NGC 2903

Telescope : SW Esprit 100ED

Mount : SW Wave 150i

Camera : ZWO 533mc

Guiding :Zwo 120mono with Touptek oag

Filters:   Total exposure time :5 hours with SVBONY 260 5band 2"

Programs I have used : ZWO AsiAir & PixInsight 1.9.3

NGC 2903

is a stunning barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation of Leo. Often called the "Jewel of Leo," it is famous among amateur astronomers for being one of the brightest galaxies not included in the Messier catalog.

Key Characteristics

• Type: Barred spiral (SBbc), similar in structure and size to our own Milky Way.
• Distance: Located approximately 30 million light-years away from Earth.
• Diameter: Spans about 80,000 to 100,000 light-years.
• Apparent Magnitude: Around 9.0, making it one of the brightest galaxies in the northern hemisphere visible through small telescopes.

Scientific Interest

• Star Formation: Its core exhibits exceptionally high rates of new star formation, known as starburst activity.
• Central Bar: The central "bar" acts as a funnel, channeling gas toward the center of the galaxy and fueling the birth of new stars.
• Nuclear Ring: The Hubble Space Telescope has revealed a ring of bright, young star clusters surrounding its nucleus.

NGC 4565 (Needle Galaxy)

 

Telescope : SW Esprit 100ED

Mount : SW Wave 150i

Camera : ZWO 533mc

Guiding :Zwo 120mono with Touptek oag

Filters:   Total exposure time :4hours and 9minutes with SVBONY 260 5band 2"

Programs I have used : ZWO AsiAir & PixInsight 1.9.3

 

NGC 4565, also known as the Needle Galaxy or Caldwell 38, is one of the most famous and stunning examples of an edge-on spiral galaxy.

 

          Key Characteristics

• Location: Situated in the constellation Coma Berenices, near the North Galactic Pole.
• Distance: Estimated to be between 30 and 50 million light-years away from Earth.
• Size: It has a diameter of approximately 100,000 to 140,000 light-years, making it similar to or slightly larger than our own Milky Way.
• Apparent Magnitude: Around 9.6 to 10.4, which makes it visible even through small amateur telescopes under good conditions.
   
  Morphology and Appearance
• Shape: Due to its inclination (nearly 90 degrees relative to us), it appears as an extremely thin and elongated streak of light, which is how it earned the name "Needle."
• Structure: It features a bright central bulge and a prominent dark dust lane cutting across the plane of its disk, offering a view similar to what the Milky Way would look like if viewed from the outside.
• Classification: Although originally thought to be a simple spiral, newer observations (e.g., from the Spitzer telescope) suggest it is a barred spiral galaxy.

         Observation

• Equipment: Through small telescopes (80mm), it appears as a thin, fuzzy line. With larger instruments (8 inches and up), the dust lane and details in the central core become visible.
• Companions: It is often photographed alongside its smaller neighbor, NGC 4562, with which it may be gravitationally interacting.

Ngc 6946(Fireworks galaxy) & Ngc 6939

 

Telescope : SW Esprit 100ED

Mount : SW EQ6-ri 

Camera : ZWO 533mc

Guiding : 8x50 SW finder with QHY 5IIL

Filters:   Total exposure time :100x180min (5 hours) with ir-cut 2' filter SVBony

Programs I have used : Nina 3.0 _ PixInsight 1.8.9-3

 

NGC 6946, sometimes referred to as the Fireworks Galaxy, is a grand design, face-on intermediate spiral galaxy with a small bright nucleus, whose location in the sky straddles the boundary between the northern constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus. Its distance from Earth is about 25.2 million light-years or 7.72 megaparsecs, similar to the distance of M101 (NGC 5457) in the constellation Ursa Major.  Both were once considered to be part of the Local Group,^[6] but are now known to be among the dozen bright spiral galaxies near the Milky Way but beyond the confines of the Local Group. NGC 6946 lies within the Virgo Supercluster.

The galaxy was discovered by William Herschel on 9 September 1798. Based on an estimation by the Third Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies (RC3) in 1991, the galaxy has a D₂₅ B-band isophotal diameter of 26.77 kiloparsecs (87,300 light-years).^[1][3] It is heavily obscured by interstellar matter due to its location close to the galactic plane of the Milky Way.  Due to its prodigious star formation it has been classified as an active starburst galaxy.  NGC 6946 has also been classified as a double-barred spiral galaxy, with the inner, smaller bar presumably responsible for funneling gas into its center.

