Milky Way Galaxy
Milky Way, Our home Galaxy
In the night sky you can see our home galaxy, Milky Way spanning across the sky. Camera reveals that it consists of millions of stars. In our galaxy there is 400 billion stars. The diameter of our galaxy is 100000 light years. We are at the distance of 30000 light years from the center of our galaxy. Closest star Alfa Centauri is at distance of 4.4 light years. Almost every star has planets. Large amount of the planets are located in a zone, where is suitable conditions for life. Latest estimate is that in our Milky Way galaxy there may be about 100 billion planets in zone of life. From the picture you can see that stars are concentrated on disk like shape. Big dark dust clouds cover the glow of stars in many places. Hydrogen gas clouds like North America nebula glow in reddish color. Picture is a combination of pictures taken in Finland in October 2016 and in Gran Canaria 12.6.2013. The Milky Way center is on right in constellation of Sagittarius. The center of our galaxy contains a large black hole. The angular size of the picture is 135 x 45 degrees.
Milky Way with 18mm objective 30th of October 2022. On the middle is Deneb, and below it the North america nebula NGC7000. Canon Eos 80Da, exposures 6 x 2 minutes, Iso1600. Images were taken in Kirkkonummi country side, where is less light pollution.
Milky Way on Cygnus 30th of October 2022. Exposures 6 x 2 minutes, Iso1600
Below is center of Milky Way imaged in Gran Canaria, June 2013. Picture area is about 20x10 degrees. The M24 is the Great Sagittarius Star Cloud
Zooming into center of Milky Way galaxy.
Below is composite picture of our Milky Way Galaxy. Pictures of 10x4 degree parts of sky are combined to one. Picture taken in August 2017 with EF100-400L tele zoom lens set to 100mm focus.
Year 2017 images taken in Finland combined with images taken in Gran Canaria 2013.
Below is globular star cluster Messier 13 in constellation of Hercules. Distance is 25000 light years. This cluster has one million stars. Our galaxy has about 100-200 these kind of globular clusters. These clusters are very old. They were born at same time as our galaxy, about 10 billion years ago. Photograph was taken 8th of April 2021 with Celestron 8 F10 focus.
Below are more globular clusters,
M3 distance is 34000 light years. Image was taken 18.3.2021 with C8 F6 focus.
Omega Centauri is in the southern sky, distance 15800 light years. Image was taken at Gran Canaria 11.6.2013.
Messier 15 in constellation of Pegasus 26.9.2021. Distance 32620 light years. Telescope Celestron 8 F10, Canon Eos80Da, exposures 3x5min, Iso1600.
NGC 2419 Intergalactic wanderer is far away from our galaxy, distance 300000 ligth years.
M92 at Hercules 5.8.2021, distance 26700 light years.
Messier 2 in constellation of Aquarius 26.9.2021. Distance 55000 light years. Telescope Celestron 8 F10, Canon Eos80Da, exposures 5x5min, Iso1600.
