Lagoon Nebula (M8)
A large emission nebula and star-forming region, faintly visible to the naked eye in dark skies and a good binocular object.
Nebula in Sagittarius. Magnitude 6.0.
Can you see it from Guyana?
From Georgetown (6.8° N) it climbs to 59° above the southern horizon at its highest; from Lethem (3.4° N), to 62° above the southern horizon. It is highest at midnight on the night of 20 Jun, in the middle of its season. The page works out tonight's rise, highest point and set for both towns in Guyana time (UTC-4), and where the Moon is.
What you'll see
- Your eyes: Visible to the eye only from a dark site, as a misty patch; lost in city skies.
- 10x50 binoculars: A misty patch around its stars.
- A small telescope (80 to 100 mm): Shows its brighter structure; a nebula (UHC or OIII) filter helps.
- A camera: Spans about 40% of an APS-C frame at 400 mm (field 3.4° × 2.2°); needs a tracking mount. An H-alpha-sensitive (modified) camera brings out its red glow.
How big, how bright, how far
- Size on the sky: 90′ × 40′, 2.9 Moons across (the Moon is about 31′ wide).
- Brightness: magnitude 6.0. Fainter than Georgetown's faintest stars (4.3) but brighter than Lethem's (6.0).
- Distance: 4,100 light-years. The light reaching your eye left it about 4,100 years ago.
What it is made of
- Type
- Emission Nebula
- Distance
- Approx. 4,100 Lightyears
- True size
- Approx. 110 Lightyears across
- Ionized Hydrogen (HII): Vast, bright pink-red emission
- Molecular Clouds: Star-forming regions with dust lanes
- Young Stellar Clusters: Excite surrounding nebular gas
More deep-sky objects: Trifid Nebula (M20) · Omega Nebula (M17) · Eta Carinae Nebula (NGC 3372) · North America Nebula (NGC 7000) · Tarantula Nebula (NGC 2070) · Orion Nebula (M42)