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Don Reed | all galleries >> Galleries >> Astrophotography > M8 and M20 in Sagittarius
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1-Jul-2019 Don Reed

M8 and M20 in Sagittarius

Looking toward the center of our galaxy, the seven brightest stars in the constellation Sagittarius form the shape of a tea-pot in the southern summer sky. From dark sky locations, many more stars can be seen with the naked eye - but pick up a pair of binoculars or look through a telescope and you will see what appears to be a carpet of stars, along with rivers and lakes of dark dust and blobs of glowing gas.

Two of the brightest objects in the Sagittarius region are the nebulae M8 and M20. M8, also called the Lagoon Nebula, is near the bottom center in this image. M20, also called the Trifid Nebula, is near the top center. I have photographed both of these nebulae before, but now I am able to photograph them together with my new 8" Rowe-Ackerman Schmidt Astrograph (RASA).




Image acquisition date: 1-Jul-2019
Seeing: average
Transparency: below average

Imaging telescope: 8" f/2 Rowe-Ackerman Schmidt Astrograph
Imaging filter(s): Celestron anti-reflective filter for 8" RASA
Imaging camera: ZWO ASI071MC Pro
Imaging camera gain: 95
Sensor temperature: 0° C
Anti-dew heater: On

Guiding telescope: 60mm f/4 refractor
Guiding camera: ZWO ASI224MC
Guiding software: PHD2 Guiding

Mount: Atlas EQ-G
Mount control software: EQMOD, Cartes du Ciel

Capture software: Sequence Generator Pro, version 3.0
Sub-exposures: 48 x 60 seconds
Total integration time: 48 minutes
Flat frames: 20
Dark frames: 20
Image processing software: PixInsight


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