[anjc]

> Mainly because most of the pictures I usually see of the galaxies in space, they appear as practically identical dots. Never before I've seen this level of detail and the variety of shapes.

Do you mean these specific galaxies? If not, you can see many galaxies in amazing detail with very modest equipment. If you know what you're looking for you can faintly see Andromeda with the naked eye.

[noisy_boy]

Terrible light pollution where I stay - hopefully one day I'll be able to retire to a place more conducive to stargazing.

[anjc]

Same where I am. If you have a dSLR even a 15 second exposure will show you Andromeda with light pollution. Time consuming hobby though :)