Backyard Universe

Backyard Universe Follow me into the steep learning curve that is astrophotography. Since 2025

Lagoon & Trifid – A View Towards the Heart of the Milky WayThis image captures a small region of the constellation Sagit...
20/07/2026

Lagoon & Trifid – A View Towards the Heart of the Milky Way

This image captures a small region of the constellation Sagittarius, one of the richest and most spectacular areas of the night sky. Looking in this direction means looking toward the center of our Milky Way, revealing countless stars, dark dust lanes, and vast star-forming regions.

The most prominent object is the Lagoon Nebula (M8 / NGC 6523), located approximately 4,100 light-years from Earth. Spanning around 110 light-years across, it is one of the largest and brightest emission nebulae visible from the Northern Hemisphere. M8 is an active stellar nursery where new stars are continuously being born. The intense ultraviolet radiation from these young, massive stars ionizes the surrounding hydrogen gas, producing the nebula’s characteristic red glow. Dark lanes of interstellar dust weave through the nebula, creating the striking contrast that gives the Lagoon its distinctive appearance.

In the upper right lies the Trifid Nebula (M20 / NGC 6514), approximately 5,200 light-years away. This remarkable object is a rare combination of an emission nebula, a reflection nebula, and dark nebulae. Its famous dark dust lanes divide the bright central region into three distinct sections, giving the Trifid its name.

To the left of the image is IC 4685, an extensive emission nebula that forms part of the same giant star-forming complex as the Lagoon Nebula. It lies roughly 4,000–5,000 light-years away and spans well over 100 light-years.

Down to the left is the globular cluster NGC 6544. Located approximately 8,700 light-years from Earth, this dense spherical collection of ancient stars measures about 60 light-years in diameter.

Gear:

🔭 Skywatcher Evostar 80ED

+ 0.85x reducer (510mm)

📸 Zwo Asi 2600MC pro

⚙️ Skywatcher Eq5pro

📈 Zwo Asi 120mm + Svbony 60mm guide scope.

🟡 Optolong L-Pro

⏱️ 57 x 300s subs (4h45min)

🌌 Bortle 5 🌘🌑

💻 Asiair, Pixinsight, Lightroom.

People often think you need a massive telescope to capture nebulae — but nothing could be further from the truth. The fi...
26/04/2026

People often think you need a massive telescope to capture nebulae — but nothing could be further from the truth. The field of view of this image is so large that it spans roughly 18 full moons side by side, covering an enormous portion of the night sky in a single frame. With a 135mm lens, this is comparable to photographing a robin from about 1 meter away 📸🐥

From my backyard, I captured this rich and complex region around Cederblad 214 in the constellation Cepheus.

Cederblad 214 is a compact emission nebula located approximately 3,000 light-years away and is part of the larger star-forming region surrounding NGC 7822. In this region, young, hot stars ionize the surrounding hydrogen gas, causing it to glow in deep red tones. The nebula itself spans roughly 15 to 20 light-years and is embedded in an extensive network of gas and dust clouds where new stars are still being born.

On one side of the image, the small but striking planetary nebula NGC 7354 can also be seen, at a distance of about 4,500 to 5,000 light-years. This object is the remnant of a star similar to our Sun, which has shed its outer layers in the final stages of its life. Its compact structure and blue-green glow are caused by strongly ionized oxygen (OIII), creating a beautiful contrast with the surrounding emission nebulae.

Also captured within this wide field is part of the supernova remnant CTB 1 (SNR G116.9+00.1), also known as the Garlic Nebula, visible near the edge of the frame. This faint, expanding shell of gas is the result of a stellar explosion that occurred thousands of years ago.

In the background, subtle arc-like structures are visible as part of the diffuse LBN 576 complex. These faint emissions belong to the extended molecular cloud region in Cepheus and reveal the intricate and layered structure of interstellar gas.

This image beautifully illustrates the different stages of stellar evolution — from active star formation in Cederblad 214, to the final evolutionary phase represented by NGC 7354, and even the remnants of a stellar explosion — all embedded within a rich and dynamic galactic landscape.

