The Lagoon Nebula (M8)

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Photographer:

jgreif

Location of Photo:

Mayhill, NM, USA, taken remotely from La Jolla, CA, using itelescope.net.

Date/Time of photo:

July 13, 2016, at 0100 local time.

Equipment:

Takahashi 150 mm refractor and color imaging system.

Description:

The Lagoon Nebula, catalogued as Messier 8, is a large nebulosity located in the constellation Sagittarius, the 'teapot' portion. M8 is in the Milky Way (our galaxy) about 5000 light years away, and roughly 130 light years across in the greatest dimension. It is composed primarily of hydrogen, much of it ionized (heated or energized) by radiation from a nearby superstar, and, as such, it is a star-forming region, sometimes called a “stellar nursery.” In a dark sky, it can be seen with binoculars, small telescopes, or even the unaided eye. The image below was taken remotely on iTelescope.net at about 1 AM this morning at Mayhill, NM, using a Takahashi 150 mm color imaging platform (300 sec of one shot color x 3) stacked and processed with Nebulosity and GIMP software.