M 20
Exposure: L = 80 min 1x1, RGB 50 min each 2x2.
Date: July 4 - 6, 2010.
Comments: Everything ln this image lies inside our Milky Way galaxy. The nebula is also cataloged as being NGC 6514. This object emits light from several different plasma types. Its name means 'divided into three lobes'. It is fairly certain the red part of the nebula is due to H II (singlely ionized hydrogen). Some descriptions of the blue region say it is a reflection nebula; others say it is a different type of active plasma emission. The dark lanes constitute a dark nebula, Barnard 85.
I tried to be careful in processing this image so as to maintain the central binary as being two separate stars. Images of this object are often overprocessed and the binary just becomes a blob - looking like a big single star.
© Don Scott
The Holin A. Grotch Observatory
