Mark Hanson Astrophotography

07/15/2026

Here is a new image “The egg and baby dragons”
Very long description can be seen here:
https://www.hansonastronomy.com/ngc-6141 and here:
https://app.astrobin.com/u/Mhanson?i=ao16nu
Thank you, Enjoy Mark Hanson

NGC 6164 (right), universally known as the Dragon’s Egg Nebula, is a spectacular bipolar emission nebula floating roughly 4,200 light-years away in the southern constellation Norma. Spanning approxima...

06/26/2026

VBRC 2 - Planetary Nebula
“The Atomic Crystal Ball”
Wonderful Description by Sakib Rasool
Floating in the cosmos like a mystical crystal ball, VBRC 2 is a beautiful hidden gem of a planetary nebula that deserves to be more well known. One of 7 planetary nebulae catalogued by astronomers Sidney van den Bergh and Rene Racine in 1973, it has a multitude of catalogue designations. More commonly referred to as Wray 17-31, it is also known as PN G277.7-03.5 and RCW 44. It was discovered by the astronomer James Wray in 1966 and has an estimated distance of 4500 light years.

The main central shell measures 2.5 arcminutes and consists of both Ha and OIII emission with a blue ionizing central star located at its centre. The central star is hydrogen rich with traces of helium. However, this deep telescopic image reveals something not commonly seen, an outer halo with a size of 3.5x3 arcminutes. This was first discovered by the Galactic Planetary Nebula Halo Survey (GPNHS) team in August 2014 whilst analysing an image taken by GPNHS member Michael Sidonio: https://pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/wray_1731_in_vela

After applying contrast enhancement to Michael's image, faint hints of a small loop type structure were apparent. To corroborate the veracity of this structure, images of VBRC 2 from the SuperCOSMOS Ha Survey were consulted, which showed it to be the brightest part of a much larger and low surface brightness structure. This was then verified in an image commissioned by Don Goldman in March 2016 with his website now defunct. Due to its proximity to the more well known NGC 2899, a widefield image was commissioned by Marco Lorenzi in May 2022: https://app.astrobin.com/i/cw86y1

This new image is currently the clearest and deepest view of this outer halo, which just like the central shell is comprised of both Ha and OIII emission. This is likely to be material ejected during the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase of the previous evolution of the central white dwarf star. AGB haloes have been identified in a large number of planetary nebulae with a systematic photographic search conducted by professional astronomers for nearly half a century. Some well known examples include M57 and M97 to name a few.
Imaged in RGBHaO3 on a Planewave CDK 24 at Observatorio El Sauce, Chile. Taken Moravian C5.
24 x 300 sec for each R-G-B, 36 x 600 sec for Ha and O3, 30 x 600 S2.
SWOS Group, Mazlin, Forman, Magill, Hawn, Stafforini, Hanson
Enjoy,
Sakib, Mark and SWOS group.
https://www.hansonastronomy.com/vbrc-2

06/17/2026

Thanks to APOD for picking our groups image of the Hamster Wheel.

A different astronomy and space science related image is featured each day, along with a brief explanation.

05/12/2026

Abell 31 – Ghostly Face

A data set I missed processing from New Mexico, nice surprise.

Abell 31, also known as Sh2-290, is one of the largest and oldest planetary nebulae known, located about 2,000 light-years away in the constellation Cancer. Spanning roughly 10 light-years in diameter, it represents the final stages of a star's life where its outer layers have drifted into space, leaving behind a hot white dwarf at its core.

The nebula is most famous for its striking "bow shock" appearance on its southern edge. This happens because Abell 31 is moving rapidly through the interstellar medium; as it plows through the surrounding gas, the leading-edge compresses and glows more intensely. This gives the nebula a distinct, slightly lopsided shape rather than a perfect sphere.

In the core of this egg-shaped planetary nebula is a ghostly face on the right-hand side as if it’s looking out into the expanse of space.

Because of its ancient age—estimated at over 130,000 years—the nebula has a very low surface brightness. It is notoriously difficult to observe visually through a telescope and is primarily a favorite for deep-sky astrophotographers. Long-exposure images reveal a beautiful contrast between the red hydrogen-alpha emissions and the blue-green glow of ionized oxygen.

