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 is estimated to be between 4,000-6,000 light years from the Earth. In the sky of Earth, it spans 90′ by 40′, translates to an actual dimension of 110 by 50 light years. Like many nebulas, it appears pink in time-exposure color photos but is gray to the eye peering through binoculars or a telescope, human vision having poor color sensitivity at low light levels. The nebula contains a number of Bok globules (dark, collapsing clouds of protostellar material).

Imaging telescopes or lenses: GSO Newton 12″ f/4
Imaging cameras: ATIK 11000m
Mounts: Skywatcher EQ8
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Orion 50 mm mini guider
Guiding cameras: Orion Star Shoot Planetary Imager & Autoguider
Focal reducers: ASA Wynne 3″ Corrector 0.95x
Software: photoshop, CCDStack, Maxim DL
Filters: Orion 2” LRGB filter set, Baader Ha 2″
Dates: April 4, 2014
Frames: 19×300″
Integration: 1.6 hours

Author: Paul Storey
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 20 July 2014

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: Konus Super 120/1000
Imaging cameras: Praktica MTL-5
Mounts: Konus EQ3.2
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Konus Vista 80/400
Software: Corel Paint Shop Pro x2, aurigaimaging Registar 1.0
Dates: July 31, 2008
Locations: Albaneta – Pollino
Frames: 6×1200″
Integration: 2.0 hours

Author: Giuseppe Donatiello
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 06 July 2014