A SPACE enthusiast is over the moon after his photo of a cosmic bubble was picked by NASA for its ‘picture of the day’.
Glenn Clouder, 54, from Westcliff, was left in shock after his photo of a crescent nebula, which is 5,000 light years away from Earth, was recognised by the US space agency.
Glenn worked collaboratively to produce the picture with two other astrophotographers – Joe Navara, from Colorado and Russell Discombe from the Cotswolds.
Mr Clouder said: “It’s all been a bit mad, we didn’t expect it.
“I love it. When you get an image like that it’s not like anything else you’ve taken a picture of before.
“It’s quite an accomplishment when you get a picture like that.
“I think they’re really beautiful.
“I was really excited the first time I got a picture of a nebula. It’s amazing to get a picture of something you’ve never seen before.”
Glenn first got into astrophotography back in 2019 and met Joe and Russell through YouTube.
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The trio decided to come together on the project and collected more than 30 hours worth of data to produce the image of the crescent nebula.
After seeing the end result of their hard work, Joe suggested they submit the picture to NASA.
Mr Clouder added: “They think the nebula is being caused by the shedding of a massive star. It’s shedding its gases and that’s what’s causing the area of activity.
“We were so happy with it, we were really chuffed. Joe said shall we put it in to NASA thinking it wouldn’t get anywhere.
“Joe got a reply the same day or the next day to say they wanted to make it their astronomy picture of the day for June 17.
“I was a bit shocked. I didn’t expect it at all.
“It was really nice recognition. It’s kind of like winning a gold medal. It’s the biggest recognition you can get.”
Glenn is now welcoming anyone to get involved and join him on his astrophotography hobby.
He added: “I’ve been in contact with a few people locally who want to meet up and take some photos.
“If you’re interested in it, it’s definitely possible. It’s not out of anybody’s reach.
To follow Glenn’s work, visit his YouTube channel AstroBloke.
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