Partial Lunar Eclipse, Harvest Supermoon, Cat’s Eye Nebula, And More: Best Astrophotos Of The Week [16-24 September]

The week of 16-24th September was full of celestial events. Particularly, the night of 17-18 September combined a full moon, supermoon and a partial lunar eclipse visible across the UK and other parts of the world. In the UK, observers enjoyed the eclipse from 1:41 am to 5:47 am. The next such event will be visible in the United Kingdom in 2026. So, if you missed it, hurry up to look through our weekly collection of the best astrophotos.

However, the Harvest Moon was not the only great view: in this collection, see other space wonders: Spider and Fly Nebulae, Cat’s Eye Nebula, Tarantula and Crescent Nebulae, and the fascinating Milky Way. Traditionally, we have sought out social media to find the most impressive images made by amateur astrophotographers. All the captions were kept original.

A Series Of Moon Shots By British Astrophotographer Josh Dury

“This has honestly been one of the most miraculous celestial events I have witnessed. During the night, I was in touch with a few people – who were clouded out only a few miles to the north and south. I could not believe it. Being on top of the mendips helped as an ecosystem to hold off the clouds for as long as possible and I am so delighted to bring you this picture this morning,” Josh wrote on his Facebook.

Moon Over Nieuw-Weerdinge By Jans Scheepstra

“Today’s moon: 09-18-24,” specified Jans. “Taken with Stellarvue sv80ED.”

Spider and Fly Nebulae By Mark Hanson

“SH2-234-IC 417. Also called The Spider and Fly nebulae is an emission nebula that is energized by embedded hot, massive blue stars. Located in the constellation Auriga, IC 417 lies about 10,000 light-years away. It is in the outer part of the Milky Way, almost exactly in the opposite direction from the galactic center,” Mark shared on his Facebook.
“A cluster of young stars called “Stock 8” can be seen here at the centre. The light from this cluster carves out a bowl in the nearby dust clouds.”

“Between Windmills And Stars” By Javier Simón Gálvez

“Today, and even though the galactic centre ends its visibility this week of 2024… We continue to squeeze the night and get the most out of the Celestial Dome. In this case, we move to the town of Ojos Negros,” the photographer commented on his artwork.

“Located in Teruel (Spain) ,a great location, with wonderful skies and this old windmill oriented and aligned perfectly to take advantage of the Milky Way… that is… this time accompanied by a little LightPainting.”

Tarantula Nebula By Alessandro Cipolat Bares

“The Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the most disturbing object in the sky, a stunning view with binoculars or Dobson, unforgettable in the long Australian,” the author captioned his great shot.
“Astrophysics 155 EDF/ZWO ASI 2600mc/AP 1200
Location: Tivoli – Southern Sky Guest Farm.”

Cat’s Eye Nebula By Vince Laine

“NGC 6543, Cat’s Eye Nebula, with central Wolf-Rayet star and outer nebula on 240804. Bortle 6. Average seeing and average transparency. Celestron 9.25, ZWO ASI676 Camera with UV/ir cut filter. SkyWatcher EQ6R Pro Mount. Askar OAG and ZWO ASI 220mm Mini connected to Celestron 9.25 for guiding. Stellarium for scope control, and SharpCap for image capture,” Vince wrote on his Facebook.

“Since the inner “Cat’s Eye” and the outer nebula differ so much in brightness this is a composite image. 48 4-minute dithered subs for the outer nebula and 40 60-second dithered subs for the inner nebula and stars. Bias, darks, flats, dark flats.”

Crescent Nebula By Thomas Prescott And Ken Hansard

“NGC-6888 The Crescent Nebula. This is 27 hrs combined data with my good friend Ken Hansard who shared almost the same set up as mine,” Thomas wrote on Facebook.

“The Crescent Nebula Complex also known as NGC 6888, Caldwell 27, or Sharpless 105 is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, about 5000 light-years away from Earth.”

Thank you to all the photographers who shared their amazing images for our best astrophotos of last week’s list! We greatly appreciate your dedication and passion for astrophotography and wish you clear skies for your future captures!