Nebula of the Lagoon (M8) in Sagittarius - M8, The Lagoon Nebula - View of...

Nebula of the Lagoon (M8) in Sagittarius - M8, The Lagoon Nebula - View of the Nebula of the Lagoon (M8/NGC 6523). Located in Sagittarius, at a distance of 5800 years - light, it is visible to the naked eye in good conditions. It is a star-forming region illuminated by several giant O stars that belong to the open cluster NGC 6530 visible in the center of the image. The brightest part of the nebula is called the hourglass nebula whose gases are excited mainly by two supergiant stars Herschel 36 and 9 Sagittarii. M8 has at least 60 giant B stars, 3 to 4 times more than the Orion nebula. M8 is an amazing stellar nursery. Hot young stars that formed out of the hydrogen gas in the nebula cause it to glow in the light of ionized hydrogen at the hydrogen - alpha wavelength of 656nm. The Lagoon Nebula gets its name from the distinctive dark lane that runs through the heart of the nebula, just to the west of open cluster NGC 6530. Bok globules, small dark knots which are condensing protostellar clouds, can be seen sprinkled throughout the nebula. The brightest part of M8 has an apparent size of about 1 degree on the sky (the size of two full Moons) and is 100 light years across in space. It is located about 5,200 light years away