Editing Lagoon Nebula (section)

{{Short description|Emission nebula in Sagittarius}}
{{Infobox nebula
| name=Lagoon Nebula
| image=VST images the Lagoon Nebula.jpg{{!}}300px
| caption= M8, the Lagoon Nebula
| type= H II region
| epoch = [[J2000]]
| ra = {{RA|18|03|37}}<ref name="simbad">{{cite simbad
  | title=M 8
  | access-date=2006-11-15}}</ref>
| dec = {{DEC|−24|23|12}}<ref name="simbad" />
| dist_ly= 4,100<ref name="Ariasetal2006">{{cite journal
  | author=Arias, J. I.
  | author2=Barbá, R. H.
  | author3=Maíz Apellániz, J.
  | author4=Morrell, N. I. |author-link4=Nidia Morrell
  | author5=Rubio, M.
  | date=2006
  | title=The infrared Hourglass cluster in M8
  | journal=[[Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society]]
  | volume=366  | issue=3  | pages=739–757
  | bibcode=2006MNRAS.366..739A
  | doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2005.09829.x
  | doi-access=free
 |arxiv = astro-ph/0506552 | s2cid=13907667
 }}</ref>
| dist_pc =1,250
| appmag_v = 4.6<ref name=Stoyan>{{Cite book |first=Ronald|last=Stoyan|title=Atlas of the Messier Objects: Highlights of the Deep Sky |page=88 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-521-89554-5 }}</ref>
| size_v = 90 × 40 [[Minute of arc|arcmins]]<ref name="Stoyan" />
| constellation = [[Sagittarius (constellation)|Sagittarius]]
| radius_ly = 55 × 20
| absmag_v =
| notes =
| names = [[Sharpless catalog|Sharpless]] 25, [[RCW Catalogue|RCW]] 146, Gum 72<br />''[[Messier object|M]]8 contains:''<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[[New General Catalogue|NGC]] 6523, NGC 6530,<ref name="simbad" /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hourglass nebula<ref name="simbad2">{{cite web
  | title=SIMBAD Astronomical Database
  | work=Results for Hourglass Nebula
  | url=http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/Simbad
  | access-date=2006-12-22
}}</ref>
}}
The '''Lagoon Nebula''' (catalogued as '''Messier 8''' or '''M8''', '''[[NGC 5907|NGC]] 6523''', '''Sharpless 25''', '''RCW 146''', and '''[[Gum catalog|Gum]] 72''') is a giant [[interstellar cloud]] in the [[constellation]] [[Sagittarius (constellation)|Sagittarius]]. It is classified as an [[emission nebula]] and has an [[H II region]].

The Lagoon Nebula was discovered by [[Giovanni Battista Hodierna|Giovanni Hodierna]] in 1654<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vowler |first1=Faith |last2=Bolles |first2=Dana |title=Messier 8 |url=https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-8/ |website=NASA Science |access-date=17 March 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250317060239/https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-8/ |archive-date=17 March 2025 |language=en |date=12 September 2024 |quote=M8 was discovered in 1654 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m008.html|title=Messier Object 8|first=Guy McArthur, Hartmut Frommert, Christine|last=Kronberg|website=messier.seds.org|access-date=11 April 2018}}</ref> and is one of only two star-forming [[nebula]]e faintly visible to the eye from mid-northern latitudes. Seen with [[binoculars]], it appears as a distinct cloud-like patch with a definite core. Within the nebula is the [[open cluster]] [[NGC 6530]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Handbook of Star-Forming Regions: Volume 2 The Southern Sky|editor=Bo Reipurth|chapter=The Lagoon Nebula and its Vicinity|page=53|author1=N. F. H. Tothill|author2=Marc Gagné|author3=B. Stecklum|author4=M. A. Kenworthy|publisher=Astronomical Society of the Pacific|date=2008|isbn=978-1-58381-671-4}}</ref>