M20 The Trifid Nebula and the M21 Open Cluster in a Rich Star Field
M20 The Trifid Nebula and the M21 Open Cluster
The Trifid Nebula (catalogued as Messier 20 or M20 and as NGC 6514) is an H II region located in Sagittarius. It was discovered by Charles Messier on June 5, 1764.[3] Its name means 'divided into three lobes'. The object is an unusual combination of an open cluster of stars; an emission nebula (the lower, red portion), a reflection nebula (the upper, blue portion) and a dark nebula (the apparent 'gaps' within the emission nebula that cause the trifurcated appearance; these are also designated Barnard 85). Viewed through a small telescope, the Trifid Nebula is a bright and peculiar object, and is thus a perennial favorite of amateur astronomers.[4]
The Trifid Nebula is a star-forming region in the Scutum spiral arm of the Milky Way. The most massive star that has formed in this region is HD 164492A, an O7.5III star with a mass more than 20 times the mass of the Sun. This star is surrounded by a cluster of approximately 3100 young stars.
(Wikipedia.org)
Technical Information for This Image
This image was the result of only 8 exposures at 240 seconds and a Gain of 140 on a ZWO ASI294MC Pro camera cooled to -5C. No darks, flats, or bias frames were used. The image was taken through an Explore Scientific ED102 APO refractor with FL 714mm and a F7 ratio. The mount used was a Celestron Advanced VX. An Orion 50mm guidescope was used with a ZWO ASI290MC camera for guiding. The guiding was directed by PHD2 auto-guiding software. Polar alignment was done with SharpCap Pro software. Acquisition of exposure frames was through Astrophotography Tool (APT) software. As this object is viewed toward the center of our Milky Way galaxy, the use of star masks in the post processing Pixinsight software proved important, along with all the other great tools that Pixinsight offers.
M20 The Trifid Nebula and the M21 Open Cluster in a Rich Star Field
M20 The Trifid Nebula and the M21 Open Cluster
The Trifid Nebula (catalogued as Messier 20 or M20 and as NGC 6514) is an H II region located in Sagittarius. It was discovered by Charles Messier on June 5, 1764.[3] Its name means 'divided into three lobes'. The object is an unusual combination of an open cluster of stars; an emission nebula (the lower, red portion), a reflection nebula (the upper, blue portion) and a dark nebula (the apparent 'gaps' within the emission nebula that cause the trifurcated appearance; these are also designated Barnard 85). Viewed through a small telescope, the Trifid Nebula is a bright and peculiar object, and is thus a perennial favorite of amateur astronomers.[4]
The Trifid Nebula is a star-forming region in the Scutum spiral arm of the Milky Way. The most massive star that has formed in this region is HD 164492A, an O7.5III star with a mass more than 20 times the mass of the Sun. This star is surrounded by a cluster of approximately 3100 young stars.
(Wikipedia.org)
Technical Information for This Image
This image was the result of only 8 exposures at 240 seconds and a Gain of 140 on a ZWO ASI294MC Pro camera cooled to -5C. No darks, flats, or bias frames were used. The image was taken through an Explore Scientific ED102 APO refractor with FL 714mm and a F7 ratio. The mount used was a Celestron Advanced VX. An Orion 50mm guidescope was used with a ZWO ASI290MC camera for guiding. The guiding was directed by PHD2 auto-guiding software. Polar alignment was done with SharpCap Pro software. Acquisition of exposure frames was through Astrophotography Tool (APT) software. As this object is viewed toward the center of our Milky Way galaxy, the use of star masks in the post processing Pixinsight software proved important, along with all the other great tools that Pixinsight offers.