Photo detail

Color Space sRGB Copyright Copyright 2025, Orion Ranch Observatory
Orientation 1: Normal (0 deg) Resolution Unit Inch
X Resolution 72 dots per ResolutionUnit Y Resolution 72 dots per ResolutionUnit
Compression Jpeg Compression Caption This wide field image in the constellation Sagittarius covers a region in the southern central Milky Way that includes the Lagoon Nebula (M8 or NGC 6523) in the top center, the Trifid Nebula (M20 or NGC 6514) to the lower left, and the open cluster M21 or NGC 6531, also known as Webb's Cross, in the bottom middle, as well as several other catologued objects. The Lagoon Nebula is a giant emission nebula that is one of only two star-forming nebulae faintly visible to the naked eye, the other being the Orion Nebula. It is easily seen with binoculars or a telescope. It is located approximately 4,000–6,000 light-years from Earth, and spans 110 by 50 light-years, appearing as 90' by 40' in Earth's sky. The nebula contains the young open cluster NGC 6530 within its structure. The Trifid Nebula is an unusual combination of an open cluster of stars, an emission nebula (the relatively dense, reddish-pink portion), a reflection nebula (the blue portion), and a dark nebula (the apparent 'gaps' in the former that cause the trifurcated appearance, also designated Barnard 85). It was discovered by Charles Messier on June 5, 1764.[5] Its name means 'three-lobe'. Messier 21 or M21, also designated NGC 6531 or Webb's Cross, is a relatively young and tightly packed open cluster of stars. A few blue giant stars have been identified in the cluster, but Messier 21 is composed mainly of small dim stars.