                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2022 August 8

                       The Lagoon Nebula without Stars
                    Image Credit & Copyright: Sameer Dhar

   Explanation: Ridges of glowing interstellar gas and dark dust clouds
   inhabit the turbulent, cosmic depths of the Lagoon Nebula. Also known
   as M8, the bright star forming region is about 5,000 light-years
   distant. But it still makes for a popular stop on telescopic tours of
   the constellation Sagittarius, toward the center of our Milky Way
   Galaxy. Dominated by the telltale red emission of ionized hydrogen
   atoms recombining with stripped electrons, this stunning, deep view of
   the Lagoon is nearly 100 light-years across. Right of center, the
   bright, compact, hourglass shape is gas ionized and sculpted by
   energetic radiation and extreme stellar winds from a massive young
   star. In fact, although digitally removed from the featured image, the
   many bright stars of open cluster NGC 6530 drift within the nebula,
   just formed in the Lagoon several million years ago.

                      Tomorrow's picture: leaving earth
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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