Watch this video of some of our editors’ picks for the best deep-sky photos of May 2025, and then see more below!
Stunning deep-sky photos from our community
The EarthSky community has many talented astrophotographers who capture stunning images of the deep sky. We gathered some of our favorite deep-sky photos we received in May 2025 for you to enjoy. Do you have some of your own images to share? You can submit them to us here. We love to see them!
Deep-sky photos of diffuse nebulae
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jelieta Walinski at Desert Bloom Observatory in St. David, Arizona, captured IC 4603 on May 25, 2025. Jelieta wrote: “IC 4603, a stunning reflection nebula, showcases the intricate beauty of interstellar dust and gas. Located in the constellation Scorpius, this nebula is a reflection of the light from nearby stars.” Thank you, Jelieta!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Andy Dungan near Cotopaxi, Colorado, captured this telescopic view of IC 4592, the Blue Horsehead Nebula in the constellation Scorpius, on May 24, 2025. Andy wrote: “This is my 4th pic with PixInsight and I must say I am happy. I still have so much to learn, and when you get to finish something that actually looks like a Blue Horsehead it is pretty exciting! By the way, this is a rather large object compared to many of the nebulae you can take pics of. It was taken with a focal length of 270mm.” Thank you, Andy!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Mohammed Abdallah in Whales Valley, Egypt, caught the nebulosity surrounding Rho Ophiuchi (in the constellation Ophiuchus) on May 2, 2025. Mohammed wrote: “I took about 99 minutes of Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, and I was amazed by the details. It’s the 4th trial for me as I have tried it 3 times before under different skies with no luck. I also want to note that this is done using my kit lens. It was nearly dawn and I wanted to prepare for departure.” Thank you, Mohammed!
The Eagle Nebula with the Pillars of Creation
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Tameem Altameemi in the United Arab Emirates captured this view on May 25, 2025. Tameem wrote: “This image showcases the famous Pillars of Creation. They’re towering structures of interstellar gas and dust within the Eagle Nebula (Messier 16). It lies around 7,000 light-years away in the constellation Serpens. The focus is on the central star-forming region, where the pillars themselves stretch up to 4 to 5 light-years in height. This makes them among the most iconic and immense stellar nurseries in our galaxy.” Thank you, Tameem!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Scott Smith in Palmetto, Florida, caught the same region on May 20, 2025. Scott wrote: “Taken from my suburban backyard, these towers of cosmic dust and gas sit at the heart of Messier 16, aka the Eagle Nebula. The aptly named Pillars of Creation, made famous in the 1995 Hubble photo, are part of an active star-forming region within the nebula. They hide newborn stars in their wispy columns.” Thank you, Scott!
Deep-sky photos of star clusters
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Muhammad Alaa in Assiut, Egypt, caught Messier 44 (with Mars) in the constellation Cancer on May 6, 2025. Muhammad wrote: One of the most beautiful open star clusters in the night sky. It’s about 580 light-years away and contains over 1,000 stars! This cluster is one of the closest open clusters to Earth. It appears as a faint ‘cloudy patch’ in dark skies to the unaided eye. But through a telescope or even simple binoculars, you’ll see a stunning spread of bright stars. Its name – the Beehive – comes from its scattered appearance, resembling bees buzzing around a hive.” Thank you, Muhammad!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Giuseppe Pappa from Sicily, Italy, used a remote telescope in Namibia to capture a globular cluster on May 22, 2025. Giuseppe wrote: “For me, Omega Centauri is one of the most beautiful and exotic objects in the sky. Where I live in Sicily, it’s now visible very low above the horizon. This time I photographed it from Namibia with a remotely controlled telescope.” Thank you, Giuseppe!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Gwen Forrester in DeKalb County, Tennessee, captured Messier 13, the Hercules Cluster, on May 23, 2025. Thank you, Gwen!
Gorgeous galaxies
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jelieta Walinski at Desert Bloom Observatory in St. David, Arizona, captured this spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major on May 2, 2025. Jelieta wrote: “Messier 81, or Bode’s Galaxy, lies approximately 11.6 million light-years away. M81 is a grand spiral galaxy, boasting sweeping arms of stars, gas and dust. To witness the beauty of Bode’s Galaxy for yourself, consider escaping to dark-sky preserves or national parks, where the night sky is protected from excessive light pollution. Even a simple pair of binoculars can reveal the galaxy’s core, while telescopes can unveil more details.” Thank you, Jelieta!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Tameem Altameemi in the United Arab Emirates captured a spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici on May 4, 2025. Tameem wrote: “Messier 106 is a dazzling intermediate spiral galaxy located about 23.5 million light-years away. This galaxy is notable for its active Seyfert nucleus, which houses a supermassive black hole feeding on surrounding gas and dust. In the wide-field image, you can also spy several background galaxies.” Thank you, Tameem!
And even more galaxies
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Steven Bellavia in Surry, Virginia, captured the super-thin galaxy UGC 9242 on May 24, 2025. Steven wrote: “UGC 9242 (PGC 51503) is a galaxy 66 million light-years from Earth, in the constellation Boötes. It’s 4 arc-minutes in length, and only 19 arc-seconds in width, with no central bulge, making it appear essentially as a line in space.” Thank you, Steven!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Steven Bellavia in Smithfield, Virginia, captured the Heron Galaxy on May 19, 2025. Steven wrote: “The Heron Galaxy (NGC 5394 and NGC 5395) is a pair of interacting galaxies located 176 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici. I was inspired to capture this object by an image of it posted on Instagram and AstroBin by Tom Williams.” Thank you, Steven!
Bottom line: Enjoy this gallery of deep-sky photos for May 2025 from our EarthSky community. If you have a great photo to share, send it in, too. We love to see them!
