We had some pretty dark and reasonably clear skies in the run-up to New Moon, which was today (09/11) at 09:02.
Was chuffed to be able to nab the Western Veil Nebula (also known as NGC 6960, Caldwell 34, a mere 8 degrees above the northern horizon (first image).
The dark shadows/patches at the bottom of the image show the tree line and how close it was to the horizon. Seestar S30 on EQ mode from Pearly Beach.
The Western Veil Nebula (also known as NGC 6960, Caldwell 34.
Wide field of view of the Tarantula Nebula (also known as 30 Doradus or NGC 2070) is the largest and brightest star-forming region in the Local Group of galaxies, located approximately 160,000 to 170,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
The Orion Nebula, also known as Messier 42 (M42) or NGC 1976, is a massive diffuse emission nebula located roughly 1,300 to 1,500 light-years away from Earth. Situated in the Milky Way within the Orion constellation, it forms the middle "star" of Orion’s sword, just south of his famous belt. Spanning roughly 25 light-years across, it has an apparent magnitude of 4.0, making it visible to the naked eye as a faint, fuzzy patch on a dark night.
The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is a dwarf irregular galaxy and one of the closest cosmic neighbours to the Milky Way. Located approximately 200,000 light-years from Earth, it contains several hundred million stars and serves as a vital laboratory for astronomers studying star formation in conditions similar to the early universe.
galaxy about 60 million light-years (18.4 million parsecs) away in the constellation Fornax. It is a radio galaxy and at 1400 MHz the fourth-brightest radio source in the sky.
Southern Cape Astronomy Club meets at least once a month for stargazing or observation evenings close to new Moon or during astronomical related events. The well-established club is based in Pearly Beach just outside Gansbaai.
NGC 246 (also known as the Skull Nebula or Caldwell 56) is a planetary nebula in the constellation Cetus (The Whale), discovered by William Herschel in 1785.
