M8, M20 and Sh2-29 (from Namibia)

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In Namibia these wonderful nebulae are at zenith! That's another story respect to the Italian skies, with low haze ruining the view of this great field. The field is rich in star clouds, open clusters, emission and reflection nebulae such as M8 and M20. The nebula at top-left is Sh2-29, and the associated star cloud resembles a "giant foot" (Giant Foot Nebula?), with a contour made with a dark nebula.
Technical data
Optics Pentax 75 apo refractor
Focal Length 500 mm
Focal Ratio f/6.7
Exposure Time 2h 40 min (single exp of 10 min)
CCD Canon EOS 5D with Baader filter
Sensitivity 800 ISO
Location Tivoli Farm (Namibia) at 1350 m height
Date
 28 August 2011
Mount Kenko NES
Tracking Lodestar with a small refractor (F.L. 100 mm, aperture 23 mm)
Temperature and humidity T= +14°C, RH=30%
Sky brightness at zenith (with SQM-L) 21.7 mag/arcsec^2 (MW at zenith)
Notes This image is a collaborative effort of the Namibia 2011 expedition. Processing: Lorenzo Comolli. Images by: Lorenzo Comolli, Luigi Fontana, Giosuè Ghioldi, Emmanuele Sordini.
At first the focus was very good (FWHM 1.2) but at the end it was very bad (2.5).

HTML Editing and Publishing by Lorenzo Comolli. Email me at comolli@libero.it.
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