Astrophotographer Captures 110 Deep-Sky Objects in 352-Hour Mosaic

Amateur astrophotographer ing. Cornelis van Zuilen has completed a massive cosmic mosaic of all 110 deep-sky objects in the Messier catalog, requiring 352 hours and 13 minutes of imaging time, Space reported. The project spanned multiple nights and required the astrophotographer to sleep in his car while traveling away from home to secure unobstructed views of the night sky.

Van Zuilen Uses Telescopes and Software to Capture Space

Van Zuilen used an Askar 103APO telescope and a William Optics Redcat 51 MK2.5 to gather the ancient light from the distant star clusters, nebulas, and galaxies. The setup relied on a range of ZWO astronomy cameras and filters to capture the targets. After data collection, van Zuilen utilized Adobe Photoshop and the dedicated astronomy software PixInsight to artfully edit each individual subject.

The journey began back in 2024 when van Zuilen first purchased a cooled deep-sky camera. “One of the first Messier objects I photographed was Messier 45 (the Pleiades) back in 2024, when I had just purchased my cooled deep-sky camera and was beginning my deep-sky astrophotography journey,” van Zuilen told Space in an email. About a year and a half after that initial session, the project to capture the entire catalog took shape.

Overcoming Logistical Challenges in the Netherlands

While many targets were observed directly from van Zuilen’s balcony in Heiloo, Netherlands, others demanded a change of venue. To avoid local obstructions like treetops and farm buildings, van Zuilen traveled further afield with his telescope gear.

Doing this from the Netherlands was quite a challenge, explained van Zuilen. I often had to travel to a semi-dark field nearby to get a clear view of the horizon, which meant many nights of sleeping in my car. But to be honest, I actually really enjoyed that part, it felt like camping.
ing. Cornelis van Zuilen

The History and Appeal of the Messier Catalog

Compiled originally by 18th-century French astronomer Charles Messier, the catalog was designed to list deep-sky objects that could otherwise be mistaken for comets while glowing in the night sky, according to NASA. Over the years, the list has undergone several revisions. It now serves as a premier sightseeing roster for amateur stargazers in the Northern Hemisphere, featuring celebrated celestial landmarks such as the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), the Pleiades open star cluster (M45), and the Orion Nebula (M42).

Under dark sky conditions, a modest backyard telescope is enough to spot each of these objects. Van Zuilen noted that the final mosaic features varying image scales deliberately. As you might notice, some images are larger than others, and there’s a reason for that too, van Zuilen stated. Those are my favorite images! And most of them have a personal story behind how they came to be, which makes the collage a bit more personal and meaningful to me.