Here, we present some of the best astrophotos of galaxies we have received from readers over the past few years.
It's incredible to think how relatively little we know about our own Milky Way, then to consider that each of the galaxies below is another system full of suns and planets: many rocky like Earth.
There could be two trillion galaxies in the Universe, and while all are currently out of physical reach, that doesn't stop astrophotographers from creating incredible images for the rest of us to marvel at.
Whether you're an astrophotographer or simply like snapping pics of the Moon with your smartphone, be sure to share your astro images with us.
Andromeda Galaxy, Charles Thody, Pembrokeshire, 8 September 2015. Equipment: Modified Canon EOS 40D DSLR camera, Sky-Watcher Equinox-80 ED apo refractor, Sky-Watcher NEQ6 PRO SynScan mount.
Silver Dollar Galaxy, Ron Brecher and Brett Soames, New South Wales, Australia, October 2015/February 2016. Equipment used: SBIG STXL-6303E CCD camera, custom-built 6-inch refractor, Paramount ME mount, PixInsight.
Whirlpool Galaxy, David Attie, Abu Dhabi, UAE, 9 April 2016. Equipment: Moravian G2-4000 CCD camera, Celestron C11-A XLT Schmidt-Cassegrain, Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ6 GT mount.
NGC 1097, Warren Keller, Star Shadows Remote Observatory South, Chile, July 2016. Equipment: Apogee Alta U9 CCD camera, RCOS 16-inch Ritchey-Chrétien, PlaneWave Ascension 200HR mount.
Andromeda Galaxy, Chris Heapy, Macclesfield, 6 October 2016. Equipment: Moravian Instruments G4-16000 CCD camera, Tele Vue NP127is refractor.
Triangulum Galaxy, Gary Opitz, Rochester NY, US, 6 October 2016. Equipment: ZWO ASI 1600MC cooled camera, Telescope Engineering Company APO140 ED refractor, Orion Atlas mount.
Pinwheel Galaxy, Mark Griffith, Wiltshire, 20 January 2017. Equipment: Atik 383L CCD camera, Teleskop Service 12-inch Ritchey-Chrétien telescope, Sky-Watcher EQ8 Pro equatorial mount.
Leo Triplet, Miroslav Horvat, Petrova Gora, Croatia, 21 April 2017. Equipment: QHY8 Pro CCD camera, Sky-Watcher Explorer-200P reflector, Sky-Watcher NEQ6 Pro SynScan mount.
M81 & M82, Álvaro Ibáñez Pérez, Toledo, Spain, 25 May 2015. Equipment: Atik 460EX mono CCD camera, TS115 triplet apo refractor, NEQ Pro II tuning belts and EQMOD.
Sculptor Galaxy, Tom Bishton, Brisbane, Australia, 3 September 2016. Equipment: Canon EOS 600D modded DSLR camera, Sky-Watcher ED120 Pro apo refractor, Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ6 Go-To mount.
Iain Todd is BBC Sky at Night Magazine's Content Editor. He fell in love with the night sky when he caught his first glimpse of Orion, aged 10.
Andromeda Galaxy, Charles Thody, Pembrokeshire, 8 September 2015. Equipment: Modified Canon EOS 40D DSLR camera, Sky-Watcher Equinox-80 ED apo refractor, Sky-Watcher NEQ6 PRO SynScan mount.
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