M8 Lagoon Nebula
M8 is a giant star forming region. It is so big that it is faintly visible to the naked eye. The gas in the nebula is energized by a massive star at its center, causing the gas to glow. The dark objects within the nebula are called Bok globules, and are dense clouds of gas in which new stars are forming.
| Observatory: | WIYN Observatory Kitt Peak, Arizona |
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| Telescope: | WIYN 0.9-Meter |
| Instrument: | Mosaic I |
| Astronomer: | T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage), H. Schweiker & S. Pakzad (NOAO/AURA/NSF) |
| Date of Observation: | 06-24-1999 |
| Filters and Assigned Colors: | Hydrogen-alpha (red), Oxygen [OIII] (green) and Sulfur [SII] (blue) |
| Exposure Times: | 5x5min in each filter |
| Location of Image: | Sagittarius |
| Field of View: | 52.5 x 53.9 arcmin |
| Orientation: | North is left, East is down |
| Link to Larger Image | |
| Link to Full Resolution Image | |
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