by Craig and Tammy Temple
The Trifid Nebula (M20, NGC 6514) is an unusual combination of an open cluster of stars, a red emission nebula, a blue reflection nebulae and dark nebulae. The name literally means "divided into three lobes". The dark nebula, Barnard 85, gives it the "trifid" appearance. M20 is located in the constellation Sagittarius with an apparent magnitude of 6.30.
Telescope: 10” Orion Newtonian at f/4.7
Accessories: Baader MPCC
Mount: Orion Atlas EQ-G controlled by EQMOD
Guiding: Orion StarShoot AutoGuider on William Optics ZS66
Camera: Self-modified Canon Digital Rebel XT
Filters: Astronomik UV/IR EOS Clip; Hutech IDAS LPS
Exposure: 201 x 60s @ ISO 1600 (201 Min.)
Acquisition: ImagesPlus 3.75 Camera Control
Processing: ImagesPlus 3.75 – Calibrated, registered, Sigma-clipped averaged, DDP
Post-processing: Adobe Photoshop CS4; Gradient XTerminator; Noise Ninja
Date(s): June 25 & 27, 2009
Temperature(s): 81ºF, 84ºF