Astrophotography by Keith B. Quattrocchi


M8: The Lagoon Nebula
Emission Nebula in Sagittarius
Ha/LRGB Image 

Copyright 2022
Keith B Quattrocchi and Bray Falls

Image Acquisition Information  
                    
Telescope: 16" RCOS Richey Chretien Telescope (ion milled at f/9) 
Camera: ZWO Full Frame Back Illuminated CMOS ASI 6200 MM
Guiding: Starlight Xpress AO with UltraStar Autoguiding Camera (AO control using maxim DL software).
Filters: Astrodon LRBG, H-alpha, S-II and OIII Filters
Acquisition Programs: NINA, The SkyX, PHD2, PWI4
Processing Programs: PixInsight, RC Astro, CCDStack, Photoshop CS4
Date: Data processed on June 30, 2022.  Data acquisition: June of 2022                            
Time:  9 hours (10 minute exposures) for each of Ha/LRGB for a total of 45 hours.                
              
Image Information:  The M8 Lagoon Nebula is a massive star-forming emission nebula in the constellation Sagittarius, known for its "lagoon-like" appearance due to a dark lane of dust. Located about 4,000 to 6,500 light-years away, it contains hot, young stars that ionize the gas, causing it to glow red.  
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Processing Information  This Ha/LRGB images were obtained using  AstroDon filters.  The Hq/LRGB images were batch processed (calibrated, registered, normalized and integrated) in PixInsignt.   Further stretching, high pass filtering and background smoothing was performed with Adobe Photoshop CS/4 and PixInsight.
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