M8: The Lagoon Nebula



M8 is a large and bright nebula located in the constellation Sagittarius at a distance of approximately 5,000 light years. At its center is the open cluster NGC 6530. This young group of stars formed from the gas and material in the nebula.
Click on image for larger version.



 Click here for a film image (A. Block).

Equipment

Meade 16in LX200 telescope operating at f/6.3 and f/10 (notes below)
SBIG ST8E CCD camera with color filter wheel

R R G B color production was used to create this image.

Luminance (RED) = 25 minutes binned 1x1
 Red = 9 minutes binned 2x2
 Green = 9 minutes binned 2x2
 Blue = 15 minutes binned 2x2
  • DDP (very high mid-level) was used to help with the "hour glass" portion of the nebula.
  • One iteration of L-R deconvolution (sharpening) algorithm using CCDsharp was applied to the luminance image.

    • Minimum credit line: Martin and Gerda van der Voort/Adam Block/NOAO/AURA/NSF (top image)
    Ernst Behrens/Adam Block/NOAO/AURA/NSF (bottom images, except HST)

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    Updated: 5/14/2002