The Trifid Nebula ... Messier 20
(Click on Picture for larger view)
Added May 7, 2021 ...
The Trifid Nebula (Also Known As Messier 20 and NGC 6514) is one of the most beautiful deep space objects in the summer sky. I took this 3hr 30mn image early in the morning of May 6 & 7. Trifid is Latin for "split into three parts" or "threefold" and you can clearly see the three parts in the red area. It is a gaseous bright colorful emission and reflection nebula with the emission nebula appearing red, the reflection nebula blue and numerous dark lanes mixed in between. It is about 5,200 light-years away and in the sky, it is in the constellation of Sagittarius. It is medium high in the south at midnight in July. Click on the picture for a larger view.
The Techy Stuff ... For those who want to know ...
Telescope: Orion EON 130mm Triplet
Camera: ZWO ASI 074 ProTEC
Sensor Temperature: -10°C (23°F)
Filter: Baader UV/IR cut
Capture software: N.I.N.A.
Guiding: PHD 2
Mount: Celestron AVX
Mount controls: Celestron PWI
Polar Alignment: QHY Pole Master
Binning: 1x1
Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker
Post Processed in PixInsight and Photoshop CC
Seeing Conditions: 9 (0-10, where 0 is total cloud cover)
Moon: No Lunar Interference
Bortle Light-Pollution zone: 4.5 (can barely see the Milkyway)
Date: May 6 & 7 between 3-5:30 am
Location: My Backyard, Savannah GA
Earlier Captures:
... View from July 28, 2019 ...
The Milky Way in Sagittarius:
(Hover over the picture for definitions ... Click on it to enlarge)
I took this 15 minute wide view of the Milky Way with my Canon T7i piggy-backed atop the telescope. Here you can see the 'Milkiness' of the core of our galaxy. Within this region lies several 'Messier Objects' including M 17, also known as the Omega Nebula. Jupiter was off to the right and as you can see, it moved a bit toward the east (left).
The Techy Stuff ... For those who want to know ...
Telescope: 11" Celestron Edge HD at f/7
Reducer: Celestron 0.7X Focal Reducer
Camera: Altair Hypercam 294c Pro TEC
Sensor Temperature: -5°C (23°F)
Filter: Baader UHC-S Light Pollution
Capture software: #SharpCap Pro V 3.2
Guiding: PHD 2 (RMS error: 0.29 ... i.e. very good tracking)
Mount: CGX
Mount controls: Celestron PWI V2.1.25
Polar Alignment: QHY Pole Master
Light Frames used: 44 at 180 seconds / Gain: 7,000
Binning: 1x1
Dark Frames: 40
Bias Frames: 40
Flat Frames: 40
Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker
Post Processed in PixInsight and Photoshop CC
Seeing Conditions: 9 (0-10, where 0 is total cloud cover)
Moon: No Lunar Interference
Bortle Light-Pollution zone: 4.5 (can barely see the Milkyway)
Air Temperature: 72°F
Date: July28/29, 2019 from 11:50 pm - 1:10 am
Location: Backyard, Savannah GA
