{"id":409820,"date":"2026-05-03T13:15:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T13:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/409820\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T13:15:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T13:15:10","slug":"see-the-best-deep-sky-photos-of-april-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/409820\/","title":{"rendered":"See the best deep-sky photos of April 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Deep-skyView at EarthSky Community Photos<\/a>. | Steven Bellavia<\/a> in Smithfield, Virginia, captured this telescopic image on April 29, 2026. The indicator marks are pointing to a bright star, where no star appeared before. Steven wrote: \u201cAnother star has exploded<\/a> in a galaxy within the boundaries of the constellation Draco<\/a>. This time it\u2019s supernova SN2026kid, in galaxy NGC 5907.\u201d About the supernova\u2019s name \u2026 Steven pointed out that the letters after the year are the order of discovery, with \u201ca\u201d for 1, \u201cz\u201d for 26, and then \u201caa\u201d for 27 and so on. If more than 702 supernovae are discovered in a single year, 3-letter designations are used. Hence, \u201ckid\u201d after 2026. Wow! That\u2019s a lot of supernovae in 2026 so far! Thank you, Steven. See more deep-sky photos from April 2026 below.<\/p>\n

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Thank you, EarthSky community<\/p>\n

The EarthSky community has many talented astrophotographers who capture stunning images of the deep sky. We gathered some of our favorite deep-sky photos from April 2026 for you to enjoy. Do you have images of your own to share? You can submit them to EarthSky here<\/a>. We\u2019d love to see them and share them!<\/p>\n

