M8-M20

Image Description and Details: Located in the constellation Sagittarius, in the middle of the Milky Way and in the direction of the galactic centre, the Lagoon Nebula M8 is an immense cloud of hydrogen and dust illuminated by the star 9 Sagittarii.The apparent size of the nebula is about 45′ × 30 and its distance from Earth is about 4,100 light-years, which at its greatest dimension is equivalent to an actual size of about 54 light-years.

The M20 nebula, known as the ‘Clover’ or ‘Trifid’ nebula, is slightly further away, at around 5,000 light-years, but its smaller size is more than compensated for by its beauty. It combines zones of emission (red), reflection (blue) and absorption (dark bands).

Equipment Details: 8h75 with Chroma 3 Nanos S,H,O filters
FSQ 106 set-up on AzEq6 mount. Camera ZWO asi 6200MM

COPYRIGHT: Francis Bozon