Today's Image

Deep-sky photos for June 2024: Editor’s picks

Deep-sky photos: A large, reddish cocoon of gas overlaid with prolific red clouds and numerous stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Makrem Larnaout in Tunis, Tunisia, captured the Crescent Nebula in the constellation Cygnus on June 6, 2024. Makrem wrote: “The image shows the gas clouds in red thanks to the hydrogen-alpha filter, highlighting the complex structure of the nebula. At center, you can admire the Crescent Nebula, formed by the powerful stellar winds of a dying Wolf-Rayet star. I am thrilled to share this interstellar journey with you!” Outstanding image. Thank you, Makrem. See more deep-sky photos from June below.

Stunning deep-sky photos from our community

The EarthSky community has many talented astrophotographers who capture stunning images of the deep sky. We gathered here some of the best deep-sky photos we received in June 2024 for you to enjoy. Do you have some of your own deep-sky images to share? You can submit them to us here. We love to see them!

Deep-sky photos of diffuse nebulae

A small blue cocoon of gas overlaid with prolific brownish clouds and numerous stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Andrew Warner in Fort Davis, Texas, captured the Iris Nebula in the constellation Cepheus on June 4, 2024. Andrew wrote: “The Iris Nebula appears bright blue due to light reflected from the bright, hot star V380 Cephei. The dusty area surrounding the Iris consists of dark molecular clouds and interstellar dust grains. These dust grains scatter and absorb light from nearby stars, creating intricate patterns and structures.” Thank you, Andrew!
Large, complex swirls of blue and orange gas over a background of faint stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Mohamed Alaa in Alkut, Iraq, captured the Veil Nebula in the constellation Cygnus on June 7, 2024. Mohamed wrote: “The Veil Nebula consists of an emission nebula and a reflection nebula about 1,500 light-years away. This gathering is the remains of a supernova, which exploded about 18,000 years ago.” Thank you, Mohamed!

More nebulae

A large cloud with a blue lobe at top and a red lobe at bottom, overlaid with numerous stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Andrea Iorio in Marino, Rome, Italy, captured this image on June 26, 2024. Andrea wrote: “The Trifid Nebula, M20, is an amazingly complex and photogenic nebula in the constellation Sagittarius. It contains a red hydrogen-alpha emission nebula with dark absorption nebula lanes which gives the object distinct lobes. Above the object is a blue reflection nebula where interstellar dust reflects the light of bright blue stars.” Thank you, Andrea!
Large, reddish patch of gas with faint background stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Mohammed Abdallah in Suez, Egypt, captured the Eagle Nebula in the constellation Serpens on June 5, 2024. Mohammed wrote: “I’ve shot the Eagle Nebula many times before. But this is the first time I shot it with the Pillars of Creation very visible. It was tricky from Bortle 8 and I’m happy about with this result.” Thank you, Mohammed!

A colorful double star

Two bright stars with long spikes, one blue and one orange, with numerous background stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | David Hoskin in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, captured the colorful double star Albireo in the constellation Cygnus on June 29, 2024. Thank you, David!

Open clusters

A large, sparse, grouping of colored stars with a multitude of background stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | David Hoskin in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, captured the open star cluster NGC 6939 on June 11, 2024. David wrote: “NGC 6939 is an open cluster located in the constellation Cepheus. The stars in this cluster are nearly 4,000 light-years from Earth and about 2.2 billion years old.” Thank you, David!
A spherical cluster containing hundreds of bright yellowish stars
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Fred Holman in Contoocook, New Hampshire, captured the Wild Duck Cluster on June 19, 2024. Fred wrote: “The Wild Duck Cluster is an open star cluster in the constellation Scutum, located about 6,200 light-years away.” Thank you, Fred!

A globular cluster

A large, spherical cluster containing thousands of bright yellowish stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Guido Santacana in San Juan, Puerto Rico, captured this globular cluster on June 12, 2024. Guido wrote: “NGC 5139, or Omega Centauri, was taken in the midst of a large power blackout, which improved viewing conditions from the usual Bortle class 8, to about class 5 and possibly 4. The sky was not only clear but also transparent, which is an unusual occurrence for the tropical summer.” Thank you, Guido!

Deep-sky photos of galaxies

Large, bluish galaxy, a spiral seen head-on, with a foreground of sparse stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Kshitij Maurya in Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh, India, captured Messier 101 on June 26, 2024. Kshitij wrote: “The stunning Pinwheel Galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major is about 20 to 25 million light-years from Earth. I spent 6 sleepless nights on a mission.” Thank you, Kshitij!
A large, yellowish nebulous spiral with a foreground of bright stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Fred Holman in Contoocook, New Hampshire, captured Messier 81 on June 5, 2024. Fred wrote: “M81 (or Bode’s Galaxy) and NGC 3077 (upper left). M81 is a grand-design spiral galaxy located about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. NGC 3077, part of the M81 galaxy group, is a small disrupted elliptical galaxy also about 12 million light-years away.” Thank you, Fred!

And a group of galaxies

A trio of whitish, small, nebulous objects, with a foreground of bright stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Kris Hazelbaker in Grangeville, Idaho, captured this image on June 13, 2024. Kris wrote: “I love finding and capturing multiple galaxies in a single picture. This is the Splinter Galaxy and a couple of ‘neighbors’ (from our viewpoint), found in the constellation Draco.” Wonderful shot. Thank you, Kris!

Bottom line: Enjoy this gallery of deep-sky photos for June 2024 from our EarthSky community. And if you have a great photo to share, send it in. We love to see them!

Share your recent Earth or sky photo at EarthSky Community Photos.

Posted 
July 5, 2024
 in 
Today's Image

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