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M20 is a beautiful object in the constellation Sagittarius. It consists of three (out of four) Nebula types: Emission Nebula (the red glowing gas), Reflection Nebula (the blue glowing gas) and Dark Nebula (the dark lanes crossing in front of the previous ones). The emission nebula is fueled by several hot stars type O5 to O7. M20 is a young nebula, about 300,000 years old, and is part of the same complex of nebulosity of which the Lagoon Nebula, M8, is also part of.
Additional Information
Object
Name(s): M 20. NGC 6514. Trifid Nebula
Type: Emission-Reflection-Dark Nebula
RA: 18h 02m 35s
Dec: -23º 01’ 54.3”
Constellation: Sagittarius
Size (arcmin): 29×27
Magnitude: +6.3
Distance: 5,200 ly
Image
Date: 2013-07-27
Location: iTelescope.net, SSO near Coonabarabran, NSW Australia
Size (arcmin): 40×27
Telescope: Planewave CDK 20” f/4.5
Camera: FLI PL 6303E (3072×2048)
Guiding: yes
Total exposure: 28 min (LRGB, 7x1min each)
Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CC 2016 and PixInsight