M20 is an interesting mix of various kinds of phenomena that make the night sky an interesting thing to watch. There is a large red emission nebula, a blue reflection nebula, a star cluster, and dark nebula all in one amazing object. M20 is located in the constellation Sagittarius and is approximately 5,000 light years from Earth. It is big and bright enough to be seen with binoculars from a dark sky. The dark nebula that divides the red nebula into lobes can be seen with small telescopes. Again good conditions and a dark sky help a lot. Under poorer conditions all that is visible is the star cluster.

This photo was taken on a hot and humid night in late June. The temperature did not drop below 75. The sky conditions were pretty good for imaging. Seeing was very good, a still sky, but the transparency was average at best. Late in my session clouds were covering much of the sky to the west and north, but left the area of the sky I was imaging alone. M20 is pretty low in the sky, so steady seeing is important.

Details:
Taken: June 27, 2009
Exposures: 20 x 5 minutes @ ISO 1600
Camera: Canon Rebel XT modified by Hap Griffin
Telescope: William Optics FLT 110 Lite
Mount: Celstron CGE, guided with PHD Guide and a Meade DSI Pro
Filter: IDAS LPS
Stacked Dark and Flats in: Deep Space Stacker
Post Processed: PixInsight LE, Photoshop CS3, Gradient Exterminator and Noise Ninja