View allAll Photos Tagged TrifidNebula
The massive star factory known as the Trifid Nebula was captured in all its glory with the Wide-Field Imager camera attached to the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in northern Chile. So named for the dark dust bands that trisect its glowing heart, the Trifid Nebula is a rare combination of three nebulae types that reveal the fury of freshly formed stars and point to more star birth in the future. The field of view of the image is approximately 13 x 17 arcminutes. #L
This is only a reprocess of an old attempt at imaging the Trifid Nebula, M20. The original was comprised of 92 of 100 subs of only 25 sec each taken 7-24-2013. My reprocess uses fewer(76) subs, but with better (manual) rejecton of poor subs yielding better data to begin with in post-processing. The original Canon CR2 images had to be calibrated in Images Plus as I had saved only proprietary master calibration files back then. Difficult target for me as its max altitude is 26 degrees, 2.2 air masses! Just under 32 minutes of integrated data aligned, stacked and processed using Siril and GraXpert in mid-December 2024.
Edited Spitzer Space Telescope image of the Trifid nebula seen in infrared. Inverted grayscale variant.
Original caption: 1.2 "/pixel, 22.7x35.5 arcmin
North is 2? CCW from up
RA = 18h02m25.61s Dec = -23d01m26.9s
A wide field view of Sagittarius showing M8 The Lagoon Nebula M20 The Trifid Nebula and M21 Open Cluster, data from a remote telescope processed in Pixinisght annotated on astrometry.net
Meade DSI Color/ 570 second (38 15sec exposures) RGB exposure/Prime focus/114×500mm Telescope/leveled in Photoshop/Flintstone, GA
Samyang135mmf2.0@f2.8
Canon EOS2000D (astromodified Baader filter)
Skywatcher Staradventurer 2i
62x30sec, ISO1600, stacked and edited PixInsight
1st attempt at imaging M20. I\m new to astro and lots to learn and improv upon. I used cpc9265, 60d, 30sec exp and post edit in LR.
this photo was taken at the beginning of Astronomical twilight.
the sun was still below the horizon but these twin satellites caught the sun as they passed overhead.
Just before and during Astronomical twilight you can see many satellites catching the Sun since they are orbiting higher above.
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of the Trifid Nebula reveals a stellar nursery being torn apart by radiation from a nearby, massive star. The picture also provides a peek at embryonic stars forming within an ill-fated cloud of dust and gas, which is destined to be eaten away by the glare from the massive neighbor. This stellar activity is a beautiful example of how the life cycles of stars like our Sun is intimately connected with their more powerful siblings.
245 second exposure, ISO 800, Canon T1i, 800mm f/4, slight crop
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IMG_8767CrC-RS Trifid Nebula M20 8inF4 MPCC
Since discovering APLpy to make nicer RGB images from astronomical data, I decided to revisit some images we took with the CTIO 4meter telescope in Chile back in 2011. The data was in the near-infrared, in J (1.0micron), H (1.4 micron), and Ks (2.0 micron) bands. This is the Trifid Nebula in the constellation Sagittarius. It looks quite different in the NIR than it does in optical the blue color is because it is brighter at 1 micron than it is in 2 microns, though you can still see just how reddened the stars behind the dust lanes are. One really striking thing is just how much more light penetrates the dust at 2 microns than it does in the optical, you can see many many more stars through the dust. You really need to zoom in to appreciate some of the detail. Also, compare to a single band grayscale image that I made when I originally took the data (cropped to just show the main star-forming region in the middle):
The Trifid Nebula, also known as Messier 20 or NGC 6514, is a combination of an emission nebula, a reflection nebula, and a dark nebula. It is situated approximately 5,200 light-years away from Earth and spans an impressive distance of about 40 light-years. This vast size makes it easily visible through telescopes, making it a favorite target for both amateur and professional astronomers.
The three main lobes that give the Trifid Nebula its name are a result of the complex interplay between gas and dust within the nebula. The emission nebula, characterized by its striking red hue, is primarily composed of ionized hydrogen gas. This gas is energized by the intense ultraviolet radiation emitted by a cluster of young, hot stars at the nebula’s center.
Adjacent to the emission nebula is the reflection nebula, which appears blue due to the scattering of light by tiny dust particles. These particles reflect the light from nearby stars, giving the nebula its ethereal glow. The dark nebula, on the other hand, consists of dense clouds of gas and dust that block the light from background stars, creating contrasting dark lanes amidst the vibrant emission and reflection nebulae.
