Lagoon Nebula, Messier 8

Lagoon Nebula Messier 8 In the eighteenth century Charles Messier cataloged the bright nebula as Messier 8 in the constellation Sagittarius. Modern day astronomers recognize the Lagoon Nebula as an active stellar nursery about 5,000 light-years distant, in the direction of the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. Hot stars in the embedded open star cluster NGC 6530 power the nebular glow. Remarkable features can be traced through this sharp picture, showing off the lagoon’s filaments of glowing gas and dark dust clouds. Twisting near the center of the Lagoon, the small, bright hourglass shape is the turbulent result of extreme stellar winds and intense starlight. At the nebula’s estimated distance, the picture spans over 60 light-years. The image was done using narrowband filters and using the Hubbell palette