Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Sagittarius (Sgr)  ·  Contains:  7 Sgr  ·  9 Sgr  ·  B296  ·  B88  ·  B89  ·  LBN 25  ·  LBN 26  ·  LDN 180  ·  Lagoon nebula  ·  M 8  ·  NGC 6526  ·  NGC 6530  ·  NGC 6544  ·  Sh2-25  ·  Sh2-28
Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
M8 - 2018, Gary Imm
Powered byPixInsight

M8 - 2018

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
M8 - 2018, Gary Imm
Powered byPixInsight

M8 - 2018

Equipment

Loading...

Acquisition details

Loading...

Description

This beautiful object is a large, bright emission nebula located 5000 light years away in the constellation of Sagittarius. The nebula is about one hundred light-years across, with an apparent size to us of about three times the size of the full Moon.

The bright colors of these image are due to the large concentrations of hydrogen, oxygen, and sulfur gas throughout the nebula. The nebula is undergoing a period of star formation and has already formed a sizable cluster of about 50 stars seen just left of center. Two giant stars illuminate the brightest part of the nebula, known as the Hourglass Nebula, just right of center. Looking closely around the center, you can see many Bok globules. These are dark clouds of dense dust, in which new stars are being formed.

Comments