M8 - The Lagoon Nebula

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The nebula gets its name from the fact that the main cloud is bi-sected by a dark region in its middle resembling a lagoon on an island. The young open star cluster NGC 6530, here seen to the left of the "lagoon" was formed from the gas and dust comprising the nebula. The numerous dark knots in the nebula are areas where the hydrogen cloud is collapsing on itself in the process of forming new stars.

M8 lies at a distance of approximately 5200 light-years.

Date/Location:    July 3, 2008     Griffin/Hunter Observatory    Bethune, SC
Instrument:    Canon 40D Digital SLR (modified) through Takahashi FS102-NSV APO Refractor
Focal Ratio:   F/8
Guiding:    None - autoguider being repaired
Conditions:    Visually clear but with normal South Carolina summer haze
Weather:    68 F
Exposure: 180 minutes total (60 x 3 minutes) @ ISO 800
Filters:    Baader UV/IR Block internal to camera
Processing:    Focused and captured, RAW to TIFF conversion, frame calibrations, auto-star alignment, stacking, Digital Development in Images Plus version 3.50a. Finishing, scaling and JPEG conversion with Photoshop CS2.

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