Equipment: Planewave 17”CDK and Sbig 16803 camera, Imaged at SWO in New Mexico

Image Processing and data collection: Mark Hanson

Enjoy, Mark
https://www.hansonastronomy.com/abell-31

03/29/2026

Longmore 8 Planetary Nebula
“The Hamster Wheel”

Longmore 8, also known as ESO 382-63 and PK 310+24.1, is a delicate celestial ghost haunting the southern reaches of Centaurus. This image here includes the entire outer shell and is the only image of this I could find. The outer structures around this planetary nebula were discovered by the Galactic Planetary Nebula Halo Survey (GPNHS) team in May 2016.
This planetary nebula represents a fleeting, poetic moment in the life cycle of a star similar to our own Sun. As the central star reached the end of its nuclear fuel, it gently shed its outer layers into the cold vacuum of space, creating a shimmering, translucent shell of ionized gas. Unlike the violent cataclysms of supernovae, this expansion is a graceful transition, where the exposed, scorching-hot core—a fledgling white dwarf—floods the surrounding nebula with ultraviolet light, causing it to glow with a soft, ethereal radiance.

Visually, Longmore 8 is a testament to the intricate symmetry found in the cosmos. Often appearing as a faint, circular, or slightly elliptical smudge against the dense star fields of the Milky Way, its subtle structure reveals the complex interplay between stellar winds and magnetic fields. Because it is relatively low in surface brightness, it remains a hidden gem, typically reserved for the long-exposure eyes of large telescopes rather than a casual glance. To study this nebula is to look into the far-distant future of our own solar system, capturing a final, beautiful exhale of a star before it fades into the dark permanence of a stellar remnant.
To the lower left is spiral galaxy NGC 5121 is a reasonably bright galaxy (11.5 magnitude) 1.9' x 1.4' in size.
Imaged in RGBHaO3 on a Planewave CDK 24 at Observatorio El Sauce, Chile. Taken Moravian C5.
60 x 300 sec for each R-G-B, 78 x 600 sec for HA and 90 x 600 sec for O3.
Enjoy,
SWOS Group, Mazlin, Parker, Forman, Magill, Hanson

https://www.hansonastronomy.com/longmore-8

03/24/2026

NGC 5189 Planetary Nebula

NGC 5189 is among the most intricately structured planetary nebulae visible in our night sky. Its vibrant display of colors—yellow for sulfur, red for hydrogen, and blue oxygen—maps out the last emissions of a star as it sheds its outer layers. These elements enrich the nearby interstellar space, providing material that may form new stars and planets in the future.

Situated about 3,000 light-years away within the constellation Musca, NGC 5189 has earned the name Spiral Planetary Nebula due to its dramatic, complex swirls of luminous gas. Unlike the typical bubble-shaped envelopes seen around dying stars, this nebula presents a chaotic landscape filled with twisted strands and knots spanning distances similar to our solar system.

The nebula’s distinctive shape results from the gravitational interplay between the two central stars: a hot Wolf-Rayet star—the exposed core of a faltering sun—and its companion, a compact white dwarf. With an orbital period of just a few days, their interaction produces shifting axes reminiscent of a spinning lawn sprinkler, ejecting material outward in various directions. This phenomenon, called precession, sculpts the unique, symmetrical lobes that give NGC 5189 its spiral, galaxy-like appearance.

Imaged in RGBHa on a Planewave CDK 24 at Observatorio El Sauce, Chile. Taken Moravian C5.
24 x 300 for each R, G, B and 36x600 for each HA, S2 and O3.
Enjoy,
SWOS Group, Mazlin, Parker, Forman, Magill, Hanson

https://www.hansonastronomy.com/ngc-5189

02/17/2026

Cederbald 51 “Turned to Stone!”

This interesting patch of red emission/reflection nebula in Orion looks very much like a side portrait of Madusa.
Cederblad 51 is a compact reflection nebula within the Lambda Orionis ring (Sharpless 2-264), about 1,300–1,500 light-years away. Bluish patches are dust clouds reflecting light from nearby hot stars.

The nebula has two main lobes divided by a dark dust lane, set against reddish emission from ionized hydrogen. Surrounding it are delicate dust veils and filaments, part of a molecular complex that hosts ongoing star formation.

Magenta tones show regions where dust and ionized gas overlap, and embedded stars signal a young stellar population. What looks like a single blue nebula is actually one bright knot in a larger star-forming ring around Lambda Orionis.

Imaged in RGBHa on a Planewave CDK 24 at Observatorio El Sauce, Chile. Taken Moravian C5.
57x600 - Ha , 60x300 - Each RGB
Enjoy,
SWOS Group, Mazlin, Parker, Forman, Magill, Hanson

This interesting patch of red emission/reflection nebula in Orion looks very much like a side portrait of Madusa.Cederblad 51 is a compact reflection nebula within the Lambda Orionis ring (Sharpless 2...

12/28/2025

NGC 1398 “Glittering amongst millions”

This stunning photograph showcases the face on spiral galaxy NGC 1398, located approximately 65 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Fornax. NGC 1398 is classified as a barred spiral galaxy; in this image, its brilliant central bar and graceful spiral arms stand out vividly and eventually those spiral arms fade amid a sea of stars. However, a closer look reveals the surrounding space is filled with subtle glimmers and swirling shapes of countless distant galaxies. Larger than our own Milky Way, NGC 1398 boasts more than 100 billion stars.

The black and white with color insert version shows the extent of the really faint spiral arms.

Imaged in LRGBHa on a Planewave CDK 24 at Observatorio El Sauce, Chile. Taken Moravian C5.
200x300L - 16.5Hours, 60x300 - 5Hours Each RGB
31.5 hours total
Enjoy,
SWOS Group, Mazlin, Parker, Forman, Magill, Hanson

https://www.hansonastronomy.com/ngc-1398

12/04/2025

“NGC 300 The Grand Nebulae Preserve”

NGC 300, also known as Caldwell 70 or the Sculptor Pinwheel Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Sculptor, approximately six million light-years from Earth. It is one of the nearest galaxies to the Local Group, lying between it and the Sculptor Group, and is the brightest of five major spiral galaxies in that direction. Its diameter is 94,000 light-years, making it slightly smaller than the Milky Way.

NGC 300 is a galaxy with thousands of hidden nebulae. When deep images of this active face-on spiral galaxy using HA (Hydrogen), S2 (Sulfur II), and O3 (Oxygen III) narrowband filters—and after removing the stars from the Red, Green, Blue broadband light—this remarkable view is revealed.

Imaged in LRGBHa on a Planewave CDK 24 at Observatorio El Sauce, Chile. Taken with 2 different cameras SBIG 16803 and Moravian C5.
Ha 22.5h, S2 12.5h, O3 12.5h, RGB 7h each
Total 68 hours.
Enjoy,
SWOS Group, Mazlin, Parker, Forman, Magill, Hanson
Thanks to Alex Zaytsev for helping with the description and the wonderful, annotated version.
https://www.hansonastronomy.com/ngc-300-swos

11/05/2025

NGC 55 – 223 Hours
This image of NGC 55 represents one of my favorite galaxies, captured using three different telescopes and four different cameras, over 3 years with a cumulative exposure time of 223 hours. The data was contributed by several collaborators, enabling the creation of my first comprehensive SHOLRGB galaxy image, aside from previous work on the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, which involved 16 panes each and moderately less exposure per pane.
The image was processed using the SHO palette—assigning S to Red, H to Green, and O to Blue—with additional RGB stars and luminance data integrated. The result reveals extensive detail for a galaxy located approximately 6.5 million light years away. For context, the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds are situated between 160,000 and 200,000 light years from Earth. Comparable imaging efforts I have seen include M33, which is roughly 2.7 million light years distant, similar to the Andromeda Galaxy as well as NGC 300.
For more info: https://www.hansonastronomy.com/ngc-55
Enjoy,
Dieterich, Zaytsev and the SWOS Group