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 6523  ·  NGC 6526  ·  NGC 6530  ·  Sh2-25  ·  The star 7Sgr  ·  The star 9Sgr
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M8 - 2020, Gary Imm
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M8 - 2020

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
M8 - 2020, Gary Imm
Powered byPixInsight

M8 - 2020

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Description

This beautiful object, nicknamed the Lagoon Nebula, is a large, bright emission nebula located 4000 light years away in the constellation of Sagittarius at a declination of -24 degrees. The nebula is almost 100 light-years across, with an apparent size to us of about three times the size of the full Moon.

I find it interesting that visual observers struggle to understand why this object has become known as the Lagoon Nebula. For us narrowband imagers, using the Hubble SHO palette, the deep blue of the central region is easy to imagine as an inviting lagoon.

This object has so many interesting features which are especially evident in the full resolution view. The large cluster of 100 stars powering the nebula, NGC 6530 just left of center, is beautiful in itself and would stand out if not surrounded by such a wondrous nebula.

Numerous dark nebulae surround the emission nebula, including 3 Barnard dark nebulae. Dark Bok globules, appearing more dark and dense than dark nebulae and having more sharply defined edges, are scattered everywhere throughout the nebula. These Bok globules are collapsing protostellar clouds which birth new stars.

The bright region right of center contains the bright Hourglass, which can be tough to spot at first. This is not a bipolar nebula, but simply a result of overlapping dark nebulae clouds. The Hourglass is our unobstructed window into the bright interior of the emission region.

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