 NGC 6939 is an open cluster in the constellation Cepheus. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1798. The cluster lies 2/3° northwest from the spiral galaxy NGC 6946. The cluster lies approximately 4,000 light years away and it is over a billion years old. 

NGC 6939 is located near the border of the constellations Cepheus and Cygnus, at the southwest corner of Cepheus. The open cluster is located two degrees southwest of Eta Cephei and 2/3° northwest from the spiral galaxy NGC 6946, which has visual magnitude 8.7. They appear as two patches of haze with 10x50 binoculars. NGC 6939 can be seen and glimpsed with 7x35 binoculars where as 25x200 binoculars are required to start resolve the cluster.The cluster can be glimpsed with 4 inches telescope and is resolved at x72 magnification. NGC 6939 is included in the Herschel 400 Catalogue.

NGC 5906 Splinter Galaxy

Telescope : SW Esprit 100ED

Mount : SW EQ6-ri 

Camera : ZWO 533mc

Guiding : 8x50 SW finder with QHY 5IIL

Filters:   Total exposure time :9hours & 30minutes with IR-Cut filter from 2nights

Programs I have used : Nina 3.0 _ PixInsight 1.8.9-3

 

NGC 5907 (also known as NGC 5906, Knife Edge Galaxy, or Splinter Galaxy) is a spiral galaxy located approximately 46.5 million light years from Earth German-British astronomer William Herschel discovered the galaxy on 5 May 1788.Its most notable features are its large stellar stream and ultraluminous X-ray source 

 

NGC 5907 has an anomalously low metallicity and few detectable giant stars, being apparently composed almost entirely of dwarf stars. It is a member of the NGC 5866 Group.

NGC 5907 has long been considered a prototypical example of a warped spiral in relative isolation. In 1998, a faint ring structure, likely caused by a disrupted dwarf spheroidal galaxy, was first observed around the galaxy.This challenged the assumption of isolation and suggests the gravitational perturbations induced by the stream progenitor may be the cause for the warp. Then, in 2008, an international team of astronomers announced the presence of an extended double loop tidal stream coiling around the galaxy.  The existence of part of these tidal streams has been recently challenged by some deeper surveys, which show only a single knee-shaped stream as opposed to the full double loop structure.  This shorter stream has a length of 45′ in the sky (or a physical size of 220 kpc) and has a surface brightness ranging from 27.6 mag/arcsec² at its brightest to 28.8 at its faintest.

An ultraluminous X-ray source, NGC 5907 ULX-1, is located in the galaxy.  This source is also called an ultraluminous X-ray pulsar (ULXP) because it exhibits a rapid pulsation effect. This pulsation has a period of 5.7 days and is caused by a rotating neutron star orbiting a high mass companion.  The neutron star itself has a spin period of 1.13 seconds and seems to be accelerating; its period ten years prior was 1.43 seconds. It is one of the brightest such source yet discovered with a luminosity over 10⁴¹ erg/s (7 orders of magnitude more luminous than the Sun). Notably, its peak luminosity is over 1000 times greater than the Eddington luminosity for a neutron star.

from Wikipedia 

 

M 106 & NGC 4217

 

Telescope : SW Esprit 100ED

Mount : SW EQ6-ri 

Camera : ZWO 533mc

Guiding : 8x50 SW finder with QHY 5IIL

Filters:   Total exposure time :9hours & 54minutes with IR-Cut filter

Programs I have used : Nina 3.0 _ PixInsight 1.8.9-3

 

 Messier 106 (also known as NGC 4258) is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781. M106 is at a distance of about 22 to 25 million light-years away from Earth. It is also a Seyfert II galaxy, which means that due to x-rays and unusual emission lines detected, it is suspected that part of the galaxy is falling into a supermassive black hole in the center. NGC 4217 is a possible companion galaxy of Messier 106.

M 94 Croc's Eye Galaxy

This is a new version 2026 , I hope better one.

