The January 2012 photo of the month is the Rosette nebula. It is approximately 5,200 light years away and 130 light years in diameter. Photo by Mike Brady.
The February 2012 photo of the month is the Crab nebula (M-1). The energetic cloud of electrons is driven by a rapidly rotating neutron star, or pulsar, at its core.
The March 2012 photo of the month is M101 the Pinwheel Galaxy. The Pinwheel Galaxy is 21 million light years away. M101 has a diameter of 170,000 light-years.
The April 2012 photo of the month is the Triangulum Galaxy (M-33). It is about 3 million light years away and is one of the most distant objects that can be viewed without the aid of a telescope.
The May 2012 photo of the month is a close up view of the moon's surface using a video clip that has been stacked for a final photo.
The June 2012 photo of the month is the beginning of the May 20th annular eclipse.
The July 2012 photo of the month is the transit of Venus across the surface of the sun on June 5.
This is a view looking toward the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. It is a 4 minute exposure using an Astrotrac mount and a Canon Xsi rebel DSLR camera.
The Andromeda Galaxy M31, which is our nearest neighboring galaxy in space. This photo was taken using an Astro Tech 72mm refractor telesope on a Celestron CGEM mount by Mike Brady.
The Iris Nebula, also NGC 7023 and Caldwell 4, is a bright reflection nebula and Caldwell object in the constellation Cepheus. NGC 7023 is actually the cluster within the nebula, LBN 487, and the nebula is lit by a magnitude +7 star, SAO 19158.
This is the horse head nebula that is part of the Orion constellation. This shot was taken by Jamie Cash from Albuquerque, NM. He used a Celestron 1100 CGEM mount with an 11" telescope and CCD camera.