again its most important event: the Online Messier Marathon. This year it was the 4rd edition and, as since 2010, it was included as an official event...
Asteroid 2012 OQ close encounter
Asteroid 2012 OQ was discovered on July 17, 2012 by “La Sagra” survey, in Spain. The Virtual Telescope team contributed to confirm its existence and their observations were included in the discovery circular (MPEC 2012-O13). It turned out...
