Deep-Sky Astrophotography

A wide-field view of the Sadr Region in Cygnus, combining 12 h 46 m of SHO narrowband data with RGB stars captured through the Askar FRA400 and ZWO ASI2600MM-Pro. This image reveals glowing emission nebulae, dark molecular clouds, young star clusters, and the bright foreground star Sadr along one of the richest stretches of the Milky Way.

Hickson 61, better known as “The Box,” is a tiny apparent grouping of faint galaxies in Coma Berenices. This LRGB image captures NGC 4169, NGC 4173, NGC 4174, and NGC 4175 — four small galaxies arranged in a striking box-like pattern. Most of the group lies roughly 170–200 million light-years away, while NGC 4173 is likely a closer foreground galaxy that happens to line up with the others. Captured from Whispering Skies Observatory over two April nights, this 7-hour 48-minute project highlights the challenge and reward of imaging small, distant galaxy groups where scale, faintness, and perspective all matter.

This image captures the Leo Triplet — M65, M66, and NGC 3628 — along with nearby NGC 3593 in a wide-field LRGB view from Whispering Skies Observatory. With 12.6 hours of integration, the image reveals the three main galaxies, the smaller surrounding galaxy field, and the faint tidal tail extending from NGC 3628. This project also served as first light for the new ASI2600MM-Pro camera on my FRA400 platform.

Messier 94, the Crocodile Eye Galaxy, is a compact but structurally complex spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici, about 16 million light-years away. This LRGB image captures its bright central core, active star-forming inner ring, and faint extended outer disk using 12h 49m 30s of data from Whispering Skies Observatory.

Messier 104, the Sombrero Galaxy, is one of the most recognizable galaxies in the spring sky. This project captures its bright central bulge, sharp equatorial dust lane, and faint outer halo using 11 hours of LRGB data from the Sharpstar SCA260 V2 at Whispering Skies Observatory.

First light on my Astro-Physics 155mm Starfire EDFS platform captured a classic interacting galaxy field in Ursa Major: M81, M82, and NGC 3077. This image combines LRGB and H-alpha data to highlight the contrast between the grand-design spiral structure of M81, the starburst-driven outflow in M82, and the disturbed companion galaxy NGC 3077.

NGC 2174 — the Monkey Head Nebula — is a luminous star-forming cloud in Orion, roughly 6,400 light-years away. In this project I captured the nebula in narrowband (Hα, OIII, SII), revealing glowing hydrogen arcs, oxygen-rich structure, and dark dust lanes sculpted by intense radiation from young, massive stars. The result is a high-contrast look at an active H II region where stellar feedback is actively reshaping its birth cloud.

A new Orion classic from Whispering Skies Observatory: B33 (the Horsehead Nebula) silhouetted against IC 434, paired with NGC 2024 (the Flame Nebula) and its intricate dust lanes. Captured October 27–28, 2025 using LRGB + Hα for a total of 5 h 59 m 30 s, this project emphasizes clean star color and high-contrast dust structure while preserving the region’s faint, extended nebulosity.

Orion’s sword is one of the most famous regions in the night sky, and for good reason. This widefield take on M42/M43 and the Running Man blends short and longer RGB/L exposures with H-alpha to balance the bright core against the faint, sculpted outer nebulosity—an image that showcases both the beauty and the ongoing starbirth of our nearest major stellar nursery.

Stephan’s Quintet is a compact group of galaxies in Pegasus caught in the middle of a slow-motion cosmic collision – four true members being stretched, stripped, and reshaped by gravity while a fifth foreground spiral simply photobombs the scene. This deep LRGB image reveals distorted spiral arms, long tidal tails, and the bright cores of galaxies that are gradually merging into a single massive system hundreds of millions of light-years away.

This project explores Sh2-171, part of the NGC 7822 star-forming complex in Cepheus, a sprawling H II region about 3,000 light-years away where hot young stars are carving pillars and cavities into the surrounding gas. Captured over 33.5 hours in narrowband SHO with an Astro-Physics 130 mm Starfire and ASI2600MM-Pro, the image reveals the intricate structure and subtle filaments of this faint but remarkably active stellar nursery.

A 34.5-hour SHO+RGB portrait of Sh2-157 (the Lobster Claw) with the Bubble Nebula in frame—captured over five October nights with the FRA400/ASI1600 and processed in PixInsight; full workflow and annotations inside.

My Second Attempt - and my finest - with NGC 7380 - The Wizard Nebula.

This is the result of 25 hours of narrowband and RGB exposure on my Williams Optics 132 FLT APO platform, equipped with a 0.8 reducer and an ASI2600MM-Pro camera.

This was another image captured from my new observatory, which allowed for capture on marginal nights.

This is the first year I have started targeting Dark Nebulae. It’s been a learning experience.

On this project, I targeted Barnard 150 - The Seahorse Nebula. Even with more than 18 hours of integration, I ran into noise issues.

You need to do a lot of stretching, and this amplifies the high noise. While NoiseXterminator is extremely effective, when handling this much noise, I encountered some ugly artifacts, which greatly frustrated me. So the project reportsto learn more!