Lagoon Nebula Messier 8

3 Cameras, 3 Telescopes

 

Took these images over the last 2 years and grabbed a few more last month....

 

Setup#1(for FOV)

Camera: QHY163M

Telescope: 11" Celestron Edge HD w/V4 Hyperstar

Mount: Orion HDX-110

Optolong LUM filter: 50x30sec

 

Setup#2(for star color)

Camera:QHY128C

Telescope: Astrotech AT65EDQ

Mount: Piggybacked on Setup#1

8x600sec LUM filter

 

Setup#3(for core area)

Camera:QHY23M

Telescope:Meade 8" LX-50 SCT

Mount:Orion HDX-110

36mm LUM:13x60sec

 

Original image: flic.kr/p/2jeiJdi

 

Images processed in PixInsight, combined and tweeked in PS2020. Qhy 128 OSC data cropped and combined with QHY163M Luminance data, QHY23M LUM added for core area

 

The Lagoon Nebula is 8 in Charles Messier's "not a comet" list, 25 in the Sharpless catalog and 6523 in the New General Calalog.(NGC) It is a cloud of ionized hydrogen estimated to be 4000-6000 light years from earth. It can be seen with the naked eye as a gray/green patch in the constellation of Sagittarius..Almost in the center of the photo can be seen NGC 6530, an open cluster of young stars formed from material within the nebula. The entire nebula is roughly 110 x 50 light-years wide.

Done