Very near the Lagoon Nebula is the Trifid Nebula (Messier 20).  The name comes from the apparent division into three lobes.  The Trifid also contains all three types of nebulosity:  The red is an emission nebula (mostly hydrogen), the blue area is a reflection nebula (dust reflecting light from nearby stars), and the dark areas all around it are “dark nebula” – dust that blocks the light from objects behind it. Captured at Pine Mountain Observatory near Bend, Oregon in RGB.  This image was captured after completing some scientific imaging with students Katie, Jaclyn, and Samara, who helped in capturing […]