M20, M21 & M8 wide field

Object Type: Emission nebula, reflection nebula, dark nebula and open clusters
Top Image: Scope: Takahashi 90mm; Exposure 108 minutes.
Lower Image: Scope: Orion APO 80mm; Exposure 120 minutes.

This wide-field view captures three Messier objects together in Sagittarius: the Lagoon Nebula (M8), the Trifid Nebula (M20), and the open star cluster M21 (NGC 6531). M21 is a young, tightly packed cluster only about 4.6 million years old, containing roughly 57 stars including a few blue giants, discovered by Charles Messier in 1764. The trio sits in one of the richest regions of the summer Milky Way.