Dave's Astronomy Pictures

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Galaxies Nebulae Star Clusters Constellations Milky Way Multiple Stars Messier Objects

There are many interesting objects outside of the solar system, technically known as "Deep Sky" objects, or DSOs. This includes galaxies, nebulae, star clusters and double stars.

This section shows my DSO results. Bright stars and some of the brightest other objects can be imaged with plain TouCam although this is not really suitable. Fainter objects require long exposures. In the past I used my QuickCam 3000 SC1.5, and later my Vesta Pro SC3. Now I have the Atik 16HR, which is designed specifically for this purpose. Widefields including whole constellations are better exposed through a standard SLR camera lens, using either a webcam or traditional camera, which these days means my Canon EOS300D DSLR. See my cameras page for more details.

	Galaxies Pictures of galaxies, like our own milky way, many thousands of light years distant, and containing billions of stars.
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	Nebulae From the latin word for "cloud", there are many types of nebulae. Generally formed of gas, some are hot and glow of their own volition, some are cold and shine by reflected light. Some are formed of the ashes of dead or dying stars, whilst others are cradles where new stars are born.
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	Star Clusters Star clusters come in two very different types: Open - in which the stars are clearly distinct, and Globular, which are tight ball-like formations containing thousands of stars, almost like a galaxy in miniature.
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	Constellations The ancients saw the brighter stars as forming figures of people, animals, and objects. Many of these constellations (and unofficial groupings known as Asterisms) are familiar patterns in the sky today.
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	The Milky Way Images showing our own galaxy, the Milky Way arcing across the sky.
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	Multiple Stars At least half of all stars reveal themselves to be double or multiple star systems when examined through the telescope.
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