The Heart of the Milky Way

Several members of the well-known Messier catalog appear in this wide-field image, centered on M8 and M20 - the Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae.  Many other catalogued objects appear in this rich region of the sky, which includes the center of our galaxy near the small nebula Sharpless 2-16 near the lower right of the image.  A partial listing of these objects can be seen on this image map.

Instrument: Pentax 67 and 200mm f/4 lens at f/5.6

Film: Kodak Ektachrome E200 Professional

Exposure: 45 minutes, autoguided with STV

Filter: None

Location: Badger Spring

Date: 22 May 01