EarthSky community shares September 2026 deep-sky astrophotography
EarthSky published a gallery of deep-sky images submitted by community astrophotographers for September 2026. The collection includes views such as the Pleiades open cluster captured with a smart telescope and nebulae surrounding the Wolf-Rayet star WR 134. Readers are invited to view the photos and submit their own images.
EarthSky's September 2026 gallery collects deep-sky astrophotography from community members. Muhammad Alaa in Egypt used a smart telescope to photograph the Pleiades open cluster, noting its blue reflection nebulosity. Ernest Jacobs in Eden, New York, imaged nebulae around WR 134, a Wolf-Rayet star in Cygnus roughly 6,000 light-years away, with a surface temperature near 63,000 K and luminosity about 400,000 times the sun's.
Other contributions include Cody Sandusky's Western Veil Nebula (NGC 6960) in Cygnus, captured from Illinois over five nights and about 15 hours, and Andy Dungan's Wizard Nebula in Cepheus using narrow-band filters. Muhammad Alaa also shared the Heart and Soul nebulae (IC 1805 and IC 1848) in Cassiopeia.
This community gallery may broaden public engagement with astronomy by showing that smart telescopes and backyard setups can produce detailed deep-sky images. Amateur astrophotographers could feel encouraged to share their work, while casual readers may gain a more accessible entry point into nebulae, star clusters, and stellar evolution. The invitation to submit photos may also strengthen EarthSky's participatory science community, potentially increasing interest in night-sky observation and astrophotography among people who might otherwise rely only on professional imagery.