Telescope : SW Esprit 100ED

Mount : SW EQ6-ri 

Camera : ZWO 533 mc pro

Guiding : 8x50 SW finder with QHY 5IIL

Filters:   Total exposure time : 105*180min  5hours 15min 12/06/2024

Programs I have used : Nina 2.3 _ PixInsight 1.8.9-2

Location: Grammatiko, Attiki

Messier 94 (also known as NGC 4736, Cat's Eye Galaxy, Crocodile Eye Galaxy, or Croc's Eye Galaxy) is a spiral galaxy in the mid-northern constellation Canes Venatici. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781, and catalogued by Charles Messier two days later. Although some references describe M94 as a barred spiral galaxy, the "bar" structure appears to be more oval-shaped. The galaxy has two ring structures.

M94 is classified as having a low ionization nuclear emission region (LINER) nucleus.^[11] LINERs in general are characterized by optical spectra that reveal that ionized gas is present but the gas is only weakly ionized (i.e. the atoms are missing relatively few electrons).

M 63 Sunflower with 533mc pro

A new edition I believe with better color rendering

Telescope : SW Esprit 100ED

Mount : SW EQ6-ri 

Camera : ZWO 533 mc pro

Guiding : 8x50 SW finder with QHY 5IIL

Filters:   Total exposure time : 100*180min  5hours 05/06/2024

Programs I have used : Nina 2.3 _ PixInsight 1.8.9-2

Location: Grammatiko, Attiki 

Messier 63 or M63, also known as NGC 5055 or the seldom-used Sunflower Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy in the northern constellation of Canes Venatici with approximately 400 billion stars. M63 was first discovered by the French astronomer Pierre Méchain, then later verified by his colleague Charles Messier on June 14, 1779. The galaxy became listed as object 63 in the Messier Catalogue. In the mid-19th century, Anglo-Irish astronomer Lord Rosse identified spiral structures within the galaxy, making this one of the first galaxies in which such structure was identified.

 

M 33(Triangulum galaxy) with ZWO 533mc pro

 

This edition is the 3rd version and I hope the last one.

Old version

 

 The Triangulum Galaxy is a spiral galaxy 2.73 million light-years (ly) from Earth in the constellation Triangulum. It is catalogued as Messier 33 or NGC (New General Catalogue) 598. With the D₂₅ isophotal diameter of 18.74 kiloparsecs (61,100 light-years), the Triangulum Galaxy is the third-largest member of the Local Group of galaxies, behind the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way.

The galaxy is the smallest spiral galaxy in the Local Group (although the smaller Large and Small Magellanic Clouds may have been spirals before their encounters with the Milky Way), and is believed to be a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy or on its rebound into the latter due to their interactions, velocities, and proximity to one another in the night sky. It also has an H II nucleus.

 Telescope : SW Esprit 100ED

Mount : SW EQ6-ri 

Camera : ZWO 533 mc pro

Guiding : 8x50 SW finder with QHY 5IIL

Filters:   Total exposure time : 3 hours and 6 minutes from 2 nights( 13/10 & 14/10)

Programs I have used : Nina 2.3 _ PixInsight 1.8.9-2

Location: Grammatiko, Attiki

M 51 LRGB Whirlpool Galaxy

The Whirlpool Galaxy, also known as Messier 51a (M51a) or NGC 5194, is an interacting grand-design spiral galaxy with a Seyfert 2 active galactic nucleus. It lies in the constellation Canes Venatici, and was the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral galaxy. It is 32 million light-years away and 109,000 ly (33,280 pc) in diameter.

The galaxy and its companion, NGC 5195, are easily observed by amateur astronomers, and the two galaxies may be seen with binoculars. The Whirlpool Galaxy has been extensively observed by professional astronomers, and its pair with NGC 5195 who study it to understand galaxy structure (particularly structure associated with the spiral arms) and galaxy interactions. Its pair with NGC 5194 is among the most famous and relatively close interacting systems, and thus is a favorite subject of galaxy interaction models. 

