| M8 Lagoon Nebula (NGC6523) & M20 Trifid Nebula (NGC
6514) The bright large nebula is M8 The Lagoon Nebula residing in the constellation of Sagittarius. The Lagoon is very bright and is visible as a patchy haze to the unaided eye. It is 5,200 light year from Earth and 136 light years across. For a perspective, it covers 3 times the area of our moon in the night skies. The Red and Blue nebula to the left of the Lagoon is called the Trifid. It is 5,000 light years away and only 29 light years across. M20 is much smaller and covers only half of moon's width in the sky. Both objects are great targets for binoculars, while large aperture telescopes reveal many hidden details. Very dark skies are recommended to discern all of the fine details that lie within the gaseous clouds making and dust lanes encompassing these objects. The brownish-yellow area, making up most of the picture, is a dense star cloud. You are looking towards the central portion of our own Milky Way Galaxy. |
| Telescope / Lens | 300 f/2.8 Canon Camera Lens |
| Mount Type | Piggyback on Losmandy G11 |
| Camera | Canon F-1 with Bright Screen & Angle B magnifier |
| Filters | 112mm UV |
| Film | Kodak E200 (Slide Film) #10 |
| Exposure | 10 minutes; manual guiding FS/78 |
| Processing | Push 2, Scanned - 4000 dpi, Photoshop |
| Date | June 24-25 2000 |
| Location | Panther
Creek 20 miles south of Veneta,
Oregon W123° 05' 53" N 44° 07' 15" |
| Conditions | 1500' magnitude 6 Skies; Clear, steady |