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

Deep-sky photos: Large swirls of mixed orange and blue nebulosity over a background of prolific stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jeremy Likness in Newport, Oregon, captured this view of the Orion Nebula on October 2, 2024. The Orion Nebula is a region of star birth visible to the unaided eye just below the 3 stars of Orion’s Belt. Outstanding work. Thank you, Jeremy! See more deep-sky photos from October 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 some of our favorite deep-sky photos we received in October 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!

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Deep-sky photos of diffuse nebulae

A reddish Pacman-shaped area of nebulosity, with bright stars immersed within and many fainter stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Andy Dungan near Cotopaxi, Colorado, captured NGC 281, the Pacman Nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia, on October 4, 2024. Andy wrote: “From a distance this object really looks like Pacman. For some reason I really like this nebula.” Thank you, Andy!
A large, distinct loop of green and yellow nebulosity with dozens of foreground stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jelieta Walinski in southeastern Arizona captured the eastern part of the Veil Nebula, in the constellation Cygnus, on October 28, 2024. Jelieta wrote: “A breathtaking, delicate nebula remnant of a massive star explosion. The Eastern Veil Nebula’s swirling clouds of ionized gas and dust span approximately 60 light-years. It lies in the constellation Cygnus, approximately 2,400 light-years from Earth. And it was discovered by William Herschel in 1784, a renowned British astronomer.” Thank you, Jelieta!
Expansive swirl of mixed red nebulosity with blue highlights over a multitude of stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Andy Dungan near Cotopaxi, Colorado, captured IC 405, the Flaming Star Nebula in the constellation Auriga, on October 7, 2024. Andy wrote: “I have never worked on this object before. So glad I finally did. It does look like flames. Beautiful. So many cool things in space. Wish I could fly by. It would only take 1,500 years if I could go the speed of light.” Thank you, Andy!

The Orion Nebula

Large swirls of bright red nebulosity over a background of distant stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jelieta Walinski in St. David, Arizona, captured the Orion Nebula on October 29, 2024. Jelieta wrote: “M42, the Orion Nebula, is the jewel of the winter sky. It mesmerizes astrophotographers and astronomers alike!” Thank you, Jelieta!
Large swirls of mixed purple and blue nebulosity over a background of prolific stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Andy Dungan near Cotopaxi, Colorado, captured the Orion Nebula on October 4, 2024. Andy wrote: “Orion is such a wonderful object to explore.” Thank you, Andy!

Deep-sky photos of star clusters

Two rich groupings of stars with numerous fainter stars in the background.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Guido Santacana in San Juan, Puerto Rico, captured the Double Cluster in Perseus on October 11, 2024. Thank you, Guido!
Two rich groupings of colorful stars, overlaid with prolific red clouds and numerous stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Makrem Larnaout in Tunisia made this 34-hour exposure of the Double Cluster in Perseus with surrounding nebulosity on October 1, 2024. Makrem wrote: “This pair of open clusters shines with young, blue stars surrounded by subtle red hues. Each imaging session brought out more depth and brilliance, highlighting the richness of this region of the sky.” That’s impressive. Thank you, Makrem!

And a handful of external galaxies

Large, bluish, spiral-shaped object with foreground stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Catherine Hyde in Cambria, California, captured Messier 33, the Triangulum Galaxy, on October 1, 2024. Thank you, Catherine!
A large spiral with multiple small, nebulous objects, over a rich background of stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Andy Dungan near Cotopaxi, Colorado, captured 2 galaxy groups – Stephan’s Quintet of galaxies and the Deer Lick Group, both in the constellation Pegasus – on October 27, 2024. Andy wrote: “Both are rather small and close together. Their data and histories are fun too. What fun exploring the universe is. I seem to be on a roll lately, lots of clear skies and a motivated photographer.” Thank you, Andy!
Large yellowish spiral with prominent dark lanes and numerous foreground stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Ernest Jacobs in North Java, New York, captured galaxy NGC 7331 and the Deer Lick Group in Pegasus on October 7, 2024. He took this image as part of his club’s imaging group. Ernest wrote: “NGC 7331 is the prominent spiral galaxy in the image. It lies in Pegasus and is 47 million light-years from Earth. NGC 7331 is about 127,800 light-years across. The group contains 4 other members also known as ‘The Fleas,’ or NGC 7335, NGC 7336, NGC 7337 and NGC 7340.” Thank you, Ernest!
A bright, whitish, irregular-shaped object with very sparse foreground stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Catherine Hyde in Cambria, California, captured the Flying Ghost Galaxy in the constellation Pisces on October 30, 2024. Catherine wrote: “Just in time for Halloween, this is NGC 520, the Flying Ghost Galaxy. It’s actually a stack from 149 300-second images, captured over 3 nights.” Thank you, Catherine!

Deep-sky video for October

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

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

Posted 
November 2, 2024
 in 
Today's Image

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