M20

This is a picture of M20, the Trifid Nebula. Actually, this is a picture of 3 of the 4 types of Nebula. The bright red nebula on the left is an emission nebula, where the gas in the cloud is heated so highly by the star in the center (actually its 3 stars close together), that the gas glows red. If your monitor and video card are good enough, you should be able to see a blue nebula surrounding the bright star on the right. In this area, the gases that make up the nebula have become so thin that it can no longer produce it own light. This is called a reflection nebula, because the glow of this nebula is caused simply by the reflected light from the large star in the center. The dark lanes in the emission nebula divide the red nebula into 3 parts (hence the name Trifid), is a dark nebula, which is simply a cloud of dust that isn't producing or reflecting light.

Object	M20 -- Emision Nebula
Constellation	Sagittarius
Date Aquired	08/01/2002
Camera	ST-7E with CFW-8
Exposure	6X5Min L, 5X5Min R (2x2), 5X5Min G (2x2), 5X8Min B (2x2)
Telescope	Takahashi FS-102 @f/8
Mount	Losmandy G11