Solar System and Deep Space Galleries

A selection of images from the Astronomy Section. All the images were taken in Guernsey, unless otherwise stated, and are © 1992-2026. Please contact us to obtain permission to reproduce.

The Moon

Moon CCD Mosaic

  1. By Daniel Cave.

Moon Detail

2001 August 10.
By David Le Conte.

Moon Detail

2001 August 10.
By David Le Conte.

Moon with Plane

2005 August 11.
By Paul Gavey.

Moon Detail

2005 August 28.
By Paul Gavey.

Third Quarter Moon

2007 August 05.
By Paul Gavey.

Moon Rising

over Jethou with Island Sky 2007 August 29.
By Paul Gavey.

Crescent Moon

2008 February 09.
By Paul Gavey.

First Quarter Moon

2008 February 13.
By Paul Gavey.

Moon with Plane

2008 June 08.
By Paul Gavey.

Moon with Plane

2008 July 27.
By Paul Gavey.

Full Moon Rising

Over sea 2010 June 26.
By Paul Gavey.

Full Moon Rising

Over Castle Cornet 2011 April 17.
By Paul Gavey.

Full Moon

2011 April 17.
By Paul Gavey.

De La Rue Crater

Named after Guernseyman Warren De La Rue, webcam images stacked March 2012.
By Colin Gaudion.

Moon Detail

2012 May 01.
By David Le Conte.

Moon with Plane

2012 May 28.
By Paul Gavey.

Lunar Eclipse / Occultation

Lunar Eclipse

1996 April 3/4.
By Daniel Cave.

Lunar Eclipse

2004 May 04.
By David Le Conte.

Lunar Eclipse

2004 May 04.
By David Le Conte.

Lunar Eclipse

2004 October 27/28.
By David Le Conte.

Sequence of Lunar Eclipse

15 images of the lunar eclipse in 2004 October 27/28.
By David Le Conte.

Lunar Eclipse Sequence

2007 March 03/04.
By Paul Gavey.

Occultation of Saturn

2007 May 22.
By David Le Conte.

Occultation of Saturn

2007 May 22.
By David Le Conte.

Occultation of Venus

With Jupiter 2008 December 01.
By Paul Gavey.

The Planets

The Transit of Venus 2004

Sidereostat image, June 08.
By David Le Conte.

The Transit of Venus 2004

Projection onto card, June 08.
By Paul Gavey.

The Transit of Venus 2004

Sidereostat image, June 08.
By David Le Conte.

Mars

22 March 1997, Tri-colour CCD image.
By Daniel Cave.

Mars

21 March 1997, Tri-colour CCD image.
By Daniel Cave.

Jupiter

2005 June 07.
By David Le Conte.

Jupiter with Uranus

2010 October 08.
By David Le Conte.

Jupiter with Shadow of Io

2010 October 10.
By David Le Conte.

Jupiter with the Galilean Moons

2011 September 27 from left Io, Callisto, Europa, Ganymede.
By David Le Conte.

Saturn

1997 December 28 quad-colour CCD image.
By Daniel Cave.

Saturn

2007 April 07.
By Paul Gavey.

Comets & Meteors

Comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon

Early morning 2nd October 2025, taken from the Vale.
By Elaine Mahy.

Comet Hale-Bopp

1997 March 28 Tri-colour CCD image.
By Daniel Cave.

Comet Hale-Bopp

1997 March 28.
By Daniel Cave.

Comet Hale-Bopp

  1. By Daniel Cave.

Comet Hale-Bopp

1997 Tri-colour CCD image.
By Daniel Cave.

Comet Hale-Bopp

  1. By David Le Conte.

Comet Hale-Bopp

and La Longue Rocque Guernsey 1997.
By David Le Conte.

Nucleus of Comet Hale Bopp

1997 CCD image.
By Daniel Cave.

Comet Holmes

2007 October 30.
By David Le Conte.

Comet Hartley

2010 October 10.
By David Le Conte.

Comet ISON (C/2012 S1)

(in the glare of the Airport lights) 2013 November 13.
By David Le Conte.

