M-20 Trifid Nebula

About Image:

The Trifid Nebula (M20 or NGC 6514) is an active star-forming region located about 5,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius. It gets its name from the three prominent, dark lanes of interstellar dust that visually divide the glowing cloud into three distinct lobes. M20 is a unique and vibrant cosmic laboratory because it combines three distinct types of nebulae into a single object:

Emission Nebula: The glowing pink/red region is an H II region energized by intense ultraviolet radiation from massive young stars, which causes hydrogen gas to ionize and glow.

Reflection Nebula: The blue-colored region surrounding the center is made of dense interstellar dust that reflects the bright, blue light of nearby hot stars.

Dark Nebula: The thick, opaque filaments of dark brown dust run directly across the glowing gas, obscuring background light and creating the iconic "three-lobed" look.

Equipment & Details:

Optics: Orion 8” inch 3.9f Newtonian astrograph with 2" MPCC Mark III coma corrector

Camera: Canon 60D DSLR unmoddified

Mount: Celestron AVX

Guiding: Orion starshoot autoguider 60mm guide scope

Dates: 2022-August 23, 30, 31 / 2025-August 23, 25, 26

Location: Clarksdale Missouri

Exposures: Lights 131 x 4-minutes subs, ISO-1250 total 8 hours 44 minutes

Processing: Pixlnsight, Photoshop CS5