It is estimated that there are between 200 billion and 2 trillion galaxies in the universe. Each galaxy may contain several hundreds of thousands of stars. It is for example estimated that our galaxy, the Milky Way has over 100 billion stars. Galaxies are classified either as ellipitcal, spiral or irregular. Galaxies are made of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust and dark matter.
Below you will find my best images of 2020 and 2021. All were taken either with my Skywatcher Evostar ED-80 or the Skywatcher ED-120. I used the Nikon D750. For these shots of galaxies, I used the Optolong L-pro, is a multi-bandpass filter which selectively suppresses light pollution.
The surfboard galaxy (M108)
Skywatcher ED120; Nikon D750; Optolong L-pro; 420x60sec; ISO 800; Bortle 6; April 2022
Messier 106
Skywatcher ED120; Nikon D750; Optolong L-pro; 400x60sec; ISO 800; Bortle 6; March 2022
The Black Eye galaxy (M64)
Skywatcher ED120; Nikon D750; Optolong L-pro; 300x60sec; ISO 800; Bortle 6; March 2022
The Sunflower galaxy (M63)
Skywatcher ED120; Nikon D750; Optolong L-pro; 300x60sec; ISO 800; Bortle 6; February 2022
Sombrero galaxy (M104)
Skywatcher ED120; Nikon D750; Optolong L-pro; 130x60sec; ISO 800; Bortle 6; March 2022
The Needle galaxy(NGC 4565)
Skywatcher ED120; Nikon D750; Optolong L-pro; 300x60sec; ISO 800; Bortle 6; June 2021
The Pinwheel galaxy (M101)
Skywatcher ED120; Nikon D750; Optolong L-pro; 450x60sec; ISO 800; Bortle 6; April 2022
The Whirlpool galaxy (M51)
Skywatcher ED120; Nikon D750; Optolong L-pro; 250x60sec; ISO 800; Bortle 6; March 2022
The Bode (M81) and Cigar galaxy (M82)
Skywatcher ED120; Nikon D750; 900x60sec; ISO 800; Optolong L-pro; Bortle 6; February 2022
The Andromeda galaxy (M31)
Skywatcher ED120; Nikon D750; Optolong L-pro; 150x60sec; ISO 800; Bortle 6; December 2021
The Triangulum galaxy (M33)
Skywatcher ED80; Nikon D750; Optolong L-pro; 200x90sec; ISO 800; Bortle 6; October 2021
The Leo triplet (M65, M66 & NGC 3628)
Skywatcher ED120; Nikon D750; 600x60sec; ISO 800; Optolong L-pro; Bortle 6; March 2022
