Trifid Nebula

The Trifid Nebula from GSSP

 in Blog  tagged GSSP / LRGB / M20 / Trifid Nebula

One advantage to making the long trip to GSSP is that it is more than 5 degrees south of home, so objects in the southern sky are more than 5 degrees higher above the horizon.  I had intended to photograph a new (to me) target, the Blue Horsehead Nebula, but found it to be too big for my gear – I could fit only a small portion of it in my field of view.  So instead, I went back to a familiar target that I hadn’t photographed for years, the Trifid Nebula. Also known as Messier 20, Trifid is partially […]

Lagoon, Trifid, and Cat’s Paw

 in Blog  tagged Cat's Paw Nebula / Lagoon Nebula / M20 / M8 / narrowband / ngc6334 / Trifid Nebula

Last weekend’s star party was relatively relaxing, largely because the target I was after could be photographed for only a few hours each night, so I got to bed by 2 or 2:30 each night.  The target was 3 nebulae in the constellation Sagittarius, the Lagoon (M8), Trifid (M20), and Cat’s Paw (NGC6334).  All of these are primarily emission nebulae, but are often photographed in broadband color (RGB) to include some reflection components, especially the blue region on the north side of M20.  North is down in this photo, and this blue region shows only very faintly as a light […]