Image & Video Library

Explore our collection of digital resources, including live streams, kids’ activities, astrophotography, historical documents, and much more.

The Large Monolithic Imager

View All

  • NGC 891

    NGC 891 is an edge-on spiral galaxy, located about 10 Mpc (32 million light-years) away. The exposure was unguided and consists of ten 1-min exposures in B, five 1-minute exposures in V, and six 1-minute exposures in R. This was the “first-light” image obtained with LMI obtained on September 12, 2012. The field of view shown is 11.7 arcminutes on a side. Minimal image credit: Massey/Neugent/Dunham/Lowell Obs./NSF

  • The Horsehead Nebula

    The Horsehead Nebula is a dark nebula (dust cloud) that is seen silhouetted against the purplish glowing hydrogen gas that is ionized by the nearby bright star Sigma Ori. The Horsehead is located approximately 460 pc (1500 light-years) away, in the constellation of Orion. The color composite came from three 2-minute exposures in B, three 2-minute exposures in V, and three 2-minute exposures in R, all taken with the new science-grade CCD on March 6, 2013, in 1.2 arcsec seeing. Minimal image credit: Massey/Neugent/Lowell Obs./NSF

  • NGC 6946

    NGC 6946 is an Sc type spiral galaxy, rich in young, massive stars and HII regions. The galaxy is seen almost face on, and is located about 6 Mpc (20 million light-years) away. It’s near the galactic plane (b=11.7 deg) and so is highly reddened by foreground dust, with about a magnitude of extinction in the V-band. This image is a color composite generated from twenty 1-min exposures in B, ten 1-min exposures in V, and ten 1-min exposures in R. The images were taken on November 20, 2012, in excellent seeing (0.6-0.7 arcsec). The image shown is 11.0 arcmin on a side. Minimal image credit: Massey/Neugent/Levine/Lowell Obs./NSF

  • M1 (Crab Nebula/NGC 1952)

    The Crab Nebula (Messier 1) is one of the most famous of astronomical objects, the remnant of a supernova that exploded in 1054. The event was recorded by many in that time, include the Japanese, Chinese, Arabs, and native Americans, unsurprisingly as it was so bright that it was visible during the daytime. The Crab was identified as the remnant of the 1054 supernova by early 20th century astronomers, as exposures taken a few years apart revealed that the nebula was expanding. Extrapolating back in time, astronomers realized that the expansion must have begun about 900 years earlier, coincident in
    time with the appearance of the “guest star” in 1054. The Crab Nebula is located about 2 kiloparsecs (6,500 light-years) away in the constellation Taurus. Minimum Image Credit: Massey/Neugent/Lowell Obs./NSF

  • NGC 7293 (Helix Nebula)

    The Helix Nebula is a striking planetary nebula, one of the closest to us. It’s located in the constellation of Aquarius at a distance of 215 parsecs (700 light-years). It’s about 0.8 parsec (2.5 light-years) in diameter. The central star is a hot white dwarf with an effective temperature of 100,000 K, and is responsible for ionizing the surrounding gas causing the beautiful nebulosity. The images were taken by Kathryn Neugent and Phil Massey on October 8, 2013, and the color composite came from ten 100-sec exposures in B, ten 100-sec exposures in V, and ten 60-sec exposures in R.
    Minimal image credit: Neugent/Massey/Lowell Obs./NSF

  • M51 (Whirlpool Galaxy/NGC 5194)

    The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) and its interacting companion (NGC 5195) are among the most well-known astronomical objects. It’s located about 7.7 Mpc (25 million light-years) away in the constellation of Canes Venatici. The bright blue objects are recently-formed star clusters. This color composite came from seven 1-min exposures in B and R, and five 1-min exposures in V.
    Minimal image credit: Massey/Neugent/Lowell Obs./NSF

  • M104 (Sombrero Galaxy/NGC 4594)

    The Sombrero Galaxy (M104) is a classic edge-on spiral galaxy located about 8.5 Mpc (28 million light-years) away in the constellation of Virgo, and is about 15 Kpc (50,000 light-years) across. This color composite came from seven 1-min exposures in B, V, and R obtained on 27 June 2013. Minimal image credit: Massey/Neugent/Lowell Obs./NSF

Virtual Meeting Backgrounds

Learn More

Share your love for Lowell by using one of our video conference backgrounds in your next Zoom, Skype, RingCentral, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, or GoToMeeting.

Recent Videos

January 3, 2023

Seeing The Unseen: We Talk About Spectroscopy | Star Stuff Podcast

Welcome to Star Stuff Season 2, now in video format!

How do scientists study light? In this episode, Cody and Hailey talk about the various types of spectroscopy and how they’re used in different fields, from astronomy to art history.

Watch on YouTube

December 2022

The Mars Hill Outlook: What's In The Sky in December 2022?

Tune in to the latest addition of Mars Hill Outlook, your new source for what to look for in the sky each month. 🔭🪐

Lowell senior educator and TikTok star Ariel Daniel is your eye in the sky, reporting on upcoming astronomical events and how to view planets, stars, and more from your backyard. Tune in and let us know which objects YOU are going to view this month in the comments below!

Watch on YouTube

Series

Watch on Youtube

Stargazing Reimagined

A compilation of livestreams from celestial events, Interactive Stargazing, and more!

Watch on Youtube
Watch on Youtube

LDT Anniversary

A decade of exploration with the Lowell Discovery Telescope.

Watch on Youtube
Watch the Series

Cosmic Coffee

A series that explores a different topics in astronomy or planetary science.

Watch the Series
Watch the Series

Meet an Astronomer

Meet some of Lowell’s astronomers and hear about their research.

Watch the Series
Watch the Series

Science Challenges for Kids

STEM challenges kids can do at home.

Watch the Series
Watch the Series

Lowell42

Learn about “life, the universe, and everything” through this unique lecture series that connects the humanities to the sciences.

Watch the Series
Watch the Series

Science Stories

Hear about our astronomers’ research and updates about our telescopes.

Watch the Series
Watch the Series

From the Archives

Informational features on items from our collections hosted by Lowell Historian Kevin Schindler.

Watch the Series
Watch the Series

Flagstaff's Lunar Legacy

Highlights from the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first Apollo mission to the moon.

Watch the Series

Events made possible by our members and donors

Learn More

 To help our nonprofit continue to create amazing educational opportunities related to science and space, check out our membership offerings.