Mars, Lagoon and Trifid Nebulas Shine in Stunning Skywatcher Photos

These amazing images are of the planet Mars passing below two nebulas. 

Astrophotographer Derek Demeter took the images from the Stardust Ranch in Okeechobee, Florida. 

Credit: Derek Demeter/Seminole State College

These amazing images show the planet Mars passing below two nebulas.

Astrophotographer Derek Demeter took the images from the Stardust Ranch in Okeechobee, Florida.

Demeter is the director of the Emil Buehler Perpetual Trust Planetarium at Seminole State College of Florida.

The photos capture Mars passing below two objects known as the Lagoon and Trifid nebulas.

Both are located in the constellation Sagittarius and are found in the central region of our Milky Way galaxy.

“This is a great perspective of our solar system relative to the galaxy,” Demeter told reporters.

The image shows Mars passing below two objects known as the Lagoon and Trifid nebulas. 

Astrophotographer Derek Demeter took the images from the Stardust Ranch in Okeechobee, Florida. 

Credit: Derek Demeter/Seminole State College

Located about 5,000 light-years from Earth, the Lagoon Nebula is one of two star-forming regions visible to the unaided eye from the Northern Hemisphere.

It is about 110 light-years across and is also known as Messier 8 or NGC 6523. The Trifid Nebula (Messier 20 or NGC 6514) is a combination of an emission nebula (the red area), a reflection nebula (the blue area) and a dark nebula.

Also visible are the star-forming regions of NGC 6559, IC 1274 and IC 1275.

Astrophotographer image of Emission Nebula Sh2-115

Credit: Gregg Ruppel

Astrophotographer Gregg Ruppel of Ellisville, MO, sent in an image of emission nebula Sh2-115 made during the supermoon period of June 20-22, 2013. 

He writes: “The full moon is the bane of deep sky astrophotographers, so when the moon is full many of us turn to Ha [hydrogen-alpha] or other narrow band filters to record emission nebulae.... 

This HII area is just two degrees from the bright star Deneb and is designated Sh2-115 in the Sharpless catalog of emission nebulae. 

The small round nebulosity near the top right is cataloged as Sh2-116 but is actually a planetary nebula (also designated as Abell 71 and PK 85+4.1).”