Amateur star-gazer captures astonishing images of Milky Way through hole in roof of his garden shed

An amateur star-gazer has stunned astronomers around the world with these amazing photographs of the universe - taken from his garden shed.

Peter Shah, 38, cut a hole in the roof of his wooden shed and set up his modest eight-inch telescope inside.

After months of patiently waiting for the right moment, he captured a series of striking images of the Milky Way from the comfort of his own back garden.

His photographs show a vivid variety of star clusters light years from Earth and have been compared favourably with the images taken from the £2.5billion Hubble telescope.

But Mr Shah spent only £20,000 to equip his garden shed with a telescope linked to his home computer.

He said: 'Most men like to potter about in their garden shed - but mine is a bit more high tech than most.

'I have fitted it with a sliding roof so I can sit in comfort and look at the heavens.

Mr Shah's pictures, which are each made up of about 30 frames, will be published in a new book entitled Mirror Image.

His wife Lisa has supported him through his long nights of star-gazing, supplying endless cups of coffee.

And the couple's two-year-old son Oliver is already showing an interest in his father's hobby.

Mr Shah said: 'It's a fascinating subject, there's so much going on up there and I'm very proud of being able to capture images from my shed.'

via Amateur star-gazer captures astonishing images of Milky Way through hole in roof of his garden shed | Mail Online.