M20 (Trifid Nebula)

This image consists of 28 4-minute exposures (dark master subtracted) taken on July 13th and 14th in Abbotsford.


The Trifid nebula is an active stellar nursery located in Sagittarius just above the Lagoon nebula.  It derives its name from its three-lobed appearance.  The red regions - emissions from excited hydrogen - are separated by dark dust lanes which block the light in the visible range.  Just above the red lobes there is a faint blue region which is caused by star light reflected from clouds of dust.  Its distance is estimated at 5,200 ly.


The Spitzer Space Telescope discovered 30 embryonic stars and 120 newborn stars not seen in visible light images.

M17 (Omega Nebula)

This image consists of 35 4-minute exposures (dark master subtracted) taken on July 7th and 13th in Abbotsford.


The Omega nebula is located in Sagittarius above the Eagle nebula.  The red areas are hot hydrogen gas excited by radiation from nearby hot stars which have just formed within the nebula.  The nebula contains a large amount of dark obscuring material - giving rise to its distinctive shape - which is heated by hidden young stars and visible in infrared wavelengths.  Its distance is estimated at 5,000 ly.  

M16 (Eagle Nebula)

This images consists of 35 4-minute exposures (with a master dark subtracted) taken on July 9th and 10th.


The Eagle Nebula is located in Serpens, just north of the Lagoon Nebula.  Like the Lagoon it is an active star-forming region.  It is a giant cloud of intersellar gas and dust which is caused to shine by emission light excited by the high-energy radiation emitted by its hot young stars.  Its distance is estimated at 5,000 ly.

M8 (Lagoon Nebula)

This image consists of 39 4-minute exposures (with a master dark subtracted) taken on July 8 and 16, 2010 at Plateau Observatory.

M8 is star-forming region in Sagittarius with an embedded open cluster.  Its distance is estimated at 5,200 ly.  Charles Messier cataloged it in 1764.