Horsehead nebula (NGC 2024) (dark nebula)

Located below the far left star in Orion's belt, the horsehead nebula is a is a cloud of fine, sooty dust particles that block light and protrudes into a bright emission nebula (IC 434)

M1 (NGC 1952) (supernova remnant)

Called the crab nebula, this supernova remnant is from a star that exploded in 1054 AD and first noted by Chinese astronomers in that year as a "new star". It is about 6292 light years from Earth.

Centaurus A (NGC 5128) (galaxy)

Belongs to the southern sky but can be seen just above the horizon in southern Texas (at Fort Davis, home of the annual Texas Star Party). It is a very strong source of radio emissions and is about 15 million light years from Earth.

Double Cluster (NGC 869 and 884) (open clusters)

Physcially unrelated clusters of stars separated by about 400 light years of space. NGC 884 is about 7500 and NGC 869 is about 7100 light years from Earth.

IC 1805 and 1848 (emission nebula)

Two large wreaths of glowing hydrogen gas

California Nebula (NGC 1499) (emission nebula)

A large (160' X 40') and faint cloud of glowing gas namedafter the state because of its similarity in shape.

Coathanger Cluster (Col. 399) (open cluster)

Connect the dots between the 10 brightest stars and you'll see a coathanger of the type you often find on the back of a door.

IC 1396 (emission nebula)

Notable because it is large and bright

Eagle Nebula (M16) (NGC 6611) (emission nebula)

Called the Eagle Nebula because its shape reminds some observers of the bird

Gamma Cygni region (emission nebula)

The bright star in the middle of the picture is Gamma Cygni, which causes the nebulae in the area to shine. A barely noticable cluster of stars at the far right (M29) is estimated to be about 5542 light years from Earth.

M8 and M20 (emission and reflection nebulas)

Called the Lagoon (M8) and Trifid (M20) nebulas because astronomers have active imaginations

Antares region in Scorpius

Anatres is a double star system with the largest being a red giant that reflects light from cosmic dust in the area. M4 is a globular cluster to the right of Antares.