APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
M8: The Lagoon Nebula
Explanation: The bright Lagoon Nebula is home to a diverse array of astronomical objects. Particularly interesting sources include a bright open cluster of stars and several energetic star-forming regions . The general red glow is caused by luminous hydrogen gas , while the dark filaments are caused by absorption by dense lanes of dust . The Lagoon Nebula , also known as M 8 and NGC 6523, lies about 5000 light-years away. The Lagoon Nebula can be located with binoculars in the constellation of Sagittarius spanning a region over three times the diameter of a full Moon .
| Date | July 7, 1998 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit & Copyright: D. Malin (AAO), AATB, ROE, UKS Telescope |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |