All the images on this page were observed with the 1m reflector telescope here at Stockholm Observatory. All colour images are 'true colour' which means that they approximately mimics what the human eye would see. Click on any image to get a full-resolution version.

M88 (NGC 4501) --- 2002-03-25 --- 46 minutes

Lum (20x1min), Red (7x1min), Green (7x1min) and Blue (6x2min) exposures.
(Deconvolved + log scale)

Messier 88 is a bright spiral galaxy in the Virgo cluster of galaxies, having a visual magnitude of about 9.5. It is of Hubble type Sc (small buldge, loosely wound spiral arms) and resembles a small version of the Andromeda galaxy (M31).

It has a linear diameter of about 130 000 ly (light years) and an angular size of 7 x 4 arcmin, which is lucky for me since it fits in one frame of the Stockholm Observatory 1m telescope + CCD setup. Unlike the Andromeda galaxy, which would require at least a 17 x 23 frame mosaic!

Hubble variable nebula (NGC 2261) --- 2002-03-24 --- 27 minutes

Lum (51x20s), Red (5x30s), Green (5x30s) and Blue (10x30s) exposures.
(LLRGB layering + log scale + FFT Digital development + 2bin for RGB)

This unusual nebula changes its appearance noticeably in just a few weeks and is therefore called a 'variable nebula'. Gas and fine dust particles are released from the star 'R Monocerotis' (just below the image centre). Light from the same star is then reflected by the nebula.

It was discovered over 200 years ago, but was named after Edwin Hubble who studied it in more detail during the 20th century. It lies about 2500 ly away and is about 1 ly in size.

Black eye galaxy (M64) --- 2002-03-25 --- 22.5 minutes

Lum (25x30s), Red (5x30s), Green (5x30s) and Blue (10x30s) exposures.
(Deconvolved + FFT Digital development + 2bin for RGB)

It was recently shown to have two counterrotating systems of stars and gas in its disk. The inner part (about 3000 ly radius) is rubbing along the inner edge of the outer disk (at least 40 000 ly radius) which rotates in the opposite direction.

The (nicely coloured) knots in the dust lane indicates that star formation is taking place.

M100 (NGC 4321) --- 2002-03-25 --- 52 minutes

Lum (10x2min), Red (4x2min), Green (4x2min) and Blue (8x2min) exposures.
(Deconvolved + log scale)

This is another one of those Messier objects not discovered by Charles Messier himself, instead it was first seen by his friend Pierre Mechain in 1781. It is an Sc-type spiral galaxy of 'Grand design' type, quite similar to the whirlpool galaxy (M51).

In 1994 an international team of astronomers used the HST to accurately determine the distance to M100 using Cepheid variables in this galaxy. Since it is also a member of the Virgo cluster of galaxies, the cluster distance was determined to be 56 million light years (6 Mly uncertainty). Finding Cepheid variables so far away, and being able to actually observe these individual stars in the remote galaxy is important for determining the Hubble constant which in turn gives the age and size of the universe.

M65 (NGC 3623) --- 2002-03-16+24 --- 92 minutes

Lum (30x2min), Red (4x2min), Green (4x2min) and Blue (8x2min) exposures.
(Deconvolved + log scale)

This Sa-type spiral galaxy, together with its galaxy neighbors M66 and NGC 3628, forms the 'Leo Triplett' located at a distance of about 35 million light years.

As its Hubble classification (Sa) suggests, it has a prominent bulge and thin, smooth, tightly wound arms.

It exetends 7.7 x 1.8 arcmin and has a total visual magnitude of about 9.3.

M66 (NGC 3627) --- 2002-03-24 --- 30 minutes

Lum (40x15s), Red (10x30s), Green (5x1min) and Blue (10x1min) exposures.
(Deconvolved + log scale)

M66 sligthly outshines its neigbour M65, having a total visual magnitude of about 8.9. It extends about 8 x 3 arcmin, being seen less nearly edge on than M65.

Many dark markings can be seen due to obscuring dust and its spiral arms (Sb type) are deformed (distorted and displaced above the galactic plane), probably because of encounters within its galaxy group. One of the spiral arms even seems to be passing over the left side of the central bulge!

Comet Snyder-Murakami --- 2002-03-25 --- 7 minutes

Lum (12x15s), Red (4x15s), Green (4x15s) and Blue (8x15s) exposures.
(Deconvolved + log scale + 'True colour comet / False colour stars' + 2bin for RGB)

Within a few hours of each other on March 11th 2002, Douglas Snyder (Arizona, USA) and Shigeki Murakami (Niigata, Japan) spotted a faint, tailless comet moving northeastward through the constellation Aquila.

Its orbit seems to be parabolic, and when it passed through its perihelion point on February 21st it was 1.47 astronomical units from the Sun (about as far out as Mars). The orbit is also inclined 92.6 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic.

During my observation on March 25, its total visual magnitude was somewhat fainter than 11th magnitude and there seems to be a wide fan-shaped tail visible in the image to the south west (towards the lower right).