Unveiling the Lagoon Nebula in a dark sky location
In July 2023 I spent a great weekend at the E.C. Carr Astronomical Observatory (CAO), where I met a group of fellow astroimagers. The sky was crystal clear and despite some dew I had a very productive imaging session: I stayed up until 3am in the morning and I captured 4 targets in one night. We were literally under a blanket of stars and the bright arch of the Milky Way. While I was imaging, I even counted 4 bright meteors!
This is the first of a series of targets I imaged on the night of July 22nd: the Lagoon Nebula (M 8) in Sagittarius, with a total integration time of just 18 minutes.
This immense emission nebula, made of star-forming cloud of interstellar gas, has been discovered in 1654 by the Italian astronomer Giovanni Battista Hodierna.
Tons of fine details are visible in the final image … What a difference a dark sky location can make!
Setup
Location: Carr Astronomical Observatory (CAO), ON
Scope: Explore Scientific ED80 CF
Mount: Celestron AVX
Guiding camera: ZWO ASI224MC, IR-Cut filter, PHD2
Guide Scope: Orion Deluxe Mini 50mm Guide Scope
Total integration time: just 18 minutes (6×180 secs.)!
Calibration frames: 20 dark, 10 flat, 100 bias
