The Lagoon Nebula: Wide-field View | Kitt Peak National Observatory

The Lagoon Nebula: Wide-field View | Kitt Peak National Observatory

This image was obtained with the wide-field view of the Mosaic camera on the KPNO 0.9m-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. M8 is a giant star forming region. It is so large 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—dense clouds of gas where new stars are forming. The image was generated with observations in Hydrogen alpha (red), Oxygen [OIII] (green) and Sulfur [SII] (blue) filters. In this image, North is left, East is down

Credit: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage)

Release Date: June 30, 2020

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #M8 #NGC6523 #LagoonNebula #Sagittarius #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #WIYN #Optical #KittPeak #Tucson #Arizona #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #UnitedStates #STEM #Education