M16, M17, M18, M24,M25

Source

Description

Messier objects 16, 17, 18, 24, 25 are located in a star-rich and dense area of the Milky Way, where the constellations Sagittarius, Serpens and Scutum meet. M16 and M17 are the bright red nebulae. M18 is a small and inconspicuous cluster of stars. M24 is the large cloud of white stars centered near the lower edge, and M25 is a star cluster in the left top corner. This area is notable not only for its abundance of nebulae and star clusters, but also for its Milky Way structure - especially the interstellar dust blocking our view towards the bulge near the center of the Milky Way. Notice the many dark lanes crisscrossing this image. The insterstellar dust leaves only a few windows through which we get a rare glimpse of what lies behind, one of those is M24, the Little Sagittarius Star Cloud. The whitish original color of its stars is explained by the near-absence of interstellar dust within this window. The presence of dust colors nearly all other Milky Way star clouds in this frame in a yellow-brownish hue.

M16, M17, M18, M24,M25
M16, M17, M18, M24,M25

Equipment and processing

Telescope: 135mm F2.8 lens

Mount: Meade LXD55

Camera: Canon T1i

Filters: None

Guiding: PHD

Processing: Photoshop, DSS, Fitswork

Capture software: BackYardEOS

Exposures: 60x60 ISO3200

Location: Parsippany,NJ