| Designation |
Messier 8 (NGC 6523)
|
| Type | Emission Nebula with open star cluster |
| Constellation | Sagittarius |
| Coordinates | Telescope centered at '18 05 51' Dec '-24 12 53' |
| Magnitude | 4.6 |
| Size | 60 x 38 light years |
| Distance | 5,200 light years from Earth |
| Dimensions | 35x 55 arcminutes |
| Image Field | 90.6 x 131.3 arcminutes |
|
Notes:
|
This bright emission nebula is visible with the naked eye as a bright hazy patch from dark sky sites. It is locate in the middle of the Sagittarius-Carina spiral arm of our own Milky Way Galaxy. |
|
|
| Telescope | Takahashi FS60C f/5.9 on Losmandy G-11 with Gemini L3 |
| Focal Length | 264 mm @ f/4.4 with Takahashi focal reducer |
| Guiding | SXV guidehead through 10" SCT @ f/3.3 |
| Telescope Control | Maxim DL (V3) |
| CCD Camera |
Starlight Xpress SXV-H9 - USB 2 ExView progressive
scan
1392 x 1040 (6.45 uM) pixel array (8.98 x 6.71 active area)
|
| Image Scale | 5.23 arcsec/pixel |
| Filters |
1.25" Astronomik Type II Dichroic
IR blocking filters in Astronomik filter drawer - Clear, Red, Green,
Blue, Ha
|
| Exposures |
Total exposure time: 160 minutes -Luminance
40 (8x5) minutes unbinned, Ha 60 (12 x 5) unbinned) RGB 20 (4 x 5)minutes each binned 2x2
|
| Calibration | None |
| Processing Software | Maxim DL, Photoshop CS (8.0) |
| Location | Chiefland Astronomy Village, FL - 29.393 N , - 82.863 W |
| Date/Time | 05/23/04 / '05:49' - '08:27' UT' |
