#southernsky — Public Fediverse posts

Over three nights last week, I shot #M17 over for a total of just over 8 hours.

This #Nebula is known as the #SwanNebula aka the #OmegaNebula aka #LobsterNebula aka #CheckmarkNebula aaaand #NGC6618, which is far, far too many names. Please do me a favour, and don't add to them.

For some reason, my telescope has decided that it is also #IC4701 aka #SH2-44 , but that is actually the fainter, sparser nebula in the top left.

In any event, this rich star forming region also contains several open clusters - #NGC6618 is embedded in M17, but #NGC6596 is in the foreground of SH2-44, and is not part of the star forming region.

Many of the stars are very hot fast burning stars, and they brightly illuminate the clouds of gas and dust.

Shot on a #Dwarf3 with the inbuilt Ha/OIII filter. Postprocessing in #Dwarflab Stellar Studio and #Snapseed .

#Astronomy #Astrophotography #Astrodon #BackYardAstronomy #SouthernSky

Here is a #SouthernSky classic - #C70 - The #SouthernPinwheel or #NGC300 .

This was shot over the course of four nights in the last week, with the last night being shot in OIII/SII , because I had that set up from shooting the #TriffidNebula earlier in the night.

This extra session has added some interesting highlights. In particular in the lower left tip of one of the arms, there is what appears to be a large nebula (but is more likely a group of them).

Postprocessed in #Dwarflab StellarStudio and #Snapseed.

#Astronomy #Astrophotography #Astrodon #SmartTelescope #BackYardAstronomy

Very early this morning, just after my night's schedule had completed, there was still some dark sky. So I had a look around in #Stellarium, and found a comet in the far Western sky - 10P/Tempel . So I did a quick stack of it with my #Dwarf3 , and this was the result. One #musktrail , but I thought I'd leave it in in this case.

10/P Tempel is one of the Jupiter family of comets, and has a period of only 5.4 years, so we get to see it quite often. Because it does not get particularly close to the sun, we don't get to see much of tail, but we do get the neat fuzzy green of the excited gases around the nucleus.

#10pTempel #Astronomy #Astrophotography #SmartTelescope #BackYardAstronomy #SouthernSky #Astrodon #comet10ptempel2 #comet

Something a little different today.

This is the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud, or #m24

What it is really is a gap in the dust of The Great Rift, and looks into the next spiral arm inwards from us.

5h22m in 15s subs at gain 60 using a #Dwarf3 #SmartTelescope .

#Astronomy #Astrophotography #Astrodon #BackyardAstronomy #SouthernSky

Making the most of the last night before the rain sets in, I decided to shoot a mosaic of the Lobster and the Cat's Paw nebulae. Six and a half hours total time, or about 1hr 35m for each corner.

This is a favourite subject of mine, and I never tire of it. Even if the lobster looks more like a crab to me.

Postprocessing in DwarfLab Stellar Studio and Snapseed.

#Dwarf3 #Astronomy #Astrodon #Astrophotography #Photography #BackyardAstronomy #SouthernSky #Snapseed

#M8 and #M20 the #LagoonNebula and #TriffidNebula .

Shot last night over 3 hours from my front yard.

#Dwarf3 OIII/Ha and post processed in Stellar Studio and #Snapseed .

#Astrodon #Astronomy #Astrophotography #SouthernSky

Stunning Science Image Maps the Magnetic Fields Between Galaxies https://petapixel.com/2026/06/04/stunning-science-image-maps-the-magnetic-fields-between-galaxies/ #geomagnetic #southernsky #australia #universe #energy #galaxy #magnet #Space

ρ-Ophiuchi Nebula Complex and friends.

Located at the meeting of Scorpio and Ophiuchus, this is arguably the most venomous part of the sky.

Let's look around.

Down the bottom we have Antares, a red supergiant, illuminating IC4606 - the Antares Nebula, and next to it the edge of the globular cluster M4.

Above M4 is a region illuminated by Al Niyat or Sigma Scorpii.

In between and above M4 and Antares is the tiny globular cluster NGC6144.

Directly above that is IC4603, and above that is the edge of what is recognised as IC6404, the ρ-Ophiuchi nebula itself.

Lastly, almost directly above Antares is IC4605 - the Blue Angel nebula.

Shot with a #Dwarf3 from my back yard in suburban #PerthWA , post processed in Stellar Studio, #Snapseed , and #GooglePhotos . Total exposure 6:19, 60s subs at gain 80, Ha/OIII filter.

#Astronomy #Astrophotography #Astrodon #BackyardAstronomy #SouthernSky #Photography

This month's target of the month from AGWA is the Statue of Liberty Nebula ( #NGC3579 ), which is in Carinae, and near the famous Eta Carinae Nebula.

This is three hours with a #Dwarf3 in Ha/OIII . Post processing in #Snapseed and Stellar Studio.

#Astronomy #astrodon #Astrophotography #SouthernSky #BackyardAstronomy #AstronomyGroupOfWesternAustralia

Lors de notre traditionnelle séance d'initiation du samedi après-midi à l'association, il y a eu beaucoup d'étoiles dans les yeux, au propre et au figuré... C'est normal, j'y ai évoqué le ciel austral, LE paradis des astronomes... Voilà un tout petit aperçu !
Qui d'entre vous a eu ou a encore la chance de profiter du fabuleux spectacle du ciel austral ? #astronomy #DeepSky #ESO #JWST #SouthernSky #Nebula