Object: Pipe Nebula Region
Exposure: Single 15 minute exposure
Processing: Film processed and scanned at PDQ in Las Cruces using an Epson 1600
Telescope: Meade 10" LX200 (Piggyback platform)
Unguided
Camera: Canon F1 using a Canon 135mm f/2.5 lens stopped down one half stop.
Film: 35mm Kodak Supra 400 - old emulsion
Location: Texas Star Party - Ft. Davis, Texas
Date: 5/19/04
Processing: Levels and curves in Photoshop
Comments: This is the central portion of our galaxy, as seen from the Earth.  It's a very rich area filled with star clouds, dust lanes, clusters, and nebulae.  The bright region in the lower left is part of the Sagittarius Star Cloud.  Dark pockets of dust are visible against the cloud as they obscure the bright stars beneath.  The bright red (emission) nebula  in the upper left part of the image is known as the Lagoon Nebula (M8.)   Just above M8 are three more nebula regions (left to right) NGC-6559, NGC-6526, and M20.  M20 lies in the center of a great dust cloud that splits the hub of the galaxy, known as the Great Rift.  You can see it running downward at a slight angle  through the image.  To the right of the Great Rift lies another dust region (Barnard 78) known as the Pipe Nebula or Dark Horse Nebula.  You can see the pipe stem running down and right in the lower right part of the image.

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© Dave Dockery 2004