 

old version

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Telescope : SW Esprit 100ED

Mount : SW AZ-EQ5

Camera : Atik 460 mono

Guiding : 8x50 SW finder with QHY 5IIL

Filters:   Total exposure time : 2 hours and 33minutes from2 nights( 19/5 & 9/6)

Programs I have used : Nina 2.2 _ PixInsight 1.8.9-2

Location: Grammatiko, Attiki

 

Eyes Galaxies(Ngc 4438-4435)Markarian chain

 

New version with more stronger stars 2024

Old version

The Eyes Galaxies (NGC 4435-NGC 4438, also known as Arp 120) are a pair of galaxies about 52 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. The pair are members of the string of galaxies known as Markarian's Chain. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Telescope : SW Esprit 100ED

Mount : Skywatcher AZ-EQ5 

Camera : Atik 460 mono

Guiding :ZWO off-axis guider with QHY 5IIL

Filters: L.R.G.B  Total exposure time : 5hours 40minutes from 3 nights 

Programs I have used : Nina 2.1 _ PixInsight 1.8.9

Location: Grammatiko, Attiki

 

NGC 4631 Whale galaxy & NGC 4656-7 in Lrgb

Telescope : SW Esprit 100ED

Mount : Skywatcher AZ-EQ5 GT

Camera : Atik 460 mono

Guiding :ZWO off-axis guider with QHY 5IIL

Filters :LRGB Total exposure time : 4 hours

Programs I have used : Nina 2.1 _ PixInsight 1.8.9

Location: Grammatiko, Attiki

NGC 4631 (also known as the Whale Galaxy or Caldwell 32) is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. This galaxy's slightly distorted wedge shape gives it the appearance of a herring or a whale, hence its nickname. Because this nearby galaxy is seen edge-on from Earth, professional astronomer

NGC 4631 contains a central starburst, which is a region of intense star formation. The strong star formation is evident in the emission from ionized hydrogen and interstellar dust heated by the stars formed in the starburst. The most massive stars that form in star formation regions only burn hydrogen gas through fusion for a short period of time, after which they explode as supernovae. So many supernovae have exploded in the center of NGC 4631 that they are blowing gas out of the plane of the galaxy. This superwind can be seen in X-ray and in spectral line emission. The gas from this superwind has produced a giant, diffuse corona of hot, X-ray emitting gas around the whole galaxy.

NGC 4656/57 is a highly warped barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Canes Venatici and is sometimes informally called the Hockey Stick Galaxies or the Crowbar Galaxy. Its unusual shape is thought to be due to an interaction between NGC 4656, NGC 4631, and NGC 4627. The galaxy is a member of the NGC 4631 Group. A Luminous Blue Variable in "super-outburst" was discovered in NGC 4656/57 on March 21, 2005.  

Leo Triplet (M 66 group) in Lrgb

  The Leo Triplet (also known as the M66 Group) is a small group of galaxies about 35 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. This galaxy group consists of the spiral galaxies M65, M66, and NGC 3628. 

The M96 Group is located physically near the Leo Triplet. These two groups may actually be separate parts of a much larger group, and some group identification algorithms actually identify the Leo Triplet as part of the M96 Group.

Telescope : SW Esprit 100ED

Mount : Skywatcher AZ-EQ5 GT

Camera : Atik 460 mono

Guiding : SW Evoguide 50mmED with QHY 5IIL

Filters :Baader LRGB Total exposure time : 10:30 minutes from 3 different nights

Programs I have used : Nina 1.10 _ PixInsight 1.8.8_ Photoshop CS6

Location: Grammatiko, Attiki

 

NGC 5128(Centaurus-A) in LRGB

New Version 2023

 El Sause Observatory,Chile (11 Mar 2021)

Centaurus A (also known as NGC 5128) is a galaxy in the constellation of Centaurus. NGC 5128 is one of the closest radio galaxies to Earth, so its active galactic nucleus has been extensively studied by professional astronomers.

Telescope : Planewave CDK24 f \ 6.5

Mount : Mathis MI-1000/1250 with absolute encoders

Camera :  FLI PL 9000

Guiding : Astrodon MonsterMOAG & Starlight Xpress Ultrastar

Time: 2h 30min

Programs I have used : PixInsight 1.8.8 & Photoshop CS6

Location: El Sause,Chile

NGC 300 in LRGB

 

NGC 300 (also known as Caldwell 70) is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor.
It is one of the closest galaxies to the Local Group, and probably lies between the latter
and the Sculptor Group. It is the brightest of the five main spirals in the direction of the
 Sculptor Group.

