The Lagoon Nebula (M8) is a glowing cloud of star-forming gas in Sagittarius, named for the dark lane of dust that crosses it, and visible to the naked eye.
At a glance
| type | nebula |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 4,080 light-years (1.25 kpc) |
| its light left it | 4,080 years ago |
| size in the piece | about 130 light-years acrossmodel |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with. Model marks a property of the piece’s galaxy model rather than a measurement.
About Lagoon Nebula (M8)
The Lagoon Nebula is an emission nebula, hydrogen gas ionised by hot young stars and glowing red. A dark band of dust divides it, giving the impression of a lagoon between two bright banks. On one side lies the young open cluster NGC 6530, whose stars formed from the same cloud.
Near its brightest region is the Hourglass, a small, intensely lit knot sculpted by the radiation of a very hot young star. Small, dense dark clouds called Bok globules are scattered across the nebula; some are collapsing, and may become new stars.
It lies toward the centre of the Galaxy, in the rich Sagittarius star fields, and is one of the few star-forming nebulae bright enough to see without a telescope from a dark site.
What you see in the piece
Its gas glows by its own emission, so it keeps its red colour as you move away; the dark lane is dust in front of the glow, swallowing its light.
Measured or modelled
The size drawn for the nebula is a modelled extent rather than a measured boundary.
Questions
How far away is the Lagoon Nebula?
The Lagoon Nebula is about 4,080 light-years (1.25 kpc) from the Sun.
Why is it called the Lagoon Nebula?
A dark lane of dust runs across the glowing gas, and through a telescope it looks like a lagoon between two bright shores.