Daddy-daughter duo seeing galaxies far, far away

Kevin and his daughter, Isabelle, took up astrophotography in 2022 and have been looking at stars millions of light years away

An amateur photographer has been capturing spectacular images of space with his daughter from their back garden in Lincolnshire.

Kevin, from Crowland, took up astrophotography two years ago as a way of bonding with 9-year-old Isabelle.

The duo recently captured an image of the Whirlpool or Messier 51 (M51), which shows two galaxies colliding 31 million light-years from Earth, according to NASA.

The former soldier told the BBC that capturing images of stars, planets and other far away objects is "epic and humbling".

Messier 51 was discovered in 1773 and, according to NASA, the spiral arms are formed from stars and dusty gas

Kevin wanted to find a hobby to give himself and his daughter a shared interest.

"The first time we saw Jupiter she was so full of joy and she was amazed. It just builds an interest as a kid and she might take it further as an adult," he said.

"She loves looking at the planets and the finished pictures. She's not too interested in taking the actual images but likes to get the telescope out and help set it up."

One of their most recent images shows the spiral cluster of stars in the M51 galaxy, which was first discovered in 1773.

"We tried getting the picture of it last year but our skills weren't good enough," Kevin added.

Kevin and his daughter often spend hours taking multiple photographs to capture images like this one of the Bodes and Cigar galaxies

The duo started their pastime by looking at the moons and planets through a telescope but then delved further into the universe.

Many of their images take several hours to capture using long exposure times, specialist kit and tracking technology. They also leave their images uncoloured to show how they look naturally.

He said: "The light that left some of these galaxies left when the dinosaurs were here, so it's like time travel almost. It's just epic that you can see stuff that far away.

"As a kid I always wanted aliens to be real, see a UFO, that kind of stuff. As I've got older I just appreciate it more and you can't not be humbled by it."

The pair's collection of images includes this one of the Triangulum galaxy

The former soldier turned engineer, who served three tours in Afghanistan and another in Iraq, said photography was also a boost for his mental health.

He said members of online astrophotography forums have been "really supportive" and have helped him to learn and take better images.

"You do get to sort of geek off online, which is pretty cool. There's a real community to it and you can ask them about the stuff they've tried and the kit they have."

The father-daughter pairing have recently ordered a new camera to allow them to take wider, more detailed images.

"We want to capture the horsehead nebula and another one nearby called the flame. It's in the Orion constellation and it's possible to get them both in one shot. It is immense."

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