Lagoon Nebula

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“The Lagoon Nebula (catalogued as Messier 8 or M8, NGC 6523, Sharpless 25, RCW 146, and Gum 72) is a giant emission nebula with an H II region located in the constellation Sagittarius. Discovered by Giovanni Hodierna in 1654, it is one of only two star-forming nebulae faintly visible to the naked eye from mid-northern latitudes (the other being the Orion Nebula).  Located approximately 4,000–6,000 light-years from Earth, the nebula spans 110 by 50 light-years. While appearing pink in long-exposure photographs, it typically appears gray when viewed through binoculars or telescopes due to the human eye's limited color sensitivity in low-light conditions. The nebula contains the young open cluster NGC 6530 within its structure.”

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Date : August 2025
Location : Backridge Observatory, Spruce Knob, West Virginia

Equipment used :
 Lens or telescope -- Homemade 16" Newtonian with MPCC
 Mount -- AP 1200
 Camera -- ASI2600MC plus ZWO OAG with ASI220 guide camera

Acquistion Software : NINA
Processing Software : PixInsight, Photoshop

Exposure Detail : Total hours  4.25hrs  OSC