Red zone shows the area of hydrogen and yellow – oxygen.
The Lagoon Nebula was discovered by Giovanni Hodierna before 1654 and is one of only two star-forming nebulae faintly visible to the naked eye from mid-northern latitudes. Seen with binoculars, it appears as a distinct oval cloudlike patch with a definite core. A fragile star cluster appears superimposed on it. The Lagoon Nebula is estimated to be between 4,000-6,000 light years from the Earth. In the sky of Earth, it spans 90′ by 40′, translates to an actual dimension of 110 by 50 light years.

Telescope: Orion 190mm Maksutov Newtonian
Mount: Losmandy G-11
Camera: QHY9
Filters: Astrodon emission lines Ha, OIII, SII
Exposure time: 6 hours

Autor: project participant Maurice De Castro (Dominican Republic)

AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI
December 03, 2013

We select the best works of amateur astrophotographers with details of equipment, shooting processing etc.