Nasa's latest offering? No, these amazing photographs of galaxies were taken by an amateur astronomer in his BACK GARDEN



Terry Hancock, 60, took these incredible photographs from his back garden in Michigan

Originally from Burnley, in the UK, English sales manager Hancock used his own equipment to capture the shots

From 5,000 to 20 million light-years away, the images highlight some fascinating sights in the universe

'Many are amazed that pictures like this could be taken using modest equipment from a small backyard observatory'




An array of colours, from pinks to blues and oranges, fill the night sky to create an amazing collection of interstellar patterns.

Captured up to 20 million light-years away, this is stargazing at its best.



But these incredible images weren't taken by a deep-space probe, they were snapped by sales manager Terry Hancock, 60, from the comfort of his back garden .

Stunning: Terry Hancock's incredible images, including the Rosette Nebula seen here, were captured in his back garden in Michigan, US

Galaxies like Messier 81, also known as Bode's Galaxy, are revealed in stunning detail by Hancock's photos

'My astronomy photographs all show deep sky objects, many of them thousands or millions of light years away from Earth,' says Terry, originally from Burnley, Lancashire.

'The wonders of our universe are infinite.

Hancock used his own camera, telescope, mount and laptop to capture cosmic marvels such as the Pleiades cluster 460 light-years away

'The idea of gazing up into the night sky and being able to capture these beautiful clusters, nebulae and galaxies thousands to many millions of light years away really fascinates me.



'The night sky is a virtual time machine that existed way before mankind existed, which I just find amazing.'



Capturing scenes from 5,000 to 20 million light years away, Terry only needs a digital camera, a telescope, a German equatorial mount (an object used to follow the rotation of the sky) and a laptop.

It took Hancock up to an hour to process each image, including the Orion and Horsehead nebulas, approximately 1,500 light-years from Earth, seen here

Hancock's image of the Bubble Nebula, up to 11,000 light-years away, shows the fascinating 'bubble' emission originating from a young central star in the nebula

Despite being 2.5 million light-years away, Hancock's photograph brings the Andromeda Galaxy to life

The Whirlpool Galaxy (left) and The Eagle Nebula (right) are both revealed in stunning detail in Hancock's images



INSIDE THE EAGLE NEBULA

Located 7000 light-years away, towards the constellation of Serpens (the Snake), this amazing stellar nursery is where ferocious young stars are born. The powerful light and strong winds from these new arrivals are shaping light-year long pillars, seen in images partly silhouetted against the bright background of the nebula.

The nebula itself has a shape vaguely reminiscent of an eagle, with the central pillars representing the talons of the bird. The 'Pillars of Creation' are in the middle of the nebula, with a cluster of young stars called NGC 6611 lying nearby.

Finger-like features protrude from the vast cloud wall of cold gas and dust, not unlike stalagmites rising from the floor of a cave.

Inside the pillars, the gas is dense enough to collapse under its own weight, forming young stars. Terry explains: 'The majority of my images consist of 10 minute to hour-long exposures and combined exposures of between 10 and 40 hours long.

'A DSLR camera is hooked up to a telescope which is essentially a giant telephoto lens.



'This telescope along with other equipment is connected to an equatorial mount, instead of a tripod, and it follows the target across the sky as the earth rotates.



'At the end of a project each exposure is combined to equal the total exposure time and then stacked together to create one single image.



'I get a lot of brilliant reactions from the public, from sheer amazement to non-belief.



'I meet thousands of people from all over the world and many are amazed that pictures like this could be taken using modest equipment from a small backyard observatory.'

The Soul Nebula commonly forms a romantic pairing with another known as the Heart Nebula

An array of colours from the Lagoon and Trifid nebulas create an amazing image of interstellar patterns



