Watch: Trifid and Lagoon nebulas glowing with a reddish hue
What's the story
Astrophotographer Greg Meyer has snapped a stunning image of the famous Trifid and Lagoon nebulas.
The colorful picture shows the two star-forming regions illuminated by radiation from energetic young stars.
Located over 4,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius, these nebulas are popular targets for astrophotographers and scientists alike due to their brightness and unique structures.
Image analysis
Meyer's image shows star-forming regions in detail
Meyer's image shows the 100 light-year-long Lagoon nebula (Messier 8) dominating the lower section.
The dense starfield near the Milky Way's core serves as a backdrop for this deep-space vista.
Bright, energetic stars can be seen sculpting knots of interstellar clouds at the bottom of the picture, while denser filaments of star-forming material cut dark profiles against the irradiated material beyond.
Portrait
The iconic shape of the Trifid nebula can be seen
The iconic shape of the Trifid nebula (Messier 20) can be seen in the upper right of Meyer's image.
Huge lanes of cosmic dust are silhouetted against a glowing cloud of interstellar gas that forms this iconic nebula.
A bright point of light is nestled where two dust lanes meet, indicating a population of newly formed, massive stars.
Process
How was the image snapped?
Meyer spent 34 hours last month, capturing the ancient light of the Lagoon and Trifid nebulas. He was under Arizona's near-pristine dark skies, a bit north of Ash Fork.
To capture this data, he utilized a Sky-Watcher Esprit 80mm telescope with a Player One Poseidon M pro astronomy camera, filters, guide scope and other peripherals.
Later on, he edited the data using Pixinsight and Adobe software.