The Lagoon Nebula has got to be one of the most beautiful and photogenic emission nebulae out there. This nebula is located about 4000-6000 light years away from Earth in the constellation of Sagittarius (the Archer). Astronomers believe it was discovered as early as 1654. Interestingly it is the one of only two star-forming nebulae that you can see faintly with the human eye. However, the real show is when you start examining it with the large telescopes. It’s an absolute must-see. In this post I’ll just be showcasing images of the Lagoon Nebula. So sit back and grab a nice cup of tea or coffee and get lost in the universe…
**Make sure to enlarge these photos for the full effect
Credit: ESO
A star nursery where you can see many young stars being born. Look for the bright blue stars which are indicators of young stars that have just formed.
Credit: NASA
A gorgeous interstellar canvas that is about 3 light years across or 30 trillion km! The colors you see here are of ionized gas such as hydrogen.
Credit: NASA
This new infrared view of the star formation region Messier 8 or the Lagoon Nebula, was captured by the VISTA telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. This colour picture was created from images taken through J, H and Ks near-infrared filters, and which were acquired as part of a huge survey of the central parts of the Milky Way. The field of view is about 34 by 15 arcminutes.
Credit:
ESO/IDA/Danish 1.5 m/ R. Gendler, U.G. Jørgensen, K. Harpsøe
This image is called “The Glow of the Lagoon Nebula.” A stunning visual of what happens when young hot stars are burning bright and ultraviolet radiation is literally sculpting the interstellar gas into beautiful shapes. The brightest part of this image is because of two giant stars in the center and they create another beautiful famous nebula called the “Hourglass Nebula.”
Credit:
ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2
Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin.
Credit Line & Copyright Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona
For further reading and sources used: