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M8, THE LAGOON NEBULA on 2023-06-27

This photo was done in my backyard in Kyle, Texas through a 6-inch Sky-Watcher f/4 Telescope, on a Sky-Watcher EQ6-R mount, using a ZWO ASI533MC PRO color camera. 199 subs x 30 sec.

The Lagoon Nebula (catalogued as Messier 8 or M8, NGC 6523, Sharpless 25, RCW 146, and Gum 72) is a giant interstellar cloud in the constellation Sagittarius. It is classified as an emission nebula and as an H II region. The Lagoon Nebula is estimated to be between 4,000 and 6,000 light-years away from the Earth. In our sky, it spans an area 90' by 40' or arc, which translates into an actual dimension of 110 by 50 light years. The Lagoon Nebula is estimated to be between 4,000–6,000 light-years away from the Earth. In the sky of Earth, it spans 90' by 40', which translates to an actual dimension of 110 by 50 light years. The nebula contains a number of Bok globules (dark, collapsing clouds of protostellar material), the most prominent of which have been catalogued by E. E. Barnard as B88, B89 and B296. It also includes a funnel-like or tornado-like structure caused by a hot O-type star that emanates ultraviolet light, heating and ionizing gases on the surface of the nebula. The Lagoon Nebula also contains at its centre a structure known as the Hourglass Nebula (named by John Herschel), which should not be confused with the better known Engraved Hourglass Nebula in the constellation of Musca. In 2006, four Herbig–Haro objects were detected within the Hourglass, providing direct evidence of active star formation by accretion within it.