Move over Hubble! Amateur astronomer takes stunning photos of colourful galaxies from his back garden in Michigan
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These photographs may look like incredible shots taken from telescopes in space, but they were in fact captured by amateur astronomer in his back garden.
Located millions of light years away from Earth, the star-studded patterns fill the night sky with array of colours, from purples and pinks to blues and oranges.
Photographer Terry Hancock captured the images using a specialist astronomy camera attached to a telescope, from the comfort of his home in Fremont, Michigan.
These may look like incredible shots taken from powerful telescopes in space, but they were in fact captured by amateur astronomer in his back garden. Pictured is the centre of the Triangulum galaxy, a spiral galaxy three million light-years from Earth in the constellation Triangulum
The 61-year-old sales manager said: 'My pictures are all long exposures of galaxies, nebulae and star clusters, which range in distance from thousands to many millions of light years away from Earth.
'My image of "The Markarian's Chain of Galaxies" is the furthest away, and contains many galaxies in excess of 70 million light years away from Earth.'
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In distant galaxies, light from many millions of stars takes a long time to reach the Earth.
For example, using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers can see the light from the Eagle Nebula, which takes 7,000 years to reach Earth.
Pictured is NGC 6334 is a cloud of gas and dust that appears to be forming massive stars. At 5500 light-years away, the Bear Claw Nebula, as it has also been dubbed, is more than three times as distant as the Orion Nebula, but still close enough for detailed study
Located millions of light years away from Earth, the patterns fill the night sky with array of colours, from purples and pinks to blues and oranges. On the left is the the Wild Duck Cluster and on the right is the Hercules Cluster
Barely visible to the naked eye on a dark night, Messier 17, or the Omega Nebula, is best seen through a telescope. Photographer Terry Hancock captured the images using a specialist astronomy camera attached to a telescope, from the comfort of his home in Michigan
'The idea of gazing up into the night sky and being able to capture these beautiful images that existed way before mankind really fascinates me,' said Mr Hancock, originally from Burnley, Lancashire.
'The photographs are all real, but you will not see these images with either the naked eye.
'Our eyes do not have the sensitivity needed to capture the detail and colour.
'In order to see these very faint space objects and this level of detail, it is necessary to use specialised equipment.'
In order to capture these images, Mr Hancock attached his camera to a telescope, which is then connected to an equatorial mount along with other equipment.
An equatorial mount is a mount used to follow the rotation of the sky.
This rich starscape spans nearly seven degrees on the sky, toward the Sagittarius spiral arm and the center of our Milky Way galaxy. A telescopic mosaic, it features well-known bright nebulae and star clusters cataloged by 18th century cosmic tourist Charles Messier. Still popular stops for skygazers M16, the Eagle (far right), and M17, the Swan (near centre) nebulae are the brightest star-forming emission regions
The 61-year-old sales manager said: 'My pictures are all long exposures of galaxies, nebulae and star clusters, which range in distance from thousands to many millions of light years away from Earth. Pictured is NGC 7000, the North America Nebula, located in Cygnus constellation
Mr Hancock's set of images are unique because they are captured in one night rather than several.
He used a fast telescopic lens which collects the light quickly, speeding up the process.
The amateur astronomer said: 'I'm constantly monitoring how well the cameras and telescope are when tracking the stars I'm checking focus and also keeping a close watch on temperature, wind and weather conditions.
'This hobby is highly subjected to light pollution caused by excessive or inappropriate outdoor lighting.'
Mr Hancock's set of images are unique because they are captured in one night rather than several. Pictured is the Triangulum Galaxy, also known as M33, which is located roughly three million light years from Earth in the constellation Triangulum
Around size light-years wide, NGC 7635 is located roughly 7,100 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cassiopeia. The amateur astronomer said: 'I'm constantly monitoring how well the cameras and telescope are when tracking the stars I'm checking focus and also keeping a close watch on temperature, wind and weather conditions'
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