As some of you know, my academic training is in marine biology, so it may not be a surprise that to me M8 resembles an oyster shell, with its scalloped perimeter and an iridescent core that glows like mother-of-pearl. I have been eager to make an image of M8 for several years, but the object is very low in the horizon here in Monterey, California. I’ve captured data (most recently in 2021) and have composed an image with the color palette I envisioned, but high HFR of the subs resulting from atmospheric influence made the image a bit too soft. To address this issue this year I reached out to my colleague,
Ben Marks, who collects data from his home in Brisbane, Australia where M8 arcs much higher across the night sky. Ben generously shared his 2019 and 2022 M8 data. To give my image even more structural detail, I also acquired data with an 500mm astrograph at Chilescope. This image,
Madre Perla, combines all of those data sources, three telescope residing in two hemispheres.
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