Astrophotography: The Lagoon Nebula Revisited, and the Trifid Nebula

With cloud cover obscuring much of the view of Messier 8, the Lagoon Nebula during my previous shoot, I was pleasantly greeted by clear skies with superb transparency last night. It was by far my most productive astrophotography session, clocking a total of four objects. I managed to try out one of the darkest spots in my heavily light polluted country, and it really made the difference. Without further ado, I present the Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae of Sagittarius:

A.) The Lagoon Nebula

The Lagoon Nebula, also known as Messier 8, is a region of active star formation. Located in the constellation of Sagittarius, the nebula glows bright in the Hydrogen Alpha spectrum.

Photographic Information:

Imaging location: Changi, Singapore (Light pollution: Red zone/Outer City)

Date of data acquisition: 29 June 2014

Exposure Details: ~45min, 800mm FL at f/4

Camera: Canon EOS 600D Unmodified

Stacked with DSS, adjustment of curves and colors in Adobe Photoshop CS6. 

B.) The Trifid Nebula

The Trifid Nebula, also known as Messier 20, is a nebula located in the constellation of Sagittarius, with a very close proximity to the Lagoon Nebula. The striking feature about this nebula is its trifurcated shape, formed by dark lanes of molecular clouds cutting through the pink hydrogen alpha region into three parts, hence its name. The trifid nebula is an intriguing object because it contains all the three types of nebula: Emission in the pink region, absorption in the dark lanes, and reflection in the blue region. 

Photographic Information:

Imaging location: Changi, Singapore (Light pollution: Red zone/Outer City)

Date of data acquisition: 29 June 2014

Exposure Details: ~30min, 800mm FL at f/4

Camera: Canon EOS 600D Unmodified

Stacked with DSS, adjustment of curves and colors in Adobe Photoshop CS6.