Astrophotography
Nebulae
A nebula is an interstellar cloud made of dust, hydrogen, and ionized gas.
Adriano Alfaro
Explore the astrophotography archive
This gallery is part of my astrophotography collection. Visit the main page to explore all categories, read insights and curiosities, and discover the equipment I use.
M42 Orion nebula
- Integrazione | 27 ore e 9 minuti (25 ore, 20 minuti e 30 secondi in LP, 1 ora, 49 minuti e 20 secondi in IRCUT)
- Sorrento | 2025-2026
- Telescopio | ZWO Seestar S50
- Drizzle | x1
NGC 291 Pacman nebula
- Integrazione | 9 ore e 22 minuti in LP
- Sorrento | 2025
- Telescopio | ZWO Seestar S50
- Vincitrice | Contest Seestar Italia - ZWO 2025
- Drizzle | x2
Located about 6'500 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia, it’s a stellar nursery where new suns are born within dense clouds of gas and dust.
M16 Eagle nebula and the Pillars of Creation
- Integrazione | 12 ore e 6 minuti in LP
- Sorrento | 2025
- Telescopio | ZWO Seestar S50
- Finalista | Contest Seestar Italia - ZWO 2025
- Drizzle | x2
These towering columns of cosmic dust and gas lie at the heart of Messier 16, the Eagle Nebula, located about 7,000 light-years from Earth. The famous Pillars of Creation, captured in Hubble’s historic image, are part of an active star-forming region and hide newly born stars within their dense clouds.
NGC 6992 Eastern Veil nebula
- Integrazione | 13 ore e 39 minuti in LP
- Sorrento | 2025
- Telescopio | ZWO Seestar S50
- Drizzle | x2
The source supernova was a star about 20 times more massive than the Sun, which exploded between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago.
Located about 2,400 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus, its intricate filaments trace shock waves racing through space, lighting up the interstellar medium like cosmic lightning frozen in time.
Horsehead nebula & Flame nebula
- Integrazione | 120 ore e 2 minuti (92 ore in LP, 28 ore e 2 minuti in IRCUT)
- Seestar Collective | 2026
- Telescopi | ZWO Seestar S50 e ZWO Seestar S30
- Drizzle | No
The Horsehead and Flame nebulae lie in one of the most iconic regions of the night sky: the Belt of Orion.
These nebulae are embedded in a vast complex of gas and dust located about 1,300 light-years from Earth, within the immense molecular clouds of the Orion region. The glowing red curtains of the Flame nebula are energized by the bright star Alnitak, while just beside it the famous Horsehead appears as a dark silhouette — a cold pillar of dust and gas slowly eroded by the intense radiation of nearby stars.
The Horsehead nebula was first identified in 1888 by the Scottish astronomer Williamina Fleming while examining photographic plates taken at the Harvard College Observatory. Even today it remains one of the most recognizable shapes in the cosmos — a reminder of how chaotic clouds of interstellar gas can sculpt surprisingly familiar forms.
NGC 6888 Crescent nebula
- Integrazione | 9 ore e 15 minuti in LP
- Sorrento | 2025
- Telescopio | ZWO Seestar S50
- Drizzle | x2
NGC 6888 — the Crescent Nebula, in the constellation Cygnus.
This emission nebula is shaped by a Wolf-Rayet star, an extremely hot and massive star in a very advanced stage of its evolution. The powerful stellar wind from the central star is expanding into material that was expelled earlier in its life, creating a complex shell of ionized gas with filaments, arcs, and shock structures.
NGC 6888 is located about 4,700 light-years from Earth and has an apparent size of roughly one quarter of the full Moon.
Galleries
Explore the astrophotography categories
Nebulae
HII regions, emission and reflection nebulae, and supernova remnants.
Galaxies
Spiral, elliptical, irregular, and interacting galaxies.
Planetary nebulae
Shells of gas expelled by dying stars.
Open clusters
Groups of stars formed from the same molecular cloud.
Solar system
The Moon, Sun, planets, and comets.
Milky Way
The Milky Way, constellations, and wide regions of the sky.
Auroras
Luminous phenomena in Earth’s atmosphere.
Dark nebulae
Clouds of interstellar dust.
Globular clusters
Dense groups of stars.