Lagoon Nebula

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Lagoon Nebula
Emission nebula
H II region
Trifid Vera Rubins.png
The Lagoon Nebula as imaged by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in very high-resolution, taken on May 28, 2025 [1] [a]
Observation data: J2000 epoch
Right ascension 18h 03m 37s [2]
Declination −24° 23′ 12″ [2]
Distance4,100 [3]   ly    (1,250  pc)
Apparent magnitude (V)4.6 [4]
Apparent dimensions (V)90 × 40 arcmins [4]
Constellation Sagittarius
Physical characteristics
Radius 55 × 20 ly
Designations Sharpless 25, RCW 146, Gum 72
M8 contains:
     NGC 6523, NGC 6530, [2]
    Hourglass nebula [5]
See also: Lists of nebulae

The Lagoon Nebula (catalogued as Messier 8 or M8, NGC 6523, Sharpless 25, RCW 146, and Gum 72) is a giant emission nebula with an H II region located in the constellation Sagittarius. Discovered by Giovanni Hodierna in 1654, it is one of only two star-forming nebulae faintly visible to the naked eye from mid-northern latitudes [6] [7] (the other being the Orion Nebula).

Contents

Characteristics

Located approximately 4,000–6,000 light-years from Earth, the nebula spans 110 by 50 light-years (appearing as 90' by 40' in Earth's sky). While appearing pink in long-exposure photographs, it typically appears gray when viewed through binoculars or telescopes due to the human eye's limited color sensitivity in low-light conditions. The nebula contains the young open cluster NGC 6530 within its structure. [8]

The Lagoon Nebula features several distinctive structures, including:

Observations in 2006 revealed four Herbig–Haro objects within the Hourglass structure, providing direct evidence of ongoing star formation through accretion processes. [3]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The bluish-pink nebula on the upper right is the Trifid Nebula.

References

  1. ↑ "Trifid and Lagoon (Image)". NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory. 2025. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  2. 1 2 3 "M 8". SIMBAD . Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg . Retrieved 2006-11-15.
  3. 1 2 Arias, J. I.; Barbá, R. H.; Maíz Apellániz, J.; Morrell, N. I.; Rubio, M. (2006). "The infrared Hourglass cluster in M8". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society . 366 (3): 739–757. arXiv: astro-ph/0506552 . Bibcode:2006MNRAS.366..739A. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2005.09829.x . S2CID   13907667.
  4. 1 2 Stoyan, Ronald (2008). Atlas of the Messier Objects: Highlights of the Deep Sky. Cambridge University Press. p. 88. ISBN   978-0-521-89554-5.
  5. ↑ "SIMBAD Astronomical Database". Results for Hourglass Nebula. Retrieved 2006-12-22.
  6. ↑ Vowler, Faith; Bolles, Dana (12 September 2024). "Messier 8". NASA Science. Archived from the original on 17 March 2025. Retrieved 17 March 2025. M8 was discovered in 1654
  7. ↑ Kronberg, Guy McArthur, Hartmut Frommert, Christine. "Messier Object 8". messier.seds.org. Retrieved 11 April 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ↑ N. F. H. Tothill; Marc Gagné; B. Stecklum; M. A. Kenworthy (2008). "The Lagoon Nebula and its Vicinity". In Bo Reipurth (ed.). Handbook of Star-Forming Regions: Volume 2 The Southern Sky. Astronomical Society of the Pacific. p. 53. ISBN   978-1-58381-671-4.
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