 

Telescope : Planewave CDK24

Camera : FLI ProLine PL9000

Mount: Mathis MI-1000/1250 with absolute encoders

Total Time : 3 hours

Programs I have used :PixInsight 1.8.8 & Photoshop CS6

Location: El Sause,Chile

Leo Triplet in Luminace

 

-New Edition-Stacking and prossesing in PixInsight 1.8.8

If i remeber correctly the time was about 3 hours and 40 minutes.

Telescope : TS 65 QApo

Mount : Skywatcher AZ-EQ5 GT

Camera : Atik 460 Exm

Guiding : Omegon Off-axis guider with Qhy 5IIL

Filters :L

Programs I have used : PixInsight 1.8.8

Location: Grammatiko, Attiki

M81 & M82 in LRGB

M81 & M82 Bode and Cigar Calaxies

Messier 81 (also known as NGC 3031 or Bode's Galaxy) is a grand design spiral galaxy about 12 million light-years away, with a diameter of 90,000 light years, about half the size of the Milky Way, in the constellation Ursa Major. Due to its proximity to Earth, large size, and active galactic nucleus (which harbors a 70 million M_☉ supermassive black hole), Messier 81 has been studied extensively by professional astronomers. The galaxy's large size and relatively high brightness also makes it a popular target for amateur astronomers.


Messier 82 (also known as NGC 3034, Cigar Galaxy or M82) is a starburst galaxy approximately 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. A member of the M81 Group, it is about five times more luminous than the whole Milky Way and has a center one hundred times more luminous than our galaxy's center. The starburst activity is thought to have been triggered by interaction with neighboring galaxy M81. As the closest starburst galaxy to Earth, M82 is the prototypical example of this galaxy type. SN 2014J, a type Ia supernova, was discovered in the galaxy on 21 January 2014.^[8][9][10] In 2014, in studying M82, scientists discovered the brightest pulsar yet known, designated M82 X-2.

 Telescope : TS 65 QApo

Mount : Skywatcher AZ-EQ5 GT

Camera : Atik 460 Exm

Guiding : Off-axis guider with Qhy 5IIL

Filters :LRGB

Programs I have used :Maxim DL, PixInsight, Photoshop CS6

Location: Grammatiko, Attiki

Markarian Chain in LRGB

Markarian Chain LRGB 

from Grammatiko,Attiki,GR

Telescope : TS 65Q

CCD : Atik 460EXM

Guiding : off axis and Meade DSI 2

 

Markarian's Chain is a stretch of galaxies that forms part of the Virgo Cluster. When viewed from Earth, the galaxies lie along a smoothly curved line. Charles Messier first discovered two of the galaxies, M84 and M86, in 1781. The other galaxies seen in the chain were discovered by William Herschel and are now known primarily by their catalog numbers in John Louis Emil Dreyer's New General Catalogue, published in 1888. It was ultimately named after the Armenian astrophysicist, Benjamin Markarian, who discovered their common motion in the early 1960s. Member galaxies include M84 (NGC 4374), M86 (NGC 4406), NGC 4477, NGC 4473, NGC 4461, NGC 4458, NGC 4438 and NGC 4435. It is located at RA 12^h 27^m and Dec +13° 10′.
The bright members of the chain are visible through small telescopes. Larger telescopes can be used to view the fainter galaxies.
At least seven galaxies in the chain appear to move coherently, although others appear to be superposed by chance. Six of the points on the chain can be marked by galaxies. The other two points are pairs of galaxies.

from wikipedia

M 33 in LRGB

  M 33 LRGB

from Grammatiko,Attiki,GR

Telescope : TS 65Q

CCD : Atik 460EXM

Guiding : off axis and Meade DSI 2

 

Andromeda Galaxy

M 31in LRGB

M 106 (NEW) Add more time

M 106 Lrgb

Messier 106 (also known as NGC 4258) is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781. M106 is at a distance of about 22 to 25 million light-years away from Earth. It is also a Seyfert II galaxy, which means that due to x-rays and unusual emission lines detected, it is suspected that part of the galaxy is falling into a supermassive black hole in the center. NGC 4217 is a possible companion galaxy of Messier 106.