Skies By Africa

Images of the Heavens By Eric Africa

M8 and M20

M8 and M20
Hubble Mono H-alpha
Many showcase objects are visible during the Northern Hemisphere summer. Among them are M8 (the Lagoon Nebula) and M20 (the Trifid Nebula). Both objects lie in the Southern constellation of Sagittarius, and from a Northern Hemisphere perspective are a bit of a challenge to shoot well. Despite the challenges of shooting at a low elevation, many imagers try and are well-rewarded, but the best shots tend to come from imagers located below the equator (from their perspective, these objects cross the zenith!).

Both objects are emission nebulae, though the Trifid has the added attraction of sporting a reflection component, and thus shows off a pretty blue component of dust.

M8 is very bright, and both its stars and nebulosity are visible from my backyard with my 8" telescope. A nebula filter (OIII) brings the nebulosity out even more dramatically. M20 is a bit more problematic. I have not seen it from my backyard, but a view of it with an 8" scope at a dark site was memorable.

I took advantage of a club star party at a local state park to shoot this lovely duo in a better location than my backyard could offer for the color version. The objects were hidden behind trees for a while, and as I waited I aimed the scope to point in their vicinity and shot pictures to check their progress across the sky. In doing so, I managed to capture this fun shot.
 
Constellation: Sagittarius
When Visible: July - September
Distance: 5,200 Light-years
Dates:
H-alpha version: July 2006
RGB version: July 2007
Location:
H-alpha version: West Chester, Ohio
RGB version: Stonelick State Park, Ohio
Exposure Details:
H-alpha: 2 x 20 Minutes and 3 x 15 Minutes Binned 1x1
R: 9 x 5 Mintes binned 1x1
G: 9 x 5 Mintes binned 1x1
B: 9 x 5 Mintes binned 1x1
 
Equipment Used: 
H-alpha:Takahashi FSQ-106N on a Takahashi EM200 Temma-II mount. SBIG STL-6303 camera with 5-position filter wheel and Astrodon filters. Externally guided with an SBIG Remote Guide Head on a Borg 76ED refractor.

RGB: Takahashi FSQ-106N on a Takahashi EM200 Temma-II mount. SBIG STL-6303 camera with 8-position filter wheel and Astrodon filters. Externally guided with an SBIG Remote Guide Head on a Borg 45ED refractor.
 
Acquisition Software: MaximDL, TheSky6
Processing Software: MaximDL, Photoshop CS, IrFanView
 
Older images: 2003 images of these objects, both taken with an 8" Meade LX200 Classic at f/6.3 on a Milburn Wedge. SBIG ST-7Ei. Unguided short exposures. M8 and M20. 2004 LRGB of M20 with Takahashi FS-102 on a Takahashi EM200 Temma II mount. SBIG ST-7E with 5-position filter wheels and Custom-Scientific filters. Self-guided. Data acquired in Highland County, Ohio.