The Trifid Nebula (M20, NGC 6514)
Characteristics:
Magnitude: 5.0
Size: 0.36 degrees
Distance: 2200 light years
RA: 18h 02m 26s
Dec: 22 degrees 58' 41"
Description:
The Trifid Nebula is one of the brightest emission nebulae in the sky.
It is so named for its characteristic tri-lobed appearance, being
separated by large bands of dust that obstruct transmission of
background light. The emission nebula shines in the red, and it
is surrounded by a beautiful blue glow from the nearby reflection
nebula (also containing multiple lanes of dust). In the lower
left hand corner of the Trifid, there is a column of gas rising
upwards, backlighted by radiation from
newly-formed stars deep within the gas. This is captured in the
above
photograph, with a more detailed view available from the Hubble Space
Telescope.
Photographic Details:
Date: July 30, 2003
Scope: LX90 at f5, Lumicon OAG
Autoguider: SBIG STV with e-finder
Camera: Canon 10D
Filter: IDAS LPS
Exposures: 4 x 8' each at ISO800
Conditions: Temperature 75 degress F; average transparency;
average to poor seeing; wind moderate.
Post-processing: Raw conversion, adaptive dark frame subtraction,
alignment, averaging, and background compensation done in ImagesPlus;
levels and curves adjustment in Photoshop, with selective noise
reduction
of the red channel done in Pleiades SGBNR software.
Please
note: Graphics on this website may
not be reproduced without author permission.
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