Why Is the Trifid Nebula So Unusual? Live EAA View of M20

In this video, I capture M20, the Trifid Nebula, live from my Bortle 7 backyard using EAA with a Sky-Watcher 250P GoTo Dobsonian and a ToupTek ATR2600C cooled camera. M20 is a beautiful star-forming region in Sagittarius, about 5,000 light years away, and it is one of the most unusual nebulae in the night sky. In the same view, we can see red emission nebulosity, blue reflection nebulosity, and dark dust lanes. I used NINA to control the telescope and capture short 5 second exposures, then used SharpCap to stack the images live in real time. The video shows how M20 builds up from a noisy 5 second frame to a much cleaner 75 minute live stack, all from a light polluted backyard. This session shows what is possible with backyard EAA, even under Bortle 7 skies, using a large GoTo Dobsonian telescope. Equipment used: I’ve included links to some of the gear I used, in case they’re helpful. Some of the links below are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. Telescope: Sky-Watcher 250P Flextube GoTo Dobsonian (10″): https://amzn.to/4dXxxXM Camera: ToupTek ATR2600C cooled colour camera Filter: SVBONY UV/IR cut filter Filter Drawer: SVBONY SV226 filter drawer: https://amzn.to/4tSSIz1 Power Hub: SVBONY SV241 power box: https://amzn.to/3RFExzQ Clamp: SMALLRIG magic arm with clamp: https://amzn.to/3PUswGd Collimation Tool: SVBONY red laser collimator: https://amzn.to/3PMiQ0E Control Software: NINA Stacking Software: SharpCap Pro Processing Software: Siril, Photoshop Computer: BOSGAME E3 Mini PC: https://amzn.to/3Rsdb03 Power Supply: EcoFlow River 2 Dew Heaters: • WW Astro Secondary Mirror Dew Heater (Small) • TESTAR Dew Heater Regulator Image credits: ESO ESO/VVV consortium/D. Minniti/Gábor Tóth/N. Risinger (skysurvey.org) #eaa #m20 #dobsonian #TrifidNebula #astrophotography #smarttelescope #deepsky #astronomy #ToupTekATR2600C #SkyWatcher250P