Messier 20 - The "Trifid" Nebula.
Some
3,000 light years away in the constellation
of Sagittarius, is the "Trifid nebula", a spectacular display of nebula colours
that provides us with a stunning example of three types of nebula found
in deep space.
The red nebula is emission nebula, a molecular cloud of hydrogen gas being ionized by radiation it receives from stars in close proximity. The ionization process expels a photon which results in a glowing reddish coloured nebula. The blue nebula is reflection nebula, a nebula which reflects the blue light from nearby stars back towards us. Finally, dark nebula is nebula which is not illuminated. You can see dark nebula dividing the red emission nebula into the shape of a trifid.
| Image | M20 NGC6514 20060525 |
| Telescope | 12-inch f/5 newtonian telescope on GEM. |
| Guiding | Hand guided with 4.5-inch f/18 guidescope. |
| Camera |
Canon EOS 300D Digital - Hα enabled. |
| Exposures | 2006-05-25:
16 x
2-minute exposures @ ISO 400. 2006-07-22: 12 x 3-minute exposures @ ISO 400. |
| Total Exposure time | 68 minutes. |
| Filter/equipment |
Baader 2" Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector. Baader 2" UV/IR Cut Filter. |
| Processing | Dark
frame subtraction, bias and flat-fielded in Iris, processed and masked in Photoshop, Noiseware. |
| Exposure Date | 2006, May 25 and July 22. |
(C) Copyright 2006 Paul Mayo.
paulm@skylab.com.au