🌌🌌📷

Gear:
🔭 Samyang 135mm f2
📷 Asi2600mc pro
⚙️Skywatcher EQ5pro
📈 Svbony 60mm & asi 120mm
🟣Antlia ALP-T Ha/OIII 5nm
⏱️ 28 x 600s (4h40mins)
🌌 bortle 5 🇧🇪
💻 Asiair, Pixinsight, Lightroom

My latest work:The M106 galaxy groupThis image captures the region around Messier 106, a bright spiral galaxy located in...
19/04/2026

My latest work:
The M106 galaxy group

This image captures the region around Messier 106, a bright spiral galaxy located in the constellation Canes Venatici. M106 lies at a distance of approximately 23 million light-years and spans about 135,000 light-years in diameter, making it comparable in size to our own Milky Way. One of its most striking features is the presence of prominent hydrogen emission regions, along with a distinctive curved structure surrounding the core, driven by complex activity in its active galactic nucleus.

Within the same field of view, several other galaxies can be observed, including NGC 4248, a smaller companion galaxy at a similar distance, and NGC 4217, a more distant edge-on spiral galaxy located about 60 million light-years away, recognizable by its thin profile and prominent dust lane. Together, these objects are part of the M106 Group, a gravitationally bound collection of galaxies.

Beyond these main structures, the image is filled with countless faint background galaxies scattered across the field — each one an island universe containing billions of stars. This image was captured under exceptionally transparent conditions from Belgium, allowing both the fine structures within M106 and the subtle details of the surrounding cosmos to be revealed.

Gear:
🔭Skywatcher Evostar 80ED
📷 ZWO Asi 2600mc pro
⚙️ Skywatcher EQ5 pro
📈 Svbony 60mm + Asi120mm
🟡 L-Pro: 6h 10m
🔵 Triband: 3h 50m
🔴 ALP-T: 7h 10m
⏱️ Total: 17h 10m
🌌 Bortle 5 🇧🇪
💻Asiair, Pixinsight, Lightroom

LDN1235 The Dark Shark nebula. 🦈This region deserves more integration but as this was a test for my dark sky trip in jun...
22/03/2026

LDN1235 The Dark Shark nebula. 🦈
This region deserves more integration but as this was a test for my dark sky trip in june i’m most certainly satisfied with the results.
I used a 135mm lens which captures a very large patch of the night sky.
Unfortunately even very cautious processing couldn’t resolve star elongation caused by the curved field of my lens.

About the target:
In the northern constellation Cepheus, a remarkable network of dust clouds drifts through the dense star fields of the Milky Way. This region is part of the vast Cepheus Molecular Cloud, located roughly 600 light-years from Earth, where cold interstellar gas and dust slowly gather to form future generations of stars.

At the center of the image lies the famous Dark Shark Nebula (LDN 1235). Its long, dark silhouette resembles a shark gliding through space. Unlike glowing emission nebulae, this object is a dark nebula — a dense cloud of cosmic dust that blocks the light of the countless stars behind it, creating the dramatic shadowy shapes seen in the image.

Surrounding the shark are faint reflection nebulae, including vdB 149, where dust particles scatter the light of nearby young stars. Because small dust grains reflect blue wavelengths more efficiently, these regions often appear pale blue or slightly grey in deep astrophotography.

The delicate brown and grey filaments visible across the field are part of a much larger complex of cold molecular material spanning hundreds of light-years. These dusty structures are the raw ingredients of future star formation and reveal the intricate texture of our galaxy’s interstellar medium.

Gear:
🔭 Samyang 135mm F2
📸 ASI2600mc pro
⚙️ Skywatcher EQ5 pro
🟡 Optolong L-pro filter
📈 Svbony 60mm & asi120mm-s
⏱️ 115 x 300s subs (9h35min)
🌌 Bortle 5 🇧🇪
🌑🌘 0-11%
💻 Asiairplus, pixinsight, Lightroom

When there’s nothing to see but stars..There’s something very dark hidden 🦈
21/03/2026

When there’s nothing to see but stars..
There’s something very dark hidden 🦈

Tadpoles IC410 and Flaming Star Nebula IC405🐸🔥Normally i don’t process image vertically but i have found that an astro i...
07/03/2026

Tadpoles IC410 and Flaming Star Nebula IC405
🐸🔥

Normally i don’t process image vertically but i have found that an astro image isn’t about the target and processing alone.
Lately i’ve been trying to treat astro images like i’d do with normal photography.
Trying to give them some context by choosing framing and composition carefully instead of just focusing on the target, integration and processing alone 🌌

Target(s):

This image captures a fascinating star-forming region in the constellation Auriga. In the upper left lies the IC 405, also known as the Flaming Star Nebula, while the IC 410 appears in the lower right.

