Into the Depths of the Lagoon Nebula

Spitzer_sig11-012_1024

spitzer_sig11-012 September 14th, 2011

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Swirling dust clouds and bright newborn stars dominate the view in this image of the Lagoon nebula from NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope. Also known as Messier 8 and NGC 6523, astronomers estimate it to be between 4000 and 6000 light years away, lying in the general direction of the center of our galaxy in the constellation Sagittarius.

The Lagoon nebula was first noted by the astronomer Guillaume Le Gentil in 1747, and a few decades later became the 8th entry in Charles Messiers famous catalog of nebulae. It is of particular interest to stargazers as it is only one of two star-forming nebulae that can be seen with the naked eye from northern latitudes, appearing as a fuzzy grey patch.

The glowing waters of the Lagoon, as seen in visible light, are really pools of hot gas surrounding the massive, young stars found here. Spitzers infrared vision looks past the gas to show the dusty basin that it fills. Here we see the central regions of the Lagoon with green showing the glow of carbon-based dust grains, and red highlighting the thermal glow of the hottest dust.

The various columns of dust all seem to point inwards towards the central depths of the Lagoon. These structures are being sculpted by the intense glow of giant, young stars found at the nebulas core. Within these clouds of dust and gas, a new generation of stars is forming.

This image was made using data from Spitzers Infrared Array Camera (IRAC). Blue shows infrared light with wavelengths of 3.6 to 4.5 microns, green represents 4.5 to 8.0 micron light and red, 24-micron light.

Provider: Spitzer Space Telescope

Image Source: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/4757-sig11-012-Into-the-Depths-of-the-Lagoon-Nebula

Curator: Spitzer Space Telescope, Pasadena, CA, USA

Image Use Policy: Public Domain

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Lagoon Nebula Messier 8 M8 NGC 6523
Subject - Milky Way
Nebula > Type > Star Formation
Nebula > Appearance > Emission

Distance

Universescale1
4,100 light years
Spitzer_sig11-012_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 18h 3m 42.3s
DEC = -24° 22’ 24.2”
Orientation
North is 0.8° CCW
Field of View
35.7 x 28.8 arcminutes
Constellation
Sagittarius

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Near-IR) 3.6 µm
Cyan Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Near-IR) 4.5 µm
Green Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Mid-IR) 5.8 µm
Green Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Mid-IR) 8.0 µm
Red Spitzer (MIPS) Infrared (Mid-IR) 24.0 µm
Spectrum_ir1
Blue
Cyan
Green
Green
Red
Spitzer_sig11-012_1280
×
ID
sig11-012
Subject Category
B.4.1.2   B.4.2.1  
Subject Name
Lagoon Nebula, Messier 8, M8, NGC 6523
Credits
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Release Date
2011-09-14
Lightyears
4,100
Redshift
4,100
Reference Url
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/4757-sig11-012-Into-the-Depths-of-the-Lagoon-Nebula
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Approximate distance
Facility
Spitzer, Spitzer, Spitzer, Spitzer, Spitzer
Instrument
IRAC, IRAC, IRAC, IRAC, MIPS
Color Assignment
Blue, Cyan, Green, Green, Red
Band
Infrared, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared
Bandpass
Near-IR, Near-IR, Mid-IR, Mid-IR, Mid-IR
Central Wavelength
3600, 4500, 5800, 8000, 24000
Start Time
2005-09-16T14:19, 2005-09-16T14:19, 2005-09-16T14:19, 2005-09-16T14:19, 2005-09-27T08:05
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
270.92629672565334, -24.373393603218211
Reference Dimension
1757, 1417
Reference Pixel
878.5, 708.5
Scale
-0.00033889, 0.00033889
Rotation
0.8
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
Spitzer Space Telescope
URL
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
1200 E. California Blvd.
City
Pasadena
State/Province
CA
Postal Code
91125
Country
USA
Rights
Public Domain
Publisher
Spitzer Science Center
Publisher ID
spitzer
Resource ID
sig11-012.tif
Metadata Date
2011-10-04
Metadata Version
1.1
×

 

Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×
Universescalefull
4,100 light years

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