Diffuse nebulae in the deep sky
\n\"AView at EarthSky Community Photos<\/a>. | Shaurya Salunkhe<\/a> in Pune, Maharashtra, India, used a telephoto lens to capture this view of the Horsehead<\/a> and Flame<\/a> Nebulae on April 13, 2026. Shaurya wrote: \u201cLocated 1,400 light-years<\/a> away in the constellation Orion<\/a>, this pair of nebulae are part of a vast cloud complex known as the Orion molecular cloud complex<\/a>. The dark regions of the nebula (including the Horsehead) are regions of active star formation.\u201d Thank you, Shaurya!
\n\"AView at EarthSky Community Photos<\/a>. | Mohammed Ahmed<\/a> in Suez, Egypt, used a telephoto lens to capture this view of the Jellyfish Nebula, in the constellation Gemini<\/a>, on April 10, 2026. Mohammed wrote: \u201cA supernova remnant from a star that probably exploded 30,000-35,000 years ago. It makes you wonder how small we are, and how small our problems are.\u201d Thank you, Mohammed!
\n\"SwirlsView at EarthSky Community Photos<\/a>. | Shaurya Salunkhe<\/a> in Pune, Maharashtra, India, used a telephoto lens to capture this view of the Lagoon<\/a> and Trifid<\/a> Nebulae (Messier 8 and Messier 20), on April 19, 2026. Shaurya wrote: \u201cLocated 4,100 light years away in the constellation Sagittarius<\/a>, this is an active star-forming region with a strong emission in the hydrogen-alpha<\/a> region of the spectrum<\/a>. This along with their close proximity make them some of the brightest nebulae in the night sky often visible to the naked eye from dark sites.\u201d Thank you, Shaurya!
\nDeep-sky photos of star clusters
\n\"TwoView at EarthSky Community Photos<\/a>. | Steven Bellavia<\/a> in Surry, Virginia, made this comparison of 2 famous globular star clusters<\/a> on April 17, 2026. Steven wrote: \u201cA large and a giant globular cluster: M13<\/a> and Omega Centauri<\/a> (NGC 5139), imaged with the same gear on the same night.\u201d Steven told us that M13 \u2013 the large cluster on the left, about 22,000 light-years away \u2013 contains approximately 400,000 stars and takes up about 0.36 degrees<\/a> of sky. Omega Centauri, aka NGC 5139, is a giant globular cluster. It\u2019s on the right in this composite. It contains 10 million stars and takes up about 0.6 degrees of sky, larger than a full moon seen from Earth. It is 17,000 light years away. Thank you, Steven!
\nDeep-sky photos of distant galaxies
\n\"AView at EarthSky Community Photos<\/a>. | Anthony Faulkner<\/a> in Tucson, Arizona, captured this telescopic view of the Whirlpool Galaxy, aka Messier 51<\/a>, in the constellation Ursa Major, on April 19, 2026. Thank you, Anthony!
\n\"WhitishView at EarthSky Community Photos<\/a>. | Catherine Hyde<\/a> in Cambria, California, captured this telescopic view of the Sombrero Galaxy<\/a> on April 16, 2026. Catherine wrote: \u201cThis is M104, the Sombrero Galaxy in Virgo<\/a>. Years ago, I saw the Hubble image<\/a> of this galaxy. And it played an outsized role in my decision to try my hand at astrophotography. This is 157 (300-second) images taken over 3 nights, stacked.\u201d Thank you, Catherine!
\n\"AView at EarthSky Community Photos<\/a>. | Jelieta Walinski<\/a> at Desert Bloom Observatory in St. David, Arizona, captured this telescopic view of the the Siamese Twins galaxies on April 5, 2026. Jelieta wrote: \u201cWhat happens when galaxies meet? In this striking deep-sky portrait, 2 spiral galaxies \u2014 NGC 4567 and NGC 4568 \u2014 appear locked in a delicate gravitational dance. Located about 60 million light-years away in the direction of the Virgo Cluster<\/a>, this pair is commonly known as the Siamese Twins. Although they seem to overlap, these galaxies are only in the early stages of interaction. Over cosmic time, their mutual gravity will distort their elegant spiral arms, triggering waves of star formation. Ultimately, they will merge into a single, larger galaxy. Such encounters are not rare in the universe. They are a fundamental process in galactic evolution. They help shape the structure of galaxies we observe today.\u201d Thank you, Jelieta!
\nAnother distant supernova
\n\"FiftyView at EarthSky Community Photos<\/a>. | Eliot Herman<\/a> of Tucson, Arizona, used a large remote telescope in Utah<\/a> to capture this image of another distant supernova on April 8, 2026. Eliot wrote: \u201cThis is Supernova 2026ihi in galaxy NGC3681. It\u2019s within the Leo Cluster<\/a> of galaxies. Note a bright supernova; there is an inset showing its location. Galaxy clusters are the large-scale organization of the universe. They are beautiful. Deep imaging such as Hubble has shown so many clusters throughout the sky. With a half-meter scope only a few galaxy clusters are easily imaged and the Leo Cluster is among them.\u201d Thank you, Eliot!<\/p>\n

Bottom line: Without a doubt, you\u2019ll enjoy this gallery of deep-sky photos for April 2026 from our EarthSky community. If you have a great photo to share, send it in, too. We love to see them!<\/p>\n

Share your recent Earth or sky photo at EarthSky Community Photos<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read more: Messier objects are fuzzy patches in the night sky<\/a><\/p>\n

Armando Caussade
\n View Articles<\/a><\/p>\n

About the Author:<\/p>\n

Armando is known primarily as an astronomy educator, after 30+ years of extensive public outreach and 10 years teaching in colleges. As one of only a handful of science communicators in Puerto Rico during Comet Halley’s last visit, he assumed a pioneering role starting in 1985 when science was just beginning to enter the collective mindset. Over the years, his work as a teacher, speaker and writer, inspired people to pursue interests in science and brought enduring change to Puerto Rican culture. After being accepted into the 2014\u20132015 Antarctic season of PolarTREC, Armando was assigned to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, where in 2015 he successfully conducted 10 days of work at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. His affiliations include Ana G. M\u00e9ndez University, Cupey campus (2014 to 2021), the University of Puerto Rico, Aguadilla campus (2015 to 2017), NASA JPL’s Solar System Ambassadors (2004 to 2006), and NASA Space Grant (2017 to 2019) where he served as an affiliate representative.<\/p>\n