Arp 271
Last month, I photographed a system composed of two interacting galaxies: Arp 271.
It is located in the constellation Virgo and is about 125 million light-years from our solar system.
This means that the image portrays the two galaxies (NGC 5426 and NGC 5427) exactly as they were during the Cretaceous period, the last reign of the dinosaurs!
The shot clearly shows the gravitational interaction in progress, creating a veritable stellar communication channel that will likely lead to the two galaxies' merger.
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Technical data
Date & Site: 2026/04/18-19, Stigliano (MT)-Italy, SQM 21.45
Lights: 102x180s (Optolong L-CCD)
Setup: Omegon Cassegrain 8" Pro CC @1880mm , Skywatcher AZEQ6 GT, ZWO ASI 2600mc DUO
Image Credit: Tommaso Massimo Stella
I had a break in the clouds that evening, lasting just under three hours. I no longer had any major projects underway and didn't want to start a new one that would take several nights. I turned my attention to the constellation Hercules, to the famous M13 star cluster, where exposure times are generally shorter than for other targets.
It was also a good resolution test for my telescope, which finally seems to be properly aligned.
M13 is approximately 25,100 light-years from the Sun and 28,400 light-years from the center of the Milky Way. Its age is about 11.65 billion years. It has a diameter of approximately 145 light-years. The number of stars that make up this cluster is estimated to be between 300,000 and over 500,000, but no one seems to agree, based on the information I've been able to find.
Telescope: Gallifrey Optics Optics CDK 400mm F/7
Camera: ZWO ASI6200MM Pro
Sky-Watcher EQ8-R Pro
Filter: Optolong LRGB 2"
Date : 8 May 2026
Image Credit: Gaëtan Maxant
Leo I is a dwarf spheroidal galaxy located in the constellation Leo, approximately 820,000 light-years from Earth. The galaxy is part of the Local Group and is thought to be one of the most distant satellite galaxies of our Milky Way.
The instrumentation used is the following:
Telescope: Tecnosky 70AG F5
Cmos camera: Player One Poseidon-M PRO
Camera temperature: -20
Camera Angle: 270°
Mount: IOptron CEM120EC
Telescope Guide: PLAYER ONE FHD-OAG MAX - Player One Astronomy SEDNA-M
Software: Voyager - PixInsight
Light: L 63X300 Gain 8 Offset 30 BIN 1X1 - R 14X300 Gain 8 Offset 30 BIN 1X1 - G 14X300 Gain 8 Offset 30 BIN 1X1- B 14X300 Gain 8 Offset 30 BIN 1X1 - H 6X600 Gain 125 Offset 30 BIN 1X1 - 11 Dark 11 Flat 11 Bias
Filters: Optolong L 50.8 – Optolong R 50.8 – Optolong G 50.8 – Optolong B 50.8 – Optolong HA 3NM 50.8 – Optolong OIII 3NM 50.8 – Optolong SII 3NM 50.8
Accessories: Wanderer Power Box V3 PRO - ZWO EAF N Electronic Focuser - Wanderer Rotator Mini M54 - Wanderer Astro Motorized Flat Panel
Date: 21-02-26 24-02-26
Moon: 21% 54%
Shooting Location: Gualdo Tadino (PG), Italy
High Resolution:
/photos/148430600@N07 /55258560262/in/dateposted-public/
Image Credit: Francesco Ciavaglia
NGC 4477, NGC 4473, NGC 4461, NGC 4458, NGC 4438 e NGC 4435
Light 378 x 180” Filter: Optolong L-Quad Enhance Filter (L-QEF)
Camera: Asi 294 mc pro
Telescope: Sharpstar 94 EDPH
Mount: Skywatcher Eq 6-r Pro
Acquisition: Asiair Plus
Software: DSS - Pixinsight – Photoshop
Shots: 17-18-19/04/2026
Location: Torricella (TA) ITALY
SQM: 19,75
Author: PRO’ GIACOMO
In this image, I captured the Hamburger Galaxy (NGC 3628). It is located about 35 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo and appears to us edge-on, which is why we don't see the classic spirals.
Pareidolia arises from its sandwich-like shape, characterized by a dense, dark central structure (the meat) and the starbursts surrounding it.
NGC 3628 is part of the cluster known as the "Leo Triplet" where it interacts gravitationally with the spiral galaxies M65 and M66.
Technical data
Date & Site: 2026/04/17-18, Stigliano (MT)-Italy, SQM 21.45
Lights: 167x180s (Optolong UV/IR Cut)
Setup: Omegon Cassegrain 8" Pro CC @1880mm , Skywatcher AZEQ6 GT, ZWO ASI 2600mc DUO
Image Credit: Tommaso Massimo Stella
M97, the Owl Nebula, is a planetary nebula located in the constellation Ursa Major, approximately 2,600 light-years from Earth, and spans about 2 light-years in diameter. It is the remnant of a Sun-like star, now transformed into a small, extremely hot white dwarf.
Its name comes from the two dark patches at its center, which resemble the eyes of an owl. Its colors are due to the gases illuminated by the central star. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain and cataloged by Charles Messier in 1781.
