David_Pickles
M20 The Trifid Nebula
The Trifid Nebula (also known as Messier 20 or M20) is an H II region located in Sagittarius and is approximately 5000 light years from Earth. It was discovered by Charles Messier on June 5, 1764. 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. This image is the result of 10 x 180s exposures, captured using a QHY8L attached to a Sky-Watcher Explorer 190MN Pro.
M20 The Trifid Nebula
The Trifid Nebula (also known as Messier 20 or M20) is an H II region located in Sagittarius and is approximately 5000 light years from Earth. It was discovered by Charles Messier on June 5, 1764. 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. This image is the result of 10 x 180s exposures, captured using a QHY8L attached to a Sky-Watcher Explorer 190MN Pro.