Watch this video of some of our editors’ picks for the best deep-sky photos of May 2025, and then see more below!
Stunning deep-sky photos from our community
The EarthSky community has many talented astrophotographers who capture stunning images of the deep sky. We gathered some of our favorite deep-sky photos we received in May 2025 for you to enjoy. Do you have some of your own images to share? You can submit them to us here. We love to see them!
Deep-sky photos of diffuse nebulae
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jelieta Walinski at Desert Bloom Observatory in St. David, Arizona, captured IC 4603 on May 25, 2025. Jelieta wrote: “IC 4603, a stunning reflection nebula, showcases the intricate beauty of interstellar dust and gas. Located in the constellation Scorpius, this nebula is a reflection of the light from nearby stars.” Thank you, Jelieta!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Andy Dungan near Cotopaxi, Colorado, captured this telescopic view of IC 4592, the Blue Horsehead Nebula in the constellation Scorpius, on May 24, 2025. Andy wrote: “This is my 4th pic with PixInsight and I must say I am happy. I still have so much to learn, and when you get to finish something that actually looks like a Blue Horsehead it is pretty exciting! By the way, this is a rather large object compared to many of the nebulae you can take pics of. It was taken with a focal length of 270mm.” Thank you, Andy!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Mohammed Abdallah in Whales Valley, Egypt, caught the nebulosity surrounding Rho Ophiuchi (in the constellation Ophiuchus) on May 2, 2025. Mohammed wrote: “I took about 99 minutes of Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, and I was amazed by the details. It’s the 4th trial for me as I have tried it 3 times before under different skies with no luck. I also want to note that this is done using my kit lens. It was nearly dawn and I wanted to prepare for departure.” Thank you, Mohammed!
The Eagle Nebula with the Pillars of Creation
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Tameem Altameemi in the United Arab Emirates captured this view on May 25, 2025. Tameem wrote: “This image showcases the famous Pillars of Creation. They’re towering structures of interstellar gas and dust within the Eagle Nebula (Messier 16). It lies around 7,000 light-years away in the constellation Serpens. The focus is on the central star-forming region, where the pillars themselves stretch up to 4 to 5 light-years in height. This makes them among the most iconic and immense stellar nurseries in our galaxy.” Thank you, Tameem!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Scott Smith in Palmetto, Florida, caught the same region on May 20, 2025. Scott wrote: “Taken from my suburban backyard, these towers of cosmic dust and gas sit at the heart of Messier 16, aka the Eagle Nebula. The aptly named Pillars of Creation, made famous in the 1995 Hubble photo, are part of an active star-forming region within the nebula. They hide newborn stars in their wispy columns.” Thank you, Scott!
Deep-sky photos of star clusters
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Muhammad Alaa in Assiut, Egypt, caught Messier 44 (with Mars) in the constellation Cancer on May 6, 2025. Muhammad wrote: One of the most beautiful open star clusters in the night sky. It’s about 580 light-years away and contains over 1,000 stars! This cluster is one of the closest open clusters to Earth. It appears as a faint ‘cloudy patch’ in dark skies to the unaided eye. But through a telescope or even simple binoculars, you’ll see a stunning spread of bright stars. Its name – the Beehive – comes from its scattered appearance, resembling bees buzzing around a hive.” Thank you, Muhammad!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Giuseppe Pappa from Sicily, Italy, used a remote telescope in Namibia to capture a globular cluster on May 22, 2025. Giuseppe wrote: “For me, Omega Centauri is one of the most beautiful and exotic objects in the sky. Where I live in Sicily, it’s now visible very low above the horizon. This time I photographed it from Namibia with a remotely controlled telescope.” Thank you, Giuseppe!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Gwen Forrester in DeKalb County, Tennessee, captured Messier 13, the Hercules Cluster, on May 23, 2025. Thank you, Gwen!
Gorgeous galaxies
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jelieta Walinski at Desert Bloom Observatory in St. David, Arizona, captured this spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major on May 2, 2025. Jelieta wrote: “Messier 81, or Bode’s Galaxy, lies approximately 11.6 million light-years away. M81 is a grand spiral galaxy, boasting sweeping arms of stars, gas and dust. To witness the beauty of Bode’s Galaxy for yourself, consider escaping to dark-sky preserves or national parks, where the night sky is protected from excessive light pollution. Even a simple pair of binoculars can reveal the galaxy’s core, while telescopes can unveil more details.” Thank you, Jelieta!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Tameem Altameemi in the United Arab Emirates captured a spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici on May 4, 2025. Tameem wrote: “Messier 106 is a dazzling intermediate spiral galaxy located about 23.5 million light-years away. This galaxy is notable for its active Seyfert nucleus, which houses a supermassive black hole feeding on surrounding gas and dust. In the wide-field image, you can also spy several background galaxies.” Thank you, Tameem!
And even more galaxies
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Steven Bellavia in Surry, Virginia, captured the super-thin galaxy UGC 9242 on May 24, 2025. Steven wrote: “UGC 9242 (PGC 51503) is a galaxy 66 million light-years from Earth, in the constellation Boötes. It’s 4 arc-minutes in length, and only 19 arc-seconds in width, with no central bulge, making it appear essentially as a line in space.” Thank you, Steven!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Steven Bellavia in Smithfield, Virginia, captured the Heron Galaxy on May 19, 2025. Steven wrote: “The Heron Galaxy (NGC 5394 and NGC 5395) is a pair of interacting galaxies located 176 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici. I was inspired to capture this object by an image of it posted on Instagram and AstroBin by Tom Williams.” Thank you, Steven!
Bottom line: Enjoy this gallery of deep-sky photos for May 2025 from our EarthSky community. If you have a great photo to share, send it in, too. We love to see them!
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