< Portal:Astronomy < Picture
Portal:Astronomy/Picture/Week 43 2008
The center of the Lagoon Nebula is a whirlwind of spectacular star formation. The tremendously bright nearby star, Hershel 36, lights the area. Vast walls of dust hide and redden other hot young stars. This picture, spanning about 5 light years, was taken in 1995 by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. The Lagoon Nebula, also known as M8, lies about 5000 light years distant toward the constellation of Sagittarius.
Lagoon Nebula (right-click to enlarge).
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