The Lagoon Nebula (catalogued as M8, and as NGC 6523) is a giant interstellar cloud in the constellation Sagittarius. It is classified as an emission nebula and as a H II region.

The Lagoon Nebula was discovered by Giovanni Hodierna before 1654 and is one of only two star-forming nebulae faintly visible to the naked eye from mid-northern latitudes. Seen with binoculars, it appears as a distinct oval cloudlike patch with a definite core. A fragile star cluster appears superimposed on it.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Celestron C8 SCT
Imaging cameras: QHYCCD QHY8L
Mounts: Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro Goto
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Orion ShortTube 80
Guiding cameras: QHYCCD QHY5L-II Mono
Focal reducers: Celestron f/6.3 Focal Reducer/Corrector
Software: DeepSkyStacker, Startools 1.3, Cyanogen Maxim DL, PHD guiding, photoshop, Leandro Fornaziero Pardal Astronomy controls
Dates: April 29, 2014
Frames: 30×300″
Integration: 2.5 hours

Author: Leandro Fornaziero

AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI
01 May 2014