Wonders of outer space: Photography special-Part 2 : Galaxy NGC 55

Thursday, July 10, 2025

Wonders of outer space: Photography special-Part 2

GALAXIES

This August, brings you Nebulae, a photographers` paradise unique to our Milky Way, and star filled galaxies neighbouring our own. It is time to direct your camera to the sky and amp up your night life, with cloudy magnificence, and galaxy spotting.

GALAXIES

Galaxies are accumulations of billions or trillion of stars moving around a common center of gravity. The observable universe has more than 170 billion galaxies, of which the brightest ones include our Milky Way Galaxy along with the small and large Magellanic Clouds, its giant neighbour Andromeda Galaxy and the Triangulum Galaxy. What makes it an amazing opportunity for photographers is the camera`s advantage over any other equipment in capturing the details and colours of galaxies.

Whirlpool Galaxy

Whirlpool Galaxy is a spectacular spiral galaxy, with an irregular portion connecting to one end of its spiral arms. It was the first galaxy recorded with spiral arms.

Visibility: Best between 8:00 pm and 10:00 pm.

Black Eye galaxy

Black Eye galaxy is called so, because its shape and colour look like a black eye that one gets on being hit in the face. It is remarkably bright, large and extended, with an even brighter core.

Visibility: Best between 8:00 pm and 9:30 pm.

Pinwheel Galaxy

Pinwheel Galaxy is a face-on spiral galaxy, in which you can see the arms from above or below the galaxy, rather than the side.

Visibility: Best between 8:00 pm and 11:00 pm.

Galaxy M 87

Galaxy M 87 is an elliptical galaxy without the dust lanes one usually associates with spiral galaxies. Its core has a massive black hole from which a jet of energetic plasma emanates and the stars in this galaxy are mostly old.

Visibility: Best between 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm.

Andromeda Galaxy

Andromeda Galaxy one of the brightest ones visible to us, has two satellite galaxies in the vicinity and is visible with the unaided eye from a clear dark sky location.

Visibility: Best between 8:30 pm and 5:30 am.

Sunflower Galaxy

Sunflower Galaxy is called so because it is very bright and many of its short spiral arms come out of the central nucleus, giving it the shape almost like a sunflower.

Visibility: Best between 8:00 pm and 10:00 pm.

Silver Coin Galaxy

Silver Coin Galaxy is a star-burst galaxy, undergoing intense star formation, which makes it remarkably bright, large and extended.

Visibility: Best between 11:30 pm and 5:30 am.

Galaxy M 106

Galaxy M 106 is a large face-on spiral galaxy which has a very bright nucleus.

Visibility: Best between 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm.

Galaxy M 94

Galaxy M 94 is a very bright and large irregular galaxy that has a ring of gaseous matter around it and in its central core as well. That’s why the stars are young in these two rings.

Visibility: Best between 8:00 pm and 9:30 pm.

Triangulum Galaxy

Triangulum Galaxy is an extremely bright and large spiral galaxy, which gradually grows brighter in the middle and is also visible with the unaided eyes from a clear dark sky location.

Visibility: Best between 10:30 pm and 5:30 am.

Galaxy NGC 55

Galaxy NGC 55 is a nearly edge-on barred spiral galaxy that appears asymmetrical with some signs of dust near the off centre bulging nucleus.

Visibility: Best between 11:30 pm and 5:30 am.

Viewing Equipment: A few bright galaxies can be seen with the unaided eye or a pair of binoculars, provided one observes from a place with a dark sky, but one requires a large telescope to see any detail in the dimmer galaxies.

All images courtesy: NASA

Compiled by: Aadil Desai