IC 405 is located about 1,500 light-years away and is illuminated by the hot star AE Aurigae. This star is particularly interesting because it is a runaway star: millions of years ago it was ejected from its original cluster and is now speeding through this interstellar cloud. Its intense radiation excites the surrounding hydrogen gas, producing the glowing red structures that give the nebula its flame-like appearance.

The Tadpoles Nebula lies much farther away, at a distance of roughly 12,000 light-years. Within this nebula is a young cluster of hot stars whose powerful radiation and stellar winds sculpt the surrounding gas. Dense clumps of gas and dust are slowly eroded, forming the characteristic “tadpoles” — elongated structures with a bright head and trailing tails that can stretch for several light-years.

The red glow visible in the image comes mainly from ionized hydrogen, while the bluish-green tones originate from ionized oxygen. These vast clouds of gas and dust represent the raw material from which new stars and planetary systems can eventually form.

Gear & software:
🔭Skywatcher Evostar 80ED (510mm)
📸 ZWO Asi2600mc Pro
⚙️Skywatcher EQ5 pro
🔴🔵 Antlia ALP-T dual nb Ha-OIII 5nm
📈 Svbony 60mm & Asi 120mm-s
⏱️81 x 600s exposure (13h30min)
🌕 +/- 99%
🌌 Bortle 5 🇧🇪
💻 Asiair, Pixinsight, Lightroom

I have booked a b&b at a dark sky location in France to shoot my “dream” target Rho Ophiuchi.Which is nearly impossible ...
04/03/2026

I have booked a b&b at a dark sky location in France to shoot my “dream” target Rho Ophiuchi.
Which is nearly impossible to shoot from Belgium as it only rises long enough above the horizon at night in the summer. But not yet high enough to escape the light pollution.

That’s why i have chosen to mash up a rig with the notorious Samyang/Rokinon 135mm lens.
This lens is well known among astrophotographers because it’s a very fast lens (F2), which means it collects more light than most telescopes do and also is very sharp from corner to corner.

At 135mm focal length this lens together with a big camera sensor can catch a pretty big patch of the night sky.

Tonight i’ll try a test run to see if everything works well for my trip in june.

Stay tuned for the results!

Clear skies 🌌

Goodbye laptop and handcontroller. 👋When everything finally works optimally it’s not always easy to make the decision t...
13/02/2026



Goodbye laptop and handcontroller. 👋
When everything finally works optimally it’s not always easy to make the decision to rewire everything. But i finally caved 🙈

Didn’t get to test it properly yet but as for now i’m super satisfied.
No software layers, drivers and configuration.
Plug and play 🤞
Now for some clear skies 🌌

HDR mineral moon 🌕Since long clear nights have been scarce these last months i wanted to try something i haven’t done be...
07/02/2026

HDR mineral moon 🌕

Since long clear nights have been scarce these last months i wanted to try something i haven’t done before.

I call this one:
‘And you thought galaxies are hard’

-Mineral Colors 🎨

The Moon isn’t just grey. Its subtle colors reveal different mineral compositions on the surface.
Bluish areas are rich in titanium (mainly ilmenite) and are often found in the lunar maria.
Reddish and brownish tones indicate iron-rich basalts.
Brighter highlands contain more anorthosite, a calcium-rich rock.

By slightly enhancing saturation, these natural mineral differences become visible to the eye.

-HDR (High Dynamic Range) 📊

HDR combines multiple exposures of different brightness levels.
This technique preserves detail in both the bright highlands and darker maria, preventing overexposed highlights while maintaining shadow detail.

Acquisition & processing details:

🔭Sigma 150-600mm
📸 Nikon D800
⏱️:
-70x 1000/s (HDR)
-70x 500/s (HDR)
-70x 160/s (HDR)
-15x 1s (halo)
-15x 15d (stars)
💻 Autostakkert, Pixinsight, Lightroom

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