Messier 24 (M24) – The Small Sagittarius Star Cloud
July 23, 2023
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Anything but “small,” Messier 24 (M24), the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud, spans an enormous 600 light years—or 3.6 quadrillion miles! It lies 10,000 to 16,000 light years from our solar system in the Sagittarius constellation.
It spans a gap in interstellar gas and dust toward the center of the galaxy, which allows us to get a taste of stellar density in that region.
You may also notice some blue streaks, sometimes called “sprites” in the left side of the image. These are tendrils of ionized oxygen gas that are part of supernova remnant G013.2-01.3. There are also four Sharpless objects in the field: Sh2-37, 39, 41, and 43.
Image Capture
Location:
Back yard in North Dallas
Camera:
Total integration: 22h 20m
Integration per filter:
- R: 1h 14m 30s (149 × 30")
- G: 1h 15m (150 × 30")
- B: 1h 14m 30s (149 × 30")
- Hα: 6h 18m (126 × 180")
- S2: 6h 9m (123 × 180")
- O3: 6h 9m (123 × 180")
Coordinates: 18h 17m 21s · -18° 29′ 51″
Moravian C5a-100M
Finding Chart
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Telescope
Takahashi TOA130
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