Lagoon Nebula

Source

Description

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 was discovered by Giovanni Hodierna before 1654 and is one of only two star-forming nebulae faintly visible to the eye from mid-northern latitudes. Seen with binoculars, it appears as a distinct oval cloudlike patch with a definite core. In the foreground is the open cluster NGC 6530.

Lagoon Nebula
Lagoon Nebula

Equipment and processing

Telescope: AT72ED

Mount: Meade LXD75

Camera: ST 8300M

Filters: Baader RGB

Guiding: PHD

Processing: PixInsight

Capture software: Maxim

Exposures: RGB: bin1 8x300

Location: Roscoe,NY