This is a great object to photograph. There is a nice star cluster and the incredible nebula. Hubbell's famous Pillars of Creation photo is the core of this nebula. M16 is also a very nice visual object through most telescopes. Bigger scopes and darker skies can really bring out the details. Located in the constellation Serpens, just north of the boarder of Sagittarius in the bright band of the summer Milky Way. This object is relatively close at 9,000 light years.

This photo is the happy ending to a frustrating week of nice weather and a new moon. Operator error and a surprising cloud cover made the earlier nights not as productive as I would have liked. This night, everything went pretty much as planned. The equipment and I behaved with no stupid mistakes. Try try again and you shall be rewarded.

Photo Details:

Date: May 24, 2009
Telescope: William Optics FLT 110 Lite
Camera: Canon Rebel XT, modified by Hap Griffin
Filter: IDAS LPS
Mount: Celestron CGE, guided with PHD Guide and a Meade DSI Pro through an Orion ST80
Exposures: 16 x 300 seconds at ISO1600
Processed: Deep Sky Stacker, PixInsight LE, Photoshop CS3, Gradient Exterminator