Comet Lovejoy (C2013 R1)

2013 December 09.
By David Le Conte.

Comet Lovejoy (C2014 Q2)

2015 January 18.
By Chris McKane.

Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE)

Taken with a Canon 5D MK4, 200mm lens, at f/2.8 and ISO 400. 20 exposures at 150 seconds. Taken on L'Ancresse Common on 16th July 2020.

Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE)

Rousse at 200mm F2.8 through a DSLR on a tracking mount.
By Matt Skillet.

Draconid Meteor

2011 October 08.
By David Le Conte.

Three Perseid Meteors

2013 August 12.
By David Le Conte.

Conjunctions

Venus, the Moon, and the Pleiades

2007 April 19.
By Paul Gavey.

Moon and Pleiades

2007 April 19.
By Paul Gavey.

Moon, Venus and Jupiter

2008 December 01.
By Paul Gavey.

Venus and Jupiter

2012 March 14.
By David Le Conte.

Moon and Venus

2012 March 26.
By David Le Conte.

Moon, Venus and Jupiter

2012 March 26.
By David Le Conte.

Venus and the Pleiades

2012 April 02.
By David Le Conte.

Moon, Venus and Jupiter

2015 June 19.
By David Le Conte.

The Sun

Sun's Chromosphere

Photographed in Ha (656.28nm/0.8 A bandpass).

Sun's Chromosphere

Photographed in Ha.

Solar Eclipse

Partial solar eclipse 1996 October 12 Guernsey.
By David Le Conte.

Total Solar Eclipse

Solar Corona 1998 February 28 Venezuela.
By David Le Conte.

Diamond Ring

1998 February 28 Venezuela.
By David Le Conte.

Solar Eclipse

Partial phase 1999 August 11 Alderney.
By Anthony Le Conte.

Solar Eclipse

Diamond Ring and Bailys Beads 1999 August 11 Alderney by Anthony Le Conte.

Solar Eclipse

Partial solar eclipse 2011 January 04 Guernsey.
By David Le Conte.

Deep Space

Many were taken using a Starlight Xpress CCD camera on a Celestron C-14 telescope working at f/7.5. Others were taken with an SBIG ST-7XME CCD camera on a Celestron C-11, an 8-inch Celestron Schmidt camera, a Meade 16-inch telescope, or piggyback.

M31 The Andromeda Galaxy

Our nearest galactic neighbour and the largest of our local group of three large galaxies. This image was taken over three nights, totalling nearly four hours capture.
By Hugh Whitchurch.

M33 The Triangulum Galaxy

A spiral galaxy and the smallest of the three larger galaxies that make up our local group. A total exposure time of only 2 hours 20 minutes (28 x 300sec).
By Hugh Whitchurch.

SH2-190 or IC1805 The Heart Nebula

An emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia. It’s a mix of glowing interstellar gas and dark dust clouds. Its commonly used name obviously comes from its shape. About 7 hours total capture time over a few nights. See Sagittarius 2025 for a full write up of this object with a description of the capture and equipment.
By Hugh Whitchurch.

Celestial Dragon

May 2020. 28 hours of combined Luminance, Red, Green, Blue, Hydrogen, Sulphur and Oxygen data. Taken with a cooled CCD and 106mm refracting telescope.
By Jean M Dean.

M42 Orion Nebula

Tri-colour CCD.
By Daniel Cave.

M100 Virgo Cluster Galaxy

Celestron C-14 telescope, CCD.
By Daniel Cave.

M104 Sombrero Galaxy

Celestron C-14 telescope, CCD.
By Daniel Cave.

M13 Hercules Globular Cluster

Celestron C-14 telescope, CCD.
By Daniel Cave.

M17, The Swan Nebula

Celestron C-14 telescope.
By Daniel Cave.

M27 Dumbbell Nebula

Celestron C-11 telescope, CCD.
By Daniel Cave.

M51 Whirlpool Galaxy

Celestron C-11 telescope, CCD.
By Daniel Cave.

Veil Nebula

  1. By Daniel Cave.

M57 The Ring Nebula

Celestron C-14 telescope, tri-colour CCD.
By Daniel Cave.

M57 The Ring Nebula

Celestron C-11 telescope, CCD.
By Daniel Cave.