The Lagoon Nebula (catalogued as Messier 8 or 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: Orion ED80T CF
• Imaging cameras: Atik 428EX
• Mounts: Celestron Advanced VX
• Guiding cameras: Orion Starshoot Autoguider
• Focal reducers: Orion 0.8x Imaging Focal Reducer for Refractors
• Software: PixInsight,  Photoshop CS6,  Stark Labs Nebulosity 3.1,  Star Tools
• Filters: Baader O III 8.5nm,  Baader H-Alpha 7nm
• Resolution: 1636×1272
• Dates: June 22, 2014,  April 19, 2015
• Frames:
  Baader H-Alpha 7nm: 21×420″ bin 1×1
  Baader O III 8.5nm: 15×420″ bin 1×1
• Integration: 4.2 hours
• Avg. Moon age: 12.33 days
• Avg. Moon phase: 13.42%
• RA center: 271.049 degrees
• DEC center: -24.321 degrees
• Orientation: -177.214 degrees
• Field radius: 0.719 degrees

Author: Ezequiel

SPONLI is a project about astrophotography, for amateur astronomers.