Technical Details:
• Telescope/Mount: Skywatcher 150/750 HEQ5 Pro
• Camera: ZWO ASI 294 MC Pro
• Integration & Filters:
• 225 x 300” exposures with Optolong L-PARA filter
• Acquisition: Asiair Mini
• Guide Scope: 60/240
• Guide Camera: ZWO ASI 224 with UV/IR cut filter
• Location: Faggiano (TA)
• Date: 25-26-27/04/2026
• Bortle Class: 6
• Processing Software: DSS, GraXpert, Photoshop
Image Credit: Raffaele Calcagno
NGC 4236 is a barred spiral galaxy that can be seen almost edge-on in the constellation Draco.
It is "just" 11 million light-years from our solar system and is significantly smaller than the Milky Way.
It is challenging to observe and difficult to photograph due to its low brightness (in the peripheral regions).
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Technical data
Date & Site: 2026/04/11, Stigliano (MT)-Italy, SQM 21.45
Lights: 107x180s (Optolong L-CCD)
Setup: Omegon Cassegrain 8" Pro CC @1880mm , Skywatcher AZEQ6 GT, ZWO ASI 2600mc DUO
Image Credit: Tommaso Massimo Stella
M 15 in HaOIIILRGB
Messier 15 (M15) is one of the oldest and densest known globular clusters in our galaxy, the Milky Way. Located in the constellation of Pegasus, it is approximately 34,000–35,700 light-years from Earth and is visible even with small instruments or binoculars under dark skies.
It hosts over 100,000 stars concentrated in an area only 10 light-years across. Among these are numerous pulsars, X-ray sources, and over 110 variable stars. With the guys at Itex, we decided to image this wide field in HaO3LRGB mode. This was to break the usual pattern of viewing this cluster and reveal, after many hours of imaging, the faint hydrogen signal lurking throughout the field. Even more challenging, we spent many hours in the Oxygen III band, because after careful online analysis, we were certain of the presence of this faint signal in some areas around the cluster itself.
Here is the high-resolution link with all the technical specifications.
/i/cntb22
Image processed by
Image Credit: Mirko Tondinelli
M53, at the center of the image, is a very ancient globular cluster located in the constellation Coma Berenices, about 58,000 light-years from Earth. It is known to be one of the most distant clusters from the galactic center. At the top is NGC 5053, a globular cluster about 51,000 light-years away from Earth.
The instrumentation used is the following:
Telescope: Tecnosky 70AG F5
Cmos camera: Player One Poseidon-M PRO
Room temperature: -20
Camera Angle: 270°
Mount: IOptron CEM120EC
Telescope Guide: PLAYER ONE FHD-OAG MAX - Player One Astronomy SEDNA-M
Software: Voyager - PixInsight
Light: L 53X300 Gain 8 Offset 30 BIN 1X1 - R 12X300 Gain 125 Offset 30 BIN 1X1 - G12X300 Gain 125 Offset 30 BIN 1X1 - B 12X300 Gain 125 Offset 30 BIN 1X1 - 11 Dark 11 Flat 11 Bias
Filters: Optolong L 50.8 – Optolong R 50.8 – Optolong G 50.8 – Optolong B 50.8 – Optolong HA 3NM 50.8 – Optolong OIII 3NM 50.8 – Optolong SII 3NM 50.8
Accessories: Wanderer Power Box V3 PRO - ZWO EAF N Electronic Focuser - Wanderer Rotator Mini M54 - Wanderer Astro Motorized Flat Panel
Date: 12-01-26 18-02-26
Moon: 26% 0%
Shooting Location: Gualdo Tadino (PG), Italy
High Resolution:
/photos/148430600@N07 /55210123555/in/dateposted-public/
Image Credit: Francesco Ciavaglia
NGC 4244 is a loose edge-on spiral galaxy. It is also catalogued as Caldwell 26 and nickanamed the Silver Needle Galaxy. It lies a little more than 14 million light years away from us in the constellation of Canes Venatici (the Hunting Dogs), and is a member of a nearby galaxy cluster called the M94 Galaxy Group.
Most of the images I found of this object show it as mainly bluish. However, I found there was plenty of hydrogen alpha (Ha) signal, which provided the pink knots. These structures are similare tro nebulae like the Orion Nebula in our own Milky Way galaxy.
For scale, the long edge of this galaxy (including the faint outer wisps at both ends) is more than half the diameter of a full Moon.
Tekkies:
Acquisition, focusing, and control of Paramount MX mount with N.I.N.A., TheSkyX. Guiding with PHD2. Primalucelab low-profile 2″ Essato focuser, ARCO rotator and Giotto flat panel. Equipment control with PrimaLuce Labs Eagle 4 Pro computer. All pre-processing and processing in PixInsight. Acquired from my SkyShed in Guelph. Average transparency and seeing. Acquired under little to no moonlight from April 7-12, 2026.
Celestron 14″ EDGE HD telescope at f/11 (3,931 mm focal length) and QHY600M-SBFL camera binned 2×2 with Optolong filters.
38 x 5m Red = 3hr 10m
39 x 5m Green = 3hr 15m
37 x 5m Blue = 3hr 05m
29 x 5m Ha = 2hr 25m
Total: 11hr 55m
Image scale 0.4 arcsec per pixel
Image Credit: Ron Brecher
