Amateur astronomer captures amazing nebula picture

Tommy Bowkett, 31, took advantage of a rare clear night to use his state-of-the art telescope to look into the night sky.

He took a number of images, captured over a four-day period, and was astounded by what he saw.

Tommy, from Linden in Gloucestershire, said: “It is not very often I use my telescope because we do not get very many clear nights here.

“I use the equipment at my parents’ home in Barnwood for better views.

“It can take four nights to capture one image. The raw data then goes onto the computer and using different software it become a photo.”

Tommy captured stunning pictures of the Pelican Nebula Narrowband, Pacman Nebula and the moon during his all-night viewing.

His passion for astronomy began when he was a child.

He said: “Ever since I was small I wanted a telescope, then one day I decided to buy one.

“It cost £400, which was expensive at that time. Since I bought it three years ago I have had five different ones.

“I was a little bit disappointed when I first bought one as the views were not very clear because of light pollution.

“I then took up photography to help me create better angles and help me understand light pollution.

“I now have different pieces of equipment which help me capture images at different wavelengths. My favourite type of photo to capture is nebula.”

He used a number of different Skywatcher Equinox telescopes to capture the incredible images.

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