M8 & M20: Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae

This is my image of the Lagoon Nebula (M8) and Trifid Nebula (M20), two stunning emission/reflection nebulae located in the constellation Sagittarius, roughly 4,100 and 5,200 light years away respectively. The Lagoon Nebula's bright, turbulent star-forming core sits alongside the smaller, dust-divided Trifid Nebula in this wide-field shot. I captured 101 × 300-second exposures over two nights (9–10 June 2026) from Jaipur, India, under heavily light-polluted Bortle 8 skies, using a narrowband filter to bring out the hydrogen-alpha detail despite the urban glow.

Telescope: William Optics GT71 | Mount: Sky-Watcher GTi | Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro | Filter: Optolong L-Ultimate 2" narrowband | Guide Scope: SVBony SV165 30mm f/4 | Guide Camera: ZWO ASI120 Mini | Controller: ASIAir Plus

Calibrated and stacked in Siril (101 light frames, 20 darks, 25 flats, 25 biases), followed by final processing — stretching, noise reduction, and color balancing — in Adobe Photoshop.