M16, the Eagle Nebula, is named for its
resemblance to the outstretched wings of an eagle. M16 actually refers to the open
cluster NGC 6611; the associated nebulosity is IC 4703. The cluster is 5.5 million
years old and is located at a distance of 7,000 light-years. Both M16 and M17 are
visible to the naked eye in a dark sky.
Equipment: Vixen
102-ED/STL-11000M/Astrodon LRGB filters/Paramount ME
F-ratio: f/6.5
Exposures: RRGB: R 12 x 20 minutes: G 10 x 6 minutes: B 10 x 6 minutes: GB
binned 2x2
Date: June 18-19, 2010
Location: Landers, California, USA
Technical Notes: Individual exposures were dithered using CCDAutoPilot2 and then sigma combined. The RGB image was created in Registar 1.0. A Gaussian Blur
of 0.5 pixel was applied to the RGB image. A high-pass filter with a radius of 4 pixels
was selectively applied to a copy of the luminance image. A duplicate of the RGB image was
combined with the original using Soft Light to increase color saturation.
