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Messier 101 is one of the last objects cataloged by Charles Messier. In the area of Ursa Major (The Big Dipper) M101 is about 170,000 light years across, making it about twice the size of our own Milky Way Galaxy.

M101 contains over 1 trillion stars and is located about 25 million light years from earth.

This image was taken in June with a 130mm refractor telescope and dedicated astrophotography camera.

Located in the Cygnus Constellation, NGC 6888 is about 5,000 light years from Earth and is about 25,000 light years across. The strong Wolf-Rayet star (WR 136) at its core is shedding its outter layer in a strong stellar wind. The Blueish envelop around this emission nebula is created by oxygen molecules.

In roughly one million years this star will explode in a super nova.