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Nebulae

Clouds of gas and dust where stars are born – and the remains of those that have died.

A dark dust cloud shaped like a horse's head against a glowing orange band of gas; a bright blue-white nebula and stars below.

Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33)

A dark horse's silhouette against glowing hydrogen – one of the best-known shapes in the night sky.

Wide view: on the left an orange nebula with dark lanes beside a bright star, on the right a red band of gas with the dark Horsehead.

Flame and Horsehead Nebulae (NGC 2024, Barnard 33)

Two nebulae beside Alnitak, the easternmost star of Orion's Belt.

A large pink-red nebula with dark dust lanes; a thin dark finger with a bright rim in the centre.

Elephant's Trunk Nebula (IC 1396)

The whole IC 1396 region in Cepheus – and within it a dark trunk sculpted by starlight.

Close-up of a dark dust pillar with a brightly lit rim against red gas, with a few bright stars at its head.

Elephant's Trunk Nebula, close-up (IC 1396A)

The head of a dust pillar slowly falling apart under the pressure of starlight.

A red heart-shaped nebula with a dark centre and brighter edges against a dense star field.

Heart Nebula (IC 1805)

A heart-shaped nebula, photographed under the dark skies of Poloniny.

An arc-shaped red and blue filamentary nebula resembling a jellyfish, with a bright orange star at upper left.

Jellyfish Nebula (IC 443)

The expanding shell of a star that exploded thousands of years ago.

Red and blue-green filaments of an expanding stellar shell against a field of stars, landscape view.

Jellyfish Nebula (IC 443), wide field

The same nights under the sky, a wider look at the supernova remnant.

A long, elongated nebula in red, orange and blue tones crossing the star field diagonally, with a bright blue star above.

California Nebula (NGC 1499)

A cloud of hydrogen shaped like the state it is named after.

Witch Head Nebula (IC 2118)

A faint reflection nebula lit by Rigel in Orion.

Witch Head Nebula (IC 2118), wide field

The witch's profile with more of the surrounding sky.

A round nebula in pink and blue tones with a dark cavity in the centre and stars inside.

Rosette Nebula (NGC 2244)

A flower of gas with a star cluster glowing at its heart.

An oval filamentary nebula in pink tones with a thin blue outer shell on a reddish background.

Crescent Nebula (NGC 6888)

A bubble inflated by the wind of a massive star at the end of its life.

A pink-red bubble of gas with fine bluish filaments, portrait view.

Crescent Nebula (NGC 6888), portrait

The stellar-wind bubble in a vertical frame.

A large pink-red nebula resembling the outline of the North American continent, with a dark dust lane at lower right.

North America Nebula (NGC 7000)

A continent of hydrogen and dust near Deneb.

A pink-red hydrogen cloud shaped like the North American continent, portrait view.

North America Nebula (NGC 7000), portrait

A continent of gas, this time in a vertical frame.

A nebula in the Hubble palette: golden and red clouds of gas with dark dust fingers around a blue cavity full of stars.

Wizard Nebula (NGC 7380)

More than 21 hours of light in the Hubble palette.

A red nebula with dark dust lanes and a star cluster at its centre, in natural colour.

Wizard Nebula (NGC 7380), natural colour

The Wizard as a colour camera sees it – without the Hubble palette.

A small blue spherical bubble of gas in the centre of a dark red nebula, surrounded by stars.

Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635)

Twenty hours of exposure for one bubble of gas.

Three dark pillars of gas and dust rising from below into a blue nebula with golden edges and stars.

Pillars of Creation (M 16)

The famous pillars of the Eagle Nebula – from a home observatory, not a space telescope.

Dark dust pillars rising in the bluish and golden glow of the Eagle Nebula, portrait view.

Pillars of Creation (M 16), portrait

The Pillars of Creation in a vertical frame.

The dust pillars of the Eagle Nebula in a blue-gold glow, scattered with bright stars.

Pillars of Creation (M 16), with stars

Almost eight hours of light through a long-focus telescope – with the stars left in.

The dust pillars of the Eagle Nebula with many stars, portrait view.

Pillars of Creation (M 16), with stars, portrait

The same view with stars, in a vertical format.

Wide view of a circular supernova remnant: blue and red-brown filamentary arcs on a dense star field.

Veil Nebula (NGC 6960, NGC 6992)

The entire ring left by a star that exploded millennia ago.

A bright pink and blue nebula with stars at its centre; below it a smaller red nebula.

Orion Nebula (M 42)

The nearest large stellar nursery, visible even to the naked eye.

A bright nebula with a luminous core and reddish and blue clouds of gas, portrait view.

Orion Nebula (M 42), portrait

Orion's stellar nursery in a vertical frame.

A round planetary nebula with a blue-green centre and a red-orange ring on a dark starry background.

Helix Nebula (NGC 7293)

One of the nearest planetary nebulae – low above the southern horizon.

An oval nebula with a bluish interior and red edges, shaped like an apple core.

Dumbbell Nebula (M 27)

The last breath of a star like our Sun – three hours and 45 minutes of light.

A small bright ring with a green-blue interior and red rim in the middle of a dark star field.

Ring Nebula (M 57)

A smoke ring in Lyra – the gas shell of a star at the end of its life.