The Trifid Nebula is a celestial nursery, nurturing the formation of new stars in its midst. The intricate details and structures seen within the nebula are a testament to the immense forces at play in the cosmos. From the turbulent birth of stars to the interstellar dust and gas sculpted by stellar winds and radiation, the Trifid Nebula showcases the complexity and beauty of the universe.
So the Trifid Nebula stands as a testament to the awe-inspiring beauty and complexity of the cosmos. Its three distinct lobes, vibrant colors, and star-forming regions make it a captivating sight for both amateur stargazers and seasoned astronomers. As we continue to explore the depths of the universe, the Trifid Nebula serves as a reminder of the immense wonders that await us in the vastness of space.
Image Info
Imaged from the KPO field, in Saint Cloud, Florida
Camera : ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
Scope: Orion RC-12 Ritchey-Chretien Astrograph, 2450mm fl, F/8
Mount: iOptron CEM-120
Luminance: 20 subframes of 300s = 100 min integration
Red: 12 subframes of 300s = 60 min integration
Green: 10 subframes of 300s = 50 min integration
Blue: 12 subframes of 300s = 60 min integration
Total integration time: 270 min = 4.5 hours.
Captured via ASIAir Pro automation
Optical tracking via ASIAir automation via the ASI1600mm Pro guide camera
Separate channels stacked and LRGB integrated in Astro Pixel Processor
Image run through Super DeNoising
Final processing in Aperture
Still cloudy skies! 5 months on since first capturing the data for this image, re-processing with more experience and an eye for other things to look out for in the detail. So much more here than in the original crop and post.
Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae shine in the sky, but there's still more to see: star cluster "Webb's Cross" at the top, 1/3 from the right, and the Starfish Cluster at the bottom, 1/4 from the left.
The yellow-hued stars of the central core of the Milky Way come in from the left, the bright star of 11 Sagittarii 1/3 from the top.
Between the yellow hue and the Lagoon Nebula, lies the red glow of another hydrogen region. The small red and blue nebula NGC 6559 visible at the bottom of edge, in the middle of the image on the left.
Trifid Nebula M20
Discovered by Charles Messier in 1764, M20 is a star-forming nebula located 9,000 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius. Also known as the Trifid Nebula, M20 has an apparent magnitude of 6.3 and can be spotted with a small telescope. It is best observed during August.
This eerie Hubble image features the center of the Trifid Nebula and the three wing-like bands of thick dust for which the nebula was named. A group of recently formed, massive, bright stars toward the center of the nebula is easily visible. These stars are releasing a flood of ultraviolet radiation that dramatically influences the structure and evolution of the surrounding nebula. Star formation is no longer occurring in the immediate vicinity of this group of bright stars because their intense radiation has blown away the gas and dust from which new stars are made.
The image’s stair-step appearance results from the design of the camera used to take the exposures. The camera consisted of four light detectors, one of which provided a higher resolution but had a smaller field of view than the other three. Because the detector with the higher resolution did not cover as much area as the others, black regions were left when the images from all four detectors were combined into one picture.
This Hubble image of M20 has been colorized to indicate the presence of oxygen, sulfur and hydrogen.
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Gear: Ioptron CEM26, ZWO ASI183 Color, ZWO ASI120mini, WO RedCat 51, ZWO 30mm, ZWO Asiair PRO
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The Lagoon Nebula (M8) on the left and Trifid Nebula (M20) on the bottom right are located in the constellation of Sagittarius. M8 is an emission nebula about three times the size of the full moon. The nebula’s brightest region is illuminated by two supper giant stars while the rest of the nebula is illuminated by the open star cluster NGC 6530. M8’s smaller neighbor, M20, is a combination of emission nebula (red) and reflection nebula (blue). The image consist of 4 hours of exposure taken with a Canon 60Da camera, Orion ED80T telescope mounted on a Celestron CGEM mount. Exposures were stacked with Nebulosity 4, processed with PixInsight 1.8, and minor cosmetic touches with Photoshop CS6.
The massive star factory known as the Trifid Nebula was captured in all its glory with the Wide-Field Imager camera attached to the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in northern Chile. So named for the dark dust bands that trisect its glowing heart, the Trifid Nebula is a rare combination of three nebulae types that reveal the fury of freshly formed stars and point to more star birth in the future. The field of view of the image is approximately 13 